Finish the Course (The Barnes Family Book 1) (12 page)

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Porter and Turner had come to pick Slater up. They were surprised and not necessarily happy to see that Anna had come along.

“What time is it?” she climbed in the back seat and peered at the dash clock.

“Oh-two-hundred back home, but twenty-three-hundred here,” Slater nudged her in and climbed in next to her. “You should still have some time to sleep once we get to the hotel.”

Her eyes widened.

“Don’t worry about it,” he assured her, “you won’t have to sleep in a tub.”

Turner laughed, “I remember doing that once.”

He didn’t elaborate, and Anna didn’t ask.

There was only one available room. Slater apologized softly as he checked her into his hotel room with him. The other two shot him looks laden with meaning, but he ignored them. Since Porter and Turner were sharing a room, he couldn’t bunk with them. This was the best situation for all concerned – at least for tonight.

She didn’t argue, but she looked relived to see two double beds in the room.

“Do you need to use the latrine?” he asked her as he set down her cases.

She shook her head, “Just the sink to brush my teeth and wash my face.”

He went into the bathroom himself to give her some privacy. He could hear the water running. Then he heard her shut it off and go rustle through her bags.

She probably wondered what he was doing in there so long, but he didn’t want to risk coming out before she was in bed.

There was silence for a few moments, so he assumed it was safe.

He made a lot of noise opening the door, throwing it back against the wall forcefully.

However, when he came out she was sitting on the bed closest the window wearing a t-shirt and gym shorts.

“I didn’t know if you had a preference for which bed.”

He did, actually, but he thought it would seem strange to her.

“My dad preferred to sleep in the one closest the door unless we were on the ground floor. Then he wanted to be next to the window.”

He looked down at the bed nearest him, “This one is good.”

She smiled and crawled under the covers, “I thought so.”

He shut off the light and pulled back the covers.

He didn’t move for a couple moments.

“Slater,” she sounded sleepy again.

“Yeah?”

“I have my eyes closed, and the lights are off. You can get into bed.”

He snagged the pillow off his bed and threw it at her.

She laughed into it, “Why thank you. I appreciate the spare.”

He awoke the next morning before Anna and propped himself up on an elbow to watch her sleep. She had braided her hair the night before and it was coming out in soft tendrils around her face. She had one hand under her face and the finger of the other touching her lips like she was reminding him to be quiet.

As if she could feel his eyes brushing over her, Anna stirred. Slater looked away quickly. He flopped onto his back and stared intently at the ceiling.

When she yawned, he rolled over onto his stomach and buried his head under his pillow.

She sat up, “Slater, are you awake?”

“Mmph.”

She sounded like she was untangling her feet. She was standing up. Slater waited for her to walk into the bathroom, but it didn’t happen. Instead she sat down next to him. On his bed!

He didn’t have enough will power to keep his eyes shut. He lifted a corner of the pillow and peered at her, “What?”

She seemed concerned, “Are you okay?”

“M’fine.”

She wasn’t convinced, “Are you sure?”

He knew it. Every woman, at some point, needed to talk about what the man was feeling. She always seemed too good to be true.

He threw the pillow off his head and lifted himself up on his elbows, “I’m fine.”

She shrugged and stood up, the concern completely gone from her voice, “Okay. I was just wondering because you’re usually up earlier than me. I thought maybe you had trouble sleeping or something.”

He shook his head, a little startled by the change in her demeanor.

“No, I slept really well.”

“Do you want the shower first?”

She was wearing gym shorts and a sweatshirt – certainly nothing revealing. Her hair was a complete mess, and her face had pillow creases on it. She was stunning.

“No, you go ahead.”

She was out faster than he had imagined possible.

“All yours,” she came out in the same clothes she had worn in though she had obviously taken a shower.

He was wearing his pants from the day before, but hadn’t managed to put a shirt on. He caught her eying his torso, but she quickly looked back to the things she was pulling out of her bag. Shoes, stockings. He dashed into the bathroom before she could get to anything more intimate.

Slater had forgotten to take clothes into the bathroom with him. He wrapped himself in a towel and was about to pull his old clothes back on when she rapped on the door, “I’m going to go see what they have for breakfast so you can get ready without me ogling you.”

He laughed and opened the door a crack, “Were you hoping to ogle me?”

“What do you think?” she opened the outside door and left.

She was back within ten minutes. She knocked on the door.

“I come bearing gifts,” she was balancing two juice bottles, some bananas, and a couple slices of toast.

“In that case,” he stepped out of the way, “please, come in.”

“I didn’t know if you were a doughnut person, but they didn’t have any muffins, so I brought toast.”

He finished shaving and reached for his shirt, “I like almost anything except strawberries.”

“Allergic?”

“Nope – I just don’t like ‘em.”

They were almost finished eating when she brought up the sleeping arrangements, “Do you know if there are any more rooms available?”

“Why?”

“Because we don’t leave until tomorrow.”

He stood up and threw his trash into the can, “Did I snore?”

“Not that I know, but I’d like to give you some privacy.”

“And have some yourself?” he reached for his tie.

She shook her head and picked up her toothbrush, “I’m okay, but I know you’re getting teased, and this is an emotional time for you. You may find you need some time to yourself.”

Slater knew he was more accustomed to sharing living quarters than Anna was. It wasn’t the privacy that he craved so much; it just much more stressful to share with her because of his attraction to her. He found himself in a constant struggle to keep his thoughts pure.

