Chapter Eleven

“Commander Remington,” Ty began, “would you describe the philosophy you have toward women to the board?” He stood off to one side, his hands behind his back. Remington had just finished telling his version of what had happened, and it was Ty’s turn to cross-examine him. As expected, Remington had lied about everything, turning around what he’d done to Callie to make the board believe she had led him on instead. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Callie sitting against the wall, Dr. Johnson next to her. He was glad they’d had the opportunity to go to the ocean last night, because it had helped shore up Callie emotionally. Ty had wanted to spend longer at the beach, and he’d wanted to become more intimate with her after those burning kisses, but it wasn’t the right time. He’d spent the rest of the night, until about 0300, creating questions designed to show the board Remington’s real attitude toward women.

Remington leaned back and crossed his legs nonchalantly. “I like them.”

The pilots snickered, and two of the board members smiled. Ty glared at the tribunal and then at the pilots. Instantly, two of the three members on the board stopped smiling, their faces falling somber again. It was a telling reaction and his heart sank.

“Can you be more specific?”

With an expansive shrug, Remington said, “I’m a man, and a woman’s a woman. I’m strong and powerful—women are beautiful and sexy.”

“What do you mean by powerful?”

“I’m stronger.”

“Stronger in a physical sense or in being able to dominate them?”

“Both.”

“You believe men should dominate women?”

“They have since caveman days. What’s so different now?”

Ty glanced up to see Callie’s expression, which was one of utter fury. He saw the board’s reaction, too: one of silent agreement with Remington’s views.

“How do you see yourself as a man?”

“I’m a fighter pilot. A Top Gun. I’m the best there is.”

“And before you were married, how did you see yourself in relation to the women you liked?”

Remington smiled a little, a gloating smile. “Listen, it was open season. I was the hunter, they were the quarry. They’re to be enjoyed. If I set my gun sites on one, I chased her until I caught her. She was mine, and she knew it. I scored on her.”

“How did you do this?”

Remington laughed. “Now, Commander, I wouldn’t want to give away any of my trade secrets to you.”

The polite laughter that followed made Ty’s blood boil. Remington was enjoying this line of questioning, not realizing how it made him out to be a harasser. “Humor me,” Ty said, “and try.”

“Fine. I never had fewer than ten women at any time who wanted me. They liked sex and so did I. There are a lot of pilots who are jealous of my ability to pick up the groupies at the bar, but I do something they don’t.”

“And that is?”

“Most of the pilots can’t even get a woman to talk to them. I just march right up and show them how it’s done.”

“How is it ‘done?’”

“I throw my arm around her, bring her up against me, smile a big smile that tells her I want her body and I ask her for a date. A real man doesn’t mess around. He gets straight to the point, if you know what I mean.” Remington smiled hugely at his fellow pilots, who were all grinning like a cheerleading section.

“So, you hustle a woman?”

“Call it what you want. I know how to move into their territory and stake my claim on ’em.”

“What if the woman doesn’t want your kind of attention?”

“No woman can resist my tactics.”

“But if she did?”

Remington scowled. “I told you—I always score.”

“You ever get physical with your ladies?”

“My women enjoy having sex with me, and if it gets a little rough, they like it that way. They like being tamed. It’s part of the old psychology of ‘me caveman, you woman,’ you know?”

“I see.” Ty brought out several documents and walked over to the board, placing them before the officers to view. “I’d like to submit for the record a document that I got from the legal department. Six months ago, Commander Remington was charged with assault on a civilian woman called Cindy Laker.” Ty looked grimly at Remington, whose mouth had dropped opened, and then up at the board members, who were studying the copies. “Cindy Laker was eighteen years old and had come to the O Club with a friend who was twenty. What the board should know—”

“Objection!” Lewis said. “This hearing is about the incident that took place last week, not six months ago.”

“On the contrary,” Ty growled, “this document should be considered as evidence because it shows a past history of Commander Remington physically assaulting another woman in the same setting and circumstances.”

Remington sat stiffly, suddenly alert, his eyes flashing with rage. “That chick deserved it! She was a tease! She flaunted herself at me and when I gave her the attention she wanted, she went whining and crying to the shore patrol.”

Ty smiled a little as the board continued to read the charges. “The attention you gave her was similar to the attention you just gave Lieutenant Donovan, Commander.”

