by KB Winters
Chapter Eighteen
Holly
“Oh my gosh! This place is even better than I imagined!”
I followed behind Rachel, only halfway listening to her as she babbled on endlessly on her mostly self-guided tour of the house. After two days of wallowing on the couch, alternating between self-pity and self-loathing, I’d perked up a little to get the place ready for Rachel to arrive. I hadn’t told her anything more about Jack, and decided it would be best to keep it that way. As I’d bustled around the house, straightening and cleaning, I resolved to let our week together be filled with only good times and making memories as friends.
When she’d seen the entire house, she led the way back downstairs, and went to check out the view once again. She spun around and grinned at me. “All right, you’re the vacay pro now, so what’s first on the agenda? I know you have one.” I tried to smile, but the result was probably more of a grimace. Rachel planted her hands on her hips and arched a thin brow at me. “What’s going on with you? It’s like you’re not even happy that I’m here.
“No, no, no. That’s not it. Not even a little bit. I’m very happy you’re finally here. Believe me…” my voice trailed off before I could confess that she was saving me from the third day in a row of mindless TV and a diet made exclusively of crackers and wine.
“Well, then, what’s going on? Did Hunter eat another pair of shoes?” She asked, shifting her eyes down to the puppy who had been absolutely jubilant to be reunited with his Auntie Rachel. “Huntey…what did I tell you about those?”
I smiled at Hunter as he swung around to look up at me, as though waiting for me to defend him. With Princess around, he’d been on his best behavior, and there hadn’t been any incidents for several days. The smile slid from my lips as the memory of them playing together on the beach in front of Joe’s crossed my mind.
“He’s been a good boy. I think we can finally check off the potty trained box,” I said.
“Oooh! Good boy!” She squealed and bent over to plant kisses all over the top of his head. He licked her face and she stood up quickly, wiping his messy kisses off of her cheek. “So, what do you want to do? Are you hungry? I’m starving! I’ve been driving since four am and was too excited to stop for breakfast on the way up. I just wanted to hurry up and get here!”
“Oh, all right. Well, we can make something here if you want.” I crossed from the foot of the stairs to the kitchen.
“Here?” Rachel said, a hint of confusion in her voice. “Why would we eat here, Holly? It’s vacation! We eat out, have drinks at every meal, and sleep in late! That’s kinda how this whole vacation thing works…”
I hid behind the open door of the fridge and pressed my eyes closed. The only places I’d gone to, were now tainted with memories of Jack.
“Come on, let’s go to that coffee shop you’ve been raving about all week! I want to try the cinnamon thing you had.” Rachel came over and tugged me away from the fridge.
Going to Carly’s was the last thing I wanted to do, but I couldn’t turn Rachel down without coming up with a good reason. I contemplated telling her I’d seen a rat in the bathroom on my last visit, or something equally as outlandish that would detract her interest, but she was racing out the door before I could get my story straight. Hunter chased after her and I sprang into action to grab his leash and get to him before he ran off again.
The morning rush was in full swing when we got to Carly’s. “Wow, this place must be good,” Rachel commented, as we squeezed through the door without smacking the front door into the patrons on the other side. We got in line, and I looked over the counter to see Carly and her part time gal running around filling orders as quickly as possible.
“Maybe we should go somewhere else…” I suggested.
Rachel shook her head. “I’m not leaving until I get a slice of whatever it is that I’m smelling right now. Yum!”
The coffee shop was always a mix of delicious smells, freshly roasted coffee beans, steamed milk, and an assortment of sweet treats that Carly had whipped up from scratch that morning.
As we neared the counter, Carly caught sight of us, and waved at me. I waved back, but my stomach churned, hoping she wouldn’t ask me about Jack, as he’d been with me the last time I’d been in. When it was our turn, Carly instructed her assistant to go ahead and help the next in line, and she pulled us over to the case. “You’re a welcome sight, Holly,” she greeted with a wide smile.
