To Love and Heal (The Power of Love Series) (9 page)

"I will – I have too much waiting for me back home not
to." He turned to Anna.  "You take care of this big lug while
I'm gone, you hear me?"

Anna smiled, deliberately casting her eyes away from any
possible reaction from Caleb as she replied, "I'll do my best."

After a prolonged handshake and a back-slapping embrace at
the doorway, Joel disappeared as Caleb closed the door behind him. 
Minutes passed in awkward silence as he and Anna took turns alternatingly
staring at the floor and then the ceiling. 

"He'll be okay," Anna finally mustered up the
strength to say.  But the doubt of her own declaration was noted in her
shaky voice.

Caleb's eyes met hers with an unexpected and angry
steeliness that caused her to catch her breath. "I have work to do,"
he finally said, slamming the door behind him as he headed outside.

Anna stumbled back a step, wondering what had just
transpired.  Did she sound so foolish in trying to offer an optimistic
assessment that it infuriated rather than reassured him?  She closed her
eyes for several moments, conflicting thoughts vying to be heard.  Maybe
he was just angry at the circumstances, she reasoned, at the very real
possibility of never seeing a good friend again.  Or maybe he saw her as
nothing more than a clueless and naïve individual, someone who couldn't
possibly fathom the grave and unrelenting dangers of war when her biggest
physical threat to date had been a sore wrist from sliding a computer
mouse. 

She cautiously approached the kitchen window that looked
out onto the backyard, immediately spotting Caleb as he rifled through a
toolbox next to a stack of plywood.  Suddenly, he grabbed a wrench and
hurled it full force through the air.  Anna winced as it landed in one of
her carefully manicured rosebushes, grateful that there were no birds or
rummaging squirrels nearby.  Caleb looked up at the sky, as though waiting
for an explanation that would make sense of everything to suddenly fall out of
the heavens.  It never came.  As he hung his head low, his shoulders
slumped in defeat, Anna turned away.  There was only so much of Caleb's
pain that she could witness firsthand, and now that she had officially reached
the saturation point, its ache would forever be a part of her.

SEVEN

"I have great news!" Representative Lawton
declared enthusiastically. "Haley is on a flight back from Afghanistan as
we speak."  

It had been several weeks since Anna's meeting with the
lawmaker, and she clenched the phone with unbridled joy.  "Oh my god −
this is the best news I've heard in a long time!  I can't thank you
enough!"  

"Well, I guess that's one of the benefits of being a
lawmaker.  All that schmoozing and back-slapping does pay off sometimes
when it means making connections that get the impossible done."

"When do you think I'll be able to get her?" Anna
eagerly asked.

"She's on an overnight flight that's scheduled to
arrive later this morning, and a local vet has volunteered to give her a
look-over to make sure everything is up to par.  So I'm thinking she'll be
good to go later this afternoon.  I'll call you beforehand and you can
swing by my office and pick her up."

"Thank you so much, Representative Lawton.  I owe
you big-time."

"Not at
all.  But I do think once Haley gets settled in and reacquainted with
Caleb, it might be nice to have the local paper do a story on their
situation.  It can't hurt to call attention to what these dogs have been
doing for our soldiers – and how they can still help out in other ways once
these soldiers are back home."

"I agree
totally.  I'll definitely get that moving along once the dust settles
here.  The excited dust, I should add."

The congresswoman
chuckled.  "Sounds like a plan – I'll see you later this
afternoon."

Anna ended the
call and looked wistfully out the window at the rays of sun that poked through
a large oak tree.  She thought of all the odds that were initially against
reuniting Haley and Caleb, and could only surmise one thing: 
Dreams
sometimes really do come true.

Five hours later,
Anna was once again looking out a window, but this time it was from the kitchen
as she watched Caleb cut a slab of wood that was straddled across two
sawhorses.  She had wanted to wait for the perfect moment to reunite Haley
with Caleb, but then it dawned on her that it was the other way around –
any
moment would
become
perfect once the two of them were brought together
again.

"Here
goes," she said to Haley, who was sitting quietly at her feet. 
Leaning over, she adjusted the large red bow that she had earlier fastened
around Haley's neck.  "You look beautiful," she declared as
Haley thumped her tail in appreciation.

"Stay,"
Anna said gently as she opened the back door and called out to Caleb.  He
turned off the power saw and looked up, wiping his brow with his sleeve.

