Heroes Never Die (2 page)

“Call me when you come to your senses.”  Her eyes followed after him.  Then she watched as he slammed the door.  She hadn’t meant to make him angry.

She turned her attention to Duke who was lying in a pool of blood.  She ran to the bathroom for a cold wet cloth.  She hurried back to his side, knelt over him, and wiped the blood from his face.  She heard the screaming sound of a siren in the distance.  The ambulance was almost there.

Chapter One:

Stephanie Mitchell waited for her flight out of Port Columbus International Airport in Ohio.  The last two weeks since she had graduated had gone by quickly, and now she was finally going home to stay.  She listened to the loudspeaker as it momentarily silenced the hum of voices in the busy terminal:  “Flight 525 to Washington, D.C. is ready to board.”

The day she had long hoped for now brought sadness.  After waiting four long years to marry Kyle, their engagement was broken.  The indelible image of Kyle in bed with another woman played over and over in her mind.  She could still see herself standing in his bedroom doorway, watching him, too shocked to move, unable to scream, until she finally ran haphazardly out of his condo.  Then she gripped her stomach and screamed until she hurled in the parking lot.  He still didn’t know she had let herself in to surprise him that night, and as far as she was concerned, he never would.

She forced the painful image out of her mind by scanning the terminal, as though shifting her focus would somehow erase the memory that had shattered her life.  She noticed a man standing in line a short distance behind her.  He was remarkably handsome, with the most compassionate eyes she had ever seen, and he was looking at her as though he recognized her.  She quickly turned away so he wouldn’t think she was staring.  In another time, in another place, he certainly would have been someone she would have liked to meet.

Stephanie validated her ticket and headed toward the boarding gate.  She boarded the plane and took her seat next to a window.  From her small window, she watched as men hurried to refuel the tired jets that were parked in front of the gates.  Then, without a conscious effort, her eyes slowly lifted to the clouds, as though in a trance, and her mind soared to a faraway place in the distant past.  She hadn’t wanted to go to college.  All she had wanted back then was to marry Kyle, but her dad wouldn’t hear of it, insisting that she first complete her education.

Even now, she could see the pain in her father’s eyes.  Refusing him would have meant breaking his heart, so off to college she went, but not with bitterness.  She knew he was right.  He always was.  Going to college was no exception.  Her pride began to bubble up from within.  Now she could make it on her own.  She was going to take the world by surprise.  Then reality hit, and she began to wonder whether she really could make it on her own.  Her dad had always been there for her, and she shuddered at the thought of facing life without him.

Stephanie surveyed her surroundings and studied the faces of fellow passengers.  Flying had always given her an opportunity for intriguing conversation with someone from a different background than her own, and she was hoping to meet someone interesting on this flight, too.  It would help the time pass quickly.  She casually glanced up to study the new passenger’s face and was pleasantly surprised to see the handsome stranger again.  He was tall, well-built, very masculine, and definitely someone she would like to know better.  He was looking right at her.

“Hope you don’t mind some company,” he said with homegrown politeness.

“Not at all,” she cordially responded.  She couldn’t help noticing his mischievous grin, and he seemed so confident.

He put his bag in the overhead compartment and made himself comfortable in his seat.  “Since we are going to be flying together,” he began, “we should become acquainted.  I’m Brian Fairchild.”

“Hi, Brian,” she said with a brilliant smile.  “I’m…”

“Wait a minute,” he interrupted.  “Let me see if I can guess your name.”

Stephanie was tickled.  She knew he would never be able to guess her name, but his approach was certainly more charming than having to hear all about his zodiac sign.

“I think I’ll take a shot in the dark and guess that your name is…”  His face labored to come up with her name.  “Hmm.  I’ll guess, Stephanie – Stephanie Mitchell.

Stephanie’s eyes widened with surprise and at the same time her mind raced to recall where they may have met.  She gave sharper attention to his features.  He had warm brown eyes, neatly-trimmed light-brown hair, a thick clean-shaven beard, a slight, dimpled chin, and a noble look of discipline.  He was extremely handsome with a face she would dream about, not forget.  She was sure they had never met.

