Unbreakable (13 page)

Miller nodded. “Go ahead.”

“Do you ever get scared when you think about life in the army?”

“Scared in what way?”

“Scared that you’ll get hurt.”

Miller considered the question. “No, I’m not worried about that. I’m scared I’ll let myself and my family and my country down, that I won’t be a good soldier.”

“Typical,” Sophie scoffed good-naturedly.

“What?” Miller eyed her enquiringly.

“You’re more concerned about doing your duty admirably than whether you could get seriously injured…or worse…” Sophie’s expression suddenly turned serious as she leaned forward and grasped his free hand with her own. “Miller, promise me you’ll be careful.”

“Are you worried about me?” He offered her a smug grin but then, noting the worry in her tone and expression, his grin changed to what he hoped was a confident smile as he squeezed her hand reassuringly. “I’ll be careful, Sophie.”

“Okay, good. You better be or I’ll kick your ass.” Sophie took a swig from her bottle as she eyed him meaningfully and he couldn’t help but laugh.

“You’re going to Kick a U.S. Army soldier’s ass? I might have to get myself in trouble just so I can see you try.”

“Don’t you dare.” Sophie directed a warning stare that for some reason he found hopelessly endearing.

“Sophie, I’m really going to miss you…” He sighed. “Can I ask you a favor?”

She nodded. “Sure.”

“Will you write to me while I’m away? I can’t guarantee regular computer access or mail access but if you could email me and write to me…well I would really appreciate it.”

“Of course, Miller.” She smiled at him. “You’ll get so many messages you’ll wish you hadn’t had this conversation.”

He laughed at her words. “I doubt it. Anyway, let’s change the conversation. This is meant to be a fun night after all. So do you have any New Year’s resolutions?”

Sophie sat back in her chair. “Yes. If I get accepted to any universities I’m going to go for it.” She had eventually decided against moving out and getting a job regardless of whether she was accepted or not. “I’m hoping I’ll be accepted for Psychology. My community service really opened my mind to the possibility. There was something very rewarding about talking to people and trying to help them with their problems and vice versa. If it wasn’t for the community service I never even would have considered applying.” She had eventually applied because her parents had refused to let up on badgering her until she did so. They didn’t have a particular course choice in mind, they were just determined that she would apply for something. At the peak of her problems back home she had decided she would refuse any acceptances she received just to spite her parents. The idea had seemed very appealing at the time. Now, however, she desperately wanted to be accepted somewhere, even if it wasn’t for Psychology.

“I’m really pleased, Soph.” Miller was glad that she had decided on a direction. He’d been worried about her initial plan to leave home and get a job and an apartment but her plans had changed once she’d decided to stay in San Francisco with her dad. She loved the city and being able to stay at home would certainly help to lower tertiary education expenses.

“Either way, I’m going to have to work my ass off to bring up my grades.” Sophie sighed as she took another sip.

“I have complete faith in you that you’ll be able to handle that no problem.”

“Here’s hoping. So do you have any resolutions?”

“Work hard, do well in the army and hopefully get promoted as soon as possible. The extra pay will make getting my own ranch that much more achievable.”

Sophie smiled at him. “You know what? I have a suggestion for a resolution for you.”

“Really? What’s that?”

“Do one crazy thing.”

“Such as?”

“Doesn’t matter, as long as you consider it crazy.”

He contemplated her words. “Why would I do that?”

“Because you’re such a moral, upstanding citizen who does everything by the book.” She winked at him. “You should give yourself at least one opportunity to do something crazy that you’ll look back on and it’ll hopefully make you smile.”

“I’ll consider it.”

“No, that’s not good enough. It has to be a resolution.”

He looked thoughtfully at her before speaking. “Okay, I’ll do it on one condition that I can come up with a resolution you have to do.”

Sophie grinned. “Okay. What do you have in mind?”

“Make peace with your parents, especially your mom.”

Sophie’s grin faded. She knew things would be initially strained at home with her dad but over time they would get better. With her mom however…well that wouldn’t be so easy since she was moving to New York. Plus the relationship between her and her mom was far more damaged than the one between her and her dad. “You’re asking a lot, Miller.”

“Aren’t New Year’s resolutions meant to be hard?”

“No, they should be easy so you don’t break them.”

“Sophie, I think this is important for you. You might not want to admit it now, but you’ll feel better if you at least make an effort. If it doesn’t work then it doesn’t work; the point is that you have to try.”

She sat still for a while, debating internally with herself. Eventually sighing, she took a long drink before murmuring “Whatever crazy thing you do, it better be epic.”

Miller smiled encouragingly. “Is that a yes?”

“Yes.”

A voice came over the speakers as somebody announced it was two minutes until the New Year. Looking down in surprise at his watch, Miller confirmed the time. “Wow, didn’t realize it was so late. How’s that beer of yours, need a new one or are you set?”

“I’m good.”

“I feel like I should be wearing a party hat and standing on a table.”

“You can have your hat back,” Sophie reached up to remove the hat but he stopped her.

“No, it looks much better on you. Come on.” He took her hand and pulled her to her feet, leading her to the center of the barn where everyone was congregating. As the seconds counted down, Miller let out a moan. “Darn it, I should have used this whole resolution-making thing to get you on a horse!”

Sophie laughed. “Wouldn’t have worked! I would have just refused.”

An idea suddenly occurred to him and he grinned wickedly. “Sophie, I dare you to get on a horse the next time I bring one to you ready to ride.”

“What are you doing?” She looked suspiciously at him.

“You don’t back down from dares.”

“I know that.”

“So?”

