Just Like Love (Just Like This Book 2)

by Rebecca Gallo

  “I’ll think about it,” I muttered.

  With a nod, Palmer left, followed by my mother, and then finally, with one last pained look, Valerie was gone too. I was alone. It didn’t matter that I was supposed to be resting because I knew without a doubt that wasn’t going to happen. My memories had followed me, and I allowed myself to picture Garrett, just as he was on the day he deployed, pushing through the door and into my room, wearing a tight olive green T-shirt stretched across his chest.

  “Hey,” imaginary Garrett whispered, “I thought I told you to be strong.”

  “You did,” I sobbed. “But I’m not. I’m so sorry I let you down.”

  “You didn’t let me down, baby. I’m here now. Everything will be all right.” But he wasn’t here, and it wasn’t going to be all right because Garrett was nothing more than an illusion. I turned onto my side and curled my knees up to my chest. I clutched the edge of the thin cotton blanket in my hands while endless streams of tears slid down my face and onto the pillow.

  Once I knew Garrett was safe, then I would rest.

  “You look like shit,” Valerie informed me.

  Self-consciously, I tugged on one long curl hanging limply around my shoulders. Valerie was harsh but right. I wasn’t eating and still wasn’t sleeping. I could see the changes in myself every time I dared to look in the mirror. My hair hung limply around my face, and my clothes were baggy, dwarfing my body.

  “It’s like you’ve just stopped living,” she continued. “You’re giving up.”

  “Valerie,” I pleaded. Whether they were true or not, I had no energy for her harsh words. I knew what kind of life I was currently living, and I didn’t need to be reminded of it.

  “I’m serious, Cami. If you don’t do something, then I’m going to take matters in my own hands.”

  “That’s enough,” Palmer’s voice was stern, and we both turned to see him standing in the doorway of the family room. After I was released from the hospital, I was practically forced to go stay with Palmer and his parents even though I protested. There was no other option according to my mother and Valerie. They refused to let me back in the guest house because they were afraid the demons might haunt me, reminding me of Garrett. Little did they know, he haunted me wherever I went.

  Palmer walked slowly into the room and stopped just in front of me. He reached out and pressed a hand against my cheek. “How are you doing today?” he asked me quietly.

  I turned my head, letting his hand fall away, and looked down at the couch. “I’m fine,” I answered woodenly.

  Palmer grunted his disapproval and sat down opposite me. “You need to leave Cami alone,” he scolded Valerie.

  “Well, I don’t understand how you can just sit by and watch her fade away,” Valerie argued. They started to bicker, but I tuned them out. Instead, I turned to the large picture window that provided the room with an abundance of natural light and gave me an impressive view of the bay.

  Suddenly, my cell phone started to vibrate in my hand. I looked down at Oliver’s name displayed on the screen. My heart stopped, and my mouth dried. This was it. Good or bad, I would finally have an answer. With a shaky hand, I swiped to accept the call and held the phone to my ear.

  “Hello,” I whispered nervously.

  “Cami?” Oliver asked in reply.

  “It’s me, Oliver. Just tell me.”

  “He’s alive,” Oliver said in one breath. “Garrett is alive.”

  I sagged against the couch and covered my hand with my mouth. “Oh my god,” I choked out. “Are you sure?”

  “Absolutely. He’s in a hospital in Kuwait, but he’s safe and alive.”

  Relief filled me instantly. The unbearable weight I’d carried with me since the day Garrett left was gone. My heart started to beat again, and I let out a breath.

  “Oh my god,” I whispered. “He’s coming home?”

  “Yes. He’s being released soon from the hospital.”

  I felt Palmer and Valerie watching me, but I didn’t dare look up. Selfishly, I wanted to keep this to myself. I wanted to revel in my relief alone. “Thank you for calling me,” I told him after what felt like a while.

  “It’s the least I could do. I felt awful that, for whatever reason, my email never reached you.”

  I didn’t know how to respond, so I just simply thanked him again, and we ended our phone call. Garrett was safe, and he would be home. My body hummed with excitement as the tension of the past few weeks dissolved from my body.

