Heroes Never Die (28 page)

“The same place we’re going.”

“Oh, yeah,” she giggled.  “I almost forgot.”

Brian grinned the mischievous grin that melted her heart.  “I was kind of hoping that you might invite me home for a while?”

She gazed into his warm brown eyes.  “How does for the rest of your life sound?”

Brian suddenly became serious.  “Like my dream come true.  Let’s go home.”

***

While Brian drove home, Stephanie couldn’t stop thinking about Jamie and her dad.  The more she imagined all of the free time they must have had to nurture a relationship, the more she wondered about the possibility of Brian being with another woman, but she had to find out more before making an accusation.

“Tell me about Jamie,” she said, disguising her question to find out what she really wanted to know.  “Is she a nurse?”

“She’s a surgeon,” he easily replied as he checked the rearview mirror before changing lanes.  “She’s stationed at Ft. Bragg.  She outranks me.  She’s a wonderful person and she cares a great deal for your dad.  What’s with him anyway?”

Stephanie had asked herself that same question for years.  Her dad was Washington’s most eligible widower, but there wasn’t a woman alive who could replace her mother.  “If Jamie is holding out for a ring, she’s wasting her time.”

“But why?” he questioned.  “He acts like he’s crazy about her.”

“He probably is, but he won’t allow himself to fall in love again.  He’s never gotten over losing Mom.”

“But she’s been dead a long time?”

“He still grieves for her,” she explained, remembering all of the times she had seen him gazing at her mother’s picture with tears in his eyes.  “He’s never forgotten her, and he never will.”

“Maybe Jamie’s the one who can change all of that?”

“Maybe,” Stephanie said, sighing.  “But Jamie’s fight is with someone she can’t even see.  Don’t encourage her, Brian.  Daddy worshipped my mother.”

Suddenly her dad’s reluctance to fall in love again seemed clear.  “Until now, I never fully understood Dad’s pain,” she said, remembering the months of heartache without Brian.  “If anything ever happens to you, I couldn’t fall in love again, either.”

“Funny,” he said as he reached for her hand and kissed it.  “I was thinking the same thing.”

***

Brian scooped up his bride, threw her across the bed, and descended
upon her.  The war had separated them longer than they had spent their married lives together, and Brian was anxious to begin where they had left off.  But Stephanie needed to fill in all of the missing pieces.  Brian had not sent her a single letter, and Kyle had filled her head with stories of Brian’s unfaithfulness.  Even her dad had brought a woman home from the war.  Before she could give herself completely to Brian, holding nothing back, she needed reassurance.

Brian kissed her, but Stephanie didn’t respond.  Concerned, Brian pulled away.  Stephanie was crying.

“Why now, Stephanie?” he panted.  “What’s wrong?”

She felt so foolish, but she couldn’t go on until she knew the truth.  “Why didn’t you send me a letter?  You promised to write me.”

“I did write,” he explained.  “Didn’t you receive my letters?”

“I waited and waited, but nothing ever came – from Dad, either.  I thought you stopped loving me.  Then a friend told me that you were sleeping with every nurse you winked at.”

Brian’s face filled with righteous anger.  “That was a cruel thing to say to you, and whoever said it is no friend.  You spent a long time worrying about nothing.”

“Then how is it that Dad was able to bring home a war friend?”

“Listen to me, Stephanie.  I missed the hell out of you while I was over there.  You’re all I ever thought about.  I won’t lie.  I had plenty of opportunities, but I was faithful to you.”

“Oh, Brian, I was so afraid I had lost you.”

“Shhhhh,” he whispered.  “I would have been concerned, too.  Your letters meant everything to me.  They’re what kept me strong.  And I promise if my letters do come, I’ll hold you in my arms and read every word to you, just like I wanted to do in the first place.  Then you’ll see how much I love you.”

Stephanie’s confidence was completely restored.  “I want you to know, Brian,” she said as she caressed his face, “even though I had some doubts, I never stopped believing in you.  And I promise, I’ll never doubt you again.”  Then she wrapped her arms around him and begged him to make love to her.  She could hear the months of separation in his deep groans.  Then he laid his head on her chest to recover.

