by Annie Rains
“I’m on track. I’ll be done,” Val promised, praying to God she was promising something she could actually deliver on.
Nikki hesitated on the other line. “Great. So I guess that means your mystery guy is worth his weight in gold.”
Griffin was worth so much more than that. He was sexy. Intense. Funny. Her body ached for him when they were apart, and they’d only had sex once. Or, three times in one night. He was a drug that she should “just say no” to. Except all she wanted to do was say, Yes, yes, oh, God, yes.
“Yes,” Val said, pressing a hand to her now racing heart—racing just at the thought of him. “He is definitely inspiring me.”
—
Griffin’s week had flown by. It was cliché, but he felt like he was walking on air. Like he could breathe a little more easily. Since Val had come darting into his lane and his life, reckless and passionate, sweet and saucy. So damn sexy…
“Uh-oh.”
Griffin turned toward the familiar Southern drawl as he stood in line for a sandwich at the community shopping center on base. It was his lunch hour, not that he ever got a full hour. His time was the Corps’, on and off base, 365 days of the year.
Griffin offered a hand for Lawson to shake, then yanked himself backward as Lawson tried to pull him into a hug. “Hey, man. We’re Marines. We don’t hug. What did those yogi people do to you this summer?”
Lawson laughed loudly. “It’s what Julie did to me, bro. It’s called love. And if the rumor mill is correct, you, my friend, reek of it.” He dug an elbow into Griffin’s side. “I may have been in Hawaii for the last few weeks, but news travels fast. I hear you’re seeing Val Hunt.”
“It’s none of your business.”
Lawson feigned being offended. “I’m one of your best friends. A fellow Marine…You two are at least screwing, right? Do I need to return the favor and help you pick out a box of condoms? The ones labeled ‘for her pleasure’ seem to work well.”
Griffin shook his head. “I see yoga and Hawaii didn’t change you a bit.” He was one person away from ordering his food, paying, and getting the hell out of there. He didn’t want to talk about his love or sex life. This was why he preferred his dogs.
“Okay, fine.” Lawson held up his hands. “Let’s talk about me then. I went to see my mama in Texas before coming home from vacation with Julie.”
“Yeah?” Griffin swallowed, wishing he had a chance to have a real visit with his mother. One where she didn’t try to order him out of her room. “How’s Mama Phillips doing?”
“Overjoyed.”
Griffin noticed the spark in his friend’s eyes now. It wasn’t just the Hawaiian tan that had Lawson glowing. Before Griffin could ask, he was prompted to step up to the counter and order his sandwich, which would never meet his sandwich standards, but he was starving.
“I’ll have the same and I’m paying,” Lawson said, coming up beside him.
“You don’t have to do that,” Griffin argued.
“We’re celebrating. Mama Phillips gave me her ring and I’m going to ask Julie if she’ll put it on her finger.”
Griffin grinned now. “Fine. We’ll hug.” He laughed and pulled Lawson into a hug this time. “Congrats, man. That’s awesome news.”
“She hasn’t said yes yet.” Lawson drew back and pulled out his wallet, laying a twenty on the counter to cover both of their lunches.
“She will. She’s crazy about you. God help her.”
Lawson nodded. “We should all hang out. Me and Julie, you and Val.”
Griffin shrugged. “It’s not like that between us.” As he said it, though, it felt like a lie. It was like that between them. He wanted Val at his side as much as possible.
“I see.” Lawson shoved Griffin’s bagged sandwich into his stomach. “If you say so. Good seeing you. Don’t be a stranger.” He started walking toward the door.
“Let me know what she says,” Griffin yelled after him as they split up in the parking lot.
“Won’t have to. You’ll hear me whooping from a couple miles away,” Lawson yelled back.
Griffin got back in his Explorer, smiling to himself. He was happy for his friend. In the last two years, he’d watched his two closest buddies find love, the long-lasting kind that stood the test of time. He cranked his engine and took back to the roads, wishing he were on his bike instead. He liked to feel the road through his body, every bump and pebble. It vibrated through him, as did Val these days.
