Finish the Course (The Barnes Family Book 1) (18 page)

              She looked down at her plate, “Well, giving me this much food doesn’t help your case.”

              He looked down at the food he had offered her.

              She traded plates with him and served herself a more reasonable portion.

              “Anna, you’re gorgeous. Even in uniform, you are the most beautiful woman I know. If I couldn’t see your figure, then your mannerisms, your voice, the way you move. . .you’re all woman. And I love every bit of you.”

              She smiled at him before lifting her fork for a bite. His words soothed her more than a thousand fancy meals could.

              They ate for a few minutes in silence.

              “I also love that you play basketball better than most of the men I know,” he waggled his eyebrows.

              She took a sip of wine, “Better than you?”

              “Don’t get ahead of yourself,” he chastised her. “I can do a layup.”

              “My coach used to make me stay after to practice.”

              “Why didn’t it work?”

              She threw her wadded up napkin at him in revenge. He caught it with a grin.

              “I don’t know,” she answered honestly as she rose from her seat. “I think it was the timing.”

              “Of the practice?” he led her to the living room.

              “No,” she hip-checked him. “I just can’t get the timing right on the layup. I shoot too soon or too late.”

              “I’m glad we got the timing of us worked out,” he leaned down and kissed her cheek.

              “That was almost sappy, Major Reed.”

              He rested his hands on her shoulders, “Must be the dress.”

              She smiled, “You want a ride home?”

              He gave her a quick kiss, “No thanks. I need the walk.”

              “You picking me up for church on Sunday?”

              He scowled, “Won’t I see you tomorrow?”

              She shook her head, “I have class.”

              “Psychodiagnostics?”

              “And Techniques of Group Counseling.”

              He made a face, “Sounds fun.”

              “More fun than spending the night outside in twenty-below weather, hoping the storm holds off until command picks you up.”

              “Ah,” he grinned. “Now there’s some fun for ya.”

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Sunday night, Slater got a call that his presence was required in Washington. He decided to use the time away to accomplish something.

Slater still didn’t know which flower was her favorite, but he didn’t let that stop him. On Monday, he sent her irises. She called to say she loved them.

              “The woman at the flower shop said they represent inspiration,” he told her.

              “They’re lovely.”

              On Tuesday he sent lilies and a note that said he would love to take her out for the special holiday – crowded or not, but he was going to be in meetings for at least two more days.

              She called to tell him all the women in the office were jealous.

              On Wednesday, he sent yellow tulips.

             
The woman at the flower shop told me they signify hopelessly in love. I thought it fitting.

              On Thursday, he sent her daffodils.

              On Friday morning, she waited for the flowers to arrive, but they didn’t. She was a little disappointed but didn’t dwell on it.

              “Barnes,” Colonel Olson poked his head in the door just after twelve hundred, “I need you to go to the airfield and pick someone up for me.”

              She rose, “Yes, sir. Who is it?”

              He shrugged and walked away.

              Anna thought it was a little strange, but she wasn’t about to question him. She climbed into the jeep and drove to the appointed strip. Nobody was there, but there was something unusual out on the tarmac. She got out to take a closer look. It was flowers. Cornflowers.  She was pondering how several dozen bouquets of cornflowers ended up scattered around the field when a movement behind her caught her eye.

              It was Slater, dressed in his Class A’s. He was walking toward her with another bouquet of cornflowers in his hand.

              She turned slowly, “I suppose you’re responsible for this?”

              “I broke down and asked your mom what your favorite flower is.”

              She walked toward him, “This is a lot of cornflowers.”

              He grinned, “Did you know they’re also called bachelor’s buttons?”

              She was about to respond in the affirmative, but he turned her attention skyward.

              There was a plane flying overhead. This was nothing new, but apparently, there was a jump going on. She hadn’t heard anything about a jump today.

              As the dots in the sky came closer, she could see there were actually five jumpers. She watched as they spread apart. She soon realized they were holding a banner. She squinted to read it.

             
Will you marry me?

              Anna turned and looked up at Slater. She knew her eyes must look like pie plates.

              “Before I met you, I thought I wanted to be a bachelor forever,” he dropped to his knee, “but now I just want you, Anna.”

              She looked up at the men who were still gliding down.

              “I love you, Major Barnes,” he tugged on her hand, “are you going to answer me or make me wait all day?”

              She nodded, too awestruck to speak.

              He stood up and pulled her up into his arms, swinging her around in a circle.

              The crew from a nearby hangar cheered.

              He set her down and kissed her in front of the crowd.

              He finally pulled back at the sound of Hall’s voice.

              “I assume this means she said yes,” that man was winding up the banner as he walked toward them.

              “Oh,” Slater started like he was shocked, “I forgot.”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a black box.

