Gwyn had no idea why Adam needed to see her. Surely he understood she had to ensure the stern gate was secured, the well properly drained, and the ship re-ballasted before she could go off lollygagging. It had been a full three hours since he’d disembarked from the LCAC and asked her to meet him as soon as she was free. Granted, he’d supervised the equipment offload, so he’d been busy as well.
It was almost dawn before she headed down to the fitness center. The outer door was secured. She knocked. Adam opened it, smiling at her.
“What’s so bloody important, Gunny?” she asked.
Adam stuck his head out the door, glanced both ways down the passageway, then pulled her into the space. Gwyn found her balance and then found herself in the gunny’s arms, his lips hot and demanding on hers.
Oh, my. It was lovely to be back in Adam’s embrace, with him snogging the stuffing out of her. He slipped his tongue into her mouth and grabbed her arse, pulling her to him. Gwyn’s eyes flew open. There was laughter in Adam’s clear blue eyes. Reality hit and she pulled away. “What in bloody blazes is this all about?”
He flashed her a cat-that-just-found-the-cream grin. “Thank you,” he said simply. Then grinned some more. “Thank you. Thank you. And thank you, Gwyn Pritchard.”
“For what, Adam? And what is this kissing me aboard ship business?”
His mouth tipped up at the corner. “I was there too, Princess. If I’m not mistaken, you were kissing me back.”
Gwyn was busted. Heat climbed up her neck and warmed her face. She tried to cover with chagrin. “What’s going on, Adam?”
“I want to thank you again for going to Mac and sharing the Intel. I know how hard that was for you, but it helped us slay all the dragons. You have no idea the number of lives you saved in the past twelve hours. You should be given a medal for this.”
“I can see it now. A little white sheet with two black holes for eyes.”
“No, Gwyn, you were brilliant, as you would say. And the Intel was spot-on.” He grasped her forearms, pulled her close. “You saved Ryan’s brother, Gwyn. I got to meet David Kosloski, shake his hand, tell him stories about Ryan’s and my good times. And I knew—knew—that I had a part in sending this young man home to his mama. All because of you.” He leaned down and kissed her quickly on the lips. “So, thank you.”
Then the smile died on his lips. “Unfortunately, there was a friendly casualty.”
Gwyn’s hand flew to her mouth “I heard about it, but we couldn’t see into the ballroom.”
He stroked her forearms with his thumbs. “It was Bruce McLeod.”
Gwyn sucked in a breath. “Oh, good Lord. Bruiser? What happened?”
“Let’s just say he saved a lot of lives by what he did. He was a good Marine, Gwyn. A true hero.”
Gwyn blinked back tears, and if she wasn’t mistaken, Adam did the same. “I’m so sorry, Adam. I wonder if Trudy knows? Oh, of course, everyone would know on the Atlantic. But he was your mate. You bought each other rounds and shared your camaraderie.” She wrapped her arms around him and laid her head against his shoulder. “I’m so sorry we lost anyone, Adam.”
He pushed back from her. “I know.” He sniffed and cleared his throat. “But thank God we were able to save all the hostages with only five friendly wounded and the one casualty.” He paused, a smile threatening to break through his grief. “And not only was your Intel correct, but I have a funny feeling your stowaways had something to do with the victory. Weird stuff happened—cool, weird stuff—that had both commanders scratching their heads and wondering what was going on.”
Gwyn smiled. “Some of the spirits were there. Helen and I could see them on the monitors in CIC. The firefighters were there—remember they were Marine veterans—and Helen’s husband, too.”
Adam’s mouth dropped open. “Well, that explains it. I wasn’t sure if they could leave the ship.”
“Only some of them can. I’ll fill you in later. I need to run. They’re expecting me on the flight deck for their official send-off this morning.”
He reached for her. “Wait, Gwyn. I have something else to say. I’m sorry about what happened in Plymouth. You know, walking out on you.”
Gwyn’s heart skipped a beat.
“I’d like to make it up to you. Scuttlebutt has it we’re headed to Rota, Spain to resupply and recover from this mission. Can I see you?”
