She nodded again and swallowed hard against the knot in her throat. “And if I am up to it?”
Joanne gave her a broad, easy smile. “If you are up to it…it is absolutely the best life you could hope for.”
Sam listened as Bill went on and on about the toolshed and the yard and how he could probably build a garage himself with a little help. But he really wasn’t paying attention.
Instead, he was wondering what Joanne and Karen were talking about inside the house. He’d caught glimpses of them through the windows as they moved from room to room. The two of them were chatting each other up as if they’d known each other for years. He just wished he knew what the hell they were saying.
For all he knew this fine plan of his could back-fire in his face.
“Are you listening, Gunny?” Bill asked.
“Huh?” Sam looked at him. “Oh. Yeah. Sure.”
The other man laughed. “Yeah, I can see that.”
“Hey, you two,” Joanne called from the now-open French doors. “We’re ready to go if you’re through playing in the dirt.”
“Playing?” Bill argued. “I’m exploring the site.”
“Yeah,” his wife agreed on a laugh, “signs of your exploration are all over your face and shirt.”
Bill grinned and dusted himself off as he headed for the house. Sam followed close behind him, his gaze locked on Karen, just inside the doors. He tried to read her eyes, see what she was thinking, feeling, but it was as if she’d known he’d be trying to do just that and had carefully masked her emotions.
And that probably wasn’t a good sign.
“So,” he asked as he came in to stand beside her, “have you made a sale?”
“I think so,” she said, turning her head to watch Joanne lead her husband down the hall toward the master bedroom. “She really likes it. Now they’ll have to talk about it.”
Sam shook his head, never taking his gaze from hers. “Not if I know Bill. Anything Joanne wants is fine by him.”
“Well, good,” she said, and moved past him to close and lock the doors.
“How’ve you been?” he asked, letting his gaze sweep over her. Neatly coiled blond hair made her neck look even more slender. Her sky-blue business suit couldn’t really hide her trim figure, and the sensible dark blue pumps she wore did ridiculous things to the beat of his heart.
She glanced over her shoulder at him. “Fine. You?”
“Busy,” he admitted, then added, “I’m sorry I didn’t get over to check out your roof.”
“That’s all right,” she said. “Joe…Virginia’s husband? He checked it out. Said it was fine.”
“Good.”
She nodded.
“So, you and Joanne seemed to hit it off.”
“She’s nice.”
“She’s a talker,” Sam said.
“That she is.”
Karen tried to slip past him, but he stopped her with one hand on her arm. She looked up at him through wide pale blue eyes and his heart flipflopped in his chest.
This friends thing wasn’t as easy as it had seemed when he’d first come up with the hare-brained scheme. What had made him think he could pull it off?
But then Bill and Joanne came back into the room and whatever he might have said died unuttered. Karen stepped away from him and plastered a strained smile on her face. He wondered if the other two people felt the sudden buildup of tension in the room or if it was just him.
“We’ll take it,”
Joanne said. “That’s great,” Karen said, moving forward to meet Joanne. “We’ll go back to the office and start the paperwork.”
The other woman smiled, then frowned and rubbed her belly.
“What is it?” Karen asked. “Are you all right?”
“Yeah,” she said after a moment. Then smiling at her husband, she said, “Don’t look so scared, Sarge. We’ve still got a couple weeks.”
“I’m not scared.”
“Right,” she said on a laugh as Bill helped her toward the door.
“He might not be scared,” Sam said softly as the other couple left the house, “but I sure as hell was.”
Karen looked up at him. “You were scared?”
He laughed shortly. “At the prospect of delivering a baby in a vacant house? Damn right.” Then he paused and considered the look in her eyes before adding, “Everybody’s scared sometimes, Karen. What counts is what you do about your fear. Do you run from the house and leave Joanne alone? Or do you fight the fear and deliver the baby?”
A small, almost-not-there smile curved her lips briefly. “Let me guess. Fight the fear?”
