The Marine's Red Hot Homecoming (17 page)

Caleb’s chest hollowed, making it hard to breathe. By choosing the Marine Corps over his family, he’d lock step into his father’s feet and he didn’t like the sensation one bit. Because the last person he wanted to hurt was Hannah. But he had despite his promises to her after they had acted on the passion flaring between them. And now, with his father breathing down his neck and his parents’ constant criticism re-tightening an old emotional noose, he didn’t know how to have the new life that he had begun to carve out with Hannah. Not without losing the man he had become after he had left Sweetbriar Springs.

Chapter Fourteen

Hannah finished changing Jason’s diaper, blew a raspberry kiss onto his pudgy belly, and his giggles filled the room. Oh, how she cherished these early morning moments with him.

“Okay, little buddy. Time to get you dressed and ready for Lori Catherine,” she said. Also time for her to hurry and change for the start of her week.

But before she brought Jason over to the babysitter, Hannah decided to give him some playtime with Caleb. Quickly, she dressed him in his new Snap the Turtle T-shirt and jeans. “Let’s go see Daddy,” she said, tying his mini converse sneakers.

“Yay,” he squealed.

Hannah scooped him into her arms and settled him onto her right hip. Still wearing her purple yoga pants and a matching lavender T-shirt, she padded barefoot into the hallway and walked toward Caleb’s bedroom. When she didn’t find him inside, she hunted for him in the kitchen. Still no sign of him.

A lead weight dropped into her lungs. Yesterday’s Mother’s Day bunch had not gone well, but today was a new day and she was determined to focus on what she could control. Work. Jason—sort of—and, if she had her way, building a solid family with Caleb based on mutual respect and trust. “Let’s figure out where your daddy’s hiding,” she said, forcing a bright tone and hoping Jason wouldn’t pick up on the internal dismay bubbling beneath her skin.

Because building a commitment based on love, not a misguided sense of obligation, might never happen. After yesterday’s debacle, she feared that Caleb would never shed the demons of his past, which would make him able to embrace the possibilities of the future. And she refused to force him to choose between her and his country. He had to decide for himself what was best, and she had to figure out if she could live with his decision. The memory of Brandon’s descent into PTSD hell still lurked in the corners of her mind, making her doubt if love held the power to overcome those demons.

She rounded the corner that lead to Caleb’s home office and heard him speaking. “I think I found him, little buddy.” Hannah quickened her pace, then held him closer to her chest.

When Hannah reached Caleb’s office door, she paused at the opening. He stood in front of the floor to ceiling window that overlooked the valley below and the mountain in the distance, his cell phone pressed to his ear.

“I’ll be there by noon,” he said. “Yes. Everything’s fine here. Dad’s on the mend. Looks like he’ll be ready to resume his position before the end of the month.” He pressed his free hand against the window. “I’ve got the paperwork in order. She’ll be well-taken care of. They won’t have to worry about a thing no matter what happens.”

The early morning sun lit up the spacious room, reflecting flecks of gold in his close cropped blond hair. Already dressed in dark dress slacks and wearing a gray pin striped shirt, Caleb looked like he had been up for hours. Slowly, she stepped in the room, careful not to disrupt his conversation.

Jason, however, had other ideas. “Daddy,” he said, wiggling in her arms until she let him down to run to his father across the gleaming hardwood maple floor.

Caleb turned around, and a smile spread across his handsome face. “Something’s come up. We’ll talk when I get to Raleigh.” He hung up, knelt on one knee and spread his arms wide to catch him. “Hey there little buddy.”

He swept Jason into a huge bear hug, clearly happy to see their son. But when he glanced at Hannah over Jason’s towhead, his eyes were shadowed and lines bracketed his mouth.

Birds chirped outside in the trees that surrounded the mountain house, light sparkled off dust motes dancing in the air, but she couldn’t shake off the sudden gloom shadowing her thoughts.

