“Yeah, let the guy have a run,” he said. Now that they were out in public, Wes didn’t dare touch Callie; military regulations forbade it. As she glanced up at him, dressed in her uniform and cap, he saw the joy in her eyes. He ached to reach out and take her in his arms and kiss her breathless, but now was not the time or place.
Behind them, the rescue unit was moving into high gear. All twenty-two handlers and dogs were being assigned to grids today, and were slated to leave either by helicopter or Humvee for their respective new missions in the escalating disaster. Wes tried to put his worry, his trepidation behind him. At least where Callie was going, the civilians knew her, and they were kind people. He didn’t think there would be too many gangs or looting sprees, desperate people trying to steal one another’s food. No, he’d laid a good groundwork in the surrounding neighborhoods before he’d left the Hoyt area.
Wes watched as Callie knelt down and petted Dusty, who was more than eager for his morning run to the lake. Wes’s heart expanded fiercely with love for her. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes shining—with love for him. As she unsnapped the leash, she shouted, “Run!”
Dusty took off at a wild gallop down the hill, and Callie smiled, knowing the dog would soon be searching for nonexistent frogs in the cattails. As she turned and looked up at Wes, she smiled because she liked the smoldering look she saw in his eyes.
“I like what you’re thinking,” she teased huskily. She gripped the leash in her hands, because if she didn’t, she was going to blow military convention and throw her arms around Wes’s neck and kiss him senseless. Her gaze anchored on that very male mouth of his, and her body responded hotly to it—and to him.
“Good,” he replied. “Because if we weren’t where we are right now, you’d be—”
Dusty’s joyous barking interrupted their teasing. Callie smiled and turned on her heel.
“What?” Wes demanded as he looked up through the grayness toward where the dog was barking. Dawn was coming, but overhead the sky was still dark and he could still see stars fading in the west.
“He thinks he’s found a hibernating frog, is all. I recognize that particular bark. A froggie bark.” She chuckled. Giving Wes a tender look, she said, “He’s happy, just like us.”
“I know,” he murmured. Reaching out, he slid his hand into hers for a moment. “Do you want to visit Laura Trayhern before you leave?” Instantly, he saw Callie’s face brighten.
“I’d love to!” Callie felt like a beggar, taking every crumb of every moment that she could spend with Wes. Her body glowed from his lovemaking, and she wanted him all over again. Judging by the glint in his hooded eyes, he wanted her just as much. Calling to Dusty as he romped along the edge of the lake, she grinned up at Wes. “Come on, I’m not safe out here with you!”
Releasing her hand, Wes smiled. “No, you aren’t.”
Chapter Thirteen
January 9: 1200
Callie hurried down the hall of the hospital toward Laura Trayhern’s room. Wes had been snagged by a Logistics officer as soon as he showed up on the sidewalk in front of the hospital and was asked to come to H.Q. He’d promised he’d try to see Callie before she left. Disheartened but understanding, she made her way into the hospital.
The passageways were crowded and noisy. Callie was slightly out of breath as she halted in front of Laura’s room and knocked lightly on the door. Then she poked her head in. Morgan was sitting in a chair next to his wife’s bed. Laura looked pale, worse than before.
Worriedly, Callie said, “Am I coming at a bad time? I just wanted to say goodbye before we got shipped out.”
Laura smiled wanly and lifted her hand. “Hi, Callie. No, come in….”
Frowning, Callie walked over to her bed and nodded deferentially to Morgan, who gave her a tired smile. He was dressed in a white, long-sleeved shirt, his tie open at the collar and his dark pinstripe suit coat hanging on the chair behind him. A lot of files were spread across his lap.
“Hi, Callie,” he said, greeting her warmly.
“Sir.” Callie halted and reached out and touched Laura’s hand. The woman’s fingers felt cold. “How are you doing, Laura? You look a little whipped.”
“Oh,” she muttered, one corner of her mouth pulling inward, “I developed a blood clot in my right leg late last night. They’re worried it might break loose and flow up my bloodstream to my lungs, and then to my heart. If it does, I could die of a heart attack.”
Gripping her cool fingers, Callie whispered, “That’s awful…”
“She was in a lot of pain last night,” Morgan said, shutting the folder he was holding and devoting his attention to Callie. “I rousted out a very tired doctor and had her come in and check. She said it was phlebitis.”
“What can they do about that?”
Laura raised her blond brows. “If they had the right drug, it would thin my blood and dissolve the clot.”
“But,” Morgan muttered darkly, “the hospital is running out of all drugs because of demands here and utside Camp Reed.”
“That’s awful!” Callie said again, devoting her attention to Laura, who lay back, her eyes murky looking. “What happens next?” She knew Morgan had his own jet coming and going to Camp Reed, hauling supplies to the basin. It could handle the shorter runways and land and take off without problems.
