MILWAUKEE, WI

Kathryn stood there with a shocked look on her face when she saw Zach, along with Juan, standing on her front porch.

“May we come in?” Zach asked.

After a moment’s hesitation, Kathryn stepped back and allowed them to enter.

Zach slowly stepped over the door’s threshold with his one good leg while he leaned on a cane and gingerly lifted his injured leg in behind him.

Kathryn stood, arms folded across her chest, shaking her head. “You. You,” she said, her voice tinged with anger. “You saved Arianna, then you just ditched her. How could you?”

Zach had a look of contrition on his face. “I know, and I regret that. I’ve come to try to make it right. With your permission, I’d like to talk to her.”

Kathryn shook her head back and forth. “She’s beaten and broken. She nearly died out there.”

“Yes, I saw her when I rescued her.” He swallowed hard. “It was hard to see her like that.”

Kathryn unfolded her arms. “I do thank you for saving her, but why? How could you just ditch her when you got home?”

“It’s complicated. As I said, it was wrong, and I regret it.”

Kathryn went over and sat on the arm of a chair, a look of dismay on her face. “Well, I appreciate how you and your team saved my daughter, and I’m sorry about your leg, but what you did afterwards is unforgiveable. She needed you, and now, to make matters worse, she’s…” She hesitated, never finishing her sentence. “She’s uh, well, let’s just say she’s been through a lot. I hope you haven’t come to say or do something that will upset her even more.”

Zach shook his head. “No, absolutely not.”

Kathryn stood up. “If it were up to me, I would have slammed the door in your face, but it’s not for me to stand between the two of you. If you want to see her, I won’t stop you. She’s upstairs in her room, but I’m warning you, make sure you don’t do anything to upset her, or I’ll personally throw you out.”

Zach nodded. “No worries, Kathryn. You have my promise.”

He limped over to the stairs, looked up, and hesitated. Juan came up behind him and offered to help him climb the steps, but Zach waved him off, annoyed by his offer of assistance. He stepped up on the first riser with his good leg while leaning on his cane. Pulled the injured leg up behind him. Used the banister and cane for balance and leverage. Step by step, he slowly climbed to the second floor.

Juan turned to Kathryn and shook his head. “That’s hard to watch, but hey, nice to see you again, Kathryn. I’d love a cup of coffee if you’d be so kind. This might take a while.”

A reluctant smile escaped from Kathryn’s lips. “Okay, come on, then. Let’s go in the kitchen, and I’ll do better than that. I’ll fix you breakfast as well.”

ZACH HAD been to Arianna’s house before and knew exactly where her bedroom was. He took a deep breath, exhaled, and slipped her door open. The room was dark with the shades pulled down and no lights on. Arianna lay curled up in her bed, a sheet pulled over her head.

“Arianna, it’s me,” he said, touching her on the shoulder.

She pulled the sheet off her face and rolled to a sitting position. “Zach?” She squinted as if she wasn’t sure what she was seeing. She scooted off the side of the bed and snapped the light on. “What are you doing here?”

He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He cleared his throat and finally said, “I’m here to apologize. I’ve been a selfish jerk. I abandoned you when you needed my support.” He took a step forward. “I’ve come to ask your forgiveness.”

Arianna stepped back and glared at him, anger radiating off her body. “Yes. Yes, you did and now, you think you can just walk back in here and all will be forgiven? I don’t think so. I can get along fine without you.”

He took another step toward her. “Yes, of course you can, it’s just that I can’t.”

Arianna paused a moment. What? His words momentarily took her by surprise. Shaking off what he said, she grimaced and shook her head. “Well, you have a funny way of showing it.”

“I have no excuse for what I did. I knew the risk when I put on that uniform. Getting injured and losing my career was a real gut punch, but shutting you and everyone out of my life was not the answer. Not proud of myself, but depression makes you do stupid things sometimes.”

“Oh, that’s funny,” she said, with a smirk on her face. “Yeah, I bet that’s almost as bad as being sick and broken and told the most important person in your life doesn’t want to see you again, but then I forgot, this was all about you and how you felt and not about what I needed.”

Zach lowered his head. “You’re right, and I’m really sorry. There’s no excuse for my behavior. What I did showed a really ugly side of me. I’m ashamed of myself. I’m asking for a chance to make it up to you.”

“A little late for regret, don’t you think? What’s done is done. I’ll recover and move on. I’m pretty strong that way.”