Callie sat there, stunned. She hadn’t realized Ty had carried out such a thorough investigation on her behalf. Tears flooded into her eyes as she began to understand how much Ty did care for her. She remained very still, absorbing the truth of him fully—for the first time totally separating him from her past negative experiences with pilots. In that moment, she saw him in an entirely different light. A kinder one, filled with promise and, for the first time in her life, a burning hope.

“That little bitch asked for it!” Remington thundered angrily, and he shook his index finger at Ty. “She wore this tight little leather miniskirt and see-through blouse. What was I to do? To think?”

“Again,” Ty said in a stern voice, “a harasser sees an invitation no matter what a woman is wearing. In this country, a woman has the right to wear whatever she wants, and a man shouldn’t automatically think she’s a piece of meat up on the selling block, a sexual object to be ‘owned’ by some male.” He moved quickly from the dais to stand behind Remington, who’d been glaring at him. “I want to tell the board what Dr. Johnson has found about sexual harassers and their psychological profiles. One type, known as the ‘Gunfighter’ personality, feels he’s the ultimate macho man. He views women as a challenge to be met, overcome and conquered—whether she wants him or not. Further, this psychological profile thinks women are to be enjoyed and cannot see them as human beings, only as objects to be possessed by him. He’s into power and control over a woman. He can talk about them only in sexual terminology because that’s the only way he perceives them. He describes himself as ‘a stud’ or manly, and he is aggressive in his pursuit of his target.”

Ty turned and nailed Remington directly as he went on, his voice rolling through the room. “A woman is seen as a score—nothing more. She isn’t seen as a human being who has a heart, who has feelings, because this type of man invalidates her human qualities with his own projections of himself. He chases for the fever of the hunt. Once he ‘catches’ his quarry, he takes what he wants from her and walks away. That is the psychological profile on this kind of harasser. And I believe you can see by Commander Remington’s own words—his view of himself and how he perceives women—that he fits this profile.”

Ty stood there savoring the small victory for Callie. He knew that at Lewis’s objections, the board would throw out the document proving Remington had been charged with the assault of Cindy Laker. The charges had later been dropped because Cindy hadn’t wanted to be put on the stand and grilled—just as Callie was now being grilled. Still, it allowed Ty to plant the seeds in the board’s mind, and to give him the opportunity to use Dr. Johnson’s considerable weight as an expert in the field to make them look differently at Remington—even if the four pilots continued to lie about the incident to protect themselves and their careers.

As he waited, he glanced in Callie’s direction. He saw such hope in her face that his heart raced momentarily. There were tears in her blue eyes, too, but not out of sorrow. Ty literally felt her admiration for him, felt the feelings she’d been hiding from him and it left him reeling with discovery. For a brief moment, he smiled at her—a smile that said so much—man to woman, not counsel to client.

To Ty’s disappointment, if not his surprise, the board did not accept the document into evidence. He saw Remington smile hugely, as if he’d won the round. Moving toward the pilot, Ty changed his line of questioning.

“Commander, are you married?”

“You know I am.”

“How long have you been married?”

“Two years.”

“First marriage?”

“No, my third.”

“I see.”

“Yours didn’t stay together, either,” Remington shot back.

Ty held on to his anger. “My marriage is not up for discussion at this hearing, Commander.”

“Well, neither is mine.”

“You’re wrong,” Ty breathed softly. “Tell me what your third wife is like, Commander.”

Relaxing, Remington grinned. “She’s a nice little woman. She stays home, fixes my meals and makes sure my needs are met.”

“Does you present wife hold an outside job?”

“Hell, no!”

“Why not?”

“I won’t let her, that’s why. I damn well make enough money that she doesn’t have to go galavanting off and be like all the rest of these women.”

“What do you mean by that comment, Commander?”

Remington snorted. “There isn’t a man alive who likes feminists. They’re a bunch of dykes wanting to control us men, that’s all.”

“I believe,” Ty said mildly, “that when Lieutenant Donovan pushed you away and told you she didn’t want your advances, you called her a lesbian.”

Flashing a look of hatred, Remington snarled, “Most of the women in the military are lesbian.”

“Perhaps just the ones that say no to your advances?”

“Look,” Remington growled, “these women think they can replace us men in the navy. Well, they’re wrong! They aren’t strong enough physically, and they ain’t got the brains it takes. I don’t have a problem with enlisted women, they’re the same as the enlisted men, but I don’t like women officers who think they’re as good as I am, because they aren’t.”

