by Soraya Lane
Because this time, he was playing for keeps. And he wasn’t going to take no for an answer.
“You go play in your room for a moment, bud. What I’ve got to say to Mommy won’t take long.”
Olivia stood like a soldier, and Luke wondered if she knew her habit. Feet spread hip-width apart, arms crossed, steely gaze, chin tilted. He’d never known such a strong woman in all his life.
“So you’re here to say goodbye.” It was a statement more than a question.
“No.” Had she thought he was lying to Charlie just then? Did she honestly believe that he would have spent the night with her if he’d planned on shipping out without consulting her first?
Olivia didn’t look convinced, eyes still narrowed in his direction.
“Ollie, I’m here to ask your forgiveness,” he said, taking a few steps closer to her. “I should never have just come out with what was on my mind before, without explaining where it was coming from, why I was thinking about it.”
“Why? So you can leave with a clear conscience?” The snap of her tone made him stop moving closer.
“No.” He looked at his feet, then back up at her. “Because I love you and I want to be part of your life. Because I want to stay.”
“Why should I believe you this time, Luke? Why?”
He knew she was hurt. He’d been the one to hurt her, and if he could take that moment in time back, then he damn well would. This was hard for him, too, but he wasn’t backing down.
Luke took a deep breath. “Because no matter what happens, Ollie, I’m staying. I’m not going to serve overseas again, not now and not ever. That’s what I was trying to talk to you about.”
* * *
Now it was Olivia who wanted to run. After all this time of being the strong one, of being the woman who could cope on her own and who didn’t need help, she was crumbling. Tears were stinging her eyes and a lump was steadily moving its way up her throat.
She wanted to yell at Luke, to beat her fists against his chest till it hurt him, to tell him to walk out that door and never come back. But she couldn’t.
Because she loved him. He was her husband, the father of her child and her first love. And because once again she’d let him down by not listening to him.
“I can’t keep going on like this, Luke,” she said. “If you say you’re staying, then I need to know that you mean it.”
He towered over her, looking more determined than she’d ever seen him. “Ollie, I’m staying and I love you. It’s that simple.”
“Saying it and meaning it are two different things.” Her words were strong, her tears had faded and her voice had regained its full power. “I trusted you last night, Luke, but...” She swallowed, nodding her head to make herself continue. “You can’t pretend to be someone you’re not, just for our sake. I want you to be happy as much as I want Charlie to be happy, and I know that you’ll never be content if you have to leave the army behind.”
The look on his face made her heart pound, loudly, as if it was in her ears and not her chest.
“I meant what I said to you yesterday, last night,” he told her. “I meant every word.”
“What did you mean when you said you were staying?” Olivia asked, needing to know, wanting to know if it was actually possible.
“That I’m here, Ollie. For good this time. I promise I’m not going anywhere unless you and Charlie are with me.” Luke smiled as he looked at her. “I came back here to reconnect with my son, but I realized when I got back that that wasn’t enough. I want the whole package, and that means you and Charlie.”
“I don’t believe you.” She shifted her weight from one foot to the other. The nature of the army didn’t let that be an option, and Luke was a soldier. “You can’t just change who you are, Luke.”
“The only reason I didn’t get here sooner is because I’ve been negotiating a new position,” Luke told her, a smile taking over his mouth. “I’ve been completely released from active duty in exchange for taking over a training role, here on home soil. We’ll need to move close to base, so it does mean a change, but I’m not leaving you, Ollie. I’m not leaving you or Charlie, no matter what. I want you both by my side, now and always.”
Olivia’s heart hiccuped, as if it actually stopped beating, then reignited. Staying? Did he mean it this time? Her first instinct was to tell him no, to avoid being hurt, in case what he said wasn’t true. But the truth was that the moment she’d heard his words, she’d started to hope. Truly hope. Because all along Luke had been torn between his home family and his army family, and him being part of both meant she wouldn’t have to lose him again. That he wouldn’t have to make a choice that ruined either his family or his career.
“What base?” She had to ask, had to know the realities.
“Fort Bragg.” He took her hand, staring straight into her eyes. “I don’t know yet if we’d be living on base or off, but I want us to do this together, if you’ll come with me.” He sighed, never breaking their gaze. “I don’t want to do this without you, Ollie. Without either of you.”
Olivia felt what she knew was a dangerous emotion: real hope. It had resurfaced, and no matter how hard she tried to push it down, it was fluttering around her. Beating in her ears so she couldn’t avoid it.
CHAPTER TWENTY
OLLIE STILL LOOKED angry, but Luke had a fire in his belly that he knew couldn’t be extinguished. Not now that he’d finally opened up and changed the path of his life to keep his family and his career. It was like the rush of first love, but even stronger.