He would check about the room situation on their way out of the hotel.

Slater stood next to Anna at the sink while she brushed her teeth, adjusting the ends of his tie.

She brushed and spat, then repeated the process.

After rinsing, she turned to him, hands already on the dark fabric at his neck, “You’ve been in the Army for fourteen years. How is it that you have such problems with a tie?”

He allowed her to fix his knot, “I don’t always.”

“It was pretty strange on Sunday.”

It was hard to breathe with her so close. Wasn’t she done yet?

“There,” she patted his chest for good measure, “looks good.”

“Your boyfriend or father?” he inspected her work, grudgingly admitting to himself it looked better than his ever did.

“Mom,” she walked past him to get her purse, “because she always ties Dad’s.”

The funeral was beautiful – a true tribute to the man they had lost. While listening to the speakers, Anna wished she had known the man.

“I’m so glad you came, Slater,” Andrea Teague gave him a hug after the service, “I had heard you weren’t going to make it because of some red tape in Washington.”

Anna slipped past them and went go sit on a bench. She was close enough that she could see him, and he wouldn’t have to look for her, but far enough away to give him privacy.

She was surprised when Avery Hall came and sat next to her. She inched over to give him more room.

“I think I owe you an apology,” he opened the conversation with his purpose.

“I appreciate that, Hall,” she looked at him.

He nodded toward Slater, “You’re good for him.”

She crossed her ankles, “I’m not anything for him.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

She didn’t particularly like discussing this with him, “Bad timing, I guess. Too bad for me.”

“Too bad?”

Anna wished she would have left that part off. She just shrugged, “He’s a great guy.”

A rather plump, attractive young woman walked up to the pair and laid her hand on Hall’s arm, clearly communicating her ownership. Anna had expected the dance teacher to be a little more willowy, but that was obviously thinking inside the box.

“Cheryl,” Hall held the woman’s hand, “this is Captain Barnes. She got us out of Pakistan a few weeks ago.”

Anna held out her hand, “It’s Anna.”

“How nice to meet you, Anna. Are you the one who brought them in as well?”

She nodded. Hoping the woman wasn’t going to ask her to explain how so many men died.

“Avery said you made an amazing landing. That you saved everyone’s life.”

Anna glanced at Slater and Mrs. Teague, “Not everyone.”

Cheryl looked down, “You aren’t blaming yourself for those who died, are you?”

Anna didn’t answer, but she saw Hall shake his head at his fiancée.

Anna met the other woman’s eye and spoke quietly, “I was responsible for getting those men safely to their destination, and I failed. I try not to dwell on it, but you can bet I won’t ever forget it.”

Porter joined them, apparently not hearing what the conversation was about.

“Hello again, Captain,” he emphasized her rank.

“Sergeant,” she rose so she was eye level with the man.

DeWitt limped toward them and flung his arm over Porter’s shoulder, “Hey, Barnes.”

“DeWitt,” she smiled. “How’s the leg?”

“Good as new,” he patted it. “How’s the foot? Hall said you took a shiv in it.”

“Good as new.”

“You coming to the house?”

She shook her head, “I’m not sure. I need to ask Slater what he would like me to do.”

“Slater?” Cheryl’s eyebrows rose.

Anna didn’t correct herself. What was said could not be unsaid.

The man in question joined them, “Hey, DeWitt, can Barnes and I catch a ride with you?”

That answered the question.

The Teague home turned out to be a small portion of Andrea’s parents’ acreage. She and the kids lived there while Major Teague was overseas but joined him whenever he was on base. They had done so for twelve years.

Eight year old Betsy Teague found Anna sitting alone on the edge of the picnic table while the men played basketball. Anna only had heels, and she was wearing a skirt so she didn’t ask to join.

“Do you want to see my tree house?  Daddy built it for me.”

Anna nodded and stood up, “I’d love to see it. Can I go inside?”

Betsy looked the woman over, “You might have trouble in those clothes, but you’re allowed.”

Anna followed the little girl into the woods.

“See?” Betsy pointed to the rope ladder, “it’s kinda hard with a dress.”

Anna looked behind herself, “Maybe if you climb up first, you can keep a lookout. Then I can climb up and nobody will be able to see me while I’m climbing.”

Betsy covered her little pink mouth with a hand and giggled, “I’ll be a spy for you.”

Betsy clambered up and, lifting her skirt slightly, Anna followed after. Once she arrived at the top, she sat on her bottom with her legs dangling out the door.

“You made it, Captain.”

“Do you think you could call me ‘Annie’?  I had a friend when I was about your age and her name was Betsy, so it would be like I was a kid again.”

Betsy’s eyes widened, “So we’d both be kids?”

Anna nodded.

Betsy sat down next to Anna. The door faced the yard, so they had a pretty good view of the people milling about.

Her little hand touched Anna’s, “Sometimes it’s hard being a grownup, isn’t it, Annie.”

She turned her hand to hold the soft fingers, “It sure is.”

“It’s hard being a kid sometimes too,” the response sounded so old. “Especially when your daddy dies.”

Anna felt tears pricking her eyes, so she blinked.

“It’s okay to cry, Annie,” the little girl touched her hair. “You’re a kid now, and you can cry.”

Anna nodded, “I think it’s okay to cry even if you aren’t a kid – especially if your daddy dies.”

“Did your daddy die too?”

“No,” she leaned back on her elbows and looked up at the ceiling of branches, “he’s alive, but when I was really little I used to be afraid he was going to die.”