“You think you’re so clever, don’t you?” She smirked at him. “Well how it works with dares is that I always have a forfeit option.”

“You never mentioned that.”

“Hey, the fact that it’s there doesn’t mean I don’t do the dares.”

He pondered for a few seconds. “A forfeit option…hmm.” Suddenly a brilliant idea occurred to him, something that she would never go with, so he would be guaranteed to see Sophie Morgan on a horse before she left. “Okay, I have one.”

She looked at him expectantly. “Yes?”

“I dare you to get on a horse the next time I ask or else you have to kiss me.”

She eyed him as the seconds continued to count down. “Okay.”

“Excellent. I promise you, you won’t regret being on a horse.”

The ten-second countdown commenced and they joined in, shouting out the numbers as the excitement intensified until they reached one and cheers of Happy New Year erupted as a multitude of hats flew into the air. Miller’s own cheer had barely left his lips before Sophie had stepped close to him, taken hold of his shirt collar and pulled his mouth down to her own as she kissed him. Completely taken off guard, he acted on pure instinct, one arm wrapping around her waist and pulling her body against his own as his other hand reached up to the back of her neck, drawing her deeper into the kiss.

He didn’t know how long the kiss lasted but when they eventually pulled apart, an immediate urge welled inside him to claim her mouth again.
She’s leaving soon. Get a grip
. His heart hammering, he released her and took a step back, slipping his hands into his pockets to stop them reaching for her again. At a loss for words, he simply stood and looked at her.

“Told you I wouldn’t get on a horse.” Sophie smiled nonchalantly but he could detect the faint blush in her cheeks as she shrugged and took a sip of her drink.

“I wasn’t expecting you to forfeit. I wouldn’t have suggested a kiss if I’d known you didn’t want to get on a horse so much.”

“Maybe I just wanted to kiss you.”

“Sophie –”

Noting by his tone that he was about to be the voice of reason, she interrupted him. “Hey, there’s no need to make a big deal out of this. It was just a forfeit of a dare. Nothing more. I’m going to go wish my aunt and uncle Happy New Year and catch up with them for a bit. I think I saw your parents on the other side of the dance floor if you want to go find them.” Turning around, she headed off quickly through the crowd, leaving him staring after her.

It was nothing, hey?
He watched her as she reached her aunt and uncle and exchanged hugs with them. It sure as hell hadn’t felt like nothing to him. He’d imagined what it would feel like to kiss her. The real thing was nothing like what he’d imagined. She was heat and energy and…wild, he supposed was a fitting term. A rush of abandonment had swept over him as he’d kissed her. For those seconds he didn’t care what was happening around him, who saw…until his voice of reason had knocked impatiently on the inside of his skull, demanding what exactly he thought he was doing.

He should be grateful she wasn’t making a big deal of it. It wasn’t like anything could come of it. She was going back to San Francisco in three days. While she was in university he would be continents away in the army. It was hopeless and pointless to pursue anything further than friendship with her.
You’re doing the right thing
. Taking a swig of beer, he swallowed with a sigh before making his way across the barn to his parents. He knew it was the right decision…but sometimes doing the right thing still felt like crap.

“I got in!”

Miller chuckled at the excited squeal on the other end of the line. “I never doubted you would. Congratulations, Sophie.”

“Thank you! Aaah! I’m just so relieved and happy and excited and just buzzing all at the same time.”

He heard her laughter and smiled. “We’ll have to celebrate when I see you.”

“I know! I can’t wait to see you guys. So what are you doing right now?”

“Digging a ditch.”

“Sounds fun.”

“Oh yeah, I’m sure you’re dying from envy.”

“Uh huh, you bet.”

“So what are you doing?”

“Getting ready to go to the beach.”

He could hear the smugness in her voice. “So you’re going to look like a lobster and get sand all over you. Sounds fun.”

“The word is ‘tan’. I’d teach you how to do it if you came here and could bear not to be active for an hour or so.”

“It sounds really boring.”

“You sound really jealous.”

He didn’t have to see her to know she was smirking. It was evident in her tone. “Well I’ve got to get back to work. It’s not all fun and games for everyone, city girl. I’ll see you soon.”

“Bye, Miller. See you soon.”

Slipping the phone back in his pocket, he resumed his digging, shaking his head with a smile. He was really glad Sophie had gotten into the University of California, San Francisco. He knew it was her first choice and no doubt she’d be happy there. When he was done, he headed back home to do an hour’s workout before grabbing some lunch and carrying on with the rest of the tasks he had to complete that day. He finished off a few extra jobs so that he would have some free time the next day to collect Sophie from the airport. By the time he hit his pillow that night he was shattered and slept soundly until early in the morning when he rose for his morning workout.

Shortly after Sophie had left, Miller had begun to implement an intense workout regime. He was already fit from his work around the ranch but he now implemented morning runs with weight training exercises during the afternoon and at night. In the three months since he’d last seen Sophie he had honed his body to a point that far surpassed the army’s basic level of required fitness. As he borrowed Philip’s truck and drove to the airport, he couldn’t help but hope that Sophie would be impressed.

Standing in the waiting area wearing a simple black t-shirt and jeans, his male pride was gratified when he saw the look of surprised awe on her face as she spotted him. Making her way towards him, she simply stood and stared.

“Wow…somebody’s gone hardcore soldier since I last saw him.”

He grinned at her reaction as he opened his arms and pulled her into a hug. “Hi, Soph. It’s great to see you.”

She wrapped her arms around him, unable to stop an appreciative murmur from escaping her lips at the feel of him. “Damn, Miller, you’re nothing but rock solid muscle.”