Heart of a Marine (The Wounded Warrior Series Book 1)

by Patty Campbell

  “What?” He scrubbed a hand over his face and blinked.

  “I’m fixing breakfast. Get up.”

  “Sheesh, the last thing I need is a boss this morning.”

  She grinned and shuffled to the kitchen in her bunny slippers. “Too bad for you.”

  Did he really want to live in a house with two strong-willed, stubborn, single-minded, bossy females?

  * * *

  “I’ve had enough sun for one day, Char. Let’s go.” Marla inspected the fresh crop of freckles on her arms, wrapped a beach towel around her hips, and folded the sand chair.

  Charlene followed her lead. “Donovan will be coming home for dinner soon, so yes, I need to get a move on.”

  “We still have half that roasted chicken in the fridge. Let’s make a man-sized salad and eat out on the lanai. The weather is perfect.”

  “Can you whip up a batch of those great cheese biscuits he loves so much?”

  “Anything for the best looking brother-in-law on Oahu.”

  The Marine base housing wasn’t far from the beach at Kaneohe, so it only took a few minutes to get to Char’s house.

  Charlene asked, “So what are you going to do?”

  “Make biscuits.”

  “You know what I mean.”

  “If you’re referring to Dwayne, I won’t discuss the matter.” A bolt of pain went from her ribs to her spine whenever she mentioned his name or even thought of him. Which, face it, was a zillion times a day.

  “He’s my brother-in-law, sis. He’s family. You know you’re going to have to face him sooner or later, and probably often. Amber is my niece now.”

  “You think I don’t know that?” She sucked in a shaky breath. “Those things he said to me and the way he said them? It still hurts.” She pressed a hand on her stomach. Protection against more hurt?

  “I was there remember? In fact, Marla, he said them to me, not you.” She parked in her driveway and popped the trunk.

  Marla exited the car. She had no intention of discussing Dwayne Dempsey further.

  “You know he must be beating himself up over his outburst.”

  “I don’t know any such thing.” So much for not discussing him.

  “He loves you. He was wrong. He knew it. We all knew it, but his little girl had been taken, and he just blew. He didn’t mean it, sis.”

  “He did mean it when he said it. He might be sorry now, but there was no mistaking where I stood with him. He’s got no room for me in his life with Amber. What he said, in front of everybody, was a horrible way for me to realize it.”

  Charlene unlocked the front door. “Aren’t you at least willing to give him the chance to apologize?”

  “Why? So we can start sleeping together again, as if it never happened?” She shook her head and carried the cooler to the kitchen. “No, Char, that’s not enough for me, but apparently it was enough for him. Do you have any idea how that makes me feel?”

  “No, I…”

  The front door slammed. “Are there any beautiful women in my house?”

  “In the kitchen, Donnie.” The smile of joy on Charlene’s face said everything about her feelings for Donovan.

  “Good. There’re only two places for a woman to be. The kitchen or the bedroom.”

  Charlene and Marla grinned and said, “Shut up!”

  Donovan strolled into the room looking dangerous and sexy in his camos and Marine haircut. He lifted Charlene off her feet and swung her in a circle. “Gimme some sugar.”

  She answered in a giggle, “All you want, honey pot.”

  He kissed her then winked at Marla. “Mind if I take my bride to help me out of these boots, sis?”

  She returned his grin. “Not at all, but I thought basic training covered that.” She smacked his arm. “Keep the noise down, please. I’ve got to concentrate on my cheese biscuits.”

  “Cheese biscuits? Awesome! Now I don’t know which sister I love the most.” He pecked a kiss on her cheek and turned to leave, Char’s legs and arms wrapped tight around him.

  Marla feigned insult. “That decision didn’t take long.”

  He bounced Charlene in his arms and went straight into their bedroom and kicked the door closed. Marla grabbed a bottle of Arizona Iced Tea, opened the slider off the kitchen to the lanai, stepped outside, and closed it.

  It was time to go home.

  * * *

  Dwayne knocked on the front door of Marla’s parent’s house. A few seconds later, Silvia opened it. “Oh dear, you look awful. Come in, hon.”

