“I didn’t want to presume you’d want to hire me?”
“Do you know the dogs?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Again, please call me Staci, otherwise I’ll feel old and start telling you to eat your vegetables,” she offered the girl a gentle laugh. “I’ve never had a dog as a puppy before or bred dogs. I’m going to have to rely on you—that is, if you’ll stick around and stop me from doing anything stupid!”
“Let me show you around.”
It only took one cuddle with the pregnant female border collies for the tiny lingering doubts about buying the farm based solely on what she’d viewed online to disappear. Not only was this a fresh start, putting down permanent roots, she could genuinely allow herself to heal in the licks and cuddles of these dogs.
Heal from her marriage—an entirety of lies.
Allow the emotional scars of the two abductions to fade along with the bruises.
Learn to live without Lieutenant Colonel Edison Alexander. Without her old phone, she didn’t have his number—and even if she did—
What on earth could she say?
ED
“I don’t know what to tell you, Staci’s gone.”
“Gone where?” he cried. “Damn it, Bella!”
The line went dead with no more information than he’d gotten every day for the past week. Her father was beside himself, but at least Bella assured him that Anastacia would be in contact soon.
After everything they’d been through, Ed found it impossible to trust Bella’s word that Anastacia was safe, just needing time and space before connecting with her father, but not him.
To hell with the phone calls that Bella could ignore, Ed pulled up to her security gate, surprised when the guard allowed him to drive up to the house.
“This is a pleasant surprise,” Bella greeted him as if invited. “Please come in, can I get you something to drink?”
The way to find Anastacia was through her friend. The only person she had turned to, the only person who could help.
“That would be lovely,” he said taking her arm as they headed inside.
“Coffee or tea?”
“I think the occasion calls for a pot of tea, don’t you think.”
“Why would you say that?”
“Because tea is civilized, calming, and is taken between friends. I’d like you to consider me a friend.”
“Why would that be?” Bella escorted him through to the kitchen, pulling down a old ceramic teapot that looked like it was 50 or 60 years old. Such a strange thing to have in an otherwise fully modern kitchen.
“Because friends trust friends and I need you to convince me that Anastacia is safe and happy.”
“She isn’t here, she bought a place and is trying to move on with her life.”
“You didn’t say whether she is happy, is she happier without me than she was when we were together?”
“I don’t think she is going to be happy for the longest time, but that’s a journey she has to take for herself.”
Ed waited until the tea had steeped in the pot and followed Bella out to the back veranda.
“This is a lovely place you have here, sitting out here with all of the native birds singing it’s hard to believe that the city is only a couple of kilometres away.”
“I’m lucky that my job affords me accommodation like this all over the world,” Bella poured them both cups. “Sometimes life can give you far more than you deserve.”
“How do you know whether everything you’ve done in your life is deserving of a happily ever after and when isn’t it, Ed mused. “I mean I served my country and everything that I did has been for what I believed was the greater good, but here I am sitting here with you begging for your help in convincing the woman I love to give us another chance.”
“You don’t think you deserve Staci?”
“I don’t think anyone deserves Anastacia. I think she is possibly the most amazing person I’ve ever met. The fact that I’ve been friends with, respected and admired her father for years should make it more difficult, but in a way it makes it easier. Knowing him and knowing the values that she grew up with, all I want is for us to have a chance outside the lunacy of what we went through to be in love.”
“I think,” Bella said cautiously, “That when two people forge a connection in the heat of battle, that it is very difficult to survive in normality.”
“I’d agree with you except the connection that Anastacia and I had started that night at the ball, and did you know that I read to her in the hospital?” He had to try and make Bella believe, to understand.
“You found a couple of magazines, so what?” Bella was unconvinced.
“I actually found an old book, a childhood book that I loved growing up. It was in the visitor’s room and I thought that I would read it to her. What I didn’t realize at the time, it was by one of her favorite authors when she was growing up. Both of us have been carrying around a box of similar books all of our lives.”
“I remember her box,” Bella laughed. “We have these crazy girls’ nights in, where we would read one of those old books over a bottle of wine.”
“Seriously?” Ed laughed, “I never knew that.”
“It’s not really something that you can explain, but it was a connection we always had. She lived all over the world I lived all over the world but somehow we stayed connected.”
“I love her,” Ed said simply.
“I’m sure you’ve loved many women, Staci has been through so much how can I be sure that you actually love her.”
“I’ve cared deeply for other women,” Ed admitted. “None of those relationships lasted more than a couple of years because they deserved a man who could be fully and emotionally committed to them. I came back to Sydney to try and win back the heart of my first love.”
“What happened?”
“I gave it my best shot,” he shrugged. “But Brynne was and still is happily married to an amazing man that deserves her. The good news is that for the first time in my life, when I met Anastacia, I was emotionally single. There was no shadow of a past love hanging over us, at least not for me.”