“How did you know my name?” she asked, suspiciously.

“I know all kinds of things about you.”

“That’s impossible,” she protested.

“Want to try me?”

He was challenging her.  She accepted.  “All right, Brian.  Go ahead and dazzle me with everything you know about me.”  She folded her arms and waited to be amazed.

“Okay, you look very bright and eager to take on the world, so I would say that you just graduated from college.  Honor student – Ohio University – degree in journalism.  You’re an only child, a compulsive spender, and you have a cute little dimple on your…”

“That’s enough!”  She was shocked.  He was right, but even worse, he was being cocky about it.  “I want to know how you know so much about me,” she demanded.  “And I want to know now.”

“You mean I was right?”  Stephanie’s eyes widened with anger.  “Okay, okay
, I’ll tell you how I know.  But first you have to try and guess.”

Stephanie’s hot temper sizzled beneath her flawless skin.  “I refuse to play guessing games with you.  Furthermore, I would appreciate it very much if you would just leave me alone.  Better yet, why don’t you go find a seat elsewhere?”

Brian looked around for an empty seat.  “All the seats are taken.  Looks like you’re stuck with me, kid.”

“You’re wrong, Mr. Fairchild.  If you go to the rear of the plane, there’s a seat just for you.  And I think you had better hurry because it sounds to me like you’re full of it.”  She could still see him out of the corner of her eye.  His shoulders were rocking with laughter.  Then he began to whistle a carefree, meaningless tune as though he had all the time in the world for her to give up.  Annoyed, Stephanie slowly turned her face toward him.  He was deliberately trying to provoke her just so she would ask how he knew her.  She wasn’t about to give him the satisfaction of asking, but she was ready to explode with curiosity.  “All right, all right,” she blurted.  “How do you know so much about me?”

Brian grinned triumphantly.  “You gave up too easily.”  Her wild eyes flared with fire.  “Just kidding,” he said, “but you still have to guess how I know you.  I’ll even give you a clue.  The clue is this – I’ve seen your picture almost every day for the past two months.”

“That’s not much of a clue.  As a matter of fact, it sounds more like a cry for help.”

“Quit stalling,” he bantered without acknowledging her remark.  “Just think it through.  You’ll figure it out.”

Stephanie’s mind went to work.  She had exchanged wallet-size pictures with all of her friends.  Maybe he was related to someone who had her picture.  But no one would take her picture out of their wallet to look at it every day.  And that wouldn’t explain how he knew about the dimple.  Whoever had her picture also had to know about her dimple.  Kyle had her picture.  He kept it on his desk in his condo.  He would also have all of the information that Brian had passed on.  But Kyle was skilled at keeping secrets.  Brian did not know her through Kyle.

The only other possibility was her dad.  He kept her picture in his office at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.  She gave Brian another close inspection.  Similar to her dad, Brian looked as though he could be in the military.  It would at least explain his noble look of discipline.  And her dad could have easily told Brian all those things about her.  But no, not even her dad would tell Brian about her dimple, or would he?  Her face flushed with embarrassment.  Her dad had done it again.  He had not seen her tush since she was a child and he still insisted upon telling people where God had kissed her.  She should have been angry with her dad for revealing such private information, and with Brian for playing such a nasty trick on her, but instead she was relieved.  She had solved the mystery, and her eyes lit up with the answer.

“I have it!  You know my dad.”

“I report to him every day.”

“Then you’re a surgeon at Walter Reed?”

“I’m disappointed.  Our little game is over.”

“Well, I’m not.  You really had me spooked.  What a rascal you are!  Why didn’t you just tell me you knew my dad?”

“I wanted to keep you guessing.  Think you can ever forgive me?”

“Maybe,” she teased with indecisiveness.  “But I’m warning you – paybacks are terrible.  Somehow, I will get you back.”

“Should I be worried?”  Brian’s mischievous grin was infectious, and Stephanie’s eyes sparkled all the more.

