"Aren't you going to stay?"
Reegan watched Brandon hesitate at her words. Oh, no. Had her voice been too needy? Was she being clingy?
They'd driven with Cassie and Xavier into town. The plan was for Brandon and Reegan to drive back in her truck which someone had brought from her house and to the church. So, it was entirely sensible that she ask him that question. He was her ride. She’d need to know where he was so they could ride back together.
Unless he hadn’t planned to ride back with her. What if he’d planned to stay in town, see some of the nightlife? He was a soldier just off deployment. He’d been away for over a year. And even though he’d asked for her hand, he wasn’t about to get his kicks with her.
Reegan was a modern woman but not that modern. She was considering marrying this man. She wasn’t considering hopping into bed with him.
And maybe that’s why he was thinking about heading out to sample some of the town’s nightlife.
"You don't mind?" Brandon asked.
Just like that, all the tension left her shoulders. Gazing up into Brandon’s eyes, she saw an eagerness there. He wanted to stay, but he was unsure if he was welcome.
"Of course not. I'd like it very much if you did. I want you to hear."
He smiled at her. Just a lift of the right corner of his mouth. But his eyes sparkled as he did so.
Reegan was lost. Her knees felt weak. Her heart fluttered like the butterflies flitting around the flowers she tended in the garden.
“I like hearing you sing,” he said. “I love the sound of your voice.”
“Oh? Well, that’s good. Because I love to sing. I sing a lot.”
“You won’t hear any complaints out of me.”
“Good.”
Somehow, they were standing only an inch apart. Somehow, his fingers brushed her forearm. Somehow, his gaze was fastened to her lips. Reegan wasn’t sure if she wanted to sing for him or pull him in for a kiss?
“I’m so sorry for your loss.”
At the sound of the feminine voice, Brandon pulled away from her. His face, so open a second before, shuttered like blinds being closed on a sunny day. Reegan turned to find Dakota Harris. The petite alto reached out her arms and folded Reegan inside.
For a moment, Reegan wasn’t sure what was happening. And then she remembered. Reece. He was still missing, and everyone else thought him dead.
“We’ve taken up a donation for you,” said Dakota. “Clothes and shoes and gift cards so you can replace other things.”
Right. Her house had burned down. Reegan knew she should feel numb and devastated due to her losses. But she didn’t. She felt blessed. She'd lost all her belongings, but her community was showering her with both material things and love.
“Thank you, Dakota,” was all Reegan could manage.
Her brother was still MIA, but every day she didn't get a call that the military had found his body, her hope and faith remained intact.
“It’s awful that the insurance company won’t hand you the check,” said Noah Harris, one of the baritones in the choir. The man’s gray mustache touched the bottom of his nose, causing him to wrinkle it.
Reegan wasn’t complaining. She’d take not getting a check if there was a possibility that her brother was alive. Reece was strong. He was stubborn. She knew in her heart, that if he was able to, he'd come through and find a way home.
Now she had Brandon, a man who wanted to protect her, and provide for her, and hear her sing. In truth, she hadn't lost anything. Her cup runneth over.
Brandon had taken a seat in the back of the room, but Reegan felt his gaze on her from the moment she left him. His face was no longer open as it had been when they were standing close. It remained closed, but not his eyes. His eyes were filled with admiration as he watched her. The butterflies in her heart were working overtime.
Could it be possible that she was coming to have feelings for this man? She didn’t need to question. She knew it was true.
No one had ever given her butterflies. No one had ever made her feel warm and safe. No one had ever looked at her as though she were both special and desirable. Because that was desire in Corporal Brandon Lucas’s gaze. She wasn’t so innocent that she didn’t know what a man’s hunger looked like.
As rehearsal began, Reegan’s voice sailed from somewhere in the depths of her soul. Her every note was pitch perfect. Her voice lifted above everyone else’s until all eyes were on her and all other voices went mute.
Gone was the cold and emptiness that had robbed her of her voice a few days ago. Gone was the heaviness on her shoulders and the hollow feeling in her heart. Reegan felt full. The feelings spilled out of her heart and drifted over her tongue.
