The Marine's Road Home

by Brenda Harlen

  “They might be.”

  He caught the hint of a smile on her face. “Good for you, Nat.”

  “What’s going on with you?” she asked.

  It was the same question she asked him every Wednesday, and every Wednesday he gave her the same answer: “Nothing much.”

  But somehow, over the past several weeks, they’d become friends. And tonight he actually had something to tell her. Something he wanted—maybe even needed—to talk about. “I’ve got a date tomorrow night.”

  “A date,” Nat echoed. “That sounds promising.”

  “Does it? Because I’m already thinking it was a mistake to ask.”

  “I’d suggest that we save the talking about your feelings and concerns part for the meeting, except that you seem to clam up whenever there are more than three people in the room.”

  While he wouldn’t say that he clammed up, it was true that he didn’t share personal insights or anecdotes with the group. He went to the meetings because his doctor had suggested that interacting with others who had similar experiences might help him feel less alone. It did that, and it got him out of the house at least once a week.

  “So tell me why you’re thinking it was a mistake,” Nat suggested now.

  “It just seems like a really big step, and I’m not sure that I’m ready.”

  “So why did you ask her out?”

  “Because I want to be ready,” he admitted.

  “You really like her,” she noted.

  He nodded. “I really do. But she has no idea how completely screwed up I am.”

  “So tell her,” Nat urged. “Honesty and communication are at the core of any good relationship.”

  “I’ve tried to tell her.”

  “Have you?”

  “Well, I started to...but then... I didn’t really know what to say. Or maybe I just didn’t want to talk about it. I know she has a right to know what she’s getting herself into...except that I’m not sure whatever is happening between us is anything. And I’m pretty sure that if she did know, she’d run away—far and fast.”

  “I don’t think you’re giving her enough credit. I’d bet that Sky Gilmore can handle whatever you throw at her.”

  He frowned. “How did you know I was talking about Sky?”

  “Please,” she said. “I nearly got singed from the heat between the two of you, even standing several feet away.”

  “Is that all you’re going to say about it?”

  She flipped the switch to start the coffee brewing. “Are you asking for my approval?”

  “How about your opinion?”

  “I’ve always liked Sky,” Nat told him.

  “You don’t think I’m aiming too high?”

  “Of course I think you’re aiming too high. Sky isn’t just beautiful and smart, she’s kind and compassionate. She’s always ready and able to volunteer for anything that will help the community and happy to give of her time and expertise without expecting anything in return. She is an amazing woman who could no doubt do a lot better than a grumpy old vet like you.”

  He frowned at that, and Nat smiled before continuing, “I also think she just might be a woman who’s capable of understanding and appreciating you, and you deserve no less.”

  * * *

  That night, Jake wasn’t waiting for Sky when she left the restaurant. But they’d exchanged contact information over the weekend, and she saw now that he’d sent her a text message.

  You want to stop by after work?

  The time stamp of that message was 12:37.

  Then, at 12:41, it was followed up with:

  If you’re not too tired.

  Just the thought of seeing Jake again seemed to magically lift away the weariness of the long day.

  Definitely not too tired.

  She tapped a quick reply:

  On my way.

  If it’s not too late.

  His reply was immediate:

  Definitely not too late :)

  The smiley face emoji made her smile as she exited the parking lot.

  Both Jake and Molly were waiting for her at the door when she arrived. But this time, instead of leaving a trail of clothes on the way to the bedroom, Jake took her hand and led her into the living room.

  “Are we trying something different again?” Sky teased.

  “As a matter of fact.” He lowered himself onto the sofa, then drew Sky down on his lap, and settled his mouth over hers.

  His kiss was different this time. A leisurely exploration rather than a means to an end. And if Sky was a little surprised by his restraint, she was more entranced by his technique. As his lips teased and tempted her own, desire raced through her veins like a drug, making her heart race and her blood pound.

  Was it possible to become addicted to a man’s kisses?

  She thought maybe it was, as the more kisses they shared, the more she wanted.

  She shifted in his lap, so that her knees were bracketing his hips. So that she could lift her arms to his shoulders, linking her hands behind his head. His arms banded around her, pulling her closer until her breasts were pressed against the firm wall of his chest. Her nipples immediately tightened to hard aching points. Between her thighs, she could feel solid evidence of his arousal, proof that he wanted her, too.

  She slid her hands beneath the hem of his shirt, her fingers gliding over his warm, taut skin, instinctively gentling as they skimmed the jagged scar that ran from just above his hip almost to his armpit.

  Jake caught her wrists and pulled her hands away.

  “It’s hard to remember that I’m trying to take things slow when you’re touching me,” he told her.

  She was glad to hear his breathing was labored, because she needed a moment to catch her own breath before she could respond. “Isn’t it a little late to start taking things slow?”

  “I know this seems a bit backward,” he acknowledged. “But I want to get to know you—and for you to know me, so that you know what you’re getting into.”