"There's
someone here to see you," Anna said as she snapped her fingers behind her
to coax Haley over.

Caleb looked
surprised. "Who?"

She waited for him
to safely put down the power saw and emerge from behind the sawhorses. 
"Go, girl!" she instructed as she opened the door wide and Haley
bounded out.

Immediately
spotting Caleb, Haley momentarily froze before leaping forward with an excited
bark. Anna watched with immense satisfaction as Caleb's mouth dropped open, his
arms outstretched as Haley jumped into them, nearly knocking him over as she
momentarily forgot that she was an eighty-pound black Lab mix and not a
fifteen-pound Chihuahua.  As the stricken look of shock on Caleb's face
slowly melted into sheer joy, he kneeled down to the ground with her as the
canine love fest continued.  Anna laughed as she headed over to them,
Caleb's face buried in a blur of black fur and pink tongue. Managing to break
free for several moments, he shook his head incredulously.  "I don't
believe this … I truly don't believe this.  How …?"

"How did I
get her here?" Anna replied as she gladly finished his question.
"Let's just say I had a little help – make that a lot of help – from a
dog-loving congresswoman whose husband just happens to be on the board of
Vantage Airways."

As Caleb shook his
head with disbelief once again, Haley moved in sync in an effort to lick every
square inch of his face.  "I don't even know what to say."

Anna
laughed.  "Even if you did, I don't think she would let you get a
word in edgewise."

Caleb stood up,
grinning as he wiped off the trail of saliva on his face.  Panting with
excitement, Haley sat by his feet, then inched over until she was actually
resting her body on top of them.

"I don't
think she wants you to go anywhere," Anna observed with a laugh.

Caleb visibly drew
in a deep breath.  "I honestly don't think I've ever been so
surprised about anything in my life."  He paused before adding,
"At least not about something good."

Anna smiled. 
"I thought this might catch you off-guard a bit."

"Catch me
off-guard – that's putting it mildly.  This is the nicest … the most
meaningful thing that anyone has ever done for me."

Anna was tempted
to think that he was just being kind, but the earnestness in his eyes told her
otherwise. "Well, I think I'll let you two get reacquainted while I finish
up some work," she said.

"You sure you
can't hang out with us a bit?"

"I think
Hayley wants you all to herself right now.  Besides, I'm finishing up a
client's web site and I told him I'd be done by the end of the day."

"Well, if you
change your mind−" Caleb was silenced as he bent down to pet Haley,
who quickly surged upward as she initiated another round of face licks.

Lucky dog …
Anna thought to herself as she watched the two of them tumble around
together.   Caleb was clearly capable of affection – just not with
her. 
 
Still, she wouldn't let unrequited yearnings take away
from the overwhelming happiness of the moment.  Caleb and Haley were
together again, and for that, she was pleased beyond words.

The afternoon passed
by quickly as it always did when she was engrossed in work, and as the early
evening arrived, Anna found herself hesitantly knocking on the guesthouse
door.   The last time she had done so, the night had quickly ended
with a humiliating exit, but she reminded herself that this time her visit was
strictly on Haley's behalf.

"Hey,"
Caleb said, looking slightly surprised as he opened the door. 

Before he could
misconstrue her reason for being there, Anna thrust a bottle of canine
probiotics into view.  "I forgot about these earlier.  The vet
felt that her coat was looking kind of dull, and that these would help her
digest nutrients from her food better.  Plus he said that with everything
she's been through, they could help strengthen her immune system."

"Thanks,"
Caleb said as he took the bottle.  As Haley popped her head out from
behind his legs, Anna reached down and scratched her nose.  Looking up,
she was surprised to find that Caleb was pointedly staring at her. Momentarily
unnerved by his intensity, she looked away, only to find that his line of
vision was unmoved when she turned back.

"Is something
wrong?" she finally asked.