Gwyn felt a lightness in her chest. “I’d like that.”
He scrubbed his hand through his hair, glanced around the room, then his eyes returned to hers. “Look, I’ve never cared about anyone as much as I care about you. This is all new to me and I’m not quite sure how to do things.”
A smile blossomed on her face. “You’re doing just fine, Adam.”
“It’s not like I can promise you anything. I mean, we’re not supposed to be seeing one another and you’ll be going home next year, but…”
“But what?”
“I want to be with you whenever we can be together.”
She reached up and touched his cheek. “We’ll figure something out, Adam. Because I want to be with you as well. How about we let next year worry about itself and live for the here and now? It won’t be easy to be together for the rest of the cruise. But just knowing you care for me makes all the difference in the world.”
Adam took her in his arms and kissed her deeply. Gwyn melted in his embrace. This was where she belonged—even if their governments didn’t think so. Somehow they’d make it work. At least for the here and now.
Gwyn pulled away and looked into his crystal clear blue eyes, the left one endearingly misshapen. He looked at her with more emotion than she’d thought possible from this man. “I could get used to this, Adam. It’s good to have you back, for however long I can have you.” But now it was her turn to smile like the cat that found the cream. “And when we next meet, we can discuss you paying the piper.”
Adam’s eyes narrowed with confusion. “What piper?”
“If I’m not mistaken, we struck a bargain. I would give up the Intel and you would speak with my mum.”
His warm, friendly grin returned. “Oh, yeah, that.” He flipped his hand. “You got it. Some day when the deployment is over, I’ll visit her in Wales and we’ll talk.”
Gwyn’s smile broadened. “No, not someday. Now.”
He arched an eyebrow. “You got her stashed away in your stateroom or something?”
“No, Adam. Skype.”
His eyes widened. “You want me to visit the Voodoo Queen on Skype? You mean, like, on the ship? Where people could walk in?”
Gwyn beamed. “Relax. We’ll do it in port. We can start as soon as we pull into Rota. Look for an email scheduling your first hypnotherapy session.” She patted his cheek, then moved him aside. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a going away party to attend topside.”
Gwyn smiled as she headed down the passageway. There really wasn’t any reason to tell Adam it had been little Jeremy who’d convinced her to share the intelligence.
* * *
Shaken by the news of Bruce’s death, Nick knew he needed to be the one to tell Trudy—if only he could call her. A man who had once been a pain in Nick’s ass had become a hero, and not only in the Royal Marines’ eyes. In Nick’s too. Jesus, he’d just talked with the man, shaken hands with him, wished him the best as he’d supervised the toilet paper roll convoy on the well deck. Now the man was dead.
Nick blinked back unshed tears, cleared his throat, and refocused his eyes on the fuel samples. All he saw was Uncle Frank’s face on his desk reminding him to do his part in the War on Terror. But damn it all, he did feel like a bump on a log, checking the quality of fuel, when a man had sacrificed his life to save countless others. Then he remembered what Bruce had said: We each serve in our own way, mate. Everyone does his or her bit.
Simon bustled in, yawned, and took his seat. “Sun’s up, Nick. Go get some rest. Thanks for a couple hours of sleep. Glad it all went well in the night. Shame about Trudy’s Junglie.”
“Yeah,” was all Nick could say. As he headed to his stateroom, he kept seeing Bruce smile and say, Considering the New York’s legend, I’m sure we’ll be watched over. Nick just wished his Uncle Frank had watched over a little better, but he couldn’t go there.
Besides, right now, talking with Trudy took precedence over everything. Worrying, eating, sleeping, even breathing. Cell phones were still under lock and key, so Nick hoped the server was back up as he sat down at his computer. Maybe there was still time to plead with her via email.
It was up. And there it was. Trudy’s complete message.
His heart raced. He shut his eyes and prayed her email might, could, maybe, possibly—please God—contain good news. His blood thundered through his veins when he realized he was probably about to receive more sad news on top of Bruce’s death, so he prepared himself for the worst.
