“WHAT THE HELL is this?” Gabe stared down into the tattered cardboard box, picking through the tangle of wires and electronic components that were supposed to be the satellite navigation system for the Honeymoon. Zach and Jeremy stood on either side of him.
The two boys had been banned from the water for the weekend, so Gabe had decided to commandeer the pair to help with the Honeymoon.
“Whoa,” Jeremy said. “That looks seriously vintage.”
“I think my grandpa had one of these when he was young,” Zach said. “Back in the olden days.”
The two boys looked at each other and laughed, then executed a high five. Gabe pointed to the other boxes they’d retrieved from the sail loft. “Open those other boxes,” he said.
The boys did as they were told, pulling ancient navigation and radio electronics from each box. Gabe stood back and shook his head. When Annie had told him that she’d already purchased electronics for the boat, he’d expected a stack of brand-new boxes filled with shiny equipment and owner’s manuals. Instead, he found rummage-sale junk.
“She isn’t really going to put this stuff on her boat, is she?” Zach asked.
“I wouldn’t trust this stuff to get me across the bay,” Jeremy said.
The trio heard footsteps on the stairs, and they turned to watch as Annie appeared, another box in her hand. When she saw Zach and Jeremy, she frowned. “What are you two guys doing up here?”
“As part of their penance for the catamaran incident, I had them sweep up the sail loft,” Gabe said.
Annie looked around her and nodded. “You guys did a nice job.”
“You’re not really thinking of putting that stuff on your boat, are you?” Zach asked. “I mean, it’s a pile of junk.”
“Guys, you can check in with me later. Why don’t you join your friends and do some sailing? I’m commuting your sentence. Tomorrow is your last day.”
The pair didn’t need to be asked twice. They grabbed their stuff and headed out, leaving Gabe and Annie to themselves. Annie glanced around at the equipment. “Did you find everything?”
Gabe cursed beneath his breath. “This was all I found. And if this is all you have, then I’m not going to let you get on that boat, much less let you sail it on open water.”
“I know it’s used equipment,” Annie said, a defensive edge to her voice. “But it all works. And you know I can’t afford to buy new equipment.”
Gabe began to pace the floor. How could he put this without making her angry? He knew what the trip meant to her, and he also knew how short she was on cash. But this was a serious safety issue, especially for someone who planned to sail single-handedly through the Caribbean and up the Pacific Coast.
“You’ve got the basics here, but that’s it. I don’t see a radar unit or a satellite phone. Considering you plan to keep to the shoreline, I think you should have both, for your own safety.”
Annie sat down on the floor and crossed her legs in front of her. She picked up one of the boxes. “I’m an experienced sailor. I can get along with just a sextant and a compass.”
“Don’t think you’re fucking Christopher Columbus. He had a whole crew with him. You’re going to be all alone. What if something breaks?”
“Then I’ll deal with it.” She looked up at him, then shook her head. “My grandfather taught me to sail with no electronics. He said that no matter what you choose to install, there’s always a chance that it will break, and usually it will happen in the worst of circumstances. Just because it’s used, doesn’t mean that it isn’t functional. And just because it’s brand-new, doesn’t mean that it is. If it doesn’t work on the shakedown cruise, then I’ll either fix it or replace it.”
Gabe reached into the back pocket of his jeans and pulled out a list of priority and recommended items, holding it out to her. “You don’t have safety gear yet.”
“I can pull that from some of our boats here,” Annie explained. “I have it all planned out. Trust me. Lots of people go cruising on a budget.” She shoved the list back at him. “If this is going to be a problem for you, I don’t need your help. You can find something else to do.”
Annie started to rearrange the boxes in front of her. Gabe watched her, noting her frustration when she couldn’t find any of the tech manuals. “I thought you said you knew how to install this stuff.”
She glared up at him. “I may need the directions.” Scrambling to her feet, she brushed the dust off her hands. “I can get them off the internet.”
Gabe grabbed her hand as she walked past and pulled her into his embrace. “You need to come with me,” he said. He dragged her along behind him, hurrying down the stairs and out into the bright sunshine. His car was parked next to the house, and he opened the passenger door.
“Where are we going?”
“I’ll tell you when we get there,” Gabe said.
“If you don’t tell me now, I’m going to consider this kidnapping.”