“I’m sorry about that,” he panted.  “The next one’s for you.”

“The next one?”  Brian looked into her eyes, grinning, and then he pressed her mouth with another kiss.

***

“Good morning,” Stephanie said as she walked into the bedroom with a bright smile.  “I have a surprise for you – breakfast in bed.”
  She placed the tray over his lap and climbed into bed beside him and sat down on her heels.

“Steak and eggs?  I haven’t seen a meal this good since I left for Turkey.  I feel like royalty.”

“Well, you should,” she agreed, pleased that he appreciated her efforts.  “It’s my way of letting you know how glad I am that you’re home.”

“You don’t have to wait on me, you know.”

“I figured it wouldn’t kill me just this once,” she teased.

Brian looked over his full-course breakfast and made a frown.  “You forgot something.”  She had wanted to make his first meal home special.  She even put a rose on his tray.  “You forgot my kiss.”
  She reached for him and kissed him gently, seductively.  Brian let out a soothing puff of exhilaration.  “Now I can eat.”  She kissed him again for the wonderful compliment.  “So tell me,” he asked as he cut the first bite of steak, “what did you do while I was gone?”

“Nothing much,” she replied, knowing
that she could never tell him the whole truth.  “I stayed here for a couple of days and had dinner with Ted and his family, I visited some college friends in Michigan, and then I spent the rest of the time with your parents.  I saw your baby pictures,” she chortled, wanting to change the subject.  “That’s some birthday suit you were wearing.”

“Good ole Mom strikes again,” he said with an embarrassed grin.  “Damn, I wish she’d stop doing that.”

“It serves you right,” she teased.  “Now you know how I felt when Dad told you I had a dimple on my tush.”

“That’s not the same,” he complained, pretending to play martyr.  “He never showed me your naked pictures.”

“Uh huh – like you didn’t conjure up a visual?”

Brian grinned.  “You win that one,” he surrendered as he patted her tush.

She picked up a piece of buttered toast and jam and gave him a bite.  “You haven’t said anything about the war.  You want to talk about it?”

“Someday maybe, but I’d prefer to leave it in hell where it belongs.  It’s over, and all I want now is for life to return to normal.  Whenever you’re ready, I’d like to start our family.”

“I was hoping you still felt that way because I’m not using any protection.  I want to get pregnant.”

“That means a lot, Stephanie.  I have to be the luckiest man alive.”  She smiled and kissed him.  “I have also been giving another matter a lot of thought, and now is as good a time as any to discuss it.  Once my enlistment is up next year, I’m getting out.  I don’t want to be separated from you again, and if I stay in, it’s only a matter of time.  I want to start my own practice.  But I need you on board because the startup costs will be enormous.  Then if we have a baby?  It won’t be easy, Stephanie.”

“Maybe not at first, but as long as we’re never separated again, I don’t mind making sacrifices.”

“There’s one other thing and it could be the deal breaker.  I don’t want to stay in Washington.  I don’t want to start my practice here, and for sure, I don’t want to raise my family here.”

Stephanie dropped her shoulders.  Disappointing Brian was the last thing she wanted to do.  “Brian, you know I can’t leave Dad.  If he were married, maybe, but no, I can’t.”

“Stephanie, I know it’s a lot to ask, but I can’t move forward without your complete support.”

“Okay,” she hesitated.  I’ll try talking to him.  But I can’t talk Dad into anything he doesn’t want to do.”

“I’m working on him, too, Stephanie.  I don’t want to leave without him, either.”

For a moment, she looked into his eyes wondering what she had done to deserve him.  He wasn’t at all threatened by the unbreakable bond she had with her dad.  Instead, he loved her so much that he not only accepted it, he cherished it.

Brian set the tray of food on the floor.  Then he reached for Stephanie and pulled her on top of him.  “Come here, you.  I’m ready for dessert.”  Just then the phone rang.  “Don’t answer that,” he ordered.

“But it will be Dad calling about dinner tonight.”