Nick sucked in a deep breath, exhaled just as deeply, opened his eyes, and read:
Yank, so sorry I couldn’t say good-bye, but I had to catch that transport out. I’m at your base in Spain, heading home this afternoon. I’m sorry we couldn’t talk any more about our situation, but I made a decision. I appreciated your offer, but I could never ask you to give up your Naval career. I’ve made arrangements to take care of everything and have an appointment for Monday to resign my commission. So you better get your Yankee arse back to Plymouth as fast as you can, because we’ve got a wedding to plan. Love, Trudy
Nick flew up from his desk chair, shouting, “Who-hoo!” He punched the air around him, calling out again, “Who-hoo! Who-hoo!” The stress and tension of the long night came at him full throttle. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he laughed and cried at the same time. He shadowboxed his way around his tiny stateroom before sitting down to hammer out a response.
“Yes! Yes! Yes!” he pounded out on the keyboard. “Trudy, I love you! Thank you for agreeing to marry me! I love you, love you, love you!” He hit send and then noticed a more recent message from her:
I met with my parents tonight. I thought Dad was going to have a stroke, but he’ll be fine. I told him to suck it up, that I was tired of taking his crap. My mum actually started clapping. Oh, Yank, I have never felt like this in my life! Thank you for opening up the stable door and letting me run free like the wind! I love you! Trudy
P. S. Hurry home, Yank. Me and our little cheeky monkey can’t wait to hug you.
He pounded out a response:
Yay, Trudy, for telling your dad off. I’ll be home to you and cheeky monkey just as soon as we tie up loose ends in Tangiers. And then ready-or-not-here-I-come! Love, Yank
This was not the time to tell her about Bruce. He would call her as soon as he could. But he wouldn’t think about it today.
Today was no longer about death. It was about life.
Nick dashed off an email to his brother.
Hey, Mikey, I’ve got great news! Trudy and I are getting married as soon as I can get my Yankee arse back to Plymouth. I guess Trudy really is mine! She’s agreed to marry me—and oh, yeah—we have a baby on the way. Don’t tell Mom and Dad before I get a chance to share the news. Trudy’s resigning her commission, so I’ll be bringing home two souvenirs when this tour is up. Go ahead and tell Sky and Philip the news. We’re gonna have to start a day care center with all the babies being born to the Highwaymen.
Enjoy being aboard that sacred ship. I hope you find New York to be as special as I did. I’ve got a funny feeling Uncle Frank is watching over you—watching over all of us. Nick
Mike’s reply came within minutes:
Whoa, Bro! MARRIED? And to Lady Godiva, yet!! I’m really happy for you. You SO deserve this. You’re right about that day care center. I’ll pass the news on to Philip, but you can tell Sky yourself. We’re headed your way in an hour or so. The embassy Marines are done with debrief and we’re flying them over to the Atlantic for physicals with your doc.
Speaking of women, I set a goal of finding out what I did to piss off Cate Hawkins, maybe all the way back at the Academy. LOL. I always kinda liked her, but it’s as if I have leprosy, the way she avoids me. Hey, what else do I have to do in my spare time for the rest of the cruise?
As to the New York, yeah, I do think Uncle Frank is watching over us. And I feel really close to him when I’m here. We can talk when I get over there. Later, Mikey
* * *
The ghosts had assembled on the New York’s flight deck. Those who were leaving planned to fly away from the ship aboard the Seahawk helicopter. Mikey, Sky, and the aircrewman donned their helmets and climbed aboard. Then the embassy Marines climbed in. Adam was hanging around the flight deck, waving to a young Marine who must be David Kosloski. He saluted Adam, who gave him a thumbs-up, which the young Marine returned before boarding the aircraft.
As soon as the engines cranked up, Gwyn was free to talk with the spirits, careful not to move her lips. This was a joyous day since half the spirits would be leaving for the great beyond. Gwyn was happy for Helen and Bud that they had found one another after all these years, but she was going to miss the heck out of Helen Monroe. Gwyn hadn’t realized how attached she’d become to the ghost, until she watched her waiting to board the Seahawk, standing there all young and lovely in her World War II Wren uniform, her bright red hair tucked up under her bucket hat, the look of a woman in love on her smooth, young face.