Gabe gently pushed her into the car and closed the door, then ran around to the driver’s side and slipped in behind the wheel. Minutes later they were on the main road, headed north toward Annapolis. Gabe knew there was a good-size marina at Calvert Beach, and he’d seen signs for a marine services business. Knowing Annie’s stubborn pride, he was going to have to show her what she needed.
They sped along the highway, the windows of the SUV open to the warm afternoon breeze. It felt good to get away from the sailing school, even if it was for just an hour or two. Annie didn’t say much during the trip. Occasionally, she pointed out local landmarks.
When they pulled into the parking lot of the yacht store, Annie didn’t seem angry. Instead, she groaned softly. “I can’t go in there,” she said. “They won’t sell me anything anyway.”
“Why not?”
“Because I have an outstanding account with them and they want to get paid. No payment, no more credit.”
“Well, we’ll just have to take care of that.”
“No,” Annie said. “I’m not going to let you do that. I don’t need your help. After this next session, I’ll have enough to pay the bill here, and we’ll be straight.”
He turned to face her. “Listen, Annie, we’re not going to come to an agreement about this. If you’re determined to make this trip, then I’m just as determined to see that you have what I need to make myself feel better about your safety. So humor me, will you? Here’s the deal. I’ll pay for what you need, and at the end of the trip, if you sell the boat, you can pay me back then. And if you keep it, we’ll work something out.”
She considered his suggestion for a long moment, then finally nodded. “All right. But we’re going to keep careful account of every penny you spend.”
Gabe let out a tightly held breath, happy to finally get his way. Though he wasn’t a fan of her plan to sail to San Diego, he knew that choice had to be hers. If she backed out, the money he spent was a small investment in their future together.
“Then let’s go shopping,” he said.
When they got inside, he gave Annie the list and told her to buy everything that was marked “priority.” After that, they’d discuss the remainder of the items that were “recommended.” While she shopped, he found the manager and made arrangements to pay her past-due account along with any future credit she may require.
Although Gabe knew she’d object, he felt a certain satisfaction in being able to take care of her. Until now, he’d eased her physical desires and soothed her emotional crises, but that seemed like simple human nature. This was real and tangible.
He decided to leave Annie to her shopping, knowing that if he was at her side, they’d probably argue about her choices. He’d be happy with whatever she decided, as long as it was brand-new.
He found a small gathering of chairs near the service area and grabbed a free cup of coffee from a pot that was warming. A selection of sailing and boating magazines were spread out on the table, and he picked one up and began to page through it. An article caught his eye, a firsthand account of a sailing trip around Australia, and he settled in to read it.
Gabe hadn’t realized how much time had passed, and the next thing he knew, he looked up to find Annie standing nearby with a cart stacked with boxes. He grinned. “Wow. Good job. I hope you remembered the life raft.”
“I did,” she said. “It’s a good one. It was on sale because it’s last year’s model, so I saved three hundred dollars.”
Gabe patted the seat beside him and she sat down. “That wasn’t so hard, was it? Sometimes it’s all right to compromise. If anything ever happened to you, I don’t know what I would do with myself. And if this will keep you safe, then it’s money well spent.”
He slipped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer, his lips brushing against hers, his tongue tracing the crease of her mouth. Annie sighed softly and melted into him, her hands splayed across his chest.
These random acts of affection had been occurring more and more recently. After their first night together, she’d been careful outside the bedroom to maintain a distance, knowing that the students might notice. But now, away from the school, she was perfectly comfortable with touching him in public. Gabe considered it a major victory.
“I have an idea,” Gabe said.
Annie smiled and ran a fingertip across his lower lip. “I have lots of ideas. Would you like to hear some of them? One of them involves sailing naked across the Chesapeake. Are you interested?”
Gabe kissed her again, this time lingering over her lips. “When would we do this?”
“The week after next is Fourth of July. We don’t have any campers that week. The counselors stay and catch up on boat maintenance and cabin cleaning. And they have a little fun. If we work at it, we can get most of this stuff installed by then and give it a good test.”
“Naked,” he said.
She frowned. “Haven’t you done that before? Erik told me stories about you two taking a boat out on a weekend leave. I think he said you were in Greece.”
Gabe knew the weekend she was talking about. Only, he wasn’t Erik’s sailing partner. He remembered a pretty blonde college student from Sweden. “Oh, yeah, I remember that now. You get enough beers in Erik and he was always taking his clothes off.”
Annie smiled wistfully. “Yeah, that was one of his things. We always had to talk before we went to a party, and I had to threaten him that if he didn’t keep his clothes on, he’d be sleeping on the sofa.”
