by Karin Baine
Which is why I should be with her, not here.
There wasn’t anything he could do about it. Except go AWOL, and the consequences of that would be worse. So he’d phone every day. It wouldn’t be enough, but it was all he could offer. It would help him to get through this ragged pain caused by the miscarriage. He’d signed up for the army without a backward glance, ignoring the sadness in her eyes, only saying it was a promise he owed. Whenever he’d been home and she’d hinted that it was getting lonely living in their apartment in the middle of such a large city, he’d worked hard to put a smile back on her face and made love to her so she knew he was on her side. And every time he’d gone away again, following orders, using them as an excuse for the life he was living. He’d been utterly selfish.
As he and the men headed back to barracks from their last training exercise before tomorrow’s job, he stared out at the passing scenery of never-ending dirt and dust and crowds of people trying to get by in this area, trying to absorb everything Vicki had said, failing to ignore the ache under his ribs. The miscarriage. Her pain. The life he’d chosen to follow that kept him away from her. The army was like nothing he’d ever known. With the way everyone had to fall into step, dress the same, eat the same, be prepared for anything horrific any time, he didn’t enjoy the life, but once he’d fulfilled his promise he’d be able to get on with the next phase of his life without looking back.
The marriage vows he’d made to Vicki needed acknowledgement. To love and cherish and be there always, through the wonderful and the awful.
Vicki, I am so bloody sorry. We’ve lost our baby and you need me. I need you.
He’d signed up for that, too. Vicki was his future, the army the final nail in his past.
His stomach tightened into a painful ball. Their baby was gone. It had been amazing to learn he was going to be a dad. He’d been stoked, couldn’t wait for it to be born. He’d already imagined playing football, going fishing, having family picnics at the beach with his son or daughter. Family was what it was all about. A loving, caring, believing family. And Vicki, the most amazing woman to have kids with. Now it wasn’t happening.
‘You okay, Captain?’ The driver of their truck had turned to look at him as they drove along the main road out of a village.
No. I’ve never felt worse.
‘All good,’ he lied through gritted teeth. Something large and dark hurtled across the road directly at them. A laden ute. ‘Look out, soldier,’ he snapped.
The driver swore as he wrenched their lumbering vehicle to the right. His reaction might’ve been fast but the other vehicle was faster.
Cole’s butt left the seat, his head punched through the windscreen. Fear tightened his belly. Not now. Not when he needed to be at home. His body was airborne. Air stalled in his lungs. Landing was going to hurt. Or worse, he thought. His fingers gripped his phone as though his life depended on it.
Vicki! I love you. Wait for me.
Copyright © 2020 by Sue MacKay
ISBN: 9781488066474
Reunion with His Surgeon Princess
Copyright © 2020 by Karin Baine
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