Twins for the Soldier

by Rochelle Alers

  “I like when you make animal sounds, Daddy,” Malcolm said, smiling.

  Lee ruffled the boy’s curly hair. “One of these days I’m going to take you to a petting zoo so you can see the animals we read about.”

  “Will we see a moose?” Zoe asked.

  “No, baby girl. Moose are in big zoos with lions, tigers and elephants.”

  Malcolm scrambled off the beanbag. “Mama, can we go to a zoo?”

  Angela stood. “We’ll start with the petting zoo before we visit one with wild animals.”

  Lee pushed to his feet, bringing Zoe up with him. “Storytime is over and it’s time for you munchkins to go to bed.”

  Angela mouthed a thank-you as the twins walked over to their beds, knelt down and recited their prayers. He walked out of the house and sat on the porch to wait for Angela. He had surprised himself that he’d taken to parenting like a duck to water, and bonding with Malcolm and Zoe went a lot smoother than he had anticipated. The children were bright, even-tempered and curious, and he still couldn’t believe his good fortune once he realized he was going to marry the woman he’d always loved and become a father to their children.

  * * *

  Lee stood in the doorway, watching his father close the distance between them. Emory had called Viviana to say he was in between jobs and wanted to see her again. There were only minor repairs left before they were able to open the bed-and-breakfast to the public, Lee had told her to invite him to stay. When he heard the phrase “in between jobs,” he wondered if his father had relapsed and had picked up odd jobs to sustain himself.

  So much had changed for Lee in the three months since he’d come back to Wickham Falls: he’d opened up to Angela about loving her; she’d accepted his marriage proposal, and they planned to exchange vows in two weeks; he’d moved back to the house where he’d grown up, and sold off the eight acres to the Wainwright Developers Group for much more than he would’ve gotten at auction.

  He did not realize he’d been holding his breath, and let it out slowly when he came face-to-face with the man he rarely thought of as Dad. Lee had to admit Emory looked better now than when he saw him in mid-June. His face was fuller, but there was a look in his eyes that Lee believed was uneasiness.

  Lee smiled. “You look good.”

  Emory stared at his son. “So do you.”

  “Come in. Can I get you something to eat?”

  “No, thank you. I ate before leaving Philly.” Emory looked around the entryway. “The house looks wonderful. You’ve brought it back to life.”

  Lee looked over his shoulder to find his father staring at the textured wallcoverings that had replaced the floral prints. “Vivi consulted an interior decorator to update the house without losing its original character. We’ll talk in the drawing room.” He led him into the room where guests could gather in the evening before retiring for bed.

  “I saw the Opening Soon sign advertising the house as the Wickham Falls Bed-and-Breakfast. When’s the big day?”

  Lee waited for Emory to sit in an armchair, and then sat on a matching love seat facing him. “It won’t be until after my wedding.”

  The older man went completely still. “You’re getting married?” Lee nodded. “When I spoke to Viviana she didn’t say anything to me.”

  “In two weeks I’ll marry a local girl I went to high school with. She’s a military widow with three-year-old twins.”

  Resting his head against the back of the chair, Emory closed his eyes. “I know your marriage will be nothing like what I had with your mother.” When he opened them they were shimmering with unshed tears.

  Lee listened without interrupting as Emory talked about the demons brought on by his addictions. When he couldn’t get his drugs, he drank until he passed out. He talked about falling in love with Annette Wolfe at first sight when he saw her walk across the college quadrangle. They had dated for three months and once Annette told him she was pregnant they decided to marry.

  “That’s when we both dropped out of college and she said we had to live with her folks.” He paused. “I’ll never forget the look on her father’s face when I introduced myself as her husband. They wouldn’t allow me to stay in this house, so I told Annette either she could come with me or stay. She opted to come. I’ve asked myself ten thousand times would things have been different if she had stayed.”

  “That still wouldn’t change the fact that she had an inoperable brain tumor,” Lee said, speaking for the first time.

  “That’s true, but what was left of her life would’ve been so different.”

  “Of course it would. She wouldn’t have had me and Vivi.”

  A hint of a smile touched the corners of Emory’s mouth. “You’re right about that.”

  “What about now, Dad? How has your life changed?”

  “I served my time, and once I was paroled I was too embarrassed to come back here. I got permission from my parole officer to move to Philadelphia where I found work as a housepainter. I met a woman who agreed to be my sponsor. She encouraged me to enroll in adult education art courses at a local junior college. She helped me sell my first painting to a prestigious Philly art gallery. Several more are in private collections and more than a dozen hang in various modern art museums around the country. Although I’ve received modest success as an abstract artist I would give it all up if I could get my family back.”

  Emory did not know if he had forgiven him. What Lee wasn’t able to do was forget the pain, the loneliness and the fear of abandonment by a man who should have been there to protect him and his sister after their mother died. He knew none of them could erase the past and that meant he, Emory and Viviana had to move forward toward reconciliation.

