Long Way Home

by Vaughn, Ann

  “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming? I would have picked you up at the airport..”

  “It was a last minute thing, and I’m only here until Monday morning.”

  As if on cue, the band began to play “I Cross My Heart” by George Strait. Tessa pulled her head back and Shane let her slowly slide down to her feet, then pulled her close and they began to dance, just as they’d done at the street dance all those years ago when they first got together.

  “You look amazing,” he told her, his hand running up and down her back as they danced.

  “You aren’t so bad yourself, handsome,” she said, smiling at him. “So, do we consider this our song?” she teased. “It was the first song we ever danced to.”

  “I remember,” he said, bringing her hand that was clasped in his to his lips, kissing her fingertips. “I can’t believe it’s been so long since I’ve seen you. You’re even more beautiful than I remembered.”

  She curled her other hand around the back of his neck and pulled his head down so that her lips were near his ear, her fingers teasing the hair at his nape.

  “Let’s go by the waterfall on your land,” she whispered to him. “I want to be alone with you.”

  Shane pulled back to look into her eyes, “Yeah?”

  “Oh, yeah, baby.”

  He gave her hand a squeeze, shifted his hold on it, then pulled her off the dance floor. “Let’s go.”

  As they were walking away, he heard his mother calling him but decided he wasn’t going to let her sidetrack him like he did all those years ago when he first danced with Tessa. He wasn’t going to let anyone come between them now, especially not if she had less than forty-eight hours to be here.

  “How long are you home for?” she asked.

  “Gotta leave late Sunday.”

  “Even sooner than me.”

  “Low man on the totem pole. I got lucky just being able to get off for this weekend.”

  “We have a short window to come home before we ship out.”

  He stopped walking and glanced at her, feeling a shot of fear shoot down his spine.

  “Where?”

  “Afghanistan.”

  “God,” he breathed, pulling her back into his arms, holding her as if she might disappear at any moment.

  She clung to him for several moments before turning her head and kissing his throat.

  “Come on, Shane. Take me to the falls.”

  He took a deep breath. “Yeah. Let’s go.”

  He took her to his truck and held her hand while they drove to his land and the waterfall where they first made love.

  “It’s so beautiful here,” she sighed when he parked and she jumped out of the truck. It was dark but there was a full moon that gave off just enough light so she could see where she was going. “Never thought I’d say this, but I’ve missed being home.”

  “There’s something to be said for this place,” he agreed. “I can see why my dad walked away from DPS to come back here when he did.”

  “You want to come back some day, too, don’t you?”

  “Someday. Don’t you?”

  She shrugged and sat down.

  “I guess I haven’t thought that far into the future. Kinda hard when all I’m thinking about is how not to get shot. Or blown up. Or shot,” she said on a laugh.

  “That’s not funny, Tess.”

  She looked over her shoulder at him. “Come on, Shane, you know I’m basically a secretary. I’m with Captain Gibson more often than not. Even over there, I’ll be where he is.”

  He rubbed the back of his neck and sat down beside her. “Yeah, but…you’re still a soldier. You will have a gun and be over there, in harm’s way.”

  “Well, yeah, I’ll be in Afghanistan, but it’s not like I’ll be on the front lines. Captain Gibson won’t even be on the front lines. He’s the C.O. The Rangers will be out on their missions…I’m battalion support and the Captain’s liason to HQ. I’m more likely to get a paper cut than anything else.”

  “It’s not as easy as that and you know it.”

  “It really kinda is. Like I said, I’m battalion support for a group of Rangers. It’s like I have a whole troupe of Big Brother Badass types looking out for me.”

  At that he laughed. “Yeah, I’m sure they all have a lot of brotherly thoughts when it comes to you.”

  She laughed with him. “Most of them do. There are a couple who’d like to be more than friends but I think they’re too afraid of the Captain to ever try anything with me.”

  He met her eyes in the moonlight. “Would you want them to try anything with you?”