“If we want to be ready by then, I’m going to have to drive back and forth from Pax River every day so we can work on the boat in the evenings.”
Over the past few weeks, Gabe had learned a few things about women. And, in particular, Annie Foster Jennings. She was determined to make her own decisions, so there was no use fighting with her once a decision had been made. If he didn’t want her to go, then he would just have to find a more tempting reason for her to stay.
Gabe wasn’t sure what that might be, but for now he was going to get her ready to sail for the Panama Canal at the end of August. “I bet Nellie would like to come back and forth with me,” Gabe said. “He could help with the boat and get some time away from the base.”
“We could invite Lisa and the kids to come up for a visit. I’m going to call her when I get home.”
Considering that Lisa was Gabe’s fiercest advocate, he was satisfied that everything was moving in the right direction. And a few days of naked sailing on the Chesapeake was something to look forward to.
* * *
“I’M NOT SURE this was a good idea.”
Annie slipped her leg across Gabe’s thighs and rested her chin on his naked chest. The sun was just beginning to brighten the east-facing windows of her bedroom and the morning birds were singing as they waited for the light of day.
By her reckoning, it was only a matter of an hour or two before Gabe would have to leave for the base. She twisted around to look at the bedside clock, confirming her guess. They had another ninety minutes before he had to leave.
Gabe frowned as he smoothed his hand through her hair. “What? Sleeping with me every night isn’t a good idea?”
“We don’t get a whole lot of sleep,” she said. “And I’m falling behind on all the work I have to do for the sailing school. Thank God I have a good crew of counselors this year.”
“We have to get the boat done. You can’t do that yourself, but with Nellie and me working on it, we should have it ready in a few days.”
Nellie had taken up residence on the screened-in porch, preferring to spend his nights with cool breezes and the comfort of an old hammock. Unlike Gabe, he always seemed well rested in the morning.
“What if you have to fly today? You’re going to be tired, and your reflexes are going to be slow.”
“If I need to fly, I’ll put it off until tomorrow,” Gabe said. “Besides, the work I’m doing doesn’t really require my flying skills. Mostly my technical expertise.”
“What are you doing?” Annie asked.
“I can’t tell you. It’s classified.”
Annie pushed up to sit beside him. “Really? Like CIA classified?”
“No, more like Department of Defense classified. I wrote a report a few years ago pointing out some problems we were having with a particular system on our aircraft. They wanted me to work on this new project and had to give me security clearance in order to even look at it.”
“At least it gets you out of harm’s way,” Annie said.
“It’s not what I do best. I’m a good pilot, Annie. Hell, I’m a great pilot, and I’d rather be doing the job I was trained for.”
She stared at him for a long moment, her expression cool, her eyes narrowed in anger. Was it that hard to understand how she felt? Any job that involved risking his life just wasn’t worth it, at least not in her mind. “Yeah? That’s what Erik always said and look at where it got him.”
She crawled out of bed and grabbed her robe, then wrapped it tightly around her naked body. So she was cranky this morning. The lack of sleep was starting to get to her, as well. Annie grabbed her brush from the dresser and dragged it through her tangled hair.
“I’m sorry,” she murmured. “I shouldn’t have said that.” In truth, it shouldn’t make any difference to her what he did for a living. Their agreement had involved a physical relationship only, with no strings attached.
But from the moment they began, her feelings had been changing. It was impossible for her to look at Gabe and see just the physical pleasures he offered her. He was more than just a sexy body who satisfied her in the bedroom. He was a man of incredible inner conviction and quiet strength, a man who took care of the people in his life without any thought to his own needs. He could be stubborn and opinionated, but then, so was she.
Was she falling in love with him? Annie had promised herself that she wouldn’t let that happen. But Gabe wasn’t making it easy on her. He was quite clear about how he felt, and though he hadn’t professed his fondness recently, she could see it in everything he did for her.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m not being fair. I expect you to allow me to live my life by my choices, and I’m not willing to make the same concessions for you.”
He held out his hand and she returned to him, crawling back into bed beside him. Gabe settled her in the curve of his arm. “Let me ask you something, and I want you to be completely honest. If I were a plumber or an accountant, would that change how you felt about me?”
Annie considered the question, then shook her head. “You’d never want to be a plumber or an accountant. You’d be miserable. You’re a pilot. That’s who you are.”