“It’s good to see you too, Carly. This is Rachel, she’s the friend I told you about,” I explained, gesturing at Rachel.
“Nice to meet you Rachel.”
Rachel smiled. “This one’s been telling me all about your shop! Would it be weird if I asked for one of everything?” She asked, eying the display case.
“You just let me know, honey,” Carly replied, chuckling. Her eyes shifted away from Rachel to me, and my cheeks went hot under the scrutiny of her gaze. “What happened to Mr. Tall Dark and Handsome? I thought it was really sweet of him to stop in and let you sleep in the car the other day.”
Rachel’s head jerked up and whipped to look at me so fast I was momentarily afraid she’d injured herself. “I’m sorry…what?”
Carly’s smile faded away as the confusion grew on her face.
I sighed and looked over at Rachel’s wide eyed expression that made her look like a Disney princess that had been lost in the woods.
“I’m sorry, girl, I didn’t know…” Carly said. “I’ll get two vanilla lattes going.”
She extracted herself from the situation and hustled to the espresso machine. When she was out of earshot, Rachel repeated what Carly had said, “Mr. Tall Dark and Handsome?”
“Jack McGuire. More accurately, Lieutenant Jack McGuire.”
Her eyes went even wider. “The guy from the beach?”
“I’ll explain…later,” I said, casting a glance around the crowded shop. I dropped my gaze to the case, studying the pastries with renewed intensity. “I’m thinking of the lavender scone.”
Rachel huffed but she let me off the hook long enough to place our order with Carly. Rachel paid for the meal, and we took everything to go, since Rachel wanted to get a head start on soaking up some sun. We started back towards the house after untying Hunter, and got about three feet away from the coffee shop, when Rachel practically pounced on me. “Okay! You can tell me now. What am I missing? Last I knew, you were worried he was some Player guy since you saw him at the bar. Obviously I’m missing some critical deets here…”
It was hard to sum up who Jack was into a few sentences, and I knew that no matter how I played it, Rachel was bound to ask a thousand questions, so I rewound back to the beginning and laid out the entire story for her, starting from the moment I’d spotted him running down the beach, and ending with the argument we’d had on the back patio.
“—and I haven’t heard from him since,” I concluded, right as we reached the back deck.
Rachel had been stuffing her face full of scones all the way back, pausing to add her reactions in between bites, as I’d unfolded the story, but my stomach was still rumbling. She set the large box of pastries on the back table and I popped open the top to retrieve my breakfast.
Rachel threw herself into one of the teak wood chairs and stretched her legs out. “And you didn’t tell me any of this before, because…?”
I shrugged and took a bite to buy myself some time. “I didn’t know what you would think.”
“That’s bull, Holly. You know I would have been happy for you! How long have I been telling you it’s time to put yourself back out there?”
“Well, I can officially say I tried,” I said, sighing as I lowered into the chair next to hers. “And failed, I might add. Major crash and burn.”
Rachel shook her head. “I don’t think so.”
I arched a brow in her direction. “Were you listening at all? I basically told him he was a booty call and told him we didn’t have a future.”
She laug
hed. “Okay, well when you put it that way, you’re right, it’s not great. But still, you gave it a chance. You actually let your guard down long enough to meet someone. And that’s a huge first step.”
“You think?”
“Hell yeah!”
I looked ahead, watching the waves as we both snacked our way through half the box of pastries. After a while, I voiced the one nagging thought that was still rolling around my head. “But, Rach, what do I do now?”
She slipped her sunglasses down to look at me. “Whatever you want.”
I sighed. “I don’t think it’s that easy.”
“Why not?”
“Because I want him…” The confession came out in a way that surprised even me.
Rachel smiled and pushed her glasses back up. “Then tell him that.”
“Just like that?” I asked, laughing at how easy she made it sound.
“God, Holly, people mess up. It happens. So, the best thing you can do is go find him and let him know you made a mistake. From what you’ve said, he seems like the kind of guy who would appreciate your honesty and might be willing to give it another chance.”
