He Came Back

Chapter 2

Chapter Two

6 Months Earlier

“This is the last tour, promise, and then we move on,” Sean said.

Annie was holding his folded T-shirts as he packed his bags. He wondered for a minute whether this was her way of holding on to him for a little longer. The plain gold band he’d set on her finger two years earlier flashed in the light. Her hand was small, tiny, delicate like the wedding band. It was nothing special, ordinary, but it was all a warrant officer could afford. Unlike the ring, Annie was a diamond, a precious jewel, and she was his.

“You think you’ll be happy with the coast guard, just stopping errant tourists?”

Did she have any idea how cute she was? She had no real idea of what he did, and he was happy to keep it that way. She was idealistic, ignorant of the darkness that lurked on the seas.

“It’s a little more than that, and plenty to interest me,” he said. “I’ll be home at night. No more being deployed for months at a time.”

The corner of her mouth did a cute little quirk as she tried to hide her smile. He realized it wasn’t a real smile, though, because any smile from Annie would light up her entire face even when she tried to hide it. She glanced away, and he reached for her and slid his hand under her chin, tilting her face up so she had to look at him. “I worry about you when I’m gone, and I don’t want to, because I’m too far away to do anything for you,” he said.

“I know, I’ll be okay. Just hurry back. I can’t wait to see you, and maybe then we can start our family.” She wrapped her arms around his neck, all six hulking feet of him. She was so tiny as she looked up at him, eye level to his chest. She was so short, but she had curves he could really get into. He ran his hand down her back and over her rounded bottom, squeezing.

“Family, huh?” he said. There was a time not long ago that the thought of starting a family had put fear in Annie’s eyes and had her backing away, giving all kinds of excuses about why it was a bad idea—mainly that she didn’t want to be a single parent, having been raised by one. “What changed your mind?”

The way the light hit her blue eyes, he knew there was something she’d been holding on to. She glanced away, shut her eyes, and then looked back. “I’m tired of being afraid you won’t come back. If something does happen, I won’t have anything left of you.”

The way she was looking at him made him want to clear the bed of his bag and clothes, toss her down, and bury himself deep inside her. But he couldn’t. He didn’t have time. So he pressed his forehead to hers, brushed his nose with hers. Their lips met, and he kissed her deeply. He could have kept kissing her, looking at her, if she hadn’t pulled away and run her tongue over her lower lip, tasting him there.

“You better not start something you can’t finish, there, soldier,” she said. She could be a flirt when she wanted to be, and she stepped back again. It was then that he noticed she was in her gray tracksuit and cross trainers. Her jacket was unzipped, showing a deep purple top that hugged her curves like a second skin.

“Going for a run?” he said. He didn’t really like the fact that she ran alone, without him, even here on base in this part of Florida. She often took a trail used by other servicemen, and he didn’t like her being out there alone with them. He’d seen enough of the shady side of some of the enlisted and officers that he didn’t want those men anywhere near his wife, and no matter how much she disagreed with him that she was safe, or that she’d be fine, he just didn’t want it.

“Just waiting for you to leave, and then I thought I would run a mile or two.”

“I’d rather you didn’t do it alone, Annie.”

She sighed from where she stood at the foot of the bed, resting her hands on her hips. He could tell she was about to argue with him and ignore his warnings to stay safe. “You worry too much, Sean. I’ll be fine. It’s perfectly safe. It’s not as if I’m running at night, and I’m not about to stop running because you’re worried about something. Good grief, I could get mugged going into town, at the bank, at the grocery store! Seriously.” She turned to pick out a hair tie from the shell she kept on the dresser, then pulled her shoulder-length hair back and slipped the elastic around it.

“And you don’t worry enough, Annie. You take chances I don’t like.”

“You take chances!” she said. “You’re gone for how long, and I’m here alone, looking after myself. I don’t cross the street without looking both ways, I don’t jump out of planes, and I don’t walk into bars alone. I’m running to clear my head. It’s my time, and I’m not giving it up.”

She could be so stubborn. Her gentle nature hid a streak that made her dig in and stand her ground better than any enemy he’d encountered. His wife, whom he loved, had a lot of sides to her that made her anything but ordinary.

He glanced over at the clock and couldn’t wait another moment. He had to go, it wasn’t a choice, so he beckoned her toward him—but she stood her ground and even crossed her arms, letting him know she wasn’t going to give in. Her face said it all: She was pissed at him.

“Stop fighting me, would you?” he said. He shoved the last of his things into his bag and zipped it up, then reached out and pulled her to him. He could feel how tense she was, how tightly wound, and he gently nudged her as he pulled all her stiffness against him. Of course her stubbornness was something he loved about her, yet here she was fighting the pull between them as she avoided looking at him.

“Hey,” he said, sweeping his hand in her hair and pulling it free from the ponytail. “Do you really want me to walk out the door now with us fighting, you being mad at me?”

“Of course not.” She rested her hand on his chest and gripped his dark T-shirt.

He kissed her quickly again, then on her cheek, and this time he was the first to let go, but she didn’t step away. She stayed beside him as he reached for his bag, and when she looked up again into his eyes, he could see the same confliction that always lay in the shadows. He traced a line down her cheek, and she leaned in, shutting her eyes again as if she needed to memorize his touch.

“I’ll call you,” he said. “Be good.”

She smiled, and this time as he left, he knew she was behind him. She stood there in front of their small house, watching him as he climbed into his pickup and then backed out of the driveway. Sean lifted his hand in a wave as he watched her watching him drive away.