“Logistics is doing the best they can,” Morgan said. He set his paperwork on the edge of the bed and slowly stood up. “I’ve authorized the Perseus pilot to go to a pharmacy up in Seattle, with a list of the most crucial drugs this hospital needs, blood thinners among them.” He scowled and looked at the watch on his thick, hairy wrist. “By 1500 today, the jet will be back, and then Laura will get the Coumadin to start thinning her blood and dissolve that damn clot.”
Laura reached out and caught her husband’s hand. “The doctor said that as long as I had this leg suspended, and didn’t try to walk, which I can’t yet, anyway, I’d be fine. Don’t look so worried….”
Callie understood Morgan’s concern. She squeezed Laura’s fingers. “That’s really good news. I’ll bet you’ll be fine.”
Laura studied her. “You look really happy, Callie. What’s going on? And where’s your shadow, Wes?”
Laughing and slightly embarrassed by Laura’s gentle teasing, Callie released her hand and touched her own flushed cheek. “Gosh, does it show?”
“What?” Morgan demanded, standing at his wife’s bedside, one hand on her slight shoulder.
“Morgan…we talked about Wes and Callie yesterday, remember?” Laura murmured.
“What?” His brows rose. “Oh…oh, yes. That…”
“Has he proposed yet?” Laura asked Callie with a knowing smile.
“How could you know?” Callie was mystified by Laura’s question. “Did Wes come here and tell you yesterday?”
Chuckling softly, Laura shook her head. She gave her husband a warm look and then studied Callie. “The fact that you love each other was written all over the two of you.”
“Oh…” Callie cleared her throat nervously. “Gosh, if you saw it…I’d hate to think that other officers and our enlisted people will see it, too. We’ve tried to be really careful and not show any affection in public. Regs and all, you know?”
Wryly, Morgan grinned. “Yeah, we know. Laura’s a matchmaker by genetics.” His mouth spread into a tender smile as he held his wife’s amused look. “She can sense these things like a bloodhound on a scent.”
Relief rushed through Callie. “Then it’s not obvious?” She was truly worried about appearing correct in the military world. She and Wes could get into a lot of trouble, legally speaking, and that wasn’t what she wanted right now.
“No,” Laura reassured her. “Not to anyone but us. I think people who love one another pick up on it in others, is all.” She patted Callie’s hand, which had curled into a fist on the bedside. “So relax.”
“Whew…!” Callie smiled unsteadily. “Yes, we love one another…. It happened so fa
st, we’re both spinning from it….”
“You have the time,” Morgan counseled wisely. “Take it.”
“Don’t worry, sir, we are. We’re looking long term.” Callie lifted her hands. “This disaster is going to be going on for months before things even begin to start getting straightened out. Wes and I know that, and we’re just grateful we have one another right now. So many people…” She frowned. “Well, there’s going to be so much more dying out there, more disease. “It’s awful….”
Morgan nodded grimly. “You’ve seen it all, Callie, because you’ve been in major quake rescues in other countries.”
“Yes, sir, I have…but this one is worse than any I’ve ever seen to date.”
“How are you and Wes going to get together?” Laura wondered. “We hear he’s been attached to Logistics and is heading up one of the main planning sections to start reconstructing highways and bridges. Morgan is working connections between Logistics and Supply, to coordinate flights coming in with specific needs for specific jobs being implemented right now.”
Nodding, Callie said, “Wes will be here at Camp Reed from now on. That’s great he’ll get to work with you, sir. I’ll be out there, in the basin, with my team.” She brightened a little. “Every fourth day, I’ll be rotated back to Camp Reed for twenty-four hours of R and R. That’s when we’ll see one another.” She shrugged. “It’s going to be tough, but the love we have is the durable kind—not a flash in the pan.” And then Callie smiled widely. “Even if it hit us like a sledgehammer.”
“Well,” Laura murmured, “I knew I was in love with this guy from the moment he leaned down on that wet highway after I’d been struck and blinded by a car. And when he so generously stayed with me, and then brought me home from the hospital to take care of me, my love just deepened daily.” She gripped Morgan’s hand and squeezed it. “He finally realized he loved me, too.”
Chuckling, Callie saw the warmth in their eyes. She and Wes had the same look, she knew now. It made her feel good that what they had was indeed durable, just like Morgan and Laura. “I told Wes that I wanted what you two have. The love you hold for one another.”
Laura nodded. “You work at it a day at a time, Callie.”
“First you have to be best friends,” Morgan rumbled. “And you’ve got to respect one another from the get-go.”
“And,” Laura said, “you don’t try and change your partner, Callie. Work on your own inner growth, yourself, and things will go amazingly well.”
“Good advice. Thanks.” Callie looked at her watch. “It’s time to go,” she said regretfully. Reaching out, she gripped Laura’s hand again. “You get better. And keep Baby Jane Fielding company.”
With a smile, Laura said, “Me and the baby are becoming inseparable. The nurses down in Maternity are thrilled that I can take care of her, feed her, change her diapers. Did you know that the mother was a single mom?”