              Anna looked down as he opened it. Inside was a rather large princess cut diamond in a platinum setting.

              “It’s beautiful,” she whispered as he slipped it onto her finger.

              “You said yes before you saw the ring?” Garret had joined them, “it could have been a piece of tin.”

              She looked up at Slater, “I would have married him with a piece of yarn around my finger, Captain.”

              “In that case,” DeWitt was struggling with his end of the banner, “you can hand it over. My wife wouldn’t mind a spare.”

              Captain Hall waved to the others, “C’mon, guys. We’ve got a swim today.”

              Anna shuddered, “Swimming in February.”

              “At least we’re in North Carolina,” Slater led her back to the jeep.

              She didn’t think that made enough difference, “It’s 47 today.”

              He lay the bouquet down and went to retrieve the ones strewn about, “Don’t worry about it. We’ll be fully dressed.”

              She cringed, “We?”

              “Sorry,” he brought back the bachelor’s buttons. “I tried to reschedule the swim for tomorrow, so I could spend the afternoon with you, but some of the guys have their halos tomorrow.”

              She scooted over so he could drive, “I wasn’t thinking of myself, Slater.”

              He leaned over to capture her lips in a brief kiss, “I’ve missed you.”

              She bit her lip, “This was beautiful, Slater.”

              He took her hand to drive her back to her own building, “I think I used up all my romantic gestures for the next few months.”

              She laughed, “Thanks for the warning.”

              “I had some help in the idea department,” he admitted as he pulled into a parking spot.

              “From who?”

              “Colonel Olson’s wife.”

              “Nice of her.”

              Slater agreed.

              She turned and looked at him, “Just so you know, I would have said yes if you had just said, ‘Hey, wanna get hitched?’ sometime after we played basketball.”

              He snapped his fingers and affected an air of disgust, “Nuts. That was my first plan.”

              She laughed at him, “I would have been a little disappointed, but I would have said yes.”

              He lifted her fingers to his lips, “Glad I didn’t go that route then.”

              “This was far above anything I had ever imagined, Slater,” she wiped a tear away. “Thank you.”

CHAPTER TWENTY

They set their wedding for the beginning of May. They wanted as much time together before Slater, who was scheduled to leave before Anna, was sent to his next assignment – probably Afghanistan again.

              “You look beautiful,” Esther stuck another flower in her daughter’s hair which was twisted so intricately, Anna wondered if she would be able return her hair to normal without cutting it off.

              “Thanks, Mom.”

              Her father spoke from the door, “Are you sure you don’t want to wear your dress uniform?”

              She looked down at the snow-white gown of silk and lace, “I think I’ll stick with this.”

              He approached her, “And you’re sure you want to do this?”

              “Marry Slater?” she knew that was not what her dad was talking about.

              He laughed, “I don’t need to ask about that. I’m talking about the other.”

              She nodded, “I’m sure.”

              Anna’s heart was beating so hard during the wedding that she wondered at nobody being distracted by the sound.

              She looked up at Slater, so confident in his decision, his eyes shining with his love for her, and she knew she had made the right choice.

              “I now pronounce you man and wife,” the ceremony was over quickly, “you may kiss the bride.”

              They escorted their many guests out and headed to the reception hall.

              “I have a wedding present for you,” Anna pulled an envelope from her clutch as they rode in the limousine.

              He looked down at it, “What is it?”

              She didn’t answer him.

              He opened it, frowned, and looked back down.

“Anna,” his breath caught, “you don’t have to do this.”

              “I already did,” she pointed to a date on the page. “I’m separating from the Air Force. I don’t want to be constantly hoping our deployment and leave times coincide. My term is up in thirteen months, and I’m not reenlisting.”

              He shook his head and reached into his coat pocket, “I had the same thought.”

              Anna reached with shaky hands for his envelope, “Slater, you can’t do this.”

              He laughed a little, “But you can?”

              She forced it back on him, “It isn’t the same thing, Slater.”

              He scowled at her, “You can give up your career for me, but I can’t do the same for you?”

              “I never meant to stay in the service this long, Slater. I only stayed in as long as I did because I wasn’t sure what else to do,” she took his hands. “This was your dream as a child. You still have goals to meet. You love your job.”

              He sighed, “I’ve already turned it in.”

              “I’m sure it can be fixed,” she scooted closer. “Don’t do it, Slater.”

              He stared at her for a few moments before dropping back against the seat, “What will you do once you’re done?”

              “I’ll finish my counseling certification and see if I can get a job around Bragg.”

              “I don’t know if I say this often enough, Anna, but I love you.”

              She leaned into him for the remaining few blocks, not caring that her dress was being crushed by the action.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

“I wish we had one more day in Ireland,” Anna admitted as they lay in their bed at the B&B where they had stayed three nights.