“So,” Stephanie began, already impressed with Brian’s charming wit.  “You seem to know a lot about me.  Now it’s your turn.  I want to know everything about you, and you can start by telling me how you ended up here?”

“That’s easy enough,” Brian said.  “I grew up in Columbus, and I was here for a short visit with my family.  I’m the oldest of four boys, the first doctor in the family, and my parents do their best to make sure that no one forgets it.  I was recently ordered to Walter Reed from Fitzsimmons, so I’m the new kid on the block.”

“Walter Reed is staffed with the Army’s finest physicians,” Stephanie complimented.  “If you were ordered there, you must be an outstanding surgeon.”

“My one passion is saving lives,” Brian admitted.  “Walter Reed has given me the exposure I need.  I’ve learned a lot from your dad, too.  He’s the finest commanding officer I know.  We’ve had some differences of opinion, but your dad has the uncanny ability to make me see things the right way.  And I’m always glad I listened.”

“Dad is the same way at home,” Stephanie said, amazed by the man who was sitting next to her.  She wasn’t sure whether it was his honesty or his genuine respect for her dad, but she suddenly felt an attraction to Brian that went beyond his handsome appearance.  “I’ve stretched his patience more than once, but he has an understanding heart.  I’m very proud of my dad, and I’m glad you like him.  That means a lot.”

“Your dad is proud of you, too.  He talks about you all of the time.  But from what I was able to pick up, he’s not very happy about your upcoming marriage.  Your dad is a smart man, Stephanie,” Brian gently warned.  “Maybe you should listen to him.”

Stephanie felt a deep sense of regret.  She had put her dad through a lot of worrying for nothing.  “Dad doesn’t know yet because I wanted to tell him face to face, but my engagement is off.  He was right all along.  But I had to find out the hard way.”

“Feel like talking about it?”

“Let’s just say I flew home last week to surprise my fiancé, and I’m the one who ended up surprised.”

Stephanie noticed Brian’s brow raise with concern.  “No one deserves that,” he sympathized.  “I’m sorry.”

She put on a brave smile.  “Better to find out now rather than later, right?”

“Forgive me if this sounds insensitive, but his loss – someone else’s gain.”

“Thank you.”  She appreciated his attempt to cheer her.  “I needed to hear that.”  She sensed the mutual attraction.  “How about you, Brian – married, single, divorced?”  Single, she hoped.

“I’m single, but if the right person comes along, who knows?”

“Hah!” she giggled.  “My dad has been saying that ever since I can remember, but he’ll never get remarried.”

Brian grinned the mischievous grin that melted Stephanie’s heart.  “Never say never.”

The plane made a smooth landing at Dulles International Airport and taxied toward the gate.  “Where did all of the time go?” Stephanie remarked, wishing she could spend the rest of the evening talking to Brian.

He pulled his bag out of the overhead compartment and politely stood to the side so that Stephanie could exit first.  “Do you have a way home?”

“If Dad left work on time, I do,” she answered.  “He should be waiting for me.  You will say hi?”

“I’d love to.”

Stephanie stepped inside the terminal and looked for her dad.  Her eyes lit up with happiness as soon as she saw his powerful stature, and she couldn’t help noticing how distinguished he looked in his crisp uniform with two silver stars on his shoulder and a gold caduceus to signify the Army Medical Corps.

As soon as Major General Robert Mitchell saw his daughter, his blue eyes twinkled with affection.  Stephanie quickened her pace to reach him and landed in his outstretched arms.  “I missed you,” she cried as she hugged him tightly.  He lowered his head and pressed his faced against her cheek.  His sandy-brown hair felt soft on her skin.

“I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time,” he said with a deep sense of pride.  “And now you’re finally home to stay.”

Then she felt him raise his head, as though he had just seen something unexpected.  She knew he was surprised when he saw Brian with her.  Stephanie stood to her dad’s side as he reached out to shake Brian’s hand.  “We’ve missed you at the hospital, Brian.  It’s good to have you back.”