  “What happened?” Valerie dared to ask.

  “Garrett is alive,” I whispered, partially to myself. “He’s alive, and he’s safe, and he’s coming home.”

  Chapter Three

  Garrett

  This was bullshit. Complete and utter bullshit. I wanted to leave so damn badly, but fucking rules and regulations made that impossible. At least I was able to call Oliver. He would tell Cami because, no doubt, she was out of her mind with worry, and I was too much of a coward to call her myself. My entire body ached at just the thought of her. I wanted nothing more than to take her in my arms, to feel her curves beneath my hands, to bury myself so deeply inside her and make my home there. That would come eventually, but for now, I was stuck in a hospital in Kuwait. Fuck.

  I looked down at the bruises that seemed to cover every inch of my body. Reminders of my captors’ frequent quest for the intel they thought I might have. I was so incredibly lucky to make it out of that hellhole without serious injury. Even though the rebels hadn’t planned on taking hostages, they’d seen me as an opportunity. They’d thought they were somehow going to profit off me, but they’d been wrong. I wasn’t anyone special. They were in for a world of hurt once the SEALs got involved. Poor bastards didn’t know what was coming for them the moment they took me.

  The doctor came in, and I sat up a little straighter, but he was too preoccupied with my chart to notice. “Well, Sgt. Hammond, you seem to be healing nicely,” he said, his eyes still glued to the chart.

  “Thank you, doctor. When can I get out of here?”

  He chuckled softly. “Well, you’ve still got a few days. Just be patient, sergeant.” The doctor finally looked up from the chart to give me a weak smile before leaving.

  A few days? I didn’t want to be here for another hour. Six more months remained of my deployment and returning to base sooner rather than later meant being back with Cami faster. I struggled to sit up, but my body groaned in protest. Every muscle screamed with pain. I collapsed back against the bed frustrated that my body was betraying me. My head and my heart understood what I wanted, but the rest of me refused to cooperate.

  “You look depressed.” Jackson’s voice startled me. I hadn’t heard the door to my room open and wasn’t expecting any more visitors for the rest of the day. “I mean, I saved your fucking life, and you’re just lying there like someone shot your dog.”

  “You saved my life? Are you kidding me? I sacrificed myself for your sorry ass. You should be thanking me,” I replied. I knew this game too well. He was distracting me from whatever was on my mind, and it was appreciated.

  “Is that the story we’re going with? Really, Garrett? You sacrificed yourself? Bro, I’m the whole reason you’re even alive. If it wasn’t for me, you’d still be rotting in that shithole.”

  “Yeah. Thanks for sending the SEALs in to rescue me,” I replied, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

  “Who else was going to come looking for your sorry ass?” He paused for a moment before his blue eyes got wide. “He wasn’t …?”

  I nodded my head slowly. “Oh yeah, he was.”

  “Anderson Clark,” we both said in unison.

  Anderson Clark was the cockiest of the cocky. He bragged about being a Navy SEAL to anyone who would listen or who was just looking in his general direction. Whenever the SEALs had to come in for reinforcement, he always rubbed it in my face. And I hated him for it. Now that he’d been part of my rescue, he’d rub it in even deeper. I’d never be allowed to fo
rget I was forever in the debt of Anderson Clark.

  “Jesus,” Jackson whistled. “I thought he retired.”

  “Nope. He was right there in that tiny ass cell, more than happy to announce he was there to rescue me. Bastard.”

  Jackson paced the room for a moment before looking up at me. “Are you okay, though? Seriously, Garrett, I was fucking scared out of my goddamn mind.”

  I extended my hand toward him, and we managed an awkward but manly hug. “Thanks for having my back, Jackson. I’ll be all right once I’m back Stateside.”

  “Did you call your family? Cami?”

  “I called Oliver already but not Cami.”

  One of Jackson’s eyebrows popped up, and he looked surprised. “Really? I thought she would be the first call you made.”

