Redeeming Justice (5 page)

She saw vulnerability and something else she couldn’t identify flash across his expression.
How could she explain that all was not how it seemed? Should she even tell him that
part? Lifting her shoulders in an awkward half-shrug, she sighed, watching the clouds
drift slowly by overhead.

“I was so young and despite the engagement, we hadn’t started planning a future together.
David proposed on the spur of the moment while he was home on a leave. Who knows how
the future would have unfolded if things were different.”

She hoped her voice didn’t give too much away. Even after all these years she struggled
to keep the spirit of David’s memory intact. Honoring his sacrifice was more important
than her feelings. There would be no closure for her on that score.

“I still have it—the first letter you sent.” He seemed shocked to hear that from her.
Didn’t he know how important the words he shared with her were?

“That makes you uncomfortable. I’m sorry,” she added quietly.

It was his turn to down a healthy guzzle of lemonade. When he was finished and set
his glass down he looked at her. “Writing those letters was damn hard. I can’t imagine
why you’d keep something like that.”

By force of habit, Meghan reached for the tiny crescent moon dangling from the chain
around her neck. Absently sliding it on the chain as her thoughts reached into the
past, she remembered that autumn day, months after David’s military funeral, when
a big white envelope arrived postmarked from Germany with the letter his commanding
officer had personally written.

She wasn’t surprised to learn of the high regard in which her young fiancé was held.
The boy she knew all her life had grown into an honorable man who took serving their
country seriously. To this day she didn’t really know what he did when he was off
playing with the Special Forces. David had one of those high level clearances that
suggested he was more involved with gathering intelligence than being boots on the
ground.

Meghan had wept over that letter. Hearing praise of his bravery and courage and David’s
devotion to the canines he worked with had gone a long way to calming her heart.

“I kept it because what you wrote were things I needed to hear. Not just then, but
for a long time after. So…thank you.”

He didn’t say anything for long moments. When he did respond, she was surprised by
what he said.

“I have your letters too.”

She turned wide, surprised eyes on him, shocked to hear that what she’d written during
his long months of rehab had been any more than something to distract him from his
injured body.

“Why?” she asked dumbfounded. “They were so—” She searched for the right word to describe
what she knew were the inane ramblings of an overworked grad student. “God. I don’t
know. So, dumb and boring!”

He chuckled and some of the building tension eased off. “Well, I’ll give you that!”
he teased. “But dumb and boring was just what I needed.”

She nodded, understanding what he meant. He’d kept her up-to-date on his condition
with blunt assessments of his progress or lack thereof. Meghan knew all about the
endless round of surgeries that pieced him back together and the exhausting, painful
physical therapy that had followed. They’d written to each other for months, and then
briefly for a time after he’d been moved back to the states.

She didn’t know what he was thinking but it was probably the same as her. Learning
that she’d had as much an impact on him that he’d had on her was quite a surprise.
Everything got quiet again after that.

Carmen chose the perfect moment, right before the silence got uncomfortable, to reappear
on the patio pushing a cart laden with dishes and an impressive bouquet of fresh flowers
stuffed in an over-sized mason jar.

“Lunch has arrived,” she chortled with glee as she eyed them upon her approach. “I
hope everyone’s hungry,” she said with a good-natured huff. “Ria got crazy with the
fruit again.”

Crazy was an understatement Meghan thought when Carmen plunked an enormous stoneware
platter on the table overflowing with every fruit imaginable. The presentation was
impressive. Mounds of strawberries and slices of kiwi were piled high alongside melon
slices, bananas, apples, berries of every color, orange sections, and loads of pineapple
spears. A second platter was piled with small sandwiches and assorted tapas that also
looked beyond delicious.

“I hope you like it,” Carmen offered as she set out plates and utensils for their
use.

“Are you kidding?” Meghan laughed. “I love it! Especially the part where someone else
prepared and put it ready-to-eat on a platter. Does
not
get any better than this!” The two women roared with laughter.

She sat side-by-side with the Major for the next hour, picking away at her lunch,
chatting amiably about everything and nothing. With each moment that passed, she found
herself wishing the visit wouldn’t have to end. Alex Marquez was not only one seriously
good-looking guy; he had a quick mind and a pleasant sense of humor. Meghan couldn’t
remember ever being so instantly drawn to another person as she was to him. The realization
put a fluttery feeling in her belly that extended deeper into that place inside which
was wholly female and undeniably turned on.

Eventually he asked how long she’d be touring the area and what her plans were.

“Here’s the thing,” she told him with a grin. “I’m not on any kind of a schedule,
which I know sounds odd, but that’s the way it is.”

He seemed intrigued by her answer and asked for clarification.
Ah
. Time to ‘fess up.
This should be fun.

She sat up straight and pushed her hair over her shoulders. “Okay. Reader’s Digest
version in the interest of time. You already know I’m a teacher. A gym teacher at
that!” she chuckled. “Hold the lesbian jokes, please.”

He nearly choked to death when she made the statement. Judging by the quick leer her
boobs got she highly doubted he fancied for even a second that she played for the
home team.

“Loved my career. Loved the school I taught at. Loved everything about it. Then one
day last year, me and five colleagues hit a mega lottery jackpot.”

His stupefied expression was funny and exactly how she felt when she first learned
of the lottery windfall.

“I certainly never wanted to quit teaching, but with the job market so brutal for
educators, it was the only thing I could do. Even though working is about way more
than the salary, I couldn’t hog a coveted position when I didn’t need the money.”