  She narrowed her gaze. “It sounds like you’re dumping me.”

  “No!”

  Sky was somewhat appeased by his quick and vehement denial.

  “Though truthfully, I didn’t expect that you’d want to have anything more to do with me after that first day,” he confided to her now.

  “You’re referring to the day you told me to get out after we’d mated like bunnies?” she teased.

  “I didn’t say ‘get out,’” he denied. “But yes, when you were willing to give me another chance after that, I knew you were truly unlike any other woman I’ve ever known.”

  “Good,” she said. “I hate to be predictable.”

  “Does that mean you’re not going to barrage me with questions?” he asked, sounding both skeptical and relieved.

  “I’ll try to limit my inquiries to a trickle,” she promised. “But questions about what exactly?”

  “Why I was at the community center with Natalya.”

  “Oh. I assumed that you were both there for the veterans’ support group meeting.”

  He frowned at that.

  “Was I wrong?” she asked.

  “No,” he admitted.

  “So why do I get the impression that you’re disappointed by my response?”

  “I’m not disappointed, I’m just...surprised,” he realized. “Margot would sulk if I so much as smiled at another woman.”

  “Now I have a barrage of questions,” Sky said, leaning back a little to better see his face. “Starting with—who’s Margot?”

  He winced. “You’re so easy to talk to that sometimes I forget to filter the words that come out of my mouth.”

  “And yet you’re not answering the question,” she noted.

  “Margot was...my fiancée.”

  “Oh.�
�� She took a moment to consider this revelation. “I didn’t realize you’d been engaged.”

  He shrugged. “It feels like it was a lifetime ago.”

  “How long ago was it really?” she pressed.

  “She gave back the ring about two years ago.”

  “How long did she wear it?”

  His brows drew together, as if he was trying to remember. “Almost five years?”

  “That’s a pretty lengthy engagement,” she noted.

  “Yeah,” he agreed.

  “Did you have a date set for a wedding?”

  He shook his head. “During those five years, I was gone more than I was home. It was hard enough to commit to a night out with friends, forget planning the kind of wedding she wanted.”

  “But you did want to marry her.” It was a statement more than a question, as Sky tried to wrap her head around the fact that this taciturn man had been planning a happily-ever-after.

  “Sure,” he said. “I mean, my focus was on the Marine Corps, but I looked forward to coming home from a deployment and seeing her face in the crowd. To know that there was someone there for me. My parents always came to the homecomings, too, but everyone’s parents were always there. Having a pretty girl waiting was something special.”

  She didn’t miss that he’d said “a pretty girl” rather than use his fiancée’s name, making Sky wonder if he’d truly been in love with the woman who’d worn his ring or if he’d just wanted to feel connected to someone back home. Or maybe she was reading too much into his word choice, because she didn’t want to think that the man she was starting to fall for had fallen for someone else, even if that relationship was long over.

  “So what went wrong?” she asked him now.

  “It turned out that she loved the idea of being with a man in uniform more than she loved me. And when I no longer wore the uniform, she found someone else. Actually...she found him before I got my discharge papers.”

  “Hence your comment about Molly being more loyal than any woman you’ve ever known,” she realized, aware that it couldn’t have been an easy admission for him to make, and glad he felt comfortable enough with her to share the whole truth of his failed relationship.

  “Yeah. I guess I’m having a little trouble forgiving Margot for that,” he acknowledged.

  “Do you think you should forgive her?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t think it’s okay that she cheated, but I understand that I was no longer the man she’d fallen in love with.”

  “Love endures all things,” Sky said.

  “If you’re such an expert on the subject, what are you doing here with me?” he wondered.

  “I’m only an expert at looking for love in all the wrong places,” she confided.

  “That would explain it,” he said.

  “You don’t have to worry,” she assured him. “I’m not looking for anything more than what we’ve found between us.”

  “It’s good, isn’t it?” he asked, the hint of a smile curving his lips.

  “Very good,” she agreed, and kissed him again.

  * * *

  Sky couldn’t remember the last time she’d been out on a date. Hanging out with a group of friends that included males, sure. But a one-on-one date with a guy she really liked? It had been ages.

  “Why are all your clothes on your bed?” Ashley asked, hovering in the doorway of Sky’s room.

  Looking at the pile of discarded clothes, Sky had to sigh. “Because I can’t decide what to wear.”

  “For what?”

  “I’ve got a date,” she confessed.

  “I thought you were on a dating hiatus,” Ashley said, remembering what Sky had told her when she’d asked why she didn’t have a boyfriend. Or girlfriend, she’d been quick to present as another option, to assure her sister that she wouldn’t judge.

  “I was, but now I’m not.”

  “So who are you going out with? Is it Jake?”

  “Why would you think it was Jake?” Sky asked her.

  “Because you’ve known everyone else in this town forever, so if you wanted to go out with any of them, it would have happened before now,” Ashley said.

  And probably had, she acknowledged, though she didn’t share that with her sister.