  He entered and walked past her into the hallway.

  “We’re enjoying the patio.” She pointed in the direction she wanted him to take. “Come join us.”

  “I should have called ahead. Is anybody else here?”

  “No, just us.” She took his arm. “Come, you’re family. You don’t need to call ahead, Dwayne. Our door is always open.” She stepped outside. “Dwayne’s here, Brad.”

  He looked up, raised his glass, and smiled. “I’d offer you a tot of Jameson’s, but I know you don’t drink. Have a seat, son.”

  Dwayne sagged into a chair. “I may start drinking.”

  Silvia sat next to him. “Where’s Amber?”

  “She’s spending the evening with Miss Emmaline and Princess Elizabeth. She can stay up late tonight, no school tomorrow.” He reached for the can of soda she offered. “Thanks.”

  Brad leaned forward, elbows on knees, heavy crystal glass dangling from his fingers. “What was the outcome of Francine’s arrest and her custody demand?” He took a sip of Irish whiskey. “You don’t have to answer. It’s really not my business.”

  “I disagree. Now that my brother married your daughter, it’s family business. I don’t mind talking about it.” He gazed in the direction of the treetops on the perimeter of their large backyard and considered what he’d say.

  “Her husband is back in jail for resisting arrest and violation of parole. He was Francine’s accomplice, he didn’t actually snatch Amber, she did. I wasn’t interested in pressing charges of kidnapping. What would that accomplish? She’s Amber’s biological mother. I’m not out for revenge. Francine stupidly thought she could extort money from me using Amber as leverage. I didn’t want my daughter’s mother, as much as I despise her, to end up a convict. What good would that do Amber? I just want her gone from our lives.”

  Silvia rested her hand on his arm. “Do you think she understands how much trouble she could have been in? Will she stay away?”

  “For the present. At some point I may allow her to meet with Amber again, but not till she’s older. She didn’t like Francine and says she never wants to see her again, but as time goes on she might change her mind.”

  Brad sat straight. “No doubt you’re right. She’s just turned seven, far too young to make such a big decision.”

  Dwayne emitted a rueful chuckle. “Seven going on twenty-seven. She’s mad at me for allowing her to nurture fantasies about Francine all her life.”

  Silvia nodded. “That’s understandable, but in time she’ll come to understand why you did it. Children are very resilient.”

  Dwayne clasped his hands in his lap. “I came to talk about Marla.”

  Brad shook his head. “We only know what Charlene and Donovan told us. It goes without saying…however, I will say it…you bungled your relationship with her badly. She’s deeply wounded.”

  Dwayne heaved a bottomless sigh. “Yeah.”

  “That’s because she’s in love with you,” Silvia added. “I always felt when, and if, she ever fell in love it would be complete surrender. There are no half measures for Marla. She’s paying a heavy emotional price for your behavior.”

  He deserved every single word her parents spoke. In fact, the pain of hearing them somehow provided balm to his wounded heart. “Me too,” he whispered. “Me too.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  Marla tugged her wheeled suitcase to the curb outside the baggage claim area at LAX. She didn’t have a plan to
get home yet and hadn’t told anyone her flight arrival time, but she knew Charlene would have called Dadley the minute she stepped through the boarding gate at Honolulu.

  Sure enough, there he was. “Hi, Dad!” She smiled and waved her orchid lei in the air to catch his eye.

  He snaked through the crowd to reach her side and encompassed her in a mighty hug. “Welcome home, beautiful girl. Your mother and I haven’t seen much of you this summer. Are you home for a while?”

  The warmth of her father’s arms never failed to comfort her to the depths of her soul. She clung to him for a few seconds longer than she normally would have then put the lei around his neck. “I’m home for the foreseeable future. Got to get back to work so I don’t end up moving back home to live with my parents into my old age.”

  Brad chuckled and led her to the baggage carousel. “No danger of that happening.”

  She pointed to the exit. “I didn’t check a bag. We can go straight out. Char’s shipping the rest of my stuff in return for my help settling her in. Where’s Mom?”

  He gave her an indecipherable look.

