KIMBERLY
“I’m allergic to pumpkin patches.” It’s a lousy excuse, not to mention a total lie. But I’m running out of reasons to decline, my dear friend, Breea’s invitation.
“No you’re not.” My older sister Darci posts her hands on her hips and narrows her eyes at me, much like she does when she starts the three second countdown with one of her kids.
“Am to.”
“You’re allergic to apple donuts too?”
Well, let’s not be rash now. I forgot all about those delicious specialty donuts. Damn, she really knows how to play dirty. I switch tactics. “You know I don’t date military guys.”
“Or any guys,” she mutters under her breath. “So what, Kimmie? You’re not going on a date. Your nice friend invited you to a bonfire that just so happens to be a welcome home party for the guy she likes. It’s an invitation for you to get out of the house. I love you, but please go. You’ve been hiding out here since…”
She doesn’t have to say it out loud. The wedding.
“Why don’t you tell me how you really feel?” I joke.
“Besides, who said anything about military guys?”
I wiggle my phone at her. “Because the guy she likes just returned home from a deployment. He’s an Army guy. Of course there will be other Army guys there. Tell me this isn’t a setup.”
Darci’s harsh expression softens as she takes a seat next to me on the bed. “So what if it is? Would that be so terrible?”
Um, yeah it would. There’s not much worse than being dumped on your wedding day. One minute my sister’s zipping up my dress, and the next I’m jilted. “It’s only been six months, Darci. I’m not ready to get back out there.” Maybe I never will be. I like it here in Darci’s spare bedroom. It’s safe with family. They don’t rip your heart out and serve it to you on a platter.
“If this is a setup—and that’s a big if—it’s not like you’re required to fall in love with the guy.” Darci drapes her motherly arm around my shoulder and pulls me close for the reassuring hug I desperately need. I’m over Dustin. Not much to pine for when he took off on our honeymoon with one of my bridesmaids. But I’m a far cry from ever trusting a man again.
“I’m not going.”
“Maybe you need a rebound guy.”
“Mommy! Mommy!” Hunter, my three-year-old nephew, screams down the hall to my bedroom. In the doorway he stops. “Mommy, Justine dumped her juice in my Lego box!”
“Hunter ripped the head off my Barbie!”
“She pushed me!”
“He pulled my hair!”
Darci locks her eyes with mine, taking a slow breath in the process. “Would you rather stay here and help me deal with this?” she asks through gritted teeth. Her husband is in the Army Reserves and gone for drill this weekend. Since Darci is letting me stay with her rent free while I finish putting the pieces of my shattered life back together, I should stay and make sure her wine glass stays full tonight. It’s the least I could do.
“Are you sure—”
“Go!” Darci yells, and I’m not sure if it’s directed at me or her kids. Probably both. “Escape while you still can. It’s about to get ugly here. Time outs. Crying. Early bedtime. I’m drinking wine straight from the bottle. Don’t worry about me.”
“Fine, I’ll go.”
“Great!” She hops off the bed, warning her kids she’s coming to straighten them both out. “Wear skinny jeans. They give you amazing curves.” She leaves me with a wink and graciously closes the door behind her seconds before the yelling really escalates. She’s the most loving mama I’ve ever met, but she’s also the fiercest.
My phone hovers in my hand. Am I really going to do this?
I type out a text to Breea confirming I’ll be there in an hour and force myself to hit send before I chicken out.
* * *
MILES
Outside the red building designated the Apple Donut Barn, I take a deep breath, inhaling that crisp fall air mixed with bonfire smoke. Man it smells so good. It smells exactly like fall should: home.
Less than twelve hours ago, I stepped off a bus and into a hangar full of civilians waiting to greet their loved ones after a year apart. It’s great so many people come out. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t make me swell a little bit with pride to see the size of the crowd and hear the massive roar of excitement they can produce when they see us. It’s a reminder that I’m part of something bigger.
But when the sergeant major tells the formation to fall out, and everyone goes to their loved ones, that’s when my heart sinks a little lower in my chest. I never have anyone to greet just me.
The first deployment didn’t phase me. I was young, single, and stationed too far away from my family to expect anyone to show up. My mom’s afraid of flying, so I’d never ask her to get on a plane just to stand in a crowd when I can easily go see her within a few days of returning stateside.
Today, I came back from my third deployment without anyone holding a sign or wearing a special smile reserved just for me, and I have to admit it’s getting old. I’m a lifer, so there will be more deployments in my future.
Something has to change.
“I’m here,” I hear a female voice say with exasperation. “I’m getting a damn donut first.”
I chuckle at her determined tone. No one is going to stand in her way today. I discreetly swivel my stance to catch a glimpse.
She’s stunning.
Dark blonde waves with light purple tips cascade down her back, the sun giving it all a golden hue. I can’t help but look her up and down. She’s rocking a pair of skinny jeans that accentuate her curves, and don’t even get me started on that sweater. Fuck me blind that red sweater hugs those tits in a way that should be illegal. I’m suddenly jealous that any other guy here tonight gets the privilege to check her out. I’m never the jealous type, unless I know what I want.
It takes a single heartbeat to decide that what I want is her.
“Don’t you have kids in time out to deal with?” she huffs into the phone, pacing just outside the small barn. “I’ll bring you a donut if you’re nice, Darci.”
I could go inside to get in line, but I’m too enraptured by this woman to move. Pretending to read the single flyer posted right outside the door will only work for so long. It promises a dozen donuts for the low-low price of seven-ninety-nine.
“I don’t need rebound sex!”
I’m not the only one who darts a gaze at her. We’re in a pumpkin patch filled with children. One mom glares at her as her kid tugs on her arms and promptly asks what rebound sex is. It’s almost impossible not to laugh.
“I have to go,” she says, poking the end button with extra emphasis.
I’m doing everything I can to hide my amusement, but when the laugh is the hardest to hold in, that’s the moment she decides to spin around and glare at me.
“Is this funny to you?”
I nod and keep nodding until I’m able to talk. “I’m just here for the apple donuts.” But now that she’s standing a mere couple of feet away, the scent of her vanilla perfume drifts to me. Damn, it’s intoxicating.
“Then why are you outside?”
I point at the flyer. “Reading about the special deal.”
She charges toward the poster, bumping into me in the process to get a better look. “Took you that long to read all ten words, huh?” Up close, her hazel eyes cast an almost gray hue. I’ve never seen anything like it, and I can’t seem to stop staring.
“I’m ready to order,” I say like some tongue-tied idiot. “After you. Unless you’re going to take that?” I nod at her phone. Whoever Darci is, she’s calling back. Despite the narrowed eyes I get, I don’t try to hold in my laughter this time. I don’t even know who this woman is, but I like her. I like her a whole lot.