  “Nope. I value my career too much. Captain Gibson took me under his wing early on in my career. I could have ended up in a much less challenging role in the Army had he not intervened. I owe him a lot and there is no way in hell I would do anything to jeopardize my position with him. Fraternization isn’t allowed and I make sure to let all the guys know that isn’t an option with me. Luckily, since they are elite Special Forces types, I don’t have to really worry about anything after the initial rebuff.”

  “So…you don’t have a boyfriend?”

  She leaned closer to him. “Just a long distance one,” she whispered, an instant before kissing him. She crawled onto his lap to straddle him and pulled his shirt from his jeans, still kissing him into a frenzy. When she reached for his belt buckle, though, he tore his mouth from hers, breathless.

  “Let me take you somewhere…we can drive into Sorghum Mills to a hotel or…”

  She caught his lower lip between her teeth, cutting him off.

  “Later…I want you here, in our place…now, Shane.”

  “I don’t have any protection…” he began but she again cut him off.

  “I’m on the pill, and I haven’t been with anyone since you…don’t make me beg.”

  He froze momentarily and looked into her eyes. “No one? Not in four years?”

  “You’re all I’ve ever wanted, Shane. Only you. And you’re wasting time,” she said, tugging on his belt.

  “Yes, ma’am,” he finally relented.

  They made quick work of undressing. Shane marveled at the changes being in the Army had made to her body. Her curves were lush and toned and all woman, no traces of the eighteen year old body he knew before left. He gave her the top, let her take him and control the pace, loving the look of her body in the moonlight. The sound of their lovemaking was drowned by the sounds of the waterfall; their shouts of satisfaction barely heard above the rushing water.

  “I’ve missed you…so much,” she confessed, lying on his chest as they both struggled to control their breathing.

  “I’ve missed you, too, Tess…I wish you were home to stay.”

  She lifted her head to rest her chin on her folded hands on his chest, looking down at him.

  “I extended my service. I’ve been at Fort Benning the entire time. I wanted a chance to go overseas. When Captain Gibson took this tour, I knew I had to go with him.”

  “You got a thing for this Captain Gibson?” he teased.

  Tessa smiled. “No, not like that. He’s like a father to me. His secretary was retiring after my first year of service. She hand-picked me to be her replacement. She said she could tell that I had the right personality to suit him.”

  “I just can’t see you being anyone’s secretary. Seems like a waste of your talent to me.”

  “Well, I’m not a secretary in the traditional sense. Tactical support for the unit is what I’m best at. Not to brag too much, but I’m the reason Captain Gibson is even heading to Afghanistan. Three of our Rangers, Colt Harris, Jack Cooper and Derek Whitten were assigned to a Special Forces Task Force. It’s a joint effort with the SEALs and the Marines. Colt, Coop and Whit specifically asked for me to be head of their tactical support. Captain Gibson stipulated that where I go, he goes, so they basically created a position for him so that he could accompany me.”

  “That’s awesome, Tess. And that’s more fitting of you
than just being a secretary.”

  “What about you? Four years of college and you’re going in as a patrolman?”

  “Gotta pay my dues.”

  She stroked his hair. “You just be smart out there and be careful.”

  “Same goes,” he countered, kissing her.

  They spent every minute of the rest of their time together that weekend. It was like the last four years had never happened and they’d never been apart. After they dressed, Shane drove them into Sorghum Mills and they’d checked into a hotel and spent hours in bed, rediscovering each other, knowing it would be a long time before they saw each other again.

  Sunday evening, they parted with promises to stay in touch as much as possible. Shane hated leaving her. He had a sinking feeling in his gut that things would never be the same between them after this.

  Tessa had watched him go, knowing that she’d been foolish to spend the time with him that she did, but knowing that she couldn’t help it. She was slated to be in Afghanistan for two to three years. Who knew what could happen in that time. She’d made him promise not to put his life on hold for her. She knew that, while she’d not been with anyone since him, he had dated around during college. News of his exploits had always reached her, either from her mother or one of her hometown friends. She hadn’t expected him to put his life on hold for her; that was why she had broken up with him when she left for Basics.