  “Is something wrong?”

  “Depends on how you interpret it.” He pressed the remote key to unlock his car. “Silvia is out to dinner and a movie with Amber Dempsey.”

  That stopped her dead in her tracks.

  “She’s…what…how…? I don’t believe this. How could she?”

  “It’s complicated. Dwayne had an emergency on a construction job, and Miss Emmaline is visiting a niece in Covina. He couldn’t find John and Irene or a babysitter. He didn’t know who else to call.”

  “He asked my mother to babysit!” She didn’t move.

  “You’re standing in the middle of the road, Marla. Let me take your bag. Get in the car.”

  When he opened his door and sat in the driver’s seat she whirled on him. “I don’t believe this! I’m so…so… Grrrr… I’m so mad! He could have found somebody else. Why my mother?”

  “Like it or not, Dwayne’s family. Amber is our niece-by-marriage. We were glad to help in an emergency.”

  Her anger at the nerve of Dempsey, trying to worm his way back into her life by asking her parents to take care of his daughter was just too much. “Emergency my ass!”

  Brad chuckled and backed out of the parking space and aimed his car for the exit. “I don’t believe I’ve ever heard you utter a curse word.”

  “Well you damn well better get used to it, because I’m royally pissed!” She slapped her palms on her knees hard enough to sting. “Damn that devious bastard.”

  By this time Brad was roaring with laughter. He almost cut off a car entering from a side aisle when he reached the lift gate. “Careful, you’ll get us killed.”

  “I don’t give a sh…a sh… I can’t have that word in my mouth, dammit.” She looked at her dad from the corner of her eye and suppressed a smile. “It’s not funny.”

  He brushed tears from his eyes and made no attempt to answer. His chest bounced with suppressed laughter and he patted the hand gripping her knee.

  “What am I going to do, Dad? How am I going to avoid him?” She heaved a deep sigh and closed her eyes. “Maybe I’ll move to San Francisco. I’ve always wanted to live there.” She cracked an eye open to see his reaction. He was still grinning.

  Brad checked his side mirror and merged with traffic on Sepulveda Boulevard. “You could always marry Edwin Plimpton. That would knock Dwayne Dempsey out of the running.”

  “He’s not in the running!” She crossed her arms. “I don’t believe we’re having this conversation. Whose side are you on?

  “My rotten, arrogant, high-and-mighty, egotistic, swaggering ex-lover dumps his child in Mom’s lap and you think he’s still ‘in the running’?”

  “After that diatribe, I’m sure he is.”

  “Dad, you’re not helping. What am I going to do? Fall back into his arms and wait for his next insulting outburst? I don’t think so.” She raised her hands to her face and dropped her head on the neck rest. “I hate him.”

  “Is that so?”

  “Yes. He’s an ass, a blustering bully. He’s… How could he have screamed at me like that with Skipper lying dead in my arms? I was in pain. He didn’t even ask if I’d been hurt.” She sighed. Her next words were spoken softly. “I love him.”

  “Which is it? You love him, or you hate him?”

  “I don’t know. Right now I’m so angry I could explode.” She clenched a fist and held it up. “I’d like to let him have it.”

  “That’s good. That’s progress.”

  She turned her head and stared at him. “What are you talking about?”

  “You’re working your way through the various stages of grief. Very healthy. Anger is good. Use it.”

  “Use it? How?”

  “Confront him. Tell him how you feel. Let him know how angry you are. Don’t waste all those epithets and pejoratives on me. Give him a piece of your mind. Get it out of here.” He touched her head. “And here.” He tapped her chest. “It will do wonders for you.”

  She scoffed. “Pish-tosh! As if you’ve ever exploded at Mom.”

  He smiled. “You have no idea.”

  She had no idea. His words buzzed in her brain. How much did she know about her parent’s private life? Did she know them as well as she’d always assumed?

  She shook her head and sighed. “Boy, oh, boy. Am I stupid or what?”

  “I believe we had that conversation before.”

  Their talk during the rest of the trip home was all Charlene and Donovan. Their new home, his new assignment, and her stay with them on Oahu. “She’s very happy, Dad.”