              “I suppose we could alter our plans,” Slater ran a finger over her bare shoulder, “but I have a surprise for you on the next leg.”

              She sighed, “Then I suppose we should go, but I feel like we haven’t used our time here to the fullest.”

              Slater looked down at her, “Anything I can do to remedy that?”

              Anna propped herself up on her elbow.

“I am sure I can think of something,” she leaned down to kiss him.

              They rode a boat to the continent.

              “I need to tell you about my surprise before we get there,” Slater was a bit nervous as to how this was going to go, “if you hate the idea, I can call it off, and we can skip it.”

              Anna frowned.

“Okay,” she drew the word out slowly.

              “I found Greely Walker.”

              Anna’s eyes widened.

              “She’s still in Paris.”

              “How’d you find her? I tried for a while, but I couldn’t.”

              “I had some help,” he admitted and went on. “You said you wanted to talk to her about what happened. I thought we could visit with her.”

              Anna shook her head, “I can’t believe you found her.”

              “So, do you want to see her?”

              She nodded, “I do.”

              “Okay,” he inhaled. This part was going to be harder, “there’s more.”

              “What is it?”

              “She has a son.”

              That floored Anna, “A son?”

              He nodded.

              “How old? Was she – is she married?”

              “Her son is ten and a half, Anna.”

              Slater watched his wife’s face distort in pain, “It’s Judah’s son?”

              Slater took his wife’s hand, “There’s more to it than that, honey, but yes. Nate is Judah’s son.”

              “Nate?”

Slater stroked her fingers.

“Short for Nathaniel?”

“Yes.”

He could tell she was angry, sad, and nervous. He didn’t have a clue how to make it easier for her and wondered again if he should have just let things lie.

              “When are we going to see her?”

              “I set up an appointment for tomorrow morning, but we can change it – or cancel it.”

              “No,” she swiped at a tear, “it’s been too long already.”

              They waited in the restaurant the next day. Greely was not late.

              “Anna,” a blonde woman, a couple inches shorter than Anna walked up to the table.

              “Greely,” the younger woman rose and stood in indecision.

              Greely looked unsure of herself as well.

              Slater broke the ice, “I’m Slater Reed. It’s nice to finally meet you, Miss Walker.”

              “You too, Mr. Reed – or should it be Major?”

              “Slater,” he indicated a chair.

              The women stared at each other across the table.

              “Why, Greely?” Anna’s forthrightness came to the fore.

              “I couldn’t stay, Anna,” her voice sounded desperate.

              “Does Judah even know about Nate?”

              “He did,” Greely looked down at her hands. “He doesn’t anymore.”

              Slater and Anna looked at each other and then back at Greely, waiting for an explanation.

              “He knew I was expecting. He gave me money to – as he put it – take care of it. I never told him I did, but I couldn’t tell him I didn’t. He said we weren’t ready to be parents. We both had bright futures, and a kid would get in the way.”

              Anna felt tears threatening, “He thinks you aborted the baby?”

              Greely nodded, “I know it was wrong to let him think that, but I didn’t want to force him into a life he didn’t want, and I was afraid he would continue to pressure me if he knew.”

              “So you broke up with him?”

              Greely nodded, “I knew I couldn’t have him – not truly – if I kept the baby and,” her voice caught, “he never would really have me if he made me give him up.”

              Anna held out a hand, “I’m so sorry, Greely. For blaming you.”

              “Blaming me?” she frowned.

              “For the end of the relationship. We all loved you. Judah loved you so much.”

              She sighed, “He let me go easily enough.”

              Anna shook her head, “He’s not the same man, Greely. You broke his heart.”

              The blonde was crying in earnest now, “Well, he broke mine too.”

              They didn’t speak while they were trying to regain control.

              Finally, Anna dared to speak up, “Do you think I could meet him? Nathaniel, I mean.”

              Greely nodded, “I’d like you to, but you can’t tell him where to reach Jude.”

              “Okay. What about my parents? They’d love to know him.”

              Greely hesitated.

              Slater jumped in, “Maybe we should just take this one step at a time.”

              Greely and Anna both nodded.

              The afternoon brought Anna and Slater to Greely’s house.

              “Nate,” his mother called him from the kitchen, “Major and Mrs. Reed are here.”

              A long-legged boy came into the living room, his eyes bright with curiosity, his hair bearing a resemblance to Anna’s.

              “Hi, Major. Hello, Mrs. Reed,” he extended a hand

              “Hi, Nathaniel,” she took the hand in her own. “It’s so nice to meet you.”

              “Are you really my dad’s sister?” he shifted from one foot to another, restless – not nervous.

              Anna looked to Greely who nodded and sat down.

              Anna and Slater sat as well, “I am.”

              “What’s he like?” a natural question.

              “Tall, hair about the same color as yours.”