“I don’t want to go to dinner.  I want to stay right here and ravish my wife.”

“So we’ll go tomorrow.  But if I don’t answer the phone, he’ll think we’re having sex.”

“Well, we sure as hell wouldn’t want to shock him,” he mocked.

“Oh, hush,” she said as she picked up the phone and put on an innocent voice.  “Hi, Daddy.”

“Daddy?” Ted teased.  “All of my kids are accounted for.  Something I don’t know about?”

“Ted,” she said, surprised to hear his voice.  “Brian and Dad are home.”

“That’s why I’m calling.  Was I interrupting anything?”

“No, of course not,” she said as Brian pulled her into his arms and tickled her.

“Shucks!  My timing must be way off.  Oh, well, on with the reason for my call.  I’m having a welcome home party for Brian and your dad tomorrow night.  I’ve already spoken with your dad.  He’s bringing Jamie.  Make sure you get Brian here.  Everyone is anxious to see them again, especially Rowdy.  Did you hear he got married?”

“Rowdy?” she asked incredibly.  “Our Rowdy?”

Ted burst out laughing.  “Yeah, she dragged him down the aisle kicking and screaming.  Actually
, he cares a great deal for her, but don’t tell him I told you that.  I love razzing the hell out of him.  Shoot for seven?”

“We’ll be there
.  I promise.”

“Can’t wait, sweetheart.  I’ll let you go so you can get back to all of your housework.”

“But I wasn’t doing...”

“Aha!” he interrupted.  “I did catch you!  And I thought my timing was off.  Wait until everyone hears about this.”

She was mortified.  “Ted!”

“All right, all right.  I’ll take it easy on you, but Brian?  No mercy.”

“Maybe we should just stay home.”

“Fine with me,” he teased.  “But we’ll just show u
p on your front lawn with bells and horns and cymbals.  Then you’ll really be embarrassed.”

“Ted?  It’s a good thing I love you.  We’ll see you tomorrow.”  She hung up the phone and turned her attention back to Brian.  “Ted is throwing a welcome home party for you and Dad tomorrow.  And he said Rowdy got married.”

“I’ll be damned,” he said.  “We are talking about the same Rowdy, the sworn bachelor?”

“Was a sworn bachelor,” she corrected.  “And as I recall, so were you.”

“I guess I was,” he chuckled.  “But then you came along and changed all of that.  Marrying you was the smartest thing I ever did.”

Stephanie felt the thrill of intense love, just as she had on her wedding night.  She buried her face in his hands and kissed them, and when she looked up into his eyes, her own eyes were swollen with tears.  “Oh, Brian, do you have any idea how much I love you right now?”

He pulled her hands against his face and kissed them.  When he could finally speak, his answer was simple and broken.  “I think I do know.”

***

The party was alive with friends celebrating Robert’s and Brian’s safe return.  The champagne flowed, the music played, and the house was filled with bursts of laughter and warm embraces.  Even the newcomers, Jamie and Rowdy’s wife, Hannah, were immediately adopted into the Walter Reed family.

After several hours, Stephanie stepped out onto the balcony for a breath of fresh air.  She heard the sliding glass door slide open behind her and turned to see Jamie holding a bottle of champagne.  “Care for a refill?” Jamie asked.

“Why not?” Stephanie replied as she held out her glass.  “Pretty dress you’re wearing.  I’ve been admiring it all night.”

“Thanks,” she said as she poured Stephanie’s glass to overflowing.  “I had to do some serious power shopping today.  That, or show up wearing fatigues.”

It was difficult to imagine Jamie wearing anything except pretty party dresses.  “You’re welcome to borrow my closet,” Stephanie offered.  “I have tons of things that would look smashing on you.”

Jamie’s eyes grew wide with horror.  “And give up a chance to go shopping?”

Stephanie laughed.  “A woman after my own heart.  Maybe we can go shopping while you’re here?  I know all of the great places.”

“I have to admit, you have me a little baffled right now.  When I met you the other day, you seemed quite standoffish.  I thought you had a problem with me seeing your dad.”