Lawson was right. There was something up between him and Val. Griffin just wasn’t sure exactly what it was. And until he knew, he wasn’t talking about it with anyone.
Pulling his sandwich on his lap, he ate while he drove. There was a strict no-cellphone rule while driving on base, but no rule against eating sandwiches and driving. Or mentally stripping a woman bare. Both equally or more distracting in his opinion.
From the back he heard Jaws panting loudly. He’d stop and give his partner some water in a minute. Not much else to do, anyway. It’d been a slow week. Aside from a few speeders and an almost-brawl between two Marines, things had been eerily calm.
Too calm. That was the realist in him talking, because good things never lasted. That’s why it was best to enjoy everything in the moment. Like Val. Although some part of him wanted more than just a moment with her, a lot more.
Wow. That realization surprised him and scared the sandwich in his lap to the passenger seat beside him. His appetite was gone. He chose to tread softly around love and commitment. The whole field was rigged with IEDs, ready to explode with one bad move. And he tended to make a lot of bad moves when it came to the people he loved.
A call came over the receiver. Griffin turned up the volume and listened. A white male with a gun was having a bad day at the commissary down the road. Yeah, the perp was no doubt a Marine, but there was no need for guns in a grocery store.
Griffin turned on his lights and pressed his foot into the gas pedal, heading to the location of the call. Two minutes later he got out, unloaded Jaws, and started walking. Jaws pulled against his leash just slightly, and Griffin ordered him back.
The entrance’s automatic doors opened and a blast of cold air hit him as he continued inside, assessing the scene only a hundred feet away. The perp had his gun drawn, holding it loosely in his hand. The people around him were frozen, waiting for his next move. Griffin assessed the potential victims: Marines on lunch, women and children running daily errands. Griffin spotted two other police officers standing off to his right, hands on their own guns, ready to draw.
Okay. The next move went to the perp, whose only crime so far was that he was a threat to the surrounding people’s safety. No one was hurt, not yet, and Griffin planned on keeping it that way.
“This is all a joke,” the perp yelled out.
From the corner of Griffin’s eye he saw Jaws’s ears prick. The dog’s chest was stretched over ready legs. Griffin tugged imperceptibly on Jaws’s leash. Maybe Griffin should’ve left him in the Explorer.
“What’s a joke?” Griffin asked, gaining the man’s attention. “Lunch? They didn’t make what you wanted today?”
Probably not a good idea to tease a man waving a gun, but Griffin had a sense for what people needed in a potential situation.
“Nah, man. This place is a joke. They send us where they want, and damn how it affects our shit. They want us to go fight in some desert and risk our lives, they stuff us in a plane and send us. They don’t care if we die. They’ll just hire on some fresh eighteen-year-olds to take our places.”
Griffin nodded. He’d heard this rant before. “What happened? Did you lose a brother?”
Griffin’s mind was putting together the pieces as he continued to talk the Marine down. A crew from Camp Leon had been ambushed on a secret mission last night. Two men had died.
The perp shook his head. “People are dying over there,” he said, as if Griffin didn’t know that.
Griffin heard the slur in the man’s voice now. “Pu
t your gun on the floor and we’ll talk about it.”
The man met Griffin’s eyes. Griffin could see the fight behind them being squelched. The perp just needed to talk to someone.
“You can talk to me,” Griffin said, lowering his voice and taking a step closer to the man.
The man’s gun was hanging at his side now.
Glancing down, Griffin noted that Jaws’s body had stiffened to the point of rigor mortis now.
“I’ve lost brothers, too. Let’s go have a seat, grab some lunch, and talk,” Griffin said.
The man’s eyes softened. They were wet. His face shone with sweat.
In his peripheral vision, Griffin could see the crowd of people around him. People were slinking to safety, which was exactly what he wanted. Still, the situation was far from handled.