“Yes, I know this about you, but before we cash this in, I have to tell you something.” He moved closer. “As I lay there in that hospital bed with nothing but time on my hands, I couldn’t imagine my life without my career.” He paused and swallowed hard. “But, Arianna, what I came to realize was, I couldn’t imagine my life without you even more. I need you more than I need my military career.”

Zach’s words jolted her, and she stood there stunned. You need me more than you need your career? His declaration of love was a stinger straight to her heart, a heart she thought had been hardened by anger and resentment over his abandonment. His pronouncement gripped her, swirled around her, and stitched together the broken pieces of her heart. Her defenses crumbled, and her lips trembled as tears welled up in her eyes.

Zach reached out and took hold of her hands, and she made no effort to resist. “Arianna, I love you with all my heart. I’m so sorry I let you down when you got home. I should have been there for you. Please give me a chance to make this right.”

Arianna raised his hands to her lips and kissed them as tears streamed down her cheeks. “You were there. You came for me. You risked your life to save me, so no way did you totally let me down. In fact, I’m the reason you’re injured, and I…I feel responsible for that. You told me not to follow this story, so I owe you an apology, too. Your leg…” She squeezed his hands and paused to compose herself. “I’m so sorry. I can’t bear to see you hurt like this. It’s all my fault.” She shook her head back and forth. “It’s all my fault. This whole thing is my fault….” She was crying so hard, she could barely talk.

Zach pulled her into his arms. “Hey, babe, don’t cry. It was what it was.” He hugged her close. “We both did what we did, and it’s done. Getting injured is one of the hazards of my job. But nothing was going to stop me from coming for you. I was willing to risk everything to bring you home. I saved you in Afghanistan the first time I met you. I saved you now, and yes, I paid a heavy price, but I would willingly do it all again, babe.”

“Oh, my gosh, Zach. Stop. When I think about the sacrifice you made, I’m overwhelmed with love and gratitude, and I’m reduced to mush.” She clung to him and buried her face in his shoulder. “After everything I’ve been through, I’m emotionally spent.”

“Here,” he said, taking her by the hand and leading her over to the bed. He sat down and pulled her down beside him. Putting his arm around her, he held her close. “You’ve been through hell, but starting today my main mission is to help you get better.”

She sat there, not speaking for a moment. Finally, she said, “Zach. I have something to tell you, and I don’t know how you’re going to take it.”

He turned and looked at her. “What is it?”

It was her turn to swallow hard. “Well, you see…I’m pregnant.”

His mouth dropped open. “You’re what? Oh, were you—?” He couldn’t bring himself to say the word. “Uh, whose—”

“It’s your baby. I wasn’t raped. I was pregnant before I was kidnapped. I didn’t know it. I’ll have a paternity test if you have doubts.”

Zach let out a big sigh of relief. “No, I believe you. Wow, what a surprise, but this is wonderful.” He broke out in a big smile. “This is wonderful.”

“Yeah? You mean you’re not upset? We never talked about having a baby. I’m not even sure how I got pregnant. I mean, of course, I know how. I’m just not sure why…birth control failure of some kind. It was an accident. I’m willing to raise this child on my own if, if you—”

“Shhh!” Zach put his finger to her lips. “Don’t be silly. No way is that going to happen. We’ll be raising this baby together. When’s the baby due?”

She shook her head. “I’m not sure. I haven’t been to the doctor yet.”

Zach looked surprised. “Really? Why is that?”

Arianna shrugged. “Morning sickness and depression. I haven’t had the will or felt well enough to even make an appointment.”

“Well, we need to fix that right away. I want you to come back home to Costa Luna with me. We’ll find the best doctor around. It’s time to get you healthy again.”

“I think I’m about two months along, so it’s time to find a good pregnancy doc.”

Zach fiddled with a trinket on the bedside table, not speaking. Finally, he said, “That doesn’t give you much time.”

“For what?”

Zach acted like he wanted to speak but couldn’t get the words out of his mouth.

“For what?” Arianna repeated.

He cleared his throat, then said, “Uh…to plan a wedding.” He turned and faced her. “Look, I know this isn’t a proper proposal, but Arianna, marry me. I can’t really get down on one knee right now, and I’ll make it official with a ring and everything soon, and uh, but uh, I just want you to know that I love you and want us to be together as a family. So, will you marry me?”

Her mouth dropped open. “Yes. Yes!” she exclaimed, throwing her arms around him. “A thousand times yes.”