All the while, she held Brandon’s gaze. He watched her as though he were in rapture. At one point, his eyes closed as though he were in ecstasy… and they didn’t open again until practice was over.
One by one, the other choristers filed out until it was just Reegan and Brandon left alone in the room. She came to him on quiet feet. She sat down next to him, the wood of the pew creaking as she did so. But still, he didn’t stir.
She wasn’t sure what to do. She’d never had to awaken any man besides her brother. She tried calling his name quietly. But still, he dozed.
She laid a hand on his forearm. His skin was warm to the touch. The tiny hairs she found there tickled her fingertips.
Then her hand was snatched away from his arm. Her fingers wrenched. Brandon looked at her wild-eyed.
It took him a second before recognition dawned. And then his dark eyes filled with horror. His cheeks went beet red, and he groaned.
"Sorry," he said gruffly. "I wouldn't have hurt you."
"I don't doubt it."
She had been startled. But not frightened. She knew better than to come upon a soldier unaware. Her brother had warned her. But just as she felt no fear from Reece, she felt none from Brandon.
“Reegan, you can’t … you can’t …” There was so much shame, and guilt digging into the features of his face, making grooves and leaving frown marks.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I know better. You just looked so peaceful.”
“I’m not.” His gaze darkened. “There’s a war raging in my mind.”
“You have PTSD?”
The muscles in his neck worked. “It’s not severe, like some others. But when I close my eyes, I see …”
He was silent for so long. Reegan ached to reach out to him, to take him into her arms. And so she did.
She wrapped her arms around him and held him tight. He was stiff at first, but then he relaxed in her hold. His own grip became a vise around her.
"Listen, Reegan,” he said into her hair. “About that thing I asked you—"
“That thing? You mean to marry you?”
"Yes."
She felt his breath at the cone of her ear. The single word was like a match. Her ear was the fire. The flame tunneled through her entire body. But then, it was doused by a single doubt.
“Are you taking it back?" she asked.
Reegan pulled back, but she didn’t get far. Brandon’s hold on her was absolute. She couldn’t have gotten away if she’d tried. She did not try.
"No.” His insistence was vehement.
Relief swam through her. The single word stoked the fire that had been lit a second ago. She felt the flames rising higher and higher.
"I just want you to know there's no rush,” Brandon continued. “You've been through a lot. I don't want to add any pressure to you. The offer stands today, tomorrow, next week. However long you need. Whatever answer you want to give. I want you to know that I'll be here. For … whatever you need."
Reegan’s muscles relaxed as the heat between them worked its way through her limbs. “Brandon, you should know that my answer is yes."
"It is?” His voice, so hot and sure a moment ago, came out on a dry croak.
She nodded. They were holding each other in a loose embrace. She would swear that she felt the heat of him rise a few degrees under her fingertips.
"Well.” He cleared his throat. “Good.” He swallowed. “Fine. I suppose I'll let Dr. Patel and Dylan know so arrangements can be made."
“Brandon?”
“Yes, Reegan?”
“You can kiss me. If you want.”
"I could?”
"Well, we are going to be married. So …”
“That’s true,” he agreed. “Kissing is part of the ceremony. So, we should probably prepare for it."
“That's smart." Reegan pursed her lips, tugging them into her mouth to moisten them.
"They teach us to be prepared in the army."
“Sounds like good preparation.”
Brandon took a deep breath. He leaned closer, pulling her body toward his. The bench squeaked again.
Reegan tilted her head up. She felt the warmth of Brandon’s breath on her lower lip. It robbed her of the moisture she’d just licked into her lips. She didn’t have time to prepare again. It was going to happen. Her first kiss. And not with some boy from around the block. It would be with a real man, a man who was going to be her husband very soon.
He was just an inch away now. Any second and she would—
The door to the room wrenched open. She saw Brandon’s gaze slide away from his intended target, which had been her mouth, to scope out the intruder. Whomever he saw standing in the doorway must have been a threat because he pulled away from her.
Reegan looked up to find Pastor Barrett standing in the doorway. The older man glared at Brandon. Brandon stood to attention, leaving her alone on the bench. It looked like her first kiss would have to wait even longer.