“I don’t want to hurt anyone,” the man with the gun said. “I just…I just…”
“Put the fucking gun down, you asshole!” a Marine in the crowd blared, stepping forward.
Oh, shit. Griffin’s eyes locked on those of the man with the gun. The guy’s eyes hardened again. Griffin could see he was thinking about raising his gun again, but he hadn’t yet. There was still time to de-escalate the situation.
“Take a breath,” Griffin said. Before he could say anything else, Jaws launched himself like a bullet, forcefully hitting the perp in the torso and knocking him to the floor.
Chapter 16
Val finished typing the last sentence of her scene and grabbed a sheet of paper to fan herself. She’d left off with her characters stripping down to jump into a lake, hot for one another and naked. She, on the other hand, was about to strip down and hit the shower. It was a quarter till eleven. She planned to meet Griffin’s mother for lunch and then do the book club with the ladies afterward. It wasn’t her usual time of day, but those ladies had gotten demanding about hearing more and knowing what came next in the story.
Val smiled to herself as she got up and hummed her way down the hall. Reading her own book to an audience was fun, even if they had no idea she was the author.
After a quick shower, Val dressed in a pair of skinny jeans and cropped top, slid her feet into some sparkly flip-flops, and headed toward Seaside Harbor. She’d packed lunch for herself and Helen earlier in the morning.
Louise waved from the entrance as she walked through. “She’s waiting on you.”
Val stopped in her tracks. “She remembered that I’m coming?”
“And that you were bringing her a cookie with her sandwich this time.”
“That’s incredible.”
“Don’t get too excited,” Louise said. “Moments of clarity are normal. She’s not going to make a miraculous recovery.”
Val nodded. “Right.” She knew that in her head. Her heart, however, couldn’t help but hope. Heading down the hall, she stopped in front of Helen’s room and knocked. It was a courtesy knock that Helen usually didn’t answer. Today, though, Helen looked up and waved her inside.
“Come in,” Helen said.
“Good morning.” Val lifted up their bagged lunches for Helen to see. “Hungry?”
Helen smiled. “Starving.”
“Great.” Val helped Helen stand and they walked together toward the community room. “You’re looking good today, Helen,” Val commented, really meaning it. It was amazing how her status fluctuated from one day to another. From one moment to another. Amazing and also sad because by the time Griffin arrived tonight, Helen would probably be back to her new normal. She wouldn’t remember him. She might get agitated at the sight of him, which happened often. The late afternoons weren’t her best part of the day. And, according to Louise, the nights were the worst. Helen was starting to exhibit the early stages of “sundowning,” a condition that happened to people with dementia where they screamed and cried after dark.
“How is your arm?” Val asked, walking closely to Helen to make sure she didn’t fall again.
“It hurts.”
Val nodded. “With time it’ll get better. We’re almost there.” They entered the community room and took a spot at the table next to the window. Val helped Helen sit and then laid her lunch in her front of her, happy to see that Helen didn’t waste any time pulling the foil off her sandwich and eating. The cast did little to slow her down. Val peeled off her wrappers and started to eat, too.
When they were done, Val pulled out the Sophie Evans book she was reading to the book club and flashed it at Helen. “Remember this?”
Helen smiled. “Yes,” she said softly, wiping her mouth with a napkin.
“Do you happen to remember where we left off?” Val asked, doubting that Helen would. A little recap of the story might help Helen at the book club in a few minutes, though.
“Sex,” Helen said. “I believe they were having sex.”
Val’s mouth fell open. No, they hadn’t left off on that part, but the answer still surprised her. “Actually, we left off when Ruby finds out about Daniel’s secret.”
Helen stiffened. She shook her head, her eyebrows twitching softly. “Oh, no. Secrets are never good. No, no, no.” She continued to shake her head, agitation moving over her, erasing her good mood. “Secrets and lies hurt everyone. The truth will set you free.”
Val reached across the table. “It’s okay, Helen. It’s just a story. And I promise there’s a happily-ever-after. That’s what I like about romance novels. They always end happy.”
