Taming GI Jane (11 page)

Jane
’s hands went to his broad shoulders. The feel of hard male muscle beneath her palms made her ache for his touch. “Tom, it’s not that simple. What you feel right now won’t be enough.”

He tilted his head, putting his lips temptingly close to hers. “We don’t need to complicate the issue. Yes or no, that’s all I need to hear.”

Desire, electric and alive, made Jane clench her fists into his shirt. “Yes, damn it, yes. I feel it. The problem is, what are we going to do about it?”

Tom brushed a kiss across her lips, and the sweetness and tenderness of it shattered the last of
her defenses. How could she refuse this man? Whatever the future held for her, the one thing Jane wanted right now was to feel Tom’s arms around her.

“Don’t worry,” he murmured between kisses that quickly turned hot and frantic. “We’ll figure something out. I promise.”

As his lips closed over hers, Jane did something she had never done before in her entire military career: she put the future out of her mind and concentrated on the present.

On this moment with Tom.

~*~

Tom finally realized what it was he worried that he might miss. That one elusive thing that always seemed to escape him because he was so absorbed in his work. He had somehow instinctively known that without it, he would never be complete. Never be as happy or fulfilled as he could be. But he co
uldn’t quite grasp what it was.

He knew now.

Jane. Of course, he hadn’t known her until two weeks ago. But she was that one thing that was missing in his life. She completed him. They had made love every night this past week. Sometimes at his cabin, sometimes at hers. Once even in the showers when everyone was safely tucked in for the night. Desire welled inside him even now. Jane was everything he wanted, and all he would ever need. And he was about to lose her.

General Suddath had already informed Tom that another drill sergeant would be assigned to Camp Serenity during the final four-week session.
Jane wouldn’t say what had transpired during that one appearance she’d been commanded to make at the general’s office. But Tom had a feeling that it hadn’t been good, at least not for Jane. It was so damned unfair. He desperately wished she would confide in him.

But she wouldn’t.

Jane was leaving.

And Tom’s life would never be the same.

Tom watched without really seeing as the twelve retreat participants put on a fashion show, hosted by Reg, for their attentive spouses. All twelve women had shed at least five pounds. Each sported a fully accessorized ensemble as they paraded across the stage like newly discovered models. Tom had observed with astonishment the change in them during the past week, the leading example set by Sandra Suddath. No one complained. They all worked together and followed instructions. Reg had been so impressed with their newfound interest and cooperation that he had planned this fashion show as a reward. Even Hattie’d had a change of heart. The elderly cook had insisted on preparing a sit-down dinner for today’s farewell festivities. Tom was absolutely amazed.

In just twenty-four hours twenty teenagers would fill the cabins outside. All would return to normal.

Except Tom’s heart.

An announcement from Sandra Suddath
jerked Tom from his brooding. Sandra motioned for Jane to come forward. Tom turned to the woman sitting beside him in her fancy military uniform. His chest tightened as she stood and slowly walked to the front of the room. Jane still limped a little, but that didn’t stop her. Tom sat up straighter in his chair, his gaze glued to the woman in her official military dress uniform.

“Sergeant
Jane,” Sandra began, then paused to swipe at her tear-filled eyes. “We’ll never be able to fully relate the way you’ve touched our lives. But the other ladies and I wanted to somehow show our appreciation to you for all you’ve done.”

“That’s not necessary, Mrs. Suddath,”
Jane insisted, her voice wavering.

“Well, you know how the Army is,” Sandra said
with a wave of her hand, “We’ll use any excuse to give someone a plaque.”

Laughter rumbled through the dozen military officers in attendance. Even Tom smiled. Sandra was quite a character. Tom didn’t miss Reg and even Hattie taking t
he occasional swipe at their eyes.

Beulah stepped forward and passed a wood and brass plaque to Sandra. Sandra held the plaque at arm’s length and recited the inscribed words.