Callie shook her head. She knew that the body of the woman had been flown back to base for identification. “No. Does that mean the baby doesn’t have a father?”
“That’s right,” Laura said. “Right now, Morgan is putting in a call to the Red Cross to try and find grandparents.” She smiled tenderly. “Until then, I can be her mama of sorts.” Giving her husband a teasing look, she said, “In fact, Morgan needs to go down and pick her up because her next feeding is in about ten minutes. Dear?”
Morgan nodded. “I’m going right now,” he promised with a grin. Moving around the bed, he offered his hand to Callie. “Stay safe out there. And if you need anything, here’s my cell phone number. Sometimes the military doesn’t move as fast as your needs. If you need something, you call me first.” He pinned her with a look of command as he handed her a Perseus business card with his cell phone number scribbled on it.
“Thank you, sir.” Callie put the precious card into her pocket. “Well, I’ll see you all later….” She had noted the hope in Laura’s eyes as they spoke about Baby Jane Fielding. Laura would make a wonderful godmother for the infant.
“I’ll walk you out,” Morgan murmured, and opened the door for Callie. “I have baby-sitting responsibilities right now.” And he winked back at his wife.
In the passageway, Callie turned left, and Morgan went right, to the bank of the elevators that would take him to Maternity. Happy that the little baby had two angels to look over her, Callie’s heart swelled with hope and joy.
Just as she opened the emergency stairwell door, she met Wes climbing up them. He smiled genially and stopped on the stairs next to her. “Great minds think alike,” he whispered, closing the door behind her. “I’ve got ten minutes to say goodbye to you, Angel…. We can have some privacy,” he muttered.
The door leading to the hospital floor was made of metal, with only a small glass window. No one could see them unless they stopped to gawk, and Wes was fairly sure no one had that kind of time to waste right now, judging from the frantic, urgent pace of the hospital staff.
“Mmm, this is what I needed…you,” Callie whispered, and snuggled in his arms, nuzzling the hollow of his shoulder and closing her eyes. Her arms went around Wes’s torso. She felt his lips on her hair and sighed. “I love you so much, Wes James, that I think my heart is going to burst because it holds so much feeling for you….”
Caressing her shoulder, he whispered, “I love you so much it hurts.” And then he added, “Last night was…a miracle. I’ve never felt love like you gave me, Callie. Not ever. You’re incredible, Angel.”
She sighed, running her fingers knowingly along his taut, long rib cage. “I’m embarrassed to admit this, but I’ve always heard of women having orgasms, and I’d never had one…until now…with you.” She lifted her head and grinned wickedly up at his pleased expression. “It makes me want more. A lot more…”
Just being around Callie soothed Wes, fed him and nurtured him in ways that he wanted to continue to explore with her for the rest of their lives. “I kinda like that idea.”
“More is better.”
His laugher was hearty, echoing up and down the enclosed stairwell. “I think I’ve created a hungry angel of sorts. But I don’t mind at all.”
“No?” she teased, drowning in his forest-green gaze, which shimmered with love for her. Callie hadn’t known how happy she could be—until now. Just spending time with Wes, talking, teasing, laughing, and wrestling with the darkness of the world around them, made her feel incredibly safe and protected.
“No.” Wes stroked his fingers down the soft, tawny hair falling across her wide brow. He liked the light dancing in her turquoise eyes. “This duty of yours is going to find you very busy during that fourth day—your R and R.”
“Oh? And how do you propose you’re going to get that day off?” In Logistics he was on a seven day a week schedule with no rest. Not under the circumstances.
“Long lunch hour, long breakfast, long supper,” he proposed, a glint in his eye.
Callie didn’t want to, but she looked at her watch. It was time to go. She held her wrist up so that Wes could see it. He nodded, his mouth tight. Straightening, he pulled her close, eased his arms around her slender body and brought her against him once more. Callie flowed like liquid sunlight against his tall, powerful frame.
“I like what we have, Wes,” she whispered as she slid her arms around his neck.
“Me, too. Be safe out there, Angel?”
“Always. Look what I have to come home to. I’m the luckiest woman in the world.”
Threading his fingers lovingly through the strands of her hair, he whispered tenderly, “And there’s not a man on the face of this earth who has what I have, Callie. I’m going to love you—forever….”
ISBN: 978-1-4268-4394-5
THE HEART BENEATH
Copyright © 2002 by Lindsay McKenna
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*Kincaid trilogy
*Kincaid trilogy
*Kincaid trilogy
†Love and Glory
†Love and Glory
†Love and Glory
†Love and Glory
**Women of Glory
**Women of Glory
**Women of Glory
††Moments of Glory Trilogy
††Moments of Glory Trilogy
††Moments of Glory Trilogy
‡Morgan’s Mercenaries
‡Morgan’s Mercenaries
The Heart Beneath Page 20