He inhaled deeply and hoped this was a sign of something changing within her. Dropping one arm around her shoulders, he started for the front door and muttered, “Ooh-rah.”
Over the next few days, Karen saw more of Joanne than she might have expected. Apparently, the other woman had decided that it was time Karen received a crash course in being a Marine Wife.
She’d been out to Laurel Bay, the community where many Marines stationed on Parris Island lived, a couple of times. For coffee and cookies with Joanne and a few other women—plus their assorted children. She’d had a tour of the base, visited the PX, the Commissary and everything else Joanne could think of to show her.
And truth to tell, it was working. Being around the families of Marines was showing Karen another whole side to the situation. Somehow she’d always thought of a military spouse as a stoic guardian of hearth and home, quietly suffering, bearing the burden of her sacrifice in quiet determination.
But these women were fun.
She hadn’t laughed so much in her whole life as she had in the last few days. She’d made friends and heard about military life from those who lived it. And though there was a certain amount of worry for their husbands, it was greatly overshadowed by the sense of pride they all carried. And she’d felt a stir of envy.
As she drove her car to the main gate and prepared to stop for the sentry on duty, she acknowledged that what she’d most envied was the feeling of family. These women shared something that no outsider ever could. They belonged to a society of people who dedicated their lives to the service of their country. And they were bound by loyalty and duty and the strongest bond of all, love.
They helped each other and laughed together, and each of them knew they could count on the woman sitting beside her. Not many people would ever know that feeling of connection.
Her turn at the gate arrived and she gave the impossibly young-looking armed Corporal on duty her name. He checked it against a list, then waved her on past the small white gatehouse.
As she drove down the now-familiar causeway road into the heart of Parris Island Recruit Depot, her gaze strayed to a sign at the side of the road. Welcome to Parris Island. We Make Marines.
And for the first time, Karen herself felt a flush of pride.
“LINKS,” a woman at the front of the room said, then went on to define the initials. “Lifestyles, Insights, Networking, Knowledge and Skills.” She paused for a moment to smile at the twenty or so women—and a sprinkling of men—sitting on folding chairs. “We’re a volunteer group, designed to promote understanding of the military lifestyle from a spouse’s perspective through networking opportunities and a sharing of knowledge and information.”
Karen felt like an imposter. She wasn’t a spouse, and the way Sam kept throwing the word friend around, it wasn’t likely she’d ever be one, either. But Joanne had suggested she attend a LINKS meeting to get a closer look at military life. And for some reason, it had sounded like a good idea at the time.
She exchanged a glance with the woman beside her and noted that several others were looking fairly uncomfortable. The speaker must have noticed, too, because she laughed and said, “It’s not as formal as it sounds. We’ll help you become acquainted with the Marine Corps history, how to recognize ranks, your medical benefits, how to handle a move, how to cope with deployments. And we’ll give you informatio
n on community schools and well—just about anything else you can think of.”
And as the woman and her friends launched into a detailed peek into military life, Karen forgot about not belonging, leaned forward in her chair and listened.
“Hey, stranger,” Sam said as she walked toward him across the grass.
“Hey, yourself.” Her gaze swept over him, and she had to admit he looked almighty good in that camouflage uniform. She’d agreed to meet him here at Horse Island for a quick picnic, and now she was wishing she’d asked to meet him somewhere crowded and very public. There was only a handful of people wandering around the grounds… not nearly enough to make her feel safe.
“I picked up some sandwiches on the way over,” he said, and stood up, smiling at her.
“Oh, Sam…” She glanced at the two submarine sandwiches and the Cokes sitting on the table, then back to him. “I’m sorry, but I can’t stay.”
He scowled at her and shoved both hands into his pockets. “Why not?”
“I promised Joanne I’d go over to CDC with her and pick up the kids.”
“CDC?” he repeated.
“Yes. You know, the Child Development Center.”