“Olivia,” he said, forcing his voice to stay steady. He prised her other hand from her hip, needing to hold both her hands in his for what he was about to say, needing to know that she was going to be by his side, now and always. “Olivia, will you marry me?”
She looked as if he’d asked her to go giraffe riding.
“Marry you?”
Luke smiled, unable to help himself, before dropping to one knee.
“I know we’re already married, but I want a fresh beginning, to be the husband I should have been.” His voice caught on the emotion in his throat. “I love you, baby. I love you so much and I can’t believe what a fool I’ve been for so long. This is about me making a decision for us, so we don’t have to be apart. So that we can move on and be a real family.”
Her mouth hung open, as if her jaw muscles had disintegrated. As if she didn’t know what to say or how to say it.
“What do you say, Ollie? Will you give me a second chance to be the man I know I can be?”
As she finally met his eyes, looked at him with the expression he’d hoped for, a little voice called out, so loud it made him turn.
“Say yes, Mommy! Say you’ll marry Daddy again!”
A cheeky face was watching them from the doorway. Luke gave his son a wink and stood in front of his wife, knowing that it was now or never, that he was finally doing the right thing.
“What do you say, Ollie?” he asked. “Will you do me the honor of being my wife?”
“Yes,” she whispered, so only he could hear. “Yes, Luke, I will.”
Tears flowed freely down her cheeks and he pulled her close, enveloped her in his arms. He only wished he never had to let her go.
“Do you mean it, Luke?” she asked as she leaned back in his arms. “Do you promise you’ll be that man? Do you promise you’ll never, ever leave us like that again? That we’ll be a family this time?”
“I promise, honey,” he said into her ear. “I’ve never meant something so much in all my life. I love you.”
“It was never about you fighting for what you believed in, Luke. I would never ask you to stop being a soldier. You know that, don’t you?”
“I know, baby. I know.”
Charlie hurtled full steam into them, throwing his arms ar
ound their legs before Luke even had a chance to kiss her. He bent to grab him, pulling him up onto his hip.
“You said yes?” Charlie asked.
Ollie nodded and Luke squeezed him tightly.
“My second-chance soldier,” she said, her voice still choked with tears as she held them both.
“Believe me when I say we won’t need any more chances,” Luke said, kissing first his wife, then his son.
His family.
EPILOGUE
THE BAR WAS QUIET, filled with a few off-duty soldiers and a handful of civilians. Luke smiled as he ordered a round and then stepped back over to his table. They were so full of enthusiasm, so young, that he almost felt guilty. The feeling passed, but his affection for them didn’t.
The young men he trained had become his family, his de facto sons for the period of time he spent with them. His superiors would say he became far too attached to them, too fond of them for anyone’s good, but Luke disagreed. He’d heard the same thing said about police dog handlers, and he didn’t believe in staying detached, not for a moment.
These guys sitting before him, crowded into a booth, were ready to ship out at any moment, to defend their country at all costs. He didn’t know where they’d end up, but he wanted them to leave knowing what was important, and knowing how proud they should be of themselves.
Luke placed the beers on the table.
“You staying around tonight, sir?”
Luke laughed. He hated them calling him sir, but that was one army rule he wasn’t brave enough to flout.
“No, fellas, I’ve got someone waiting for me.”
“Ooh,” they all chorused, erupting into laughter.
Luke shook his head and let them laugh. He didn’t care if they wanted to make fun of him. He probably would have, too, at the same age.
“You know what, boys?”
They looked back at him, most of them grinning.
“Don’t forget about what’s important when you get posted. Call your parents, your girlfriends, your wives. Write letters. Don’t forget that those people are what pull you through the tough times.”
That seemed to get their attention. None of the boys here tonight had come from the kind of background he’d had, so they probably didn’t have the issues he’d been burdened with as a rookie soldier. But he bet they had days where they didn’t realize how much their families meant to them. And he wanted to change that.
“I learned the hard way, and I wish I’d had someone around to tell me that before I left. To tell me how precious those people are, and that no matter how scared you are about what you’re going through, you can’t block them out.”
He saw a few of them look up, their attention distracted. One of them whistled. Luke grinned, turning in his seat. He would bet the next round of drinks he knew who they were looking at.
Olivia stood in the doorway, half concealed by the darkness. Her long, dark hair hung around her shoulders; and her slender figure was encased in tight jeans and a simple cotton top. When she saw Luke she smiled and made her way over. He rose, winking at the boys.
He reached for his wife when she neared them, pulled her close and planted a kiss on her lips. Ollie half heartedly tried to slap at him, before laughing and resting her forehead against his.