He nodded. Not working or putting her skills to good use was something she still hadn’t
come to terms with. It’s true what they say about money not making happiness. Sure,
life got comfortable and secure but the rest was still an open book with many pages
left to fill.

“In April, I started off on an epic road trip that I wouldn’t have missed for the
world. This is an amazing country. Watching it go by under my wheels rather than from
the window of an airplane has been amazing. Anyway, made it to the Pacific then traveled
down the coast to L.A. My mom flew out for a ladies’ spa retreat that was to die for!
And now here I am, traipsing around the desert, checking out every world’s largest
tin foil ball and award winning tamale I can find!

“So you’re….
what
? Wandering aimlessly?”

“You could say that, I suppose. The teacher in me treats every day like an extended
field trip. Thank God for the internet. I’m learning so much. Besides the Grand Canyon
of course, I hope to stick around Sedona long enough for the annual Cowboy Festival.”

“You mean the one at the end of July?” he asked. “I remember from when I was a kid.
Loads of gun slinging fun.”

She blushed and studied her feet. If only he knew. Cowboys were a special passion
from her childhood. Having brothers meant there was always some kind of boy fun happening.
She’d spent many a fantasy filled afternoon joining in, pretending to be Annie Oakley
or a fierce pioneer woman. In her mind, a man in jeans with a cowboy hat was all kinds
of sexy. Especially if there was a horse involved.
Squee!

“So, I take it this means you plan on staying for awhile?”

“Well, there’s no reason to run off so I guess the simple answer to that is yes.”

Alex watched his next words form in a speech bubble that surprised him as much as
it did her. “I’d be more than happy to be your guide, Meghan. You could stay at the
Villa. It’s a busy time so there’s tons of stuff going on right here, plus all the
things to see and do around Sedona.”

He wasn’t at all sure what made him say it except that he was enjoying her company.
More than he could remember enjoying anyone else’s. It was an odd place to be. He
knew her. But then again, not really. Maybe that was why he put it out there. He wanted
to get to know her. A whole lot better.

When the thought popped in his head, so did the thousand reasons why he shouldn’t
be thinking shit like that. Especially not about her.
Fuck
. What did it say about him that he couldn’t keep his dick under control around a
woman who had every right to hate his guts? After all, if it weren’t for him, she’d
probably be married now with a kid, a dog, and a mini-van parked in the driveway.

Still, she was just so damn beautiful. He knew caution was in order but a raging case
of desire was driving him at the moment, complicating the shit out of things.

She was squirming in her seat making the hem on her dress creep further up her thighs.
Pretending that a fully loaded question wasn’t hovering in the air, Alex watched her
fuss with the masses of curls falling about her shoulders as she chewed on her bottom
lip and looked everywhere but at him. In his mind’s eye he grabbed her around the
waist to pull her decadent backside onto his lap. He bet she’d fit perfectly against
him.

“Major,” she squeaked then corrected herself when he frowned. “I mean, Alex.
Really.
I don’t know what to say. You’re so sweet to ask me to stay but I don’t think that’s
what you had in mind when I invited myself to lunch.”

Well, that was certainly true but once the door opened and he saw her standing there,
all sense flew out the window. “Honestly Meghan. I didn’t have much of anything in
mind. Meeting you was enough and now that I have, well…” he shrugged.

“I want to say yes. I mean, look at this place! Who wouldn’t want to stay? But I can’t
ask you to drop everything and be my tour guide. Are you just being nice? I don’t
understand.”

Alex learned a lot about her just then. She spoke her mind and didn’t beat around
the bush. She was also completely unaware of her effect on him.

“I’d like it if you’d stay for awhile.” That’s all he said. Frankly, he didn’t understand
either.

“Alex,” she growled.

“Meghan,” he answered right back. “C’mon. It’ll be fun. Think of it like summer camp
for grown-ups! Do you ride?” he asked. “We‘ve got horses and electric carts and ATVs
and even Segways. You haven’t really lived until you experience a campfire cook-out,
and I can hook you up with one of those knock your socks off helicopter tours of the
Grand Canyon.”

“Aaargh!” she growled even louder this time. “You’re making it impossible to say no.”

“Well good! It’s settled then.” He turned toward the house and yelled for Carmen who
appeared before her name completely left his mouth. He shook his head knowing she’d
probably been eavesdropping on the entire conversation. The housekeeper’s look of
complete innocence struck him as mildly funny.

Getting her back for earlier he murmured so only she could hear, “Nice try, lady.”
She grinned at him and chuckled.

“Uh, Carmen,” he boomed so there’d be no mistaking that he was taking control of the
situation. “Miss O’Brien will be staying with us for a while.”

“Alex!” Meghan cut in.

He stopped any further words with a look. This was one battle he was going to win.

Carmen tried not to look surprised but failed miserably when she asked if she should
open up the Casita where friends and family normally stayed only to hear him instruct
her to put Meghan in a guest room in the family quarters. Near his room.

And just like that he’d arranged for Meghan’s luggage to be brought from her car into
the main house while she sat there slack jawed as he started issuing orders like the
commanding officer he once was.

Carmen scurried into the house to do her boss’s bidding; feeling rather pleased that
he was doing something so uncharacteristic. He liked his solitude and his privacy.
Not only was it unusual for him to invite anyone to stay over, it was twice as unusual
for a guest to stay in the main house and not down at the Casita.

The minute she made it into the kitchen she found Lacey and Tori dropping off a stack
of paint chips for Alex to look at. The wives of his two Justice Brothers had convinced
him that the offices and conference rooms needed some sprucing up and since he couldn’t
say no to either woman, they were taking full advantage of the situation.