“And you can’t fall in love with me because I am a pilot,” he said.
“Yes,” Annie replied.
“So, the way I see it, there’s no way I’m going to get the girl in the end.” He pulled the pillow over his face. “Nice guys always finish last.”
“I’m not the only single woman in the world,” she said.
He pulled the pillow aside. “You’re the only single woman I want to be with.”
Annie crawled out of bed. “I’m going to go put some coffee on. At least I can make you a decent breakfast before you leave. Maybe that will give you the energy to make it through the day.”
To Annie’s surprise, Nellie was sitting at the kitchen table when she got down to the kitchen. He had fixed himself some eggs and toast, and was sipping freshly made coffee. “You’re up early,” she said.
“Mmm-hmm,” he said, his mouth full of toast. “I’m always up at this time. For me, 5:00 a.m. is normal. Breeze is always up with the sun.”
“Did you sleep well?” Annie asked.
Nellie laughed. “Are you kidding? At home, I share a bed with my wife, my dog and my two youngest kids. Here, I have a hammock all to myself. What do you think?”
Annie grabbed a mug of coffee and sat across from him. “I’m so happy for you and Lisa.”
He shrugged. “Yeah, I suppose. I’m not getting RPGs launched at me every other day. That’s a plus.”
“Do you miss it?” Annie asked.
“Yeah,” Nellie said. “Of course I do. I got to fly almost every day, in some of the fastest jets made. I was protecting my country, our soldiers. And I was helping some people who were just trying to live peacefully in a country that offers them so little hope. I was good at my job. Now I’m just doing a job.” He paused. “I’ve been thinking about applying to the airlines. The pay is great, and I’d get to fly again.”
“Does Lisa know?”
Nellie shook his head. “No. I don’t think she’ll be happy. I was going to apply first and then tell her if I made it in. You know, Angel has this right. He’s single, he makes his own decisions. Hell, I would have loved to go to test pilot’s school, but Lisa would have flipped.”
“Gabe is going to test pilot’s school?” Annie asked.
“Yeah, he starts in February. Right after he finishes up this project. Didn’t he tell you?”
“No,” she said. “But then, I’m not going to be around. I’ll be on my trip by September. That’s probably why he didn’t say anything.”
“Yeah, that’s probably it. It’s good for him. Opens up lots of career possibilities.”
“He mentioned he wanted to be an astronaut,” Annie said.
“He’s hella smart, Angel is,” Nellie said. “I’d put money on him any day. Once he puts his mind to something, there’s no stopping him.”
“Yeah,” Annie said, forcing a smile. “I know how that is.”
Nellie pushed back from the table and picked up his dishes, then carried them to the sink. “Can I make you some breakfast? I’m great with eggs but even better with pancakes. I can make them look like all sorts of animals.”
“I’m fine,” Annie said. “And leave your dishes. I’ll take care of them.”
He grabbed his mug and filled it again. “I’m going to go finish wiring the radar unit on your boat. Tell Angel I want to leave a little earlier. Oh, and I talked to Lisa last night, and she said she’d be here early afternoon on Friday.”
“I’m looking forward to her visit,” she said.
“Now we just need to find you a man and we’ll all be happy,” Nellie teased, then walked out into the early-morning light.
Annie sighed softly. She had a perfectly wonderful man, right upstairs in her bed. The only problem was his affection for his very dangerous job. Jeez, she’d seen The Right Stuff. Gabe was going to go from chopper pilot to test pilot to space shuttle pilot? It just got worse and worse.
If she allowed herself to love Gabe, then she’d never sleep through the night again. Her sailing trip was exactly what she needed. To get over Erik. And to get over Gabe. After she got back from San Diego, she’d find a nice, normal, earthbound man who came home every night for dinner and always drove the speed limit.
Then she could live happily-ever-after.
* * *
“WHY DID WE have to leave early?” Gabe asked. “We’re not due back on base until ten.”
“I needed to talk to you, and I wanted to make sure we had enough time.”
“It’s an hour drive to Pax River,” Gabe said. “What do we have to—” He paused. “We’re not going to talk about Annie. I told you, she’s made her decision about me. As long as I’m flying, she’s not interested in a relationship. And considering what happened to her first husband, I really can’t blame her. End of discussion.”
“Well, this is only about Annie. It has nothing to do with you. That is, until you get involved.”