Helen’s mood didn’t ease. She was disappearing back into herself. “Secrets and lies make you lose everything, everyone you love.” Her voice grew louder until everyone in the room stopped to stare. One of the nurses came over and crouched down beside Helen.
“Helen, baby, I think it’s time you go to your room to rest. Can I take you there?” the nurse asked, glancing briefly at Val.
Val’s gut twisted. She hadn’t meant to upset Helen. Obviously some part of Helen remembered how Griffin had left after learning the secret of his adoption.
“Yes.” Helen nodded. “The secret has to come out,” she told the nurse. “Daniel and Ruby. No secrets.” She was mumbling now.
“Bye, Helen.” Val watched the nurse grab a wheelchair and wheel Helen out of the community room.
For the next hour, Val read to the book club, entertained the women’s reflections on what the author’s intention of each scene was, which was usually way off the mark, and worried about Helen. When book club was over, she slid the Sophie Evans book back into her bag and headed down the hall to go check on her favorite patient. Her feet paused at the sight of her father coming toward her. He was wearing his church suit, the one he also wore to do church work in the community. He visited the nursing home regularly. It’d been a while since she’d run into him during the day here, though. Which was why she liked to come during the day hours if at all possible.
“Hey, Dad.” She cleared her throat, and stood a little straighter.
“Val. What are you doing here? Visiting?” he asked.
“I had lunch with one of the patients and then book club.”
His gaze lowered to her bag. “I see. What kind of book are you reading this month?”
No way was she going to pull out the romance novel and open the discussion of what was appropriate again. “Just a book the women agreed on.”
He nodded. “I still think a Bible study would be more worthwhile.”
She nodded, but it wasn’t in agreement. It was more of a way of keeping the discussion going, hopefully in a new direction. “What are you doing here?” she asked.
Her father frowned now. “Visiting a church member, I’m afraid.”
Val’s mind reviewed the list of residents and compared it to the members of her father’s church. “Everything okay?” she asked. The only resident here who was a member of her father’s church was Alma Edwards. But Alma was being discharged tomorrow. In fact, Val was meeting her at her home tomorrow afternoon to return Sweet Cheeks to her.
Her father shook his head grimly. “I’m af
raid not. Mrs. Edwards seems to have taken a turn for the worse.”
Val gasped, her hands reflexively covering her mouth. Alma hadn’t been in book club that afternoon, but Val hadn’t even thought to ask why. She’d been too shaken by Helen’s sudden change in demeanor. And she’d suspected Alma’s absence was due to her packing and preparing to leave Seaside Harbor. “No.”
“Afraid so. Her family is in with her now.”
“She’s just here for a broken hip, though. And it’s healed.”
“She also has diabetes,” he said, matter-of-factly. Church pastors weren’t supposed to be matter-of-fact. They were supposed to be sympathetic, sensitive. And her father was those things to everyone but her. “And high blood pressure. And a host of other illnesses that come with old age. Looks like they’re all working against her right now.” He shook his head. “Her time might be coming to an end.”
Tears burned behind Val’s eyes. “Well, shouldn’t she be in the hospital or something?”
“She won’t go. Stubborn woman. She’s happy here. And Dr. Thomas doesn’t mind coming over.” Her father nodded as if the conversation was now over. “I have to get going. I’ll see you on Sunday morning.” His eyes narrowed behind his glasses. “Five minutes early is always best,” he said.
She didn’t have the energy to respond to that. Instead, she waved and watched him continue walking down the hallway. She felt numb. Maybe a nursing home wasn’t exactly the best place for a single woman to spend her summer vacation, but the people here were like family to her. Scratch that. Her father was her only family and every run-in with him lately left her deflated. Sick, crazy, or dying be damned, the people she knew at Seaside Harbor never left her feeling as low as Preacher Hunt did. No one left her feeling as low as he did, and yet there was no one she wanted acceptance from more.
—
Griffin put Jaws back in his kennel after a long afternoon. “Good boy,” he said, patting the dog’s head.