“But what if he doesn’t?”
Rachel reached over and set her hand on my arm. “First, I don’t think that’s going to happen. He’d be insane to give up that easily. And if he does, then he isn’t the kind of guy you need anyway.”
I nodded slowly, processing her advice.
It made sense, but there was still a hang-up, I had to figure out what I really wanted, before I went to see him. I couldn’t just show up with an apology. I knew he needed more.
And that was going to take a little time to figure out.
Chapter Nineteen
Jack
“Hey Boomer, can ya hand me that washer?” Aaron called over to me as soon as I entered the hanger where he’d been working most of the morning. He craned around at the sound of my footsteps, and jerked his chin down at the ground, his hands occupied with the parts he was working with from the WWII plane he’d bought at the auction.
I glanced down at the pile of the pieces he’d already disassembled, all laid out on a shop towel by his feet. I picked up the washer he’d asked for and handed it over. “So, listen, Player, it looks like I’m gonna be taking off a little earlier than I’d planned.”
He kept his eyes trained on the plane, his jaw tensing as he twisted the wrench in his hand. “You get called back?”
I hesitated for a beat. “Yeah.”
It was a lie. In reality, I’d spent half a week wondering what the fuck had happened between Holly and me, and had reached the point where I had to admit defeat and accept I was never going to figure it out. I’d also decided that even if I could figure it out—there was nothing I could do to change it anyway. The outcome would remain the same. I was shipping out for six months. And Holly had a whole ‘nother life in Southern California.
Plus, there was the opportunity in Germany I’d been thinking of since my leave had started. And there was zero chance I could make a relationship work with Holly—or anyone else for that matter. I’d most likely be looking at a three-year delay in any future plans.
“When you taking off?” Aaron asked. He turned away from the plane and wiped his grease coated hands on his coveralls.
“Tonight. I thought we could go out to dinner before I go.” I’d decided to go back to the base earlier than I needed to by a few days—but I didn’t want Aaron to think it was because I didn’t want to spend time with him. After our argument the week before, we’d patched things up and spent some time together, but he had less downtime than I’d expected and left me with too much time on my hands to sit around and wonder what might have been.
Back at the base, there would be activity galore, and I knew I’d be able to keep my mind occupied.
“Yeah, man. Let me get washed up, and we’ll go.”
An hour later, we were seated at a table out on Joe’s patio, eating fish and chips until we couldn’t take another bite. Aaron finally gave up, pushing his plate away, and leaned back in his seat. He threw back the last chug of beer and then gave a satisfied sigh when he set the empty bottle to the side of his plate. “Damn, it’s been too long since I’ve gotten out here,” he said, looking up the beach.
Joe had been happy to see Aaron and insisted our dinner was on the house.
“So, what happened to Holly?” Aaron asked, bringing his eyes full circle, landing them on me just as I’d taken the last pull from my own beer.
I choked back the mouthful. “That’s over,” I answered, once I got a gulp of water. “It was never going to be a long term thing.”
I’d said it—out loud—but there wasn’t one ounce of me that believed it. Since I’d met her, there had been something different about Holly that had left me imagining a future that extended well beyond the normal drop off point that all of my other relationships had vanished into.
Aaron nodded. “Probably smart. It’d be rough for you over there, knowing she was back here, missing you.”
“Yeah, been there, done that, I guess.”
“Then again…” he started.
“What?” I asked, sitting up a little straighter in my chair.
He shook his head. “Never mind. What do I know about it, right? I think my longest relationship was three weeks, and even that was pushin’ it. If not for that tongue ring of hers…”
“Don’t!” I barked, not wanting to hear about it.
“Just sayin’.” He chuckled. “As for you, you’re the relationship type, and that girl was good for you. I could tell.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. In all the years I’d known Player, he was constantly trying to talk me out of relationships. For him to all of a sudden be supportive, well…it was shitty timing at best.