“It sounds more that Staci was the first woman you met after becoming, ‘emotionally single’ as you put it. How are you sure that she is the one?”
“Because if you had told me that she is happy, I love her enough to walk away.”
“Then, Lieutenant Colonel Edison Alexander,” Bella had a twinkle in her eye. “Think about what Staci has always longed for, what she’s never had, and then you’ll find her.”
Ed left Bella’s home with her words still ringing in his head, if he knew her?
What did he know? That she was beautiful and strong. That she was willing to face her fears—all of them. He couldn’t think of another woman willing to meet his past lovers and put her life in their hands just because she trusted him. And from the little that he’d gotten out of her father, Anastacia had been strong enough to fake her own injuries to stall for time.
Live long enough for Ed to find and save her.
What other woman shared his interests, his humor and his passion—he remembered curled up in bed after their night together and he had asked what she wanted for their future.
“I don’t want much, a home filled with dozens of dogs I can call my own, and children.”
“Could we have a fireplace and a bookcase large enough for all of the books that we’ve been lugging around all over the world?”
“We can have whatever you want.”
Yes! Home, dogs, fireside. She wouldn’t have stayed in the city, but if she wanted to reconnect with her father, she wouldn’t have gone interstate. If she’d only moved recently then there had to be as sales contract and a recent online listing. She wanted a home of her own, so she wouldn’t have rented a place.
There were a dozen people Ed could have asked to do a quick search for him, but they wouldn’t have known what to look for. A white house on a small acreage with s
ettlement date of three weeks ago. He flicked through the listing photos. He didn’t know where she got the money from, but the perfect woman had found the perfect home. It had to be her.
Ignoring the emails from work, Ed drove out of town and found the place. It looked as comforting in real life as it did in pictures. Not knowing what else to do, after all how would she react if he just turned up unannounced at her doorstep. He went into town, to get a feel for the vibe of the place and decide what to do. What if it really wasn’t her, and he was still looking in all the wrong places?
“Morning, Staci!” The café owner greeted who ever had walked in. Ed resisted the urge to turn around. “Your usual coffee?”
“Yes please, I’ll take it to go today though.”
“Busy day?”
“I think I’m having puppies today, at least that’s what Connie told me.”
“Congratulations! Your first?!”
“My first, but hopefully not my last. This is been such an amazing experience. I can’t believe they sold up with a pregnant mum.”
“I don’t think they expected to sell the place as quickly as they did.”
“I guess for once in my life I had good timing.”
Ed heard the milk frothing finish and could imagine Anastacia’s coffee being topped up. A slight sliding of something across the bench top and still he resisted the urge to make himself known. She sounded so happy, what if their relationship was all in his mind?
Perhaps as he had told Bella, he had to love her enough to let her go.
“Vaughan, I found her.”
“Staci? Is she okay what did she say?”
“I’ll explain later but she is happy, safe and Bella assures me that she will be reaching out to you very soon.”
“You didn’t speak to her?”
“I don’t want to talk about it. I just wanted you to know that she’s safe.”
“When are you going to respond to work? I’ve been covering your ass for as long as I can, but they are running out of patience.”
Ed paused, the last person he wanted to have this discussion with was Vaughan. “I’ve already heard what my options are; retire with honors and receive the nation’s accolades of an Australian war hero, or face sanctions that will destroy my reputation.”
“If you could only let me tell them about Staci, I could have made them understand.”
“It wasn’t worth dragging her through an investigation. You and I both know there was no guarantee of keeping it out of the press. If I retire with honors then we both know that Defence will make sure that the operation never sees the light of day, and even if it does, they’ll spin it as some domestic terrorist situation.”
“I was as much a part of the operation is you were and should at least take some of the blame.” Vaughan wouldn’t let it rest, which was why Ed hadn’t wanted to talk to him until the paperwork had been pushed through. Only, it wasn’t easy letting go of the only career he’d wanted since he was fifteen.
“I’ve already made my decision.” Until now, Ed hadn’t said the words out aloud, but his resolve to follow through had gotten stronger. “I’m taking the deal. Vinn asked me to buy into his security company as an active partner, and then you can continue to have the career that Australia deserves you to have.”
“Do you ever wish that I’d found someone else to babysit my daughter?”
Ed had never realized how much guilt Vaughan held over that first meeting. “I told you that I would protect your daughter, then after I realized she was my lady in red I told you that I would love your daughter. I mean it when I said I would give my own life to protect Staci, and I’d do it again. I regret nothing except… actually she is happy, so I regret nothing.”
Three days later and his car was full of boxes packing up his old office, and still there was one question unanswered. Now that he knew where Staci was, what could he do about it? At least Bella had agreed to meet him in town for coffee.
“Lieutenant Colonel, I don’t know whether you look more handsome in your uniform or in civilian clothes. Perhaps I should ask Staci if you look better in uniform or out?”