“Don’t forget what I said,” he called over his shoulder. “Never forget what you’re fighting for.”
They walked out to the sound of whoops behind them. Luke put his hand on Ollie’s bottom, but she pushed it off just as fast and swatted at him again.
“I love you, baby,” he said into her ear.
“I know,” she replied, smiling over at him. “I love you, too.”
Luke pulled open the door and followed her out. He was proud of being a soldier, and he was proud of being a dad, but what he loved most of all was being a husband.
Pity it had taken him so darn long to figure it out.
* * * * *
Keep reading for an excerpt from Single Dad’s Holiday Wedding by Patricia Thayer
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CHAPTER ONE
SHE still wasn’t sure if coming here was a good idea.
Lorelei Hutchinson drove along First Street to the downtown area of the small community of Destiny, Colorado. She reached the historic square and parked her rental car in an angled spot by a huge three-tiered fountain. The centerpiece of the brick-lined plaza was trimmed with a hedge and benches for visitors. A pathway led to a park where children were playing.
She got out, wrapped her coat sweater tighter against the cold autumn temperature and walked closer to watch the water cascade over the marble structure. After nearly twenty years many of her memories had faded, but some were just as vivid as if they’d happened yesterday.
One Christmas she remembered the fountain water was red, the giant tree decorated with multicolored lights and ornaments and everyone singing carols. She had a family then.
A rush of emotions hit her when she recalled being in this exact spot, holding her father’s hand as he took her to the park swings. One of the rare occasions she’d spent time with the man. He’d always been too busy building his empire. Too busy for his wife and daughter. So many times she had wanted just a little of his attention, his love. She never got it.
Now it was too late. Lyle Hutchinson was gone.
With a cleansing breath, she turned toward the rows of storefront buildings. She smiled. Not many towns had this step-back-into-the-nineteen-thirties look, but it seemed that Destiny was thriving.
The wind blew dried leaves as she crossed the two-lane street and strolled past Clark’s Hardware Store and Save More Pharmacy, where her mother took her for candy and ice cream cones as a child. A good memory. She sure could use some of those right now.
There was a new addition to the block, a bridal shop called Rocky Mountain Bridal Shop. She kept walking, past an antiques store toward a law office with the name Paige Keenan Larkin, Attorney at Law, stenciled on the glass.
She paused at the door to the office. This was her father’s town, not hers. Lyle Hutchinson had made sure of that. That was why she needed someone on her side. She pushed the door open and a bell tinkled as she walked into the reception area.
The light coming through the windows of the storefront office illuminated the high ceilings and hardwood floors that smelled of polish and age, but also gave off a homey feeling.
She heard the sound of high heels against the bare floors as a petite woman came down the long hall. She had dark brown hair worn in a blunt cut that brushed her shoulders. A white tailored blouse tucked into a black shirt gave her a professional look.
A bright smile appeared. “Lorelei Hutchinson? I’m Paige Larkin. Welcome home.”
* * *
After exchanging pleasantries, Lori was ushered into a small conference room to find a middle-aged man seated at the head of the table, going through a folder. No doubt, her father’s attorney.
He saw her and stood. “Lorelei Hutchinson, I’m Dennis
Bradley.”
She shook his offered hand. “Mr. Bradley.”
When the lawyer phoned her last week, and told her of her father’s sudden death and that she’d been mentioned in his will, she was shocked about both. She hadn’t seen or talked with her father since she’d been seven years old.
All Lori was hoping for now was that she could come into town today, sign any papers for Lyle’s will and leave tomorrow.
The middle-aged attorney began, “First of all, Lorelei, I want to express my condolences for your loss. Lyle wasn’t only my business associate, but my friend, too.” He glanced at Paige and back at her. “I agreed to see you today knowing your reluctance. Your father wanted the formal reading of his will at Hutchinson House tomorrow.”
Great. Not the plans she had. “Mr. Bradley, as you know, I haven’t seen my father in years. I’m not sure why you insisted I come here.” He’d sent her the airline ticket and reserved a rental car. “If Lyle Hutchinson left me anything, couldn’t you have sent it to me?”
The man frowned. “As I explained on the phone, Ms. Hutchinson, you’re Lyle’s sole heir.” He shook his head. “And that’s all I’m at liberty to say until tomorrow at the reading of the will. Please just stay until then. Believe me, it will benefit not only you, but this town.”
Before she could comprehend or react to the news, the door opened and another man walked into the room. He looked her over and said, “So the prodigal daughter finally made it to town.”
The big man had a rough edge to him, his dark hair a little on the shaggy side. He was dressed in charcoal trousers and a collared shirt, minus the tie. His hooded blue-eyed gaze fringed by spiky black lashes didn’t waver from her.