  It could have been. Anderson offered me his phone, but I couldn’t make the call. Stay safe. Those words were on repeat, taunting me over and over. I wasn’t man enough to make the call and admit I hadn’t remained out of harm’s way.

  “Well, I thought you might want to call her, so I got you this.” He placed a black cell phone on the table next to my bed. “It’s just a prepaid thing until you get back on base.”

  “Thanks.” My voice became raspy as an unfamiliar nervousness settled over me. I avoided looking at the phone and instead focused my attention on Jackson.

  “You’re probably tired. I’ll come back tomorrow, okay?”

  I nodded woodenly. “Sure. See you then.”

  His smile was weak; he saw right through me, but he didn’t call me out. He just let me be. With a final look, Jackson left, leaving me with a tiny black elephant in the room.

  Stay safe. Those words mocked me until I grabbed the phone and threw it across the room. It hit the far wall and busted into tiny black pieces that fell to the floor.

  For the remainder of the night, I sulked in my uncomfortable hospital bed until Jackson returned the next morning.

  “Why are you walking with a limp?” I didn’t notice it yesterday, but today I could tell Jackson was definitely favoring one leg over the other.

  “I took a bullet for you, dickface,” he said, his hand covering his thigh. If Jackson was seriously injured, then he would be medically discharged, and Jackson loved being in the Army. Getting discharged would be disastrous for him.

  I didn’t recall Jackson getting hit, but then again, I knew I had some gaps in my memory. “Tell me,” I asked.

  “I can’t, man,” he said slowly and softly, his lips trembling. He looked up at me, his eyes as big as saucers, and then burst out laughing. “Oh my god, Garrett! I really had you going!”

  “What the fuck? You didn’t get shot in the leg?”

  “Hell no. Those idiots couldn’t aim for shit. I still can’t believe they managed to grab your ass.”

  Jackson pulled up a chair and propped his feet on my bed. He recounted the day our convoy was ambushed. Most of what happened, I remembered, but there was a fog clouding my memories, which Jackson helped clear.

  “It was pure chaos, man,” he said. “The blast knocked me back. I had no idea what was going on, and I felt so fucking helpless watching them drag you away. When reinforcement arrived, the rebels were gone. They were like goddamn ghosts.”

  “I should have done more,” I said.

  Jackson shook his head. “What else could you have done? You saved my life, man. If they hadn’t taken you, then it would have been me. And then what? You’d still think the exact same thing. Trust me, you couldn’t have done anything else.”

  My eyes started to feel heavy. and my body began to let me know I had exerted all of my effort available for the day. Jackson slipped his feet from the side of my bed and leaned forward to place a comforting hand on my shoulder. “Rest easy, brother. Get yourself back together and come back to base. For the next six months, we can figure out how the fuck I’m going to get out of a marriage I don’t remember.”

  I chuckled softly. “Sounds like a plan.”

  Chapter Four

  Cami

  What was taking him so long? I paced Palmer’s deck, my cell phone in hand, waiting for Garrett to call. A week had passed since Oliver had called with the news that Garrett had been found and was recovering in a hospital in Kuwait, but that was it. My phone had been silent.

  The sound of the patio doors sliding open alerted me, and I quickly tucked my phone into my back pocket. The smile I gave Palmer was forced and empty.

  “It’s cold out here,” he said, handing me a black cardigan sweater.

  “I’m fine,” I replied weakly.

  “I’ve heard that line for the past few weeks. Why don’t you try being honest with me?” His tone was a little sharper than normal, and his words cut into me.

  I let out a heavy breath. “Fine. I just don’t understand why Garrett hasn’t called. What’s he waiting for?”

  “I’m sure there are perfectly good reasons why he hasn’t called.” Palmer took the sweater I still hadn’t accepted and draped it lightly across my shoulders. It was too big for me and smelled faintly of his clean scent. I just let it hang there rather than accept the comfort he offered. His lips formed a tight, thin line as he studied me.

  “Thanks for this,” I said, shrugging my shoulders a bit. “I’ll come inside in a few minutes.”