  Over the next years, they again kept in touch via email and written letters. It wasn’t as often as it had been before since reaching Tessa was hit or miss. It was enough, though, to sustain Shane and again kept any relationships he had with other women from becoming anything lasting or permanent. However, in the last two years, he’d only had a handful of emails or written letters from her. The last correspondence from her he’d received nearly seven months earlier. She’d said she was tiring of the military life and was considering a change, but that was the last he’d heard from her.

  Meanwhile, his career had taken off with flying colors. He was on the fast track to becoming a Texas Ranger. The only thing holding him back was the required eight years of high level criminal investigation; he had a year to go. He’d been a member of the Governor’s security detail, which led to him being placed in command of a SWAT task force, and now he was in the role of Special Crimes Investigator. The next step was Ranger and everyone felt he was a lock to make it on his first try.

  “Hey, McCanton,” one of his fellow investigator’s called, pulling Shane’s attention from his computer; he’d been hoping for an email from Tessa. Everyday for the last few months he checked; at least two times per week he sent one to her but he had yet to hear back from her. He was beginning to get worried. “Captain’s called a briefing.”

  “Now?”

  “Yep. Getcha butt in gear, kid.”

  He shut his computer down and followed the older officer to the briefing room. He took his usual table in the back left of the room, noting that there were four Fed-type suits occupying the front center table, three men and a woman. For the Captain to be running the briefing meant that whatever the Fed’s were here for, it had to be high profile.

  Captain Martin called the meeting to order and began his Power Point presentation. Everyone groaned when the group in question was highlighted.

  “That’s right, boys and girls. This is in reference to the Heltons and the Naturalists. We’ve tangled with them before. Well, now they’ve managed to lure a Senator’s daughter into their ranks and he wants her out. We’ve been asked, due to our experience with them, to work with the Feds on this one. They are prepared to send an agent in to infiltrate, locate the Senator’s daughter, and get her out while collecting as much evidence as possible on the Heltons and their operation. McCanton, since your team has had dealings with the Heltons before, I’d like you to work with them, bring them up to speed on everything you know of the group.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “This is Special Agent in charge Glen Gibson. He’ll introduce the rest of his team.”

  Gibson stood and faced the room. Shane guessed him to be in his late 40s, early 50s. He introduced two other men, both in their 30s and then gestured to the female agent.

  “This is Special Agent Tessa Kelly, who we will be sending in undercover.”

  The rest of the room literally disappeared as Shane watched Tessa stand and face the room. Special Agent? When the hell had she left the Army, he wondered. Shane knew he was in trouble the instant their gazes collided. He muttered a foul curse under his breath, causing the guy beside him to nod.

  “She is hot,” one said.

  “I’d surrender to her any time,” another spoke.

  “Cuff me, Agent Hotness,” yet another joked.

  “Can it, guys,” Shane snapped.

  They all looked at him in stunned silence. He’d never spoken to any of them like that, but he couldn’t help it; that was Tessa they were speaking so disrespectfully about.

  “Is there a problem, Sergeant McCanton?” Tessa asked, her voice detached and professional.

  “No problem, Agent Kelly,” he replied, his tone just as neutral.

  “Our plan,” Gibson interrupted, “is to put Agent Kelly in the path of the Naturalists, get her noticed and recruited.”

  “Look, sir, no offense to Agent Kelly, but she’s not exactly the kind of female they would even consider,” one of Shane’s guys, Crownover, spoke up. Shane agreed but he wasn’t about to give voice to that just yet.

  “And why is that?” Gibson queried.

  “She’s too hard for one, and I’m not just referring to her physical fitness, which, yeah, OK, that’s a problem, too...I’m talking about her eyes.”

  “What’s wrong with my eyes?” Tessa asked.