  “Getting your family back is going to be a work in progress. Meanwhile you can stay in one of the guesthouses for as long as you want.” Emory pressed his fist to his mouth, a gesture Lee realized he also affected. “Wait here and I’ll get the keys. I’m putting you in the first guesthouse along the path because there’s still work to be done in the other one.”

  “When am I going to meet this very special woman who has captured my son’s heart?” Emory asked when Lee returned and handed him a set of keys.

  “She called me just before you pulled up. She should be here at any moment.”

  Emory gave Lee a long, penetrating stare. “Do you love her?”

  “Of course I love her. Why ask me that when I told you I’m marrying her?”

  “I just wanted to make certain.”

  Lee’s face clouded with uneasiness. Did his father actually believe he would marry a woman he didn’t love? That he had an ulterior motive for asking Angela to become his wife? “What’s behind this inquisition?”

  Emory angled his head and crossed his arms over his chest. “Men marry for a lot of reasons—love being one of them, but then they also love other things that may threaten that marriage. For some it’s other women, gambling or neglecting them because they prefer hanging out to coming home. It was drugs for me. You need to ask yourself what else do you love that may pull you away from your wife and children? Viviana told me you’re an army ranger, and I know what you had to go through to earn that honor. Are you actually ready to embrace life as a civilian innkeeper?”

  “I’m not the innkeeper. Vivi is.”

  “So, you’re the groundskeeper?”

  “No!” Lee struggled not to lose his temper. He and Emory hadn’t been together more than fifteen minutes and they were already at odds with each other, because he felt Emory was in no position to offer fatherly advice. “I promised Vivi I would help her fix up this place so she could reopen again. When I put in for my discharge I’d planned to give myself a year before reenlisting.”

  “I had no idea you planned to reenlist.”

  Lee quickly came to his feet as if pulled up by a bungee cord. He hadn’t heard Angela come in. �
��We’ll talk about that later.”

  The smile that didn’t reach her eyes was more of a sneer. “Yes, we will, darling.”

  He registered the condescension in her voice. Although they didn’t agree on everything, he and Angela were usually able to come to a compromise. And Lee hadn’t broached the possibility of reenlisting with her because he wanted to take all the time given him to cement the bond between him and his wife and children.

  Lee walked over to Angela and rested a hand at the small of her back. “Dad, I’d like you to meet Angela.”

  Emory ignored Angela’s proffered hand and kissed her cheek. “I’m honored to meet you, Angela.”

  She nodded. “Thank you. And I’m pleased that I can finally get to meet you, too.”

  Emory stared over Angela’s head at Lee. “I’m going to the car to get my bags, and then turn in for the night. Angela, will I see you tomorrow?”

  “Of course you will. I’m extending an invitation for you to join us for dinner tomorrow so you can get to meet my mother-in-law and children.”

  “I’m looking forward to meeting your family.”

  * * *

  Angela waited for Emory to leave before rounding on Lee. “I don’t believe you!”

  He blinked once. “What don’t you believe?”

  “We’ve been engaged since July and now it’s October, and not once did you hint that you were going to reenlist. What do they say? That the wife or girlfriend is always the last to know?”

  “I was going to tell you.”

  “When were you going to tell me? After I become Mrs. Leland Wolfe Remington and you finally get what you always wanted?”

  “You knew I was a soldier when you agreed to marry me.”

  “Must I keep reminding you that you were a soldier, Leland? When I asked you how long you were going to stay in Wickham Falls I remember you saying it was ‘indefinite,’ which implied you weren’t going to reenlist in the Army. I married one soldier and I swore I’d never marry another one. I have no intent of becoming a two-time military widow. Some women collect engagement and wedding rings. I don’t want to be the one to collect triangular-folded flags.” Her chest rose and fell as she struggled to draw a normal breath. “You have exactly one week to figure out what you want or the wedding is off. One week, Leland. And in case you can’t count, that’s seven days.”

  All traces of blue disappeared in Lee’s eyes. “You’re being unreasonable.”

  “Am I, Leland? If you’d intended to become a lifer, then you should’ve told me, otherwise I never would have agreed to marry you.” Angela knew she had hit a nerve when he recoiled as if she had struck him across the face. “There is life after the military. All you have to do is look at Sawyer who now teaches technology. Then there’s Aiden who came back to work at his family’s restaurant. And don’t forget your new buddy Giles, who is involved in real estate. You’re a bright guy who graduated at the top of our class, so why don’t you do something with your military benefits and go to college and get a career that doesn’t include covert missions.” She turned on her heel and walked out, leaving Lee staring at her back.

  Angela waited until she was a block from her house when the tears she had held in check fell. She didn’t blame Lee as much as she blamed herself for agreeing to marry less than five months after reuniting. They had planned to exchange vows the second Saturday in October. Sitting in the car and staring out the windshield she wondered if she’d agreed to marry for all the wrong reasons: loneliness and gaining a father for her children.

  She exhaled a ragged sigh. Zoe and Malcolm adored Lee. They were all over him the instant he walked through the door. He took turns riding them on his shoulders as he pretended he was a horse, all the while making neighing and snorting sounds, and reading to them at night before they went to bed.