  “You’re right,” she said instead. “I’m going out with Jake.”

  “Where are you going?”

  “Just for dinner.”

  “A casual restaurant or fancy restaurant?”

  “I have no idea,” she admitted.

  “No wonder you can’t figure out what to wear,” her sister sympathized. “You want to wear something nice, because it’s a date, but you don’t want to overdress and have him think you’re making a bigger deal of the event than it is.”

  “Insightful commentary from someone who isn’t allowed to date yet,” Sky remarked.

  “Don’t remind me,” Ashley said, sounding pained. “But I’ll be prepared when Dad finally gives the thumbs-up.”

  Sky held a skirt and top in front of her. “What do you think?”

  “I love the skirt.” Ashley rifled through a pile of tops on the bed. “But with this top.”

  Sky swapped the pink one in her hand for the blue from her sister and turned to face her reflection in the mirror. “Hmm...you’re right. This one’s better.”

  “So maybe you’ll let me borrow this one—” Ashley, still holding the discarded pink top, looked hopeful “—to wear to the movies tonight?”

  “Do you have a date?” Sky asked.

  Her sister rolled her eyes. “I’m not allowed to date—remember?”

  Yeah, Sky remembered.

  She also remembered that, when she was Ashley’s age, being told she couldn’t do something rarely stopped her from doing it.

  “So who are you going to the movies with?” she asked.

  “Chloe.”

  “Then you don’t need this,” Sky said, tugging the shirt out of her sister’s hand. “Because Chloe won’t care what you’re wearing.”

  “There might be some other people there tonight,” Ashley admitted. “I mean, the movie theater’s a public place, right?”

  “Uh-huh,” Sky agreed.

  “So if we happen to run into some other people that we know and decide to sit together, there’s nothing wrong with that. And even if Chloe specifically invited other people who might be boys, it’s still not technically a date, right?”

  “Are you asking me or telling me?”

  Ashley sighed. “I really didn’t care who else was going—I just wanted to see the movie. But then Chloe decided to invite her boyfriend, and then he invited his friend, and now I’m really nervous about going because his friend is really cute and whenever I think about sitting next to him in the theater, I get this quivery feeling in my stomach.”

  “I agree with Dad that you’re kind of young to be dating,” she said, handing the pink top back to her sister. “But going to the movies with a few friends shouldn’t be taboo.”

  Ashley rewarded her with a radiant smile. “Thanks. For the top, I mean.”

  Sky nodded. “Just be smart and be safe—and don’t let anyone put their hands under that top.”

  Her sister looked horrified by the very thought. “I wouldn’t... Never,” she promised.

  Though she was skeptical about the “never” part, Sky felt confident that her sister had established limits for her night at the movies.

  “But what if...” Ashley chewed on her bottom lip. “What if he wants...to kiss me?”

  “That’s entirely up to you,” Sky said. “No one else.”

  “Chloe French kisses her boyfriend,” the teen confided now. “She says it’s a real turn on, but it sounds pretty gross to me.”

  “I think you’re starting to realize that Chloe does a lot of things yo
u’re not comfortable doing, and that’s okay. You need to set and respect your own boundaries.”

  “Do you let Jake put his tongue in your mouth?” Ashley’s cheeks turned pink as she asked the question.

  Not just his tongue, Sky mused, but she was definitely not going there with her little sister.

  “I can appreciate that you’re curious about some things, and that’s perfectly normal and natural,” Sky said instead. “But I’m going to keep the details of my private relationships private.”

  “Have you had sex with him?” Ashley asked, her eyes widening.

  “Refer to previous answer.”

  Her sister huffed out a breath. “Well, it’s not like I can talk to mom about this stuff.”

  Sky perched on the edge of the mattress beside Ashley. “Actually, I bet your mom would be glad to answer your questions—so long as they aren’t about the details of what goes on in her bedroom.”

  “You’re right,” the teen acknowledged. “It’s just that talking to your mom about this stuff is awkward, you know?” Then her eyes went wide and her cheeks colored again as she suddenly realized that her sister didn’t know, because Sky’s mom had died when she was only seven. “Ohmygod, Sky... I’m so sorry.”

  “It’s okay, Ash,” she said. “And actually I do know, because Grandma tried to have those talks with me—when I got my first period, bought my first bra, went to my first high-school dance. So yes, I understand awkward.”

  She also remembered that when there was something she really wanted to talk about, in the absence of her mother, she’d naturally turned to her big sister. So maybe she shouldn’t have been surprised that Ashley had come to her, even if their relationship was a recent revelation for both of them.

  Chapter Ten

  Jake was waiting outside when Sky arrived.

  “Am I late?” she asked.

  “No.”

  He brushed her lips with a soft, lingering kiss that made her belly quiver in the same way her sister had described.

  “I just didn’t know what you’d be wearing and I didn’t want Molly jumping and messing you up.”

  She did a quick twirl. “Do I look okay?”

  “Better than okay. You look amazing.”