Gabe glanced over at Nellie, slumped down in the passenger seat, dressed in a shirt and tie, his gaze hidden by dark sunglasses. “All right. Go ahead.”
“I mentioned to her that you were going to test pilot’s school in February. She didn’t seem to know about that. Sorry. I thought you would have said something.”
“No, it’s all right,” Gabe said. “I thought I had mentioned it to her. It doesn’t make much difference. She’s going to be sailing to California by then.”
“That’s what she said,” Nellie replied.
“So, that’s it?”
“No,” Nellie said. “No, that’s not it. I talked to Lisa last night, and she told me that she had a call from Darlene Lewis. She’s Major Ted Lewis’s much younger second wife. He’s the commander of the airfield at Miramar.”
“Oh, hell, I know where this is going. I heard the rumors about Breaker and Darlene. He told me there was nothing going on.”
“They weren’t rumors,” Nellie said. “She and Erik spent a lot of time in the sack.”
Gabe felt a wave of anger surge inside of him. Sure, he and Breaker had stopped talking about his conquests. And Gabe had chosen to believe he’d stopped. But now that he had proof his best friend had continued to cheat on the woman they both loved, it didn’t sit well.
He felt the betrayal as deeply as Annie might. Their marriage had never been a true meeting of hearts and souls. It had been nothing more than a mirage, a perfect image that dissolved in the light of day.
“Turns out, Darlene was so pleased with his performance that she gave him a very expensive watch, a Rolex, that she took from her husband’s rather impressive collection. And now she needs it back. She called Lisa because she thought she might be willing to ask Annie for it. If Annie ever had it in the first place.”
“You’re kidding me. You’re going to break this news to Annie over a damn watch? Tell me how much the thing costs and we’ll just buy a new one and give it to her.”
“Thought of that. Can’t be done,” Nellie said. “It’s a custom watch and it’s worth over a quarter million dollars. I don’t know about you, but I don’t have that kind of cash just lying around.”
“Are you sure she has it?” Gabe asked.
“That’s where you come in. I’m thinking you can look around and see if you can find it. And if you do, just grab it and we’ll give it back to her.”
“No way. I’m not getting mixed up in this mess. I’ve kept enough of Breaker’s secrets from her over the years. I won’t do it anymore.”
“Do you want this woman to go right to Annie? Do you really want Annie to find out that her husband cheated on her? She has her memories of him and what their marriage was. This will turn everything upside down for her. And if she finds out that you knew, well, she’s not going to like that either.”
“Are you kidding me?” Gabe asked. “Breaker knew how I felt about his screwing around. And he promised me that he’d stopped. I guess I was wrong to trust him.”
“Yeah, you were wrong. Hell, there could be others. I just hope he doesn’t have some kid out there somewhere who’s going to want a share of his death benefits.”
Gabe’s grip tightened on the steering wheel. “No, there’s no kid. At least not that he knew about. He would have told me that. He would have wanted a kid of his to be taken care of, and he would have come to me or you about that.”
“I hope you’re right,” Nellie said.
“I hope so, too.” A long silence spun out around them before Gabe spoke again. “All right. I’ll look for it. Hell, maybe she hasn’t bothered to go through his stuff yet. Maybe she hasn’t even seen the damn thing.”
They spent the rest of the ride chatting about work issues, but Gabe was only marginally focused on their earlier conversation. Instead, his thoughts were fixed on the situation Nellie had described.
Though he’d always wondered what Annie would think if she knew the truth about her husband’s philandering, he didn’t want to see her hurt, especially not now. She was rebuilding her life without Erik, and she’d finally made the decision to move on.
If she learned of even a tiny part of his womanizing, she’d never be able to trust again. And his chances of winning her heart would be close to impossible. Was he selfish? Or was he just determined to protect her? Gabe wasn’t really sure, but his instincts told him to keep quiet and hope that the storm blew over before Annie even realized that it was raining.
When they got to the base, Gabe headed for the barracks to grab a quick shower and change into his flight suit. But when he got there, he found a message taped to his door. “Meet with Captain Jack Scanlon, 10:00, River’s Edge Conference Center, room 112.”
The note had come from his commanding officer here on the base, without an explanation. Scanlon wasn’t a name he recognized. He hadn’t served with him, and he wasn’t in his chain of command either here or in Afghanistan.
Gabe couldn’t help but wonder if maybe someone had noticed his late-morning arrivals and early-afternoon departures. He’d been told that the hours for his duty at Pax River were flexible, but in all honesty, he had been taking advantage.