  “You’ve got Cop’s Eyes, Sugar,” Pete Dooley, another of Shane’s guys said. “Hard, assessing. Shrewd. Again, no offense, but you’re the kind of woman these pu-, um, excuse me, pansies are afraid of.”

  She walked down the aisle to stop before their table, dangerously close to Shane. She wore a black pant suit with a cream colored shirt and sensible yet stylish boots Shane knew were chosen for ease of running. Up close the changes to her face were striking. Gone was the rounded innocence of youth he remembered. The woman before him was every inch as Pete described: a hardened, seasoned cop.

  “Call me Sugar one more time, Officer. I dare you.”

  Pete held up his hands in supplication.

  “Hey, my bad. But what we’re saying is true. The girls, and I do mean girls, they recruit are your stereotypical Girls Next Door. They’re sweet to the point of naivety. They’re gullible. Most have been abuse victims or have been so sheltered their BS meter doesn’t pick up on much. That’s not you.”

  She smiled then. “Thank you. I consider that a huge compliment. That’s not me...now. But as your Sergeant McCanton can testify, that was me, not so very long ago.”

  All eyes turned to Shane. He rubbed the back of his neck.

  “Agent Kelly and I grew up together,” he said simply.

  He cringed as he watched realization dawn upon his guys.

  “Holy shit! TK,” Pete said, looking over at Tessa with wide eyes.

  “Yeah,” Shane confirmed, hoping they wouldn’t reveal too much.

  Tessa’s gaze shifted to him. “TK?”

  “Long story,” he murmured.

  She held his gaze a moment, then swept her eyes over his men.

  “My point, gentlemen, is that by the time I’m set to come in contact with the Naturalists, I’ll be ready and the perfect candidate for them. Count on it.”

  She walked off and the briefing continued. Shane did his best to pay attention but just being in the same room with Tessa after all those years had shot his concentration.

  He absently rubbed the heel of his hand over his left pec. For his SWAT Task Force, he and his men got a tattoo of a tribal dragon. Among the elaborate swirls of the design, Shane added Tessa’s initials in red ink. He’d been drunk at the ti
me but in the years since, knowing he carried her initials on his body was a comfort to him.

  As he watched the woman at the front of the room move, he realized he was looking at a stranger. His Tessa was never shy, but there had been an innocence about her that this woman didn’t posses. Quite frankly, the woman before him now terrified him. She looked like the type who chewed men up and spit them out on a regular basis.

  When the briefing ended, Shane addressed his team, assigning each a task to help brief the Feds on their knowledge of the Naturalists. After his guys left, Captain Martin approached.

  “With me,” the Captain said and Shane fell in step beside him. “SSA Gibson mentioned that one of his agents knew you. He didn’t tell me which one. Is there anything I should be aware of?”

  An image of Tessa on a blanket by the natural waterfall where the river fed the lake near his house popped into his mind, but he didn’t think the Captain needed to know about that.

  “We grew up together. She was my high school girlfriend. We’ve barely seen each other since graduation.”

  They entered the Captain’s office and he shut the door behind them.

  “How did the relationship end? Friendly or bitter?”

  “Friendly. I went off to college; she joined the Army.”

  “She joined the Army?”

  “Yeah. She was battalion support for the Rangers. Probably how she ended up with the Feds. I didn’t know she left the Army.”

  “What was she referring to with Pete that you could testify to?”

  “She grew up with an abusive father.”

  “I see. Do you think she can pull this off? I’m inclined to agree with your guys. She looks too hard to be the type the Heltons will go for.”

  Shane took a deep breath. “Honestly, I don’t know. The girl I knew before would be the perfect candidate. I know she hasn’t forgotten how she was; but after the last run-in with her dad she changed. She took self-defense classes and became a black belt...I don’t know how the woman I saw in there will pull it off.”

  The Captain, Bruce, was quiet a moment. “I want you to report directly to me, one-on-one like this about the progress of the preparations. I trust your judgment. If you don’t think she can pull this off when the time comes I want to know.”