I stared at the highway, letting her digest the information.
“How much, Aiden?”
“I estimate it’s worth a few million in today’s money. According to the written agreement of marriage, the Beauchamps sent two hundred thousand with Corrine.”
Her intake of breath made me smile.
“So you can rebuild the ranch the way you want.” She stared out the window.
“No. I burned the ranch to the ground, and leased the property to the federal government. All of it.” I gripped the wheel until my fingers were numb, the tightness in my chest holding my attention.
Her hand on my arm was startling. The SUV veered slightly, and I righted it. “Why did you do that, Aiden?”
“Because I couldn’t leave otherwise.”
*
We arrived at her parents’ house around midnight. Mrs. Winters crushed Jillian in a bear hug, mumbling and kissing her face. Her father shook my hand and hugged Jillian when he could pry her from his wife’s arms.
Jillian cooked a meal, I cleaned, and we went to separate rooms. I tossed and turned. The room felt empty without her presence.
I’d finally found sleep, dreaming of wrapping my body around Jillian, to protect her from the horrors of life.
*
I woke to find Jillian in bed with me, my body shielding hers. It was right.
We ate breakfast with the Winters, and I stepped outside to call Kurt.
It rang twice and I hung up, waited sixty seconds, dialed, let it ring once and hung up. Thirty seconds later I let it ring.
“Middy? Are you on your way?” his voice was low, the echo gone.
“Yeah, I’m in Mobile. Another day at most to hit Jacksonville. Heard anything from Jason? Or Barry?”
“No. But it’s complicated, Middy.”
“I know, otherwise you wouldn’t have called on me. Ready to explain?”
“I can’t, I have to go. Call me when you get to Jacksonville, I need your doctor lady. Tell her it’s a woman in her mid-twenties and two children.” The line went dead.
I turned to find Jillian standing in the doorway.
“What did Kurt say? I heard something about a woman and children.”
“I’m not sure. Do you need special equipment for children?”
She smiled, “Nope. But we need to get going. I think I found the cure for my restlessness.”
*
In Jacksonville, we found Kurt guarding a tiny woman with two young children. The way he looked at the little family spoke volumes.
Jillian found her stride easily, resetting the little girl’s broken arm, and sewing several lacerations on the mother and son. I stayed far away, because every time I moved or said something the entire family flinched and watched me with fear. Their haunted eyes were familiar, I’d seen it thousands of times in battle zones. It was always the women and children who took the hard brunt of the action of men in search of power. But Jillian managed to calm their fears, and even coax a giggle out of the little girl.
Kurt wouldn’t stay more than ten feet away, tense and ready. I grabbed his arm and pulled him to the other side of the cavernous room.
“What’s going on?” I whispered.
“I can’t explain, Aiden. I just know I have to be here, with Beth and her two children.” He glanced over a shoulder at them, and back to me. “I’ve waited my whole life to find something, and it’s in front of me now.”
I nodded. Kurt found his purpose. I watched Jillian. I understood, for she was mine.
Epilogue
A year later
We sat in a popular barbeque joint outside of Nashville. Sauce was smeared across Jillian’s face, and she laughed. Kurt and Beth, along with her two children, had long ago disappeared from the radar. Karen was showing Five Alarm, and his performance was currently playing on the TV above the bar. I watched her nod at the man who held her heart. Jason and Barry were in Japan, and I had the feeling I’d hear more at a later date.
But right now, I reached across the table, grinning as I wiped the sauce off her cheek with a thumb and tasting it. “I see you went for the Carolina sauce.”
“You know it’s my favorite.” She separated a piece of meat from the bone with her teeth. “This shit is awesome.”
I grinned.
The meal done, we sat back, hands on extended bellies. “Where are we going now?” I asked.
We’d taken to the life of nomads. The Suburban was hooked to the back of the big RV. She’d found her calling as a roving doctor, having spent six months getting a license to practice in every state. The word had gotten out to various non-profit hospitals, and she’d go where they needed her. I was content to drive and provide protection.
“Well, we have seven months to decide.” Her grin widened.
“What … what do you mean?” My mind went blank.
“Silly man, I’m pregnant. Where do you want to raise our child?” She grabbed my hand. “Or do you want to raise the baby on the road?”
Speech left, and I couldn’t think of what to say. She laughed, rubbing her lower belly.
“Squirrel, if it’s a girl, I want to name her Corrine. Is that okay?” She looked at me through lowered lids.
I nodded. It hit me, and I stood so fast the chair fell backwards, and in my peripheral I saw all eyes turn on me. “I’m really going to be a father?” I squeaked. She nodded. I picked her up in a bear hug.
As I set her down, she put two small hands on my face, pulling me down for a kiss.
“Yes, Aiden.” She gave me a gentle kiss, to the enthusiastic applause of the other patrons in the restaurant.
I looked into her eyes, and realized it might have taken twenty years, but the one dream I’d kept hidden, the one I thought would never be realized, was there, in the woman before me.
I wasn’t alone, the iron chains of the past, once twisted around me in a choking hold, rusted and gone. I had a family, and a reason to live. I had a future I looked forward to, one I thought the Colonel would whole heartedly approve of, and my Dad would be proud of.
I was free.
Acknowledgments
I think I could write a whole other book to thank all the people who helped me write Aiden’s story. Robin Alexander, Joely Bogan, and Jennifer Ingman – thanks for the brainstorms, the encouragement, the kick in the pants when I needed it. To my cousins for all the help with some of the military stuff.
And to my husband and daughter – who understand I need to write more than I need to clean.
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