Bud was as handsome as Helen had said he would be. All dashing in his dress Marine Corps uniform. But it was the perpetual smile on his face that warmed Gwyn’s heart, along with the fact that he would not take his arm from around Helen’s shoulders. And when he looked at his wife? Blimey, but Gwyn had to look away. She wondered if ghosts could make love, because these two sure had satisfied, lovesick looks on their faces.
Gwyn was equally happy for the firefighters. She loved seeing them young and smiling, the smoky smell of destruction gone. And it was beyond brilliant to see Uncle Frank beam with joy. She’d become attached to the old firefighter/young Marine. And Jeremy. Lordy, Gwyn blinked back tears at the thought of the child’s departure. She would miss his gap-toothed smile, but knew his face would be brighter once he was reunited with his grandmother. Kelly and Captain Martin were certainly doing a lot of smiling. Gwyn had no doubt that, as soon as Jeremy was in his granny’s arms, the lovely flight attendant would be in Captain Martin’s arms as well. That left Mr. Hawaiian Shirt, Mr. Business Suit, the two New York Police officers, and Miss Lonely Hearts—who was looking sadder than ever.
“Now remember, Gwyn,” Helen reminded her. “You’ve ten and a half more months on this ship to help the rest of the spirits figure out their mission and pass to the other side.”
“I’ll do my best, Helen.”
Helen hugged the ghosts who were left behind and reached for Gwyn, but of course she went right through her.
“Good bye, Helen. Thanks for being such a lovely friend. I shall never forget you. And thank you for all your help with saving the hostages and the Marines—please extend my gratitude to Uncle Frank for me.” Frank nodded before he walked off toward the helicopter. The other two firefighters waved to her and Gwyn nodded to them, raising her hand only slightly to wave back.
Then there was Jeremy. She blew him a kiss. He waved and grinned at her before boarding the aircraft. He climbed right into Sky’s lap so he could look out the window. Once all were on board, Gwyn found herself close to tears. The flight deck crew removed the chocks that anchored the helicopter and Gwyn bid them all farewell in her heart.
Suddenly Helen stepped through the closed cabin door back onto the flight deck with Bud at her side. Gwyn looked at her in confusion. Helen and Bud flitted back to her and the remaining spirits. “I’m sorry, Gwyn, I’ve changed my mind.”
“Whatever do you mean, Helen?” Gwyn asked under her breath.
“How can the other spirits get to the light if you can’t communicate with them? I’m the only one you can talk to. We’ve decided to stay behind and help you get the others to the next world. Then Bud and I will talk about leaving. I can’t possibly go knowing the others could be stuck here for eternity.” Bud put his arm around the young Helen’s shoulders and whispered something to her. Helen laughed and said, “And Bud’s not ever leaving me again, now that he’s found me.”
The other spirits cheered, Mr. Hawaiian Shirt giving high fives with Mr. Business Suit. Miss Lonely Hearts even smiled.
“I’m glad you’re staying,” Gwyn said.
The ghosts turned and waved as the Seahawk helicopter lifted off the flight deck. The last image Gwyn had was Jeremy and Bongo with their noses pressed to Sky’s window as the boy and his stuffed dog waved farewell.
The helo slewed to the side, heading for the HMS Atlantic. At first Gwyn thought it might be some rotorwash left behind, but then she realized there was a Marine standing where the helo had just been.
Not a twenty-first Century United States Marine in desert camouflage.
But a Viet Nam-era United States Marine in green fatigues.
Uncle Frank had remained behind, too.
He walked over to the spirits who waited patiently to find out why—after all these years of trying to get to heaven—Frank Nikolopoulos had decided to stay.
“Why on earth didn’t you go, Frank?” Helen asked.
Frank told her and she relayed it to Gwyn. “Frank says he wasn’t in as big a hurry as he thought. He’s decided to stick around until his wife is ready to go to heaven. This way he can spend more time with his nephew, Mike.”