“To Sergeant Jane Passerella,” she read. “For dedication above and beyond the call of duty.” She paused to compose herself, then cleared her throat and continued, “For your never-ending patience and caring attitude.” Sandra lowered the plaque and turned to Jane. “And for never saying die when faced with the impossible.” Sandra threw her arms around Jane and hugged her close.

General Suddath was the first to stand when the applause echoed through the room. The show of appreciation from the audience, as well as from the ladies who were taking turns hugging
Jane, went on and on. Tom waited as patiently as he could while each of the officers thanked Jane, Reg, and Hattie. They all shook his hand too, but he barely paid attention. He just wanted to reach Jane.

It seemed like forever before the crowd started to thin and move toward the dining room for Hattie’s dinner. Finally Tom had
Jane alone. He watched as she admired her plaque. He wondered if she were stalling. Who was he kidding? He knew she was stalling.

She wanted to slip out of his life as quickly and suddenly as she had dropped in. Temporary duty, that’s all her time here had been.

Tom tucked his hands into his pockets and walked over to where Jane stood quite obviously ignoring him. “Mission accomplished, Sergeant Passerella.”

Jane
turned and gifted him with a watery smile. “So it would seem,” she agreed. A definite hint of sadness tinged her voice.

Tom stared at the floor for a time, afraid to say what he wanted to say, yet even more afraid of not saying it. He lifted his gaze back to
Jane’s and knew now was the time. The next few minutes would affect the rest of his life as well as hers. Tom knew beyond all doubt that if he let her slip away from him without at least asking her to stay, he would always regret it.

“
Jane—”

Jane
shook her head, cutting him off. Her eyes were suspiciously bright. “Don’t say it, Tom,” she pleaded. “Anything we say now will only make it more difficult for both of us to do what we know we have to.”

He struggled with the anxiety mounting inside him. No way could he just watch her walk out. “So you want to take the easy way out, is that it?”

She looked away. “That’s right.”

Tom wanted to shake her. Why couldn’t she see that what they could have was worth whatever difficulties they had to overcome? “You can just walk away and not look back?” He flung his arms in the air in frustration, then quickly crossed them over his chest to prevent himself from reaching out to her. “Nothing we shared this past week makes you want to think twice?”

His words had an impact this time. She trembled. Her own frustration and anger was clear when her gaze reconnected with his. She glared at him for two long beats before she spoke. Tom knew she was gathering her resolve, His was gone. Desperation had long since replaced it. A whirlwind of emotions churned inside him.

“What happens when I receive a new assignment and have to move across the country?” she demanded, her anger and frustration rising. “Or to another country altogether?” She set her plaque aside on a nearby table, braced her hands on her slender hips and moved in for the kill. “Are you going with me, Tom? Because when the orders come I sure as hell have to go.”

Tom blinked. He wasn’t prepared to think that far ahead. Not yet anyway. They needed to take this one step at a time. To build on what they had started. The rest would come in due time.

“Is that your answer?” she snapped. “What about when I’m assigned to some third world country where the political situation is volatile and family members aren’t allowed? What then, Tom?” she swallowed, hard. “Will you wait patiently state-side?”

“We need time to talk, to figure this out,” he countered, defeat weighing heavy on his shoulders.

“Time won’t change the way things are,” she said wearily.

“I only know what I want.” Tom wished there was some way he could make her understand just how much he cared for her.

Jane
laughed softly. “But the price is too high for you, is that it?”

A muscle jerked in hi
s tense jaw. “I’m willing to compromise.”

Jane
shook her head and moistened her lips. She was very close to crying and that affected Tom beyond all reason. The last thing in the world he wanted to do was hurt her. He couldn’t even bear the thought.

“You just don’t get it,” she maintained. “The price is everything, Tom. It’s all or nothing. If your heart’s not in it, then we have nothing to discuss.”

“All right then,” he said tautly. He didn’t have too much pride to be the first to say the words. “I love you, Jane. I’ll do whatever it takes. I’ll leave Waynesville. I’ll go wherever you go.”