  Angela glanced at the ruby-and-diamond ring on her left hand. She prayed she wasn’t being unreasonable for issuing a deadline. She loved him, loved him more than she believed she could love a man. It had taken her a while to admit that she’d loved Justin, but it was a different love with Leland.

  For the most part her relationship with Lee was drama-free. She’d found him to be even-tempered and controlled. But it was his passion she had come to look for. They didn’t make love as often as she would’ve liked, and she was looking forward to the day when they would live under the same roof and sleep in the same bed.

  Angela reached into her handbag and took out a tissue to blot the moisture on her face. She had to get herself together before walking into the house ablaze with lights, which told her Joyce had not retired for bed.

  “Did you get to meet Leland’s father?”

  It was the first question Joyce asked as she walked through the door. “Yes. It’s uncanny how much they resemble each other.”

  Joyce nodded. “When I saw him for the first time I understood why Annette married him. He was quite the head-turner.”

  “Like father, like son,” Angela said under her breath. “I’m going to turn in early tonight. I have a final fitting for my gown tomorrow.” A gown she wasn’t certain she would ever wear.

  * * *

  “What’s up, Lee?” Viviana asked her brother. “You’ve been moping around like someone who’s lost their best friend. Or could it be your fiancée? And I noticed you haven’t gone to Miss Joyce’s for dinner in days. What’s up with you, bro?”

  “Stay out of this, Viviana. It doesn’t concern you.”

  “Stay out of what!”

  Lee glared at her. “My life.”

  “Life, Lee? Right now you don’t seem to have one. You’re up and out of the house before I get up and slink back when you believe I’m in bed. Even Dad mentioned that he rarely gets to see you and is planning to go back to Philadelphia before your wedding. I’ll understand if you’re experiencing PTSD. I’m here if you want my help.”

  “I don’t have PTSD,” he spat out.

  Viviana ignored his acerbic retort. She sat on the arm of Lee’s chair and wrapped her arms around his neck. He hadn’t shaved in days and the black stubble on his face matched his dark mood.

  “Remember the day the doctor came to see Mama and he was in her bedroom for a long time before he told us we could go in?” Lee nodded. “She beckoned for us to sit on the side of her bed and it was a while before she was able to speak. Now that I look back I realize the doctor had given her something to make her very sleepy, and I still remember what she told us. She wanted us to always be there for each other, and never shut the other out because we only had each other. Even though Dad’s back in our lives I still feel it’s just you and me.

  “And you were there for me when I called to tell you I was going to lose the house. You walked away from your military career and almost cleaned out your savings to help me. I can’t repay you, Lee, and I don’t know if I’ll ever repay you.”

  “Did I ask you to repay me?”

  Viviana rested her chin on the top of his head. “No, you didn’t. I love you, Lee, and it pains me to see you like this. You can tell me it’s none of my business again, but I have to ask. Are you still going to marry Angela?”

  A beat passed. “I don’t know.”

  Viviana was barely able to control her gasp of shock. “Talk to me.”

  Her heart was beating so fast as she listened to Lee reveal what had occurred between him and Angela that Viviana suddenly experienced lightheadedness.

  “Have you thought about what she said?”

  “Of course I have. It’s either her way or we’re through.”

  Leaning back, Viviana stared at her brother. The more she saw her father the more she saw the resemblance in the two men in voice intonation and body language. “Remember Aunt Babs telling us that Mama gave Daddy an ultimatum. That he get help with his drug problem or she was going to leave him. She died still loving and believing in him even though he
loved his drugs more than he loved her. It’s the same with you and Angela. You love the military more than you love her. Otherwise you would be able to understand her fear that she may lose another husband and father for her children. What are the odds of a woman standing at her husband’s flag-draped coffin not once, but twice before she turns forty? Look at the number of guys from The Falls who come back after serving, settled into civilian life, started families and are living an uneventful life. Seth Collier gave the Corps twenty years and he’s quite content serving as the sheriff of Wickham Falls.”

  “That’s because he was military police, which means he made a lateral move to civilian law enforcement.”

  “Have you ever thought about what you would’ve done or been if you hadn’t enlisted in the army?” The seconds ticked, becoming a full minute as Viviana waited for Lee’s reply.

  “The only thing I enjoy is cooking. I probably would’ve become a chef.” Lee shook his head. “Why didn’t I think of that when Angela talked about Sawyer, Aiden and Seth having a life after leaving the military?”

  “Maybe it’s because you were so hell-bent on returning to the Army that you didn’t want to think of it. You’re going to have to decide, Lee. The military or the woman you love. You can’t have both, because Angela had both and you know how that ended. And it would be selfish on your part to put her through that again.”

  Lee closed his eyes. “What do I do, Vivi?”

  “Go to Angela and let her know you love her too much to reenlist. That you’re willing to talk about your options as a civilian.”

  Lee grabbed Viviana’s shoulders and kissed her forehead. “Thanks, sis, for the pep talk. Now I have to go and see if we’re still going to have a wedding next Saturday.”

  “We better!” she called out as he rushed out of the room.