Helen indicated Bud and appeared choked up before she continued. “Besides, Frank and Bud like the idea of a couple of old Marines watching over the troops on the USS New York. And before they leave, they will ensure there are other spirits to take their place, forever protecting the sailors and Marines aboard this sacred ship. He closed with, Semper Fi.”
Now Gwyn’s tears flowed in earnest.
“And I’m not in any hurry either.” Helen turned to all the remaining spirits. “Besides helping the rest of you pass to the other side…” She glanced over at one lone gunnery sergeant slouched against the bulkhead, arms crossed, watching Gwyn. “I’m not leaving this world until I see Adam Connor get the happily ever after he deserves. And I have a funny feeling it’s going to happen aboard the USS New York, because there is just something special about this ship.”
A smile lit Gwyn’s face as she glanced at Adam, then turned back to take in the motley crew of remaining spirits. “You can say that again, Helen. You can certainly say that again.”
The End
* * *
Coming soon, Book 4 in Heather Ashby’s “Love in the Fleet” Series
UNFORGETTABLE
Although Gunnery Sergeant Adam Connor has agreed to be a guinea pig in a PTSD study, he questions how far he’ll go to be “healed.” If he wants to keep Gwyn Pritchard’s affections however, he must submit to her mother’s unconventional techniques. Although Adam’s healing is paramount to Gwyn, helping the rest of the spirits pass to the other side is her priority—along with performing her job aboard the USS New York, without anyone knowing she talks to ghosts.
Marathoner, Cate Hawkins has run from her childhood by becoming a Marine Corps pilot. But when a mission in East Africa goes awry, she finds herself in a race for her life. After burying the hatchet with Cate, Navy pilot Mike Nikolopoulos wonders if he can overcome a sudden fear of flying to rescue his new love. If the spirits help him save her, they will be free to go to the light. But can Mikey white knuckle his way to Cate before al-Qaeda repeats “Black Hawk Down”—with a female American pilot this time?
Join Gwyn and Adam, Mikey and Cate, Sky and Philip, Helen and Bud, Uncle Frank, the remaining spirits, and the sailors and Marines aboard the USS New York as they sail through the Suez Canal and into the Red Sea where more spirited adventures await them on the Horn of Africa.
And don’t miss Books 1 and 2 in Heather Ashby’s thrilling “Love in the Fleet” Series!
Forgive and Forget (Book 1)
There’s something about a man in uniform…but there’s something about a woman in one, too. When Petty Officer Hallie McCabe meets Philip Johnston at a picnic, she is drawn to his integrity. He’s a gentleman. But he’s also an officer. From her ship.
Knowing that officers and enlisted aren’t allowed to fraternize, Hallie conceals her Navy status, hoping she and her secret can stay hidden on their aircraft carrier until she can figure out a way for them to sail off into the sunset together.
Caught in an emotional firestorm, Hallie faces a future without the man she loves, a career-shattering secret from the past, and the burden of being the one person who can prevent a terrorist attack on the ship she has sworn to protect with her life.
Prepare to set sail for the Persian Gulf with a crew of 4,999 sailors and officers—and one terrorist in search of his own kind of Paradise.
Forget Me Not (Book 2)
Meet the unforgettable Sky Crawford in FORGET ME NOT…
Suffering from Peter Pan Syndrome and survivor guilt, Navy helicopter pilot and renowned playboy Brian “Skylark” Crawford, swears he’ll never marry. He refuses to admit—even to himself—that he doesn’t believe he deserves happiness.
After her Marine pilot husband is killed in Afghanistan, war widow and veterinarian Daisy Schneider vows to give her wounded heart only to animals. But work fails to ease her loneliness or the agonizing guilt she feels as she wonders if she could have saved the man she loved.
Between one matchmaking rescue cat and a fiery battle with drug runners at sea, the fur flies as Sky and Daisy fight to resist their attraction and the dangerous idea that they might be worthy of a second chance at life…and love.