She stumbled back a step, then shook her head.

She didn’t know. Tom almost sagged with the impact of that realization. Jane really hadn’t known or even suspected, it seemed, that he loved her enough to sacrifice it all, that he was willing to give up everything. The shock, the disbelief, it was all right there in her big brown eyes.

“I have to go,”
Jane brushed past him and ran from the room without looking back.

Tom watched her run away. How could she not have known that he loved her? He had shown her in every way he knew how.

But he hadn’t told her until this minute.

He was either too late or
Jane didn’t feel the same way.

Chapter Ten

“At ease, Sergeant.”

“Thank you, sir.” Jane relaxed as much as possible, considering what was likely to happen. She had known from her last meeting with General Suddath that he was not pleased with the way Jane had handled his wife’s two-week retreat at Camp Serenity. Choosing to be diplomatic, he had simply told her that he intended to send in Sergeant Riggs to replace her. Jane had said “yes sir” and that had been the end of the meeting. What else could she say? He was her commanding officer.

Obviously in the three days
Jane had been back at the post, General Suddath had had time to reconsider his oversight of her less-than-acceptable performance of duty. Now would come the reprimand…or worse.

General Suddath paced the length of the room before he stopped and turned back to her. “Sergeant Passerella
, I’ve given a great deal of thought to the time you spent at Camp Serenity. And it grieves me that I have allowed these past three days to pass without acting on my thoughts.”

Jane
swallowed tightly. Here it comes, she told herself and braced for the bad news.

The general retraced his steps. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “I’ve considered all that my wife has told me,” he continued. “I’ve even given due regard to what the other ladies had to say about the goings on during the two-week period. It’s a story I won’t soon forget.” He shook his gray head. “And I have to tell you, Sergeant, I’m more than a little disappointed—”

“Sir, I can explain,” Jane said abruptly, then caught herself. Her eyes rounded in disbelief. She had just interrupted the general. Damn! What was wrong with her? Her broken heart was obviously affecting her brain.

One gray
eyebrow arched in question. “May I continue, Sergeant?”

Jane
moistened her lips. “Of course, sir.”

He squared his shoulders and clasped his hands behind his back. His solemn gaze settled on hers. “As I was saying, Sergeant…I am sorely disappointed in the behavior of my wife and
her friends. I cannot—”

Jane
jerked her head in his direction. “I beg your pardon, sir?”

The general fr
owned. “Sergeant Passerella, has your hearing been impaired?”

Jane
took a deep, calming breath. “No, sir. I’m sorry, please continue.”

He glared at her. “Thank you, Sergeant.” He cleared his throat. “When Mrs. Suddath related the details of their shenanigans, I believe she called them, I was appalled. Grown women behaving like children.” He directed his disturbed gaze at
Jane. “I’m surprised you didn’t report their behavior immediately, sergeant.”

Jane
considered her response. Maybe she did have a hearing problem. Was the general, in some roundabout way, trying to let her off the hook? No way! Jane resisted the urge to shake her head. That couldn’t be right. She was clearly delusional.

“Well, sir,” she began when he shifted impatiently. “I considered the assignment a challenge.”
Yeah, right,
Jane scoffed silently.

“Whatever the case,
sergeant,” he replied dismissively, “I would like to personally commend your handling of the situation. You did a fine job considering the circumstances and I’m most grateful.”

Huh?
Jane looked quickly from side to side. This had to be a set up.

Jane
took the general’s continued silence as her cue. “Thank you, sir. If that’s all, sir, I’ll report back to my troops.”

General Suddath
stroked his chin a moment. “Actually, Sergeant, there is one other thing we need to discuss.”

Jane
did a mental double take. Uh-oh. She knew this was too good to be true. Now came the kicker. She held her breath.

“I’ve been giving some thought to my hasty decision of removing you from the Camp Serenity assignment.”

Jane’s breath rushed out of her lungs. Boy, he’d been doing an awful lot of thinking where she was concerned.