“Well, it doesn’t matter. Her ex was a Marine and she doesn’t want to deal with it again.”
Aaron nodded thoughtfully. “Sorry, man.”
I forced my shoulders to shrug it off like it wasn’t killing me—even though it was.
* * * *
Possibly the hardest goodbye came when we got back to Rosen’s. Princess came bounding off the porch as soon as I pulled into the drive, and my heart sank. Six months was going to be hell without her. She followed me around as I got my bags packed and reloaded, and it damn near broke my heart, to have to shoo her from the passenger seat once I loaded everything into the car.
“Sorry, girl, but you can’t come with me this time,” I said, sinking down onto my heels beside her. “You’re gonna stay here and I’ll come get you in a few months, all right?”
I wrapped my arms around her neck and buried my fingers into her thick coat. When I let her go, she licked my face. I cleared my throat as I rose to my feet, choking back the tight ball that had formed.
Aaron was standing a few feet away and came in for a hug. “Stay safe over there, man. I’m so damn sick of funerals.”
I thought back to his old man’s funeral and grabbed his shoulders a little tighter, hating that I hadn’t been there beside him. “I’ll be back soon. I promise.”
When we parted, I gave Princess one last scratch behind the ears before forcing myself into the driver’s seat. I pulled around in the wide drive, and watched both of my best friends in the rear view mirror as long as I could.
* * * *
“You all ready, Lieutenant?” Ricardo, one of the enlisted guys, asked, poking his head into my office.
I looked up from the stack of paperwork on my desk, and nodded. “Yeah, I’ll be right there.”
As anticipated, I’d been able to throw myself back into work and life on the base, even though a few had heckled me about being addicted to work. Which was why I’d agreed to go out with some of the other guys in the squad that would be shipping out the following week. A date that was looming in the very near future.
I got up from my desk and grabbed for my uniform jacket. The pocket was vibrating when I lifted the heavy garment from the
back of my chair. I fished out my cell phone and saw Player’s name on the screen. My heart jumped into my throat, immediately picturing Princess in some kind of trouble. Was she sick? God forbid there had been an accident. There wasn’t much traffic, but sometimes people could be real assholes in a parking lot.
If she’d been hit by a car, I’d hunt the speeding bastard down myself.
“Player? Is she all right?”
“How’d you know it was about her?” He asked, taken aback by my question.
“I just knew. Where is she? What happened?”
He paused, each split second stretched out like a lifetime. “Let me check. Last time I saw her—she was out in the parking lot.”
“What?” I roared. “You left her out there? What the fuck is wrong with you?”
I stormed out of my office, slamming the door shut behind me, and barreled down the hallway to the nearest exit to the parking lot. My blood was racing so fast through my veins that I could hear my pulse in my ears.
“What are you talking about? She’s a grown woman! You expect me to fuckin’ babysit her?”
I stopped smack dab in the middle of the hallway, my feet suddenly glued to the laminate flooring. “Hold up, hold up. Who are you talking about?”
“Your girlfriend, Holly. She came out here tonight asking for you. I told her you were gone, back to the base, and she had a nervous breakdown and ran out crying. I didn’t realize I was supposed to go after her. Fuck, Boomer, this ain’t my deal. That’s why I called you.”
My heart stopped beating and then flew into an even more frantic motion, like a car suddenly flipped in reverse. “Holly? She was there?”
“Yes. Shit, man, who’d you think I was talking about.”
I pinched my eyes shut. “Princess.”
Aaron scoffed. “Holy shit. You think I’m that big of an asshole. Damn, Boomer, that’s cold.”
“Well, you said she was in the lot and I don’t know. I got carried away—”
“You think I’d let her die out in the street?” Aaron’s anger was palpable over the phone, and I knew it was justified. I should have given him more credit. “After everything we’ve been through. No, she’s right here, and other than getting fat and spoiled on Uncle Aaron’s diet of steak and potato chips, she’s fine.”