Without answering,
Caleb reached over and grabbed her forearm, pulling her inside and swinging the
door shut behind them.  Searching his eyes for an explanation, Anna was
instead answered by the warmth of his lips as he pulled her body against his,
kissing her hungrily and pulling her even closer until the softness of her body
felt like it had collided with a brick wall of solid muscle. She felt almost
dizzy with intoxication as he entwined his tongue around hers, pulling the
bottom of her red halter top away and sliding his hand up her back.  The
warmth of his hand on her bare skin sent shivers the length of her body, and as
he backed his way through the small living room, still holding her tight in his
clutches, she willingly allowed herself to be pulled along, her body humming
with anticipation.  Moments later they were in the bedroom, Anna gazing
into Caleb's eyes as he gently hoisted her onto the bed, standing over her
quietly as she took his strong hand and held it with both of her own, kissing
each fingertip and then pulling him down on the bed beside her. He draped
himself over her, and though a word had yet to be uttered, a knowingness passed
between them that spoke volumes with every exhilarating touch and lingering
glance.  Silently they undressed, slowly at first but then with quickened
frenzy until they were furiously helping each other shed clothing as though the
materials burned their fingers.  As she pulled his shirt over his head,
Anna caught her breath at the sight of Caleb's smoothly muscular arms and chest
as he sat on the side of the bed facing her.  She wrapped her arms around
him as he pulled her over, her hands brushing up against the medley of scars
across his back.  As his body stiffened, he reached behind and gently
pulled her hands away, his eyes telling her more than he could ever verbally
reveal about their significance. After several weighted moments passed between
them, she kissed him softly on the forehead, then maneuvered herself behind him
as she kneeled on the bed and hugged him close. As her cheek leaned against the
raised skin that snaked its away around his back, she closed her eyes and held
him tighter, lifting her cheek and then replacing it with a kiss, followed by
another kiss just inches to the side, and then another as she slowly circled
his back with the warmth of her lips.  Though she felt his muscles almost
violently seize up with the first kiss, she now could feel him begin to relax
and slowly breathe again. Turning around, he pulled her into a passionate kiss,
his hands cupping her breasts and brushing against her nipples, sending waves
of pleasure down to the spot that ached for him with an intensity unlike any
she had ever known.  Pulling her onto his lap, he stood up and gripped her
buttocks as she wrapped her legs around him, gently releasing her as they fell
back together on the bed, his body enveloping hers with a heaviness that somehow
seemed to melt through her.  As his tongue explored every inch of her
body, she closed her eyes and gripped the blanket beneath her until she could
take it no more, sliding further down underneath him until she could feel his
hardness pushing against her.  Time seemed to stand still as they locked
eyes and he slowly entered her, pushing into the deepest areas as they moved in
sync, each thrust stealing more of her breath as heightening pleasure set every
nerve ending in her body on fire, culminating in an explosive wave of ecstasy
that threatened to take her breath away for good.  Caleb's breathing
quickened as he gripped her tight, his body shuddering as he came inside her, a
final gasp of air as his rigid body released and he rolled onto his back.

"Oh my
god," he said quietly, the silence now officially broken. He turned to
face Anna, saying nothing more as his eyes searched hers, then pulling her
close to his side as he wrapped his arms around her.

Anna kissed his
chest as she burrowed into his protective arms.  Several moments passed
before she, too, spoke.   "I know one thing."

Caleb peered down
at her.  "What's that?"

"I should
show up at your door with doggie vitamins more often."

He smiled, pulling
her into him even closer.

 Caleb lied
awake in the dark, slowly stroking Anna's hair as she slept with her head
nestled up against his chest.  The fear of having a violent nightmare in
her midst was enough to send adrenaline shooting through his body that was
anything but sleep-inducing, and in this instance, he was grateful for the
insomnia. As snippets of their earlier lovemaking played out in his mind, he
thought about how he had so much wanted to be with her in this way for so long
… and how it was everything he could have hoped for − and more.  But
where did they go from here?  The threat of a nightmare – and of
unintentionally harming Anna − was as real now as ever before.  And
that was just for starters.  He shook his head, wondering how things could
be turned so upside down.  They had just been physically intimate for the
first time, and he was the one lying awake and pondering what it all meant,
while she was sound asleep and seemingly without a care in the world. 
Somehow it seemed like it should be the opposite … but then again, there was
very little in his life that made sense anymore.  He closed his eyes,
recalling the moment with Anna – an instant and yet timeless − when inner
pain and regret, guilt and remorse, had dropped away from his soul for the
first time in five years.  He had been in the clutches of this torment for
so long that he had forgotten what it was like to be free.  And now that
it was back, its chokehold was stronger than ever … as if warning him what
would happen if he ever tried to be free from it again.