  “I could see it in their eyes at the wedding and during the two days they stayed with us before they left California. She made an excellent choice. Donovan adores her.”

  “I guess you know how that feels.”

  “Indeed I do.” He turned off the freeway at the first Simi Valley exit in the direction of Spring Grove. “I’ll drop you at your place so you won’t risk bumping into Dwayne tonight.”

  “Thanks. I need to work on my mad for a while before I see him again.”

  “Make him pay.”

  “Right.”

  “Make him suffer.”

  “Right again.”

  “That’s my girl.”

  Dadley carried her bag inside, checked the house, then kissed her goodnight at her front door. “Call your mother tomorrow. She’ll want every detail of Char’s new life in the tropics.”

  “I love you, Dad.” She hugged and kissed him. “You’re the best.”

  “I try.” He grinned, put the lei around her neck and left her at her front door, calling, “Sweet dreams,” over his shoulder. Then she laughed when he turned, put up his dukes, scowled fiercely, and did some fancy boxing footwork.

  Somebody, probably her mom, had removed any sign of Skipper. She wandered from room to room then finally to her garage, where she found his bed, toys, leashes, and dishes. Marla ran his leash through her fingers. Tears threatened. “I miss you Skippy, but you’ll be happy to know that I intend to give that big bad Marine a piece of my mind. He’ll be sorry he ever crossed Marla Danaher.”

  * * *

  Dwayne arrived at the Danaher home to fetch Amber, but she and Silvia hadn’t returned. The house was dark. He was about to leave when Brad’s car pulled into the driveway.

  Brad called, “Dwayne, come in. The girls should be back any time.” He stepped from his car, opened the front door, and turned on the hall light.

  Dwayne met him on the porch, shook Brad’s hand, and went inside. “I got done sooner than expected. Where did they go?”

  “They went to get pizza and then a movie.”

  Dwayne grinned. “Oh, boy. If they went to the Disney festival at the Regal, Silvia will be treated to Cinderella.”

  Brad gestured in the direction of the living room. “That was the plan.”

  Dwayne sat in a wingback chair next to the unlit fireplace. “I
know that damn movie by heart. She can’t get enough of it. She ran out of Cinderella books so she wrote her own version for a class project.”

  “Comes with the territory.” Brad switched on another lamp and sat across from him. “I had the pleasure of memorizing E.T. when Harry and Barry were her age.”

  “That movie was made before they were born.”

  “I think you’re right, but we had a video of it. Marla and Charlene used to hold the twins on their laps and watch it over and over. I doubt the boys would admit it, but they probably have a DVD of it to this day.”

  “Would you care for a soft drink?”

  “No thanks, Brad.”

  They sat in silence for a while. Then, no longer able to put off the question, Dwayne asked, “When are you expecting Marla to return?”

  “I picked her up at LAX this afternoon and dropped her at home.”

  Heart pounding, blood rushing in his ears, Dwayne took a breath. “Do you think she’d…?”

  Brad raised a hand and shook his head. “Not if you value your life. She’s in the anger and fury stage. She actually hurled some curse words on the drive home. I’ve never seen her in such a state.” He nodded and twisted his lips into an ironic smile. “She’ll be fine. Give her time. But I doubt she’ll give you another chance if you mess up again.”

  Brad thought she might give him another chance? Hope warmed his chest. Now what? How long should he wait before attempting to talk to her? Then sadness and guilt made an unexpected appearance and he was full of doubt. He’d relived his outburst so many times, remembered the words he’d hurled at Charlene, but meant for Marla. Why would she even think of forgiving him, let alone allow him to touch her?

  The front door opened. Brad rose. “Sounds like the girls are back.”

  They met Silvia and Amber in the hallway. Amber wore yet another Cinderella T-shirt. Dwayne shook his head and grinned. “Hey, squirt. Looks like Mrs. Dahaner took you shopping at the Disney store. Did you have fun?”

  Silvia nodded. “We both had fun. I forgot what it was like pretending to be a kid again.” She kissed Brad on the cheek. “How was your afternoon and evening? Did everything go as planned?”