  I turned away from him and headed down toward the rocky beach at the edge of his property. I wasn’t fine; I felt so incomplete. Hope had filled me when Oliver called, but it slowly disappeared as each day passed without a phone call from Garrett. I was wallowing deep in my own pity and barely registered the vibrating in my back pocket. Scrambling for my phone, I pulled it out and prayed that when I pressed the green button that connected the call, I’d finally hear Garrett’s familiar baritone.

  “Hello,” I answered breathlessly.

  “Cami?”

  I sank to my knees. For once, my prayers were answered. Covering my mouth, I suppressed the sob that bubbled in my throat.

  “Cami? Are you there?” Garrett asked again. I nodded wordlessly and tried to speak but there were no words. “Baby, it’s going to be all right. Can you hear me? Everything is going to be all right.”

  There was emotion in his voice too. “Oh, god,” I finally managed to whisper. “You’re safe.”

  “I wouldn’t exactly say ‘safe’,” he tried to joke. There was silence before he sighed heavily. “It’s so good to hear your voice, Cami.”

  “I’ve been waiting for this all week,” I confessed. “Waiting for you to finally call.”

  “Well, I’ve been busy replying to all your emails.”

  “Oh.” That was the last thing I expected to hear from him. “Well, I don’t have a computer right now.”

  “What happened to your computer?”

  “It sort of broke when I threw it against the wall.”

  His warm and hearty chuckle filled my ear and my soul. “I guess great minds think alike, baby. Jackson bought me a prepaid cell phone that met a similar fate.”

  I couldn’t help but grin. “Oh no! What happened?”

  “Frustration, mostly. I’ve temporarily commandeered Jackson’s cell phone.”

  In the background, I heard Jackson shout, “He’s finally come to his senses!”

  What was that all about? Garrett said something to Jackson, but their voices were muffled. “Sorry about that,” Garrett finally said.

  It felt like we were just dancing around the bigger issue, and I was growing impatient with the small talk. “Garrett, when are you coming back?” I asked, my voice almost a whine.

  “In a few months, but you gotta read those emails, baby. Okay?”

  “Okay.” I sniffled as tears started to sting at the corners of my eyes. “I love you, and I miss you so much.”

  “I love you too, Cami. I have to go. I’ll call you again soon.” The call disconnected before I could say another word. I stared at the blank screen of my phone for what seemed like forever before I slipped it back in my pocket. Absen
tly, I pulled Palmer’s sweater tighter around my body as the wind began to pick up. His scent assaulted my nose; it was familiar but not comforting. I wanted to wrap myself in Garrett’s warm, spicy smell. I shrugged off the sweater and carried it in my arms as I walked back into the house.

  Palmer was sitting in the family room, and he looked up expectantly as I let myself back inside. I gave him a thin smile as I placed his sweater over the back of a chair. “Garrett finally called,” I said in a small, shy voice. Excitement bubbled up inside me, and I wanted to run through the house singing, but instead, I kept it to myself.

  “That must make you happy,” Palmer replied in a tight voice.

  “I’m relieved, Palmer,” I confessed, my hand covering my fiercely beating heart. It felt good to have it pounding with life again, to feel it come alive with hope. “I feel like a weight has been lifted.”

  “When is he coming back?”

  “He didn’t say.” I pushed away from the chair that I had been leaning on and told Palmer, “I’m going out for a few hours.”

  I didn’t wait for him to reply. Since leaving the hospital, Palmer had seemed more like my shadow than my friend. He’d hovered over me, demanding to know where I went and asking me to check in with him while I was out. I’d complied with his requests most of the time because I didn’t want to cause any trouble. Mistrust still flickered behind his eyes whenever I caught him staring at me. It was as though he struggled to believe that taking one too many sleeping pills was accidental. But it was an accident, and as my best friend, the constant doubt I saw in his eyes hurt.

  I grabbed my purse from the hook next to the front door and hurried out to my car. Garrett had given me a mission: replace my laptop so I could read his emails. He’d hinted that everything he didn’t say in our brief conversation was in those emails, which made me drive faster through town, across the bay, and into Tacoma.