“Are you flirting with me Ms Constance?” Ed answered easily. “I’ll have you know that I am in between employment opportunities, and if I ever wear a uniform again it won’t be the Australian Army. As for whether I looked good out of it, I would love the opportunity for Staci to make that decision based on current information, not a hazy memory.”
“Touché. So, you left the force?”
“More importantly, I know where Staci is and I know that she’s happy.”
“If you know where she is, then go and get her. Otherwise how do I know you’re not trying to trick me into giving it away.”
Ed passed over his electronic device with photos from the real estate ad showing. “Her first litter of puppies should be a couple of days old now. No bluff.”
“Then what are you doing sitting here having coffee with me, why aren’t you bashing on her front door.”
“Don’t think that I haven’t wanted to.” Ed hated admitting that he needed help, but he didn’t have any other choice. “Like I told her father, she deserves to be happy. Think about it from her point of view. Nothing that happened was within her control. From the moment I put her into the cab, every other decision had been taken out of her hands.”
“So what’s that got to do with me—she won’t listen to me. I tried to get her to at least meet with you. I even suggested that the only way she was ever going to get over you was if you both had closure.”
“Give her this.” Ed handed Bella a single ticket to a masquerade ball. “If she doesn’t go, then I promise never to track her down—I promise that she doesn’t need to live looking over her shoulder.”
“And if she does?”
“I promise, I’ll never let her go.”
ANASTACIA
The last person she expected to see at her front doorstep was Bella Constance.
“Did you take a wrong turn? I’m sure the designer shops are in a different direction,” Anastacia laughed and hugged her dearest friend. “Seriously, welcome but what are you doing here?”
“How about you invite me in before I say that I come baring gifts.”
“A message from my father? I promise I’m going to see him.”
“How about you call him and invite him for lunch? I’m sure he’d love to meet the puppies, and maybe get a smile from his daughter on the side. The last time he saw you was when you were being hit. Do you really want that to be the last memory he has of you?”
Anastacia had been so caught up in her own head and pain, she hadn’t thought of what her father had gone through.
“I don’t even know whether he can drive yet?”
“He doesn’t, but if you agree, he will be picked up by my driver in half an hour and they will pick up lunch for us from the café in town.”
“You’ve got it all figured out, haven’t you?” Anastacia laughed as Bella’s designer high heels reacted in horror at the mud going out to the doghouse. “Do you want to borrow some boots?”
“I really didn’t think this through did I?” At least Bella had the grace to laugh at her own misfortune. “For some reason I thought raising dogs would be indoors and cute.”
“Wait until you see their kennel, it is absolutely five-star luxury accommodation for dogs, if you’re brave enough to walk through mud to get there.”
Kitted out with appropriate footwear, Bella could finally follow her outside and meet her pride and joy. “This is the mother, Trixie Bell,” she scratched her beloved dog behind the ears, getting a wet nose for her reward. “And here are her six babies, five of whom already have owners waiting for them to grow up.”
“And the sixth?”
“The runt of the litter, Rex, will be the first ever dog I’ve had as a puppy. I’m not letting him go. Not ever.”
Her graceful, dignified friend quickly turned to mush, sitting on the floor of the large kennel with puppie
s and dogs clamoring all over her. Anastacia didn’t think she’d ever seen Bella look more beautiful or happy. “They have that effect on you, don’t they?”
“They certainly do. I don’t even have to ask whether you made the right decision. I can see it written all over your face.”
“So, are you really checking up on me or did you have another reason for driving out here?”
“I told you I came baring a gift,” Bella said pulling out an envelope from her handbag and handing it to Staci.
“Are you going to tell me what this is.”
“If you open it, I’m sure it will be self-explanatory.”
With trembling fingers, Staci pulled out and read the invitation. The word masquerade struck at her heart. “I can’t, it’s too soon.”
“I know what happened to you last time.” Bella held one of the puppies cradled in her arms. Looking up at Staci, “I don’t want you hiding here, it’s not good for you. You deserve to get closure. Come with me to the ball have some fun have some laughs.”
“No.”
“He’ll be there,” Bella said hesitantly. Staci didn’t even need to ask who “he” was.
“Then, there’s an even bigger reason not to go.”
“He loves you.” Bella kept playing with the puppy while she spoke, “I know that there’s a lot of uncertainty in the world, but his love for you is one thing I’m absolutely sure of.”
“That’s only part of the story.”
“Is there anything he could do to change your mind?”
Anastacia heard the car come up the white gravel driveway and ran to open the car door before flinging herself into her father’s arms.
“Daddy, oh, daddy. I’m so sorry.”
He’d aged years in a matter of weeks, and together, Bella’s driver and Anastacia supported her father inside where Bella was waiting for them with a box of puppies and a proud mother.
“I couldn’t leave them!” Bella smiled, sheepishly. “If they were mine, they’d be living in the house with me and I’d never be able to sell them.”
Defend Her: A military suspense romance (Aussie Military Romance Book 4) Page 18