“Considering your patience and ability to see the best in people, I believe you would be a true asset to the camp. So, I’ve decided to send you back.”

Jane’s head shook before her brain could give it the command not to.

“You have a problem with that, s
ergeant?”

“No, sir
,” she said immediately, and swallowed. “Yes, sir,” she amended cautiously. “I think I would best serve this command right here on the post.”

The general cocked his head and studied her. “Are you saying, Sergeant Passerella, that you know what serves this command better than I?”

“Oh, no, sir,” Jane exclaimed. She was getting in deeper all the time. Did they court-martial soldiers for stupidity? The image of Tom’s amazing blue eyes kept appearing before her eyes, distracting her. The memory of his kisses, his lovemaking was playing havoc with her ability to reason.

“I’m just…”
Jane didn’t know what to say.

“Confused?” the general offered.

She nodded. “Yes, sir.” How did he know?

“Welcome to the club, Sergeant.” A small smile got past his authoritative demeanor.
“Love does that to you, so you might as well get used to it.”

“I don’t understand, sir,”
Jane said, more than a little bewildered. She couldn’t have heard him right. She was going deaf
and
getting stupid.

The general sighed. “What’s to understand, Sergeant? I’ve given an order, you obey.”

Jane opened her mouth to speak but he halted her with one upraised palm.

“I would con
sider it a personal favor, sergeant.”

Confusion reigned supreme. “A favor, sir?”

“My wife has threatened to kick me out of the house if I don’t send you back to Mr. Caldwell ASAP,” he finally said with defeat.

“To Tom?”
Jane frowned. How could the general know? “But why?”

“Sandra seems to believ
e you’re in love with the man, sergeant.” The general looked disgruntled. “Are you suggesting my wife is wrong?”

Jane
struggled with the response her mind wanted to make versus the one her heart shouted loudly. “No, sir,” she said finally.

“Well then,” General Suddath smiled. “Fall out, Sergeant Passerella. Your assignment begins immediately.”

“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.”

Jane
walked out of the general’s office totally and utterly confused. How could Sandra have known? Jane and Tom had been so careful. She shook her head. Hell, it was probably written all over both their faces.

When Tom had abruptly announced that he loved her,
Jane had been confused…scared. Was he just buying time? Did he mean it? How could she know? In the three days that had passed, Jane’d had time to think. If there was any chance Tom loved her, she should go for it. Shouldn’t she?

Love didn’t come along every day. Tom’s words echoed through her mind…
something you might wish for the rest of your life you hadn’t let slip away.

But would Tom still want her after she’d walked away from him like that?

“Sergeant Passerella,” Specialist Curry interrupted Jane’s troubling thoughts. “The general instructed that I drive you out to Camp Serenity whenever you’re ready to go.”

Jane
turned to the general’s driver. “Thank you, specialist,” She chewed her lower lips, then asked, “By the way, do you know of a pet store or a pound in the area where I could get a dog?”

Curry shrugged. “The Humane Society always has dogs to adopt,” he suggested.

Jane smiled. “Good idea, Specialist. How about taking me there first?”

~*~

Tom rifled through the sheaf of papers in his hand, then tossed the whole lot aside. He just couldn’t concentrate. He forced thoughts of Jane away. He would not go down that road again. It was pointless. Her position was clear. She didn’t love him as much as she loved her career. Tom raked his fingers through his hair and forced his attention back on the mountains of papers on the desk. So maybe he had been a fool for not saying the words sooner, but he had said them. Why wasn’t that enough?

“I don’t know why you just don’t go get the woman.”

Tom looked up to find Reg loitering in his door. “Go away, Reg,” he said curtly.

Reg shook his head and made that annoying tsking sound. “You got it bad, my friend.”

Just what Tom needed. A love life analysis in the middle of the afternoon. Why didn’t the man just turn the television on to Dr. Phil and put his two cents where it wouldn’t hurt?

“Is there something you need, Reg?”

