Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 74256 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 248(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74256 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 248(@300wpm)
He flips the steaks and closes the lid. “No, not too long, and I’m damn glad I did it. Not just because she’s the best part of my life, but also because I know she’ll be taken care of if something happens to me.”
“What do you mean?” I ask as he grabs the platter to remove the meat.
He pauses, glancing my way. “Well, you know as well as I do that our jobs are dangerous. We could be called out at any time for God knows how long or where, and since we’re married, I know she’ll be taken care of. If something happens to me.”
It’s that last part that has me swallowing hard. It’s not something military personnel talk about openly, but that doesn’t mean it’s not something we haven’t thought about.
Even me, who has no significant other. I’ve thought about my parents, my friends and family.
Faith.
What would happen to her if something happened to me? Not that she’s not capable of taking care of herself—she’s more than capable—but… what if?
“That’s part of the reason we got married so quickly,” he tells me as he pulls four juicy steaks off the grill and places them on the platter. “Don’t get me wrong, I was going to marry her anyway, but when I was sent here, we decided to do it sooner rather than later. I wanted to know my girl was taken care of, receiving all of my military benefits, you know?”
I nod and follow him back into the house where Faith and Hannah are waiting, sipping on wine. “This looks amazing, Hannah,” I tell her as we join them at the dinner table.
“Thank you. I’m so glad you two were able to join us. I’m still meeting others around the base and am grateful to get to know you both,” she replies with an open smile.
“Faith, I hope you like your steak medium-well,” Erik says as he places slabs of beef on each of our plates.
“That’s perfect,” she replies, taking a helping of mashed potatoes before passing them along.
Everything smells amazing and my stomach starts to growl as my phone rings. I want to ignore it, ready to dive into the delicious food, but know I can’t let it go to voicemail. “Hello?” I ask, instantly on alert as I listen to the caller.
I don’t even know when I stood up, but by the time the call is over, I have three sets of eyes staring back at me. Erik is on high alert, standing across from me at the table, his entire body tense. “Shit,” I mutter, trying to process what I was just told.
“What?” he asks, his gaze intense and focused.
With a deep breath, I look at my teammate and friend and announce, “We’re being sent out. We have until Wednesday morning at 0600, and then we ship to an undisclosed location.”
I hear Hannah gasp, but my eyes zero in on the woman sitting beside me. Faith’s eyes are wide with fear and sadness, and all I want to do is wrap her in my arms and shield her from the pain and worry I know she’s experiencing.
The meal is forgotten as Erik consoles his crying wife. Faith stands up and reaches for my hand, and there’s no missing the tears swimming in her eyes. Just the feel of her skin against mine brings a sense of calm I wasn’t expecting. The world is at war around us—literally, it appears—and as long as I have her by my side, I know I can get through anything.
But can I ask her to wait for me?
While I’m gone to God knows where for God knows how long?
I want to.
Fuck, I want to so badly, I can taste it.
As I wrap my arms around Faith and her body molds perfectly to mine, I think back to what Erik said and an idea takes shape. It might not be the best idea in the world, but now that the seed is planted, I can’t stop it from taking root in my mind. I spin the options around, trying to figure out a better way, but I’m not sure there is one.
If I want to protect her, this may be the only way.
I just have to make her see.
We need to get married.
Fast.
CHAPTER
TEN
Faith
My heart hurts.
The ache in my chest refuses to go away. The pain was instant as soon as Chad said those four words. We’re being sent out. I can still hear the agony in his voice.
How we all managed to compose ourselves to finish dinner, I’ll never know. After a tearful goodbye, Chad drove us back to the hotel, his hand clutching mine tightly the entire drive.
When we got to my room, I didn’t know what to expect. It wasn’t him crushing me into a hug so fierce that it was hard to breathe. It wasn’t Chad pulling me toward the bed and wrapping his large, warm body around me. He was quiet, but his hold never wavered. We both were in and out of sleep last night, restless from what we knew was coming.