“I know what it is,” he snapped, and then slammed his mouth shut. This was nuts. He’d hardly seen her in days. She was so wrapped up in her new friendships that she seemed to have forgotten all about one particular friend.
And when that thought hit, he nearly choked on it. For Pete’s sake, he was jealous of a group of women.
Twin blond eyebrows lifted high on her forehead, and he didn’t need to hear the tone of her voice to know he’d ticked her off.
Well, perfect.
“Bill has the duty,” she said, “and I don’t want Joanne to be alone when she’s so close to her due date and—”
“I get it,” he said, holding up one hand to stop the flow of words. “You’re busy.”
“I’m just trying to help Joanne out.”
“I know,” he said, grumbling under his breath. “I should have known this would happen.”
“What?”
“Marine wives travel in packs.” He shook his head and shrugged. “You’ve been sucked into the middle of it all and now I never see you.”
A slight smile twisted her lips. “I didn’t know Marines whined.”
“We never whine,” he corrected. “We do, on occasion, complain.”
“Duly noted.” Then she checked her wristwatch and looked up at him again.
“You’ve gotta go.”
She nodded. “I do.”
“Better get going, then,” he said.
“Thanks, pal,” she said, and went up onto her toes to plant a quick kiss on his cheek.
Then she was gone and Sam was standing there alone, watching her hurry to her car. Lifting one hand to his cheek, he was sure he could feel his skin humming.
Friendship was a damned hard thing to survive.
Twelve
The sounds of the party reached out for Sam as he stood in a dark corner of the Coopers’ backyard. Light streamed from the windows and painted golden squares on the lawn. Dozens of people created silhouettes against the sheer drapes hanging at those windows and softly played jazz drifted out into the night.
A sprinkling of people wandered through the yard and their laughter taunted him. Everyone else, it seemed, was having a great time. Sam rubbed one hand across the back of his neck and wondered again what he was doing here. He should have told Joanne that he couldn’t make it. He sure as hell didn’t feel in the party mood. The recruits he’d had to deal with lately seemed a little dumber than usual. His temper was too close to the surface, and his patience had been stretched beyond the breaking point. Plus, he hadn’t seen Karen since that five-minute picnic two days ago. Oh, yeah, he’d be fine company tonight.
“Problem, Gunny?”
Startled out of his black thoughts, Sam turned to see Joanne coming up beside him. “No, ma’am,” he said. “Just taking a breather from all that fun.”
She gave him a wry smile. “Yeah, I noticed your party-animal attitude.”
He nodded, leaned back against the three-foot-high wall and crossed one foot over the other. Taking a sip of the beer he’d been nursing for the last hour, he admitted, “Okay, so I’m not exactly Mr. Congenial tonight.”
“Well,” she said, “you ought to plaster a smile on your face then and pretend to be. Karen just got here.”
“She did?” He came away from the wall in one easy move and looked toward the house, as if he could see past the walls to the woman inside. Of course she was here, he thought. She and Joanne had become thicker than thieves in the last week or so.
“Yep,” the woman beside him said, and winced slightly as she, too, pushed away from the wall, “she just got here. Looks gorgeous, too.”
That didn’t surprise him. Heck, Karen would have to work at it to look less than gorgeous. His mind filled with images of her and his body leaped instantly into high gear. He took another long drink of the now-lukewarm beer, hoping to put out some of the fire quickening within.
It didn’t help.
“Yeah,” Joanne was saying, “I think First Sergeant Mills is really going to like her.”
“What’s not to like?” he asked, and then her words actually hit a chord deep inside him. As if in slow motion, he turned to look at her and asked, “Excuse me? What’s Dave Mills got to do with Karen?”
Joanne shrugged. “Nothing yet, but I’m betting they’ll get along great. And after that…who knows?”