“You’re leaving town?”

“Problem with the plant in Raleigh.” Caleb stood, still holding Jason in his powerful right arm. “The call I missed last Friday required my input. Now I’ve got to put out a fire before it blazes out of control.”

“How long will you be gone?” And what else had he set into motion minutes earlier when she overheard his last strands of conversation? But she swallowed that question, shelving it for a later discussion.

“Not more than a few days.” He lifted Jason, then settled him on his shoulders. “Should be home by Friday at the latest.”

Hannah wanted to take his free hand and intertwine her fingers with his, lend her support in some small way. A gesture between a wife and her husband. Ordinary, yet powerful in all that it implied. But he hadn’t asked for her input. She supposed he didn’t want to hear what she had to say again.

Instead, she moved out of the sunlight into the shade beside Caleb’s desk. “I’ll check with Lori to ask if she needs to pick up some extra hours in the evenings while you’re gone.”

“And if she can’t?” Caleb asked.

“Mom and Dad will be back on Wednesday.” She picked up a framed photo and stared at the four men in camouflage posing in the picture with Caleb. “I’m sure they’ll be happy to pitch in if I need extra help.” After all they had been there for her during the years that Caleb had been overseas.

“I’m leaving in less than an hour. You sure you’ll be okay?”

No. She’d gotten used to having him at home with her in the evenings. “Of course,” she said. “You don’t have to worry about us while you’re gone. We’ll be fine.” But her words sounded hollow in her ears. Even when he’d been busy working in his office, knowing he was a room away had brought her a sense of security that she hadn’t realized she’d been missing in the years that he had been gone.

He joined her, glanced at the black frame she held. “Best team I’ve served with since I joined the Marines.”

She traced his face, paused at the scruff of beard covering his jawline and chin. “They still over there?”

“In Germany for some R and R, between assignments,” he said. “Waiting for new orders.”

She placed the photo back on the cherry wood desk, noted the lack of family photos missing from his bookshelves. Only Marine paraphernalia had been tucked into the empty spaces between binders, marketing books, and war histories. “Are they waiting for you, too?” she asked.

Jason kicked his little feet and Caleb steadied them. “They’ll do what is asked of them whether or not I’m there. But there’s still time before they go out on their next tour.”

“How much time?”

“Next tour starts the week after Memorial Day.”

Less than a month away. Saying goodbye this time would be much harder than failing to convince him to stay home two years ago. “So you’ll be home for the grand reopening of the downtown historic district?” she asked.

He swallowed hard. “I plan on it.”

Her nose itched and tiny pins pricked behind her eyes. She couldn’t, no she wouldn’t, ask Caleb to choose between her and his duty to his country again. That wasn’t fair. But oh, she had hoped that he’d want to permanently trade in his combat boots for pinstriped suits. She’d had examples of families that made it after their spouses assimilated back into civilian life, or had traveled the world as part of their service to their country. But she’d also lived through the hell of that not working, and now that he was home, she couldn’t bear the idea of his leaving while the very real risk of the consequences of war loomed. Physically and emotionally.

Even if her brave billionaire Marine returned home alive, he might not be the same man she had sent into battle.

###

There was no mistaking the unspoken question in Hannah’s voice when she asked Caleb about his plans. He looked at the picture of guys in his unit, then back at her.

“I don’t know how long it’ll take to get the plant back on schedule.” Jason curled his hands around Caleb’s neck, his grip strong and sure. Now more than ever, Caleb needed to make sure he protected his son’s legacy. So much was riding on this trip. “It’s important. The computer and imaging technology along with the missile defense tracking system has a test in Hawaii in two months. If we fail to prove the program is viable, Gibson Technologies will lose a huge government contract.”

“We’ll miss you.” Hannah reached for Jason who dove straight into her arms. She lowered him and he crossed the floor to the toy chest he’d installed in the space. “Are you sure you have to go?”