              He tried sitting, “Is he in the Army like you?”

              She smiled, “I’m in the Air Force, not the Army, but, no. He’s not in the military at all. He’s a doctor – a pediatrician.”

              Anna saw Greely start at that information.

              “He’s a really popular doctor,” Anna proceeded. “The kids all think he’s so cool.”

              Her nephew smiled at that, but he was ready to change topics, “So, do they let you fly planes and jets?”

              Anna laughed, “Yes, but mostly I fly helicopters.”

              Nate’s eyes widened and he looked at Slater, “Are you in the Air Force too?”

              “No. Army,” Slater looked as if he knew that would disappoint the boy.

              “Oh,” the kid did look a little let down, “so you don’t fly?”

              “Sorry, no,” Slater didn’t appear to be offended.

              “Slater’s a Green Beret,” Anna offered a plug for her husband.

              “What does that mean?”

              “He’s the guy they send in to do the really hard stuff.”

              Nate looked skeptical, “Like what?”

              Anna had to look back at Slater for that.

              “One time I went in and kidnapped a leader of another country.”

              “Why?”

              Anna wondered how Slater would explain the coup that was going on.

              “He needed to get away so the bad guys in his country couldn’t find him.”

              Nate seemed like he still didn’t think that was as cool as flying helicopters.

              “He blew up a bridge once,” Anna caught her husband’s eye.

Slater was amused.

              “Cool!” Nate was completely focused on Slater now, “how’d you do it.”

              “Our weapons sergeant figured it out.”

              Nate seemed mildly disappointed, “So you don’t know how to do it?”

              “I might be able to figure it out, but it’s better if we stick to our specialties.”

              “What’s your specialty?”

              “I’m a sniper.”

              Anna frowned at him, “He’s the leader. He tells everyone else what to do and when to do it.”

“What do you have to tell them to do?” Nate’s expression hadn’t changed much.                            Anna jumped in, “He tells them when to shave.”

              Nate laughed, “You do not.”

              She nodded, “One time they were out on a mission for five months, and when they came back they were all wearing long scruffy beards.”

              “Cool.”

              Anna wrinkled her nose, “Not really. They don’t always take baths while they’re out there.”

              “Bet you didn’t want to kiss him then.”

              “She would have,” Slater protested loudly, “but she didn’t know me then.”

              “And you told them all to shave.”

              Slater nodded, “And take a bath.”

              Greely spoke up, “Did you have a beard when the two of you met?”

              “Yep,” Slater looked pleased.

              “And I still thought he was pretty hot stuff,” Anna thought about her first glimpse of Slater.

              He scowled at her.

              Nathaniel had had enough of the mushy stuff, “What does a sniper do?”

              It figured he would come back to that.

              “I shoot at . . . um,” he looked at Anna, a look that communicated he knew he stuck his foot in it. “Last year, another sniper shot out a tire on a car that was driving by.”

              “On purpose?” Nathaniel seemed to think that was a stupid thing to do.

              “One of the passengers had been kidnapped and we needed to get them back.”

              “Who was he?”

              Slater shrugged, “Just someone the United States wanted to protect.”

              Did you get him back?”

              Slater nodded.

              “Was it dangerous?”

              Slater nodded again, “But we had a beautiful and brave pilot waiting for us, so we got out of there safely.”

              “Was that you?” the child turned to his aunt.

              “It was.”

              “Was that how you met?”

              “It was that mission.”

              Greely spoke up, “That’s rather romantic, actually.”

              Anna laughed, “It didn’t seem romantic at the time. It was very scary.”

              “What about you, Slater? Did you see any romance in the whole thing?”

              Anna didn’t let him answer Greely’s question, “He was so disgusted to have a woman along.”

              “I don’t know if disgusted is the right word,” he hedged.

              Greely laughed, “Annoyed?”

              “Uncomfortable,” he finally supplied, “and it wasn’t just because she was a woman. She also didn’t have the same training.”

              “And I’m glad I don’t ever have to,” she looked at Nate. “They have to go swimming in the winter with all their clothes on.”

              He wrinkled his nose, “Like shorts?”

              She shook her head, “Long pants, shirts, coats, backpacks, knives, weapons, and boots.”

              “How do you get dried off?”

              Slater cleared his throat, “Well, in training we just go back to the barracks and take showers, throw our stuff in the dryer, and we’re done. It’s a little messier out in the field. We usually strip down to our shorts and try to dry off by the fire.”

              “What about your boots?”

              Slater shrugged, “They don’t really dry out. We end up with mold in them and fungus on our feet most times.”

              Anna and Greely laughed at Nate’s answering expression.

              Slater and Anna didn’t stay much longer. For one thing, Nathaniel had to go to football practice, for another, Anna felt ready to cry at all the time they had lost.