Who knew indeed? A slow burn started in the pit of his stomach. Dave Mills. Tall, blond. Good enough Marine, but he had a reputation with women that would convince Sam to keep his sister—if he had one—away from the man. And Joanne had set him up with Karen.
He studied the woman’s face in the dim light and tried to read her perfectly innocent expression. “What’re you up to?” he asked quietly.
“Up to?” she echoed. “Why, not a thing.” She laid one hand on her chest and lifted the other as if she was swearing to an oath. “All I’m doing is introducing your friend to a very nice, attractive, eligible man.”
Damn it. He should have known this “friend” thing would only cause him more grief.
“That’s not a problem, is it?”
Problem? he thought. There was no problem. As long as good ol’ Dave stayed the hell away from Karen. He half turned, set his beer bottle atop the fence and told himself to get a grip. Preferably on his temper, not Dave’s neck. Then he spun around and headed for the house, without even bothering to answer Joanne’s question. Besides, he had a feeling she already knew how he felt. Otherwise, why go to all the trouble to find him and tell him what she was doing?
But that didn’t matter, he thought. All that mattered now was getting to Karen before Dave Mills. At least, that was the plan. He hadn’t taken more than a few steps when he stopped dead at the sound of Joanne gasping in surprise. He looked back to see her clutching at her middle, and Sam knew the confrontation with Karen would have to wait.
A handsome blonde loomed over her, smiling, and all Karen could think was Where is Sam? She nodded and agreed to whatever Dave was saying, but her thoughts were far from this conversation. She shouldn’t have listened to Joanne with her crazy scheme.
Make Sam jealous? Make him admit that this whole friends thing had been a ploy to sucker her into his world and come to accept it? That the ploy had worked was beside the point. Maybe he’d been right to introduce her to the women who had reminded her that she was strong enough to face anything she wanted to face.
But that didn’t excuse him for pulling the whole “let’s be friends” thing. She should have known from the beginning what he was up to. And if she’d been thinking clearly, she might have. But at the time, her mind and body were still clouded by memories of passion.
So naturally, being a good little soldier, he’d struck when her defenses were the weakest.
Karen took a sip of her drink, th
en glanced at Dave Mills and smiled. Apparently that was all the encouragement he needed to launch into another stream of conversation.
She wasn’t being fair, she thought, and forced herself to listen to what the man was saying. After all, it wasn’t his fault he wasn’t Sam. Karen looked at him and tried to notice his dark blue eyes and the dimple in his right cheek, and waited for a reaction to bubble up inside her. But it didn’t come. No surprise there, she thought, and let her gaze stray again, searching the faces for a tall, dark Marine with eyes like aged whiskey. Then she spotted him, and almost instantly her heartbeat quickened and her mouth went dry. But pleasure dissolved into concern when she noticed the woman beside him. “Joanne!” Karen said.
Sam stepped through the kitchen into the living room, supporting Joanne with one arm wrapped around her shoulders. She leaned into him, keeping her right hand flat against her swollen belly. She gave her guests a smile that was more of a grimace and moaned softly.
The room leaped into life. Someone turned off the music and Bill was across the room holding on to his wife in a couple of seconds flat.
“We’re ready?” he asked.
“I don’t know about you,” Joanne told her husband, “but I sure am.”
“My car’s right out front,” Sam told them quickly. “Yours is blocked by everyone else’s.”
“Right,” Bill said. “You drive.”
“I’m coming, too,” Karen piped up.
Another woman said she’d take Bill and Joanne’s two boys home with her, and someone else promised to clean up and lock the house. Everyone was pitching in, Karen thought. Like a family, they all worked together to help one of their own. Tears stung the backs of her eyes. She looked up at Sam and wanted to tell him that she understood. That she finally got it.
But now wasn’t the time.
“We really ought to go,” Joanne whispered.
“Right,” her husband said, and gave Karen a wild-eyed look.
She grabbed Sam’s arm and tugged. “Come on,” she said, “get the lead out.”
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