Not knowing what the meeting was about, he decided to change into his service uniform. He hurried through his shower and shave and was at the door of the conference center at exactly 10:00 a.m.
He found the room and rapped on the door, then stepped inside at the order of “Enter.” Scanlon crossed the room and held out his hand. “Captain Pennington. Thanks so much for agreeing to meet with me on such short notice.”
“No problem,” Gabe said, glancing around the room. “I’m not sure what this is about.”
Scanlon pointed to a chair across from the sofa. “Sit down. Would you like something to drink? I’ve got coffee here, but we could get you something cold if you prefer.”
“I’m fine. Maybe we could just get down to business,” he said.
Scanlon nodded. “Well, then, let me explain. I’m the deputy superintendent at the naval academy. I’ve been tasked with coordinating a new recruiting plan for instructors and your name came up. I’m here to find out if you might want to consider a job on our teaching staff.”
Gabe swallowed a gasp. “Me?”
“We’ve had our eye on you for a while. You graduated second in your class, you had some of the highest marks in your squadron at flight school. You’ve nearly completed your master’s degree in electrical engineering online while serving in a war zone. That’s quite a list of achievements.”
“Thank you.”
“Now you’ve been accepted into test pilot’s school with the aim of giving NASA a try. We’d rather you consider working for us.”
“Teach,” he said, unable to believe what he was hearing. Gabe had always had an affection for the academy. “I’ve never thought about that career path.”
“You’d begin as an instructor. We’d want you to get a PhD, and then you’d advance from there.”
“I don’t know. I guess I’d like to think about it. I’m a pilot. I can see teaching at flight school, but this is a bit different.”
“Well, we’d like you to consider it. We’re going to have some staff openings over these next couple years, and we’d like to find a few good Marines to join us. And we’d like to invite you up to Annapolis to meet with the superintendent, Vice Admiral Conroy. We can have you sit in with some of the instructors, and you’ll get a chance to see how they work.”
“I’d like that,” Gabe said.
“Are you married? Engaged?”
“Does that make a difference?”
“No. Only that teaching at the academy would give you a pretty normal lifestyle for the military. Sometimes, that’s an attraction. Home for dinner with the wife and the kids every night. A house in the suburbs, good schools, weekends free. I know my wife likes it.”
“I can appreciate that,” Gabe said.
Scanlon stood. “Well, if you have any other questions or would like to come for a visit, just give me a call.”
“Thank you.”
“Thank you, Captain Pennington. And I hope to hear from you soon.”
Gabe walked out of the meeting room and headed back to his car. But then he turned and headed in the opposite direction, to the river. He found a seat and stretched his legs out in front of him.
He thought back to that kiss that he’d shared with Annie in the boat shed in San Diego. Since that moment, his life had shifted. He’d been just an ordinary pilot, an ace behind the controls of a SuperCobra. Now he was a pilot with options.
His cell phone buzzed, and Gabe pulled it out of his pocket. He switched it on. “Yeah, Nellie. I’m on my way. I had a quick meeting I had to take care of.”
“The engineers installed the system in a Venom, and they want you to take it on a test flight. That’s scheduled for noon. Are you okay with that?”
“Yeah, sure,” Gabe said. “I’m fine.”
“All right. I need you to check it out before you take it up. Get over here.”
“I just have to stop at the barracks and change into my flight suit.”
He switched off his phone, then levered to his feet. He’d have to consider all his options later. And after he’d considered them all, then he’d have to decide how Annie might react to a major change in his lifestyle.
Afghanistan seemed like another life. He’d been back for two months, and he felt himself losing his edge. The adrenaline was like a drug, an addiction that had to be fed or it lost its power. Maybe it was time, Gabe mused. Maybe his odds had run out and the universe was telling him he’d already flown his last combat mission.
He’d always told himself that he’d trust his instincts, and he’d know if and when he should get out. But it seemed like the decision wasn’t up to him. The fates had other plans, and some of those plans included Annie.
He glanced down at his phone, his finger hovering over the speed dial for Annie. He wanted to tell her his news, to find out what she thought. But it would be better to tell her in person. He’d be able to gauge her true feelings if he could look into her eyes.
She could change her mind. She could decide to let her heart rule her head and let herself fall in love again. Maybe he was hoping for too much, but what the hell. If he didn’t believe, then it might never happen.