Reg strutted across the room. He folded one arm over his middle and rested his other elbow on it so that he could tap his chin. Tom swore silently. This was going to be a long one.

“
Team four has a problem with attitude,” Reg said finally, irritably. He shot Tom a look. “And if you tell me it has something to do with my wardrobe, I’ll scream. I swear I will,” Reg threatened.

Tom blew out a breath and scrubbed a hand over his face. “Have Sergeant Riggs give team four a little extra training. That ought to take some of the wind out of his sails.” Tom really didn’t like Riggs, but he was a good PT coach—or at least he had been so far. Tom had a feeling he wouldn’t have much liked anyone that General Suddath sent to replace
Jane. He swallowed the regret that rose in his throat.

“I can’t tell Sergeant Riggs anything. He’s conspicuously missing this afternoon,” Reg said impatiently.

“Missing?” Tom frowned. “He was here at lunch.”

Reg feigned a tolerant smile. “Well, be that as it may, he isn’t here now.”

Dammit. This was not a good sign. When a member of staff turned up missing, it usually meant—

“Tom! Reg!” H
attie skidded to a halt at the door. “Come quick! Team four’s hog-tied that new know-it-all sergeant and got him hanging from a tree!”

Tom groaned, then bounded out the door, across the porch and down the steps. This was all he needed. Reg followed right on his heels.

“Oh…my…God,” Reg muttered as he came to an abrupt halt in the middle of the quadrangle.

Tom pulled up short when he caught sight of
his new drill sergeant. Tom blew out a breath and shook his head. Sergeant Riggs, bound and gagged, was hanging like a baby in a makeshift cradle from a tree on the other side of the dining cabin. A four-letter word hissed past Tom’s lips. This was going to be a difficult session if it started off this way.

Reg turned to Tom. “I suppose we should cut him down.”

Tom shook his head again. “Yeah, I guess we should.”

The sound of a vehicle app
roaching from the gate snagged Tom’s attention. He turned around to find a U.S. Army automobile braking to a stop in front of his office. The driver waved and then drove away, leaving a cloud of dust in his wake.

What the hell was all
that about? The raucous jeers coming from the group of teenagers gathered around Sergeant Riggs drew Tom’s attention back in that direction. Before Tom turned away, he caught a glimpse of a silhouette in the settling dust. He jerked back around. His heart hammered against his sternum. It couldn’t be, he told himself.

When the dust cleared,
Jane stood staring back at Tom. A smile slid across his face. She was back. He frowned when he realized that what he had thought was a duffel bag at her feet wasn’t.

It was a dog.

An immense black Labrador wearing a big blue bow around his neck.

Reg slapped Tom on the back. “Go get her, lover
boy. I’ll rescue Riggs.”

Tom walked slowly to where
Jane waited. The dog wagged his tail enthusiastically.

“
Jane,” Tom offered by way of greeting. She looked beautiful, uniform and all. It was all he could do to prevent himself from sweeping her into his arms and kissing her senseless.

“Tom,” she returned. Her brown eyes were watchful, her expression guarded.

“It’s good to see you.” Tom knew he sounded wistful, as if it had been a lifetime since he had seen her instead of a mere three days.

She smiled, just a little. “It’s good to see you, too.”

Tom nodded. “Good,” he said lamely.

Jane
moistened those lips he so wanted to kiss. “I’ve come to relieve Sergeant Riggs.”

Tom gestured at the commotion behind him,
but he couldn’t take his eyes off Jane. “Not a minute too soon, it would seem.”

Jane
leaned to the right to survey the scene and the plight of the unfortunate Sergeant Riggs. “Looks that way,” she agreed.

“Reg is working on getting him down,” Tom assured her. He glanced over his shoulder and did a double take. Team four was busily stringing Reg up next to Riggs. Tom swore. He turned back to
Jane. Why was she here? He wanted to ask. Even more, he wanted to take her into his arms and convince her that she was wrong, that they could have a future together.