Great. If Hannah didn’t like the idea of him being gone for a few days, how the hell would she feel if he took off for two years? All of his hard work to win her over seemed pointless. “I won’t be gone long,” he said.

“Not this time.” She folded her arms across her chest. “I could probably live with a few weeks apart, but months? Years? Not so much.”

No. She wouldn’t understand if he re-upped for a fourth tour of duty. Damn it. “Are you asking me to choose again?”

“No. I won’t make that mistake again.”

He picked up his black briefcase, checked the contents one more time before snapping it closed, then watched Jason pull out a mesh bag filled with building blocks. Briefly, he wondered if he had ever felt that same level of comfort in his father’s den. “You cared for me. I get that what happened with Brandon freaked you out about what I might go through.”

“I will always love you,” she said. “And worry about you. That will never change, but my reasons for trying to stop you haven’t either.”

She loved him. Yet, not enough to give him what he needed. A way to balance a military career with her by his side. But right now, looking at her beautiful face and reading all the compassion behind her words, Caleb realized he didn’t want to go. Not today. Maybe not ever. The knowledge hit him in the solar plexus with the force of a sledgehammer and ricocheted with the accuracy of a bullet against his ribcage. Feeling strangely disoriented, he clasped the briefcase’s handle and waited for the whirlwind of thoughts to subside.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, clasping his free hand.

“I remembered a client meeting I set up for next week,” Caleb said, not wanting to get all fucking emotional when he wasn’t sure what the hell to do about the confusion swirling through his brain. “Guy needs reassurance and some suck up time or he’s going to pull his contract. I dropped the ball last Friday when I...” he clipped his glance over to Jason. He’d been there for his little guy, but that had cost him serious time with the client. Had his father ever been equally as conflicted but had just hidden it behind his gruff nature?

“Things did get pretty hectic that day. I’m sorry I left him with you,” she said. “Tell me what you need. I’ll organize the details while you’re in Raleigh.”

Damn it again. Now she was apologizing for asking him to be a father to his kid. “I wanted to stay with Jason. But yes, it could help a lot if you took care of things while I’m away,” he said.

“Used to do this for Brandon when I was in Los Angeles.” She shrugged. “I’ll call the catering department at Sweetbriar Springs Resort. We’ll pull together a menu that’ll impress the man.”

“He’s bringing his wife,” Caleb said. “She’s a nitpicker.”

“I can handle nitpickers. I have a toddler, remember?”

He laughed. But inside he also felt a hint of regret that she had forgotten to include him as part of the family equation. He hated the reminder about her past in Los Angeles. The bastard she had lived with had overstepped his rights as a man, turning Hannah into a piece of arm candy in public and forcing her into situations that had reduced her to nothing more than a human sex toy in the bedroom.

He sure as hell didn’t want her to think he’d ever demand either scenario from her. “I don’t expect you to be at my beck and call,” he said. “You have your own business to run.”

“One that I salvaged a lot more quickly with your help.” She removed her hand from his. “This is what...” she looked away, chewed her delectable lower lip, then said, “This is what partners do. My parents taught me that you have to help each other through the tough spots. So take care of your crisis in Raleigh. I’ll arrange dinner for next week.”

“That’s a good lesson,” Caleb said through a tight throat. “I’m glad one of us had it when we were growing up.”

“Even your parents have learned to give and take, especially since your dad’s stroke.”

“Too bad my dad can’t take that attitude into the boardroom,” he said, then grabbed his suit jacket from the chair behind his desk and put it on.

Her brows furrowed. “What do you mean? I thought he was still focusing on his rehab and your mom told me she hoped he’d step down, retire. He’s been hinting about it for a few weeks.”

“Mom must have read more into what Dad implied,” Caleb said. “Because the truth is I have to stop him from taking back his position by the end of the week, or else the board will rebel. I’ve got everything worked out for the company to run smoothly regardless of where I am.”