“Commander, I’m sure you’re aware that the navy doesn’t tolerate homosexuals. So, are you charging Lieutenant Donovan?” Ty smiled to himself, knowing he’d caught Remington.

“Of course not!”

“But you accused her of being a dyke and a lesbian.”

“I did not!”

“Then Lieutenant Donovan is lying again, and you’re telling the truth?”

Breathing hard, Remington gripped the arms of the chairs. “Yes!”

Satisfied that the pilot had placed doubt on his testimony, Ty didn’t pursue it. “I have no more questions. You may step down, Commander Remington.”

Lieutenant Neil Thorson came to the stand. Ty sat next to Callie making notes about his testimony—which paralleled Remington’s perfectly. When it was his turn to cross-examine, he glanced at Callie. He could see the tension in her face and the darkness in her eyes. Giving her a slight smile, he rose, legal pad in hand as he made his way to where Thorson sat.

“Lieutenant Thorson, are you married?”

“Yes, I am.”

Ty nodded. The black-haired pilot was lean, his eyes snapping with alertness. “Had you met Lieutenant Donovan before the night of the incident?”

Thorson smiled over at the cadre of pilots before answering. “Let’s put it this way, Commander—Ms. Donovan’s reputation preceded her to the station.”

Frowning, Ty felt uneasy. He saw a glitter in Thorson’s eyes that he didn’t like. Had Lewis or one of the other counsels uncovered something from Callie’s past?

“Would you care to elaborate?” Ty demanded.

“Be glad to. I have a friend, Lieutenant Jerry Ivers—”

Ty heard Callie gasp and snapped his head in her direction. He saw her start to launch herself out of the chair. Holding up his hand in a silent plea for her to sit down and remain quiet, he zeroed in on Thorson. “Go on.”

“Ivers went through Annapolis with her,” Thorson said, savoring every word as if it were dessert, “and he told me about her reputation of being a big-time tease to her fellow plebes.”

“That’s a lie!” Callie cried, coming to her feet. Fists knotted at her side, she said, “A lie!”

Ty winced outwardly at her cry of absolute pain riddled with fury. Instantly, he turned to the board. “I request a thirty-minute recess to confer with my client.”

Commander Newton nodded. “A thirty-minute recess,” he boomed, striking the gavel.

Without a word, Ty turned on his heel, gripped Callie by the elbow and guided her out of the room. There was an office across the passageway and he took her in there. Shutting the door, he stood near it and watched her contorted features.

“What’s going on?” he demanded. “Who’s Ivers?”

Callie’s hands were shaking as she brought them to her face. She tried to stop the scream that was unwinding deep in her gut, and she couldn’t stop breathing in ragged gasps. Hearing Ty’s voice, she was unable to respond. Tears flooded into her eyes.

Concerned, Ty moved to her side and gently placed his hands on her shoulders. She was trembling. “Callie? Please…what’s going on? Talk to me.”

Just the caress of his hands on her shoulders gave her the courage to lift her head and meet his stormy eyes. Tears coursed down her cheeks and she opened her mouth to speak, but only a croak came out.

“It’s okay,” he soothed thickly, and briefly touched her hair. Ty wanted so badly to continue to touch her, to help her, but they didn’t have that kind of time. “Take it from the beginning,” he told her. “What happened at Annapolis, Callie? Every time I’ve mentioned that word, I’ve seen you blanch.”

Shutting her eyes and choking back a sob, she whispered brokenly, “Ivers hated me. He hated any woman who dared to think she could make it through the academy. He was an upperclassman, two years ahead of me. Wh-when I was a plebe in my first year, he and his gang started harassing me in every way possible.” The pain rose as she relived the memories. Opening her eyes, she saw the blurred outline of Ty’s grim features through her tears. His hands closed more firmly around her shoulders and she placed hers against his chest. The hardness in his face melted and she saw only worry and care there instead. It gave her the impetus to go on, no matter how humiliating, how shamed she felt.

“I—I tried to avoid Ivers and his gang of six friends, but it was impossible. Maggie was in her last year there, and Alanna was a year behind her. They couldn’t help me—they didn’t dare. There was such awful harassment toward us, Ty. The men hated us being there, and they showed it in so many ways. I felt cut off, helpless. Alanna and Maggie had warned me it would be tough, but I had no idea how bad it was going to be.”

Ty nodded. He knew the first-year plebe at Annapolis took a horrendous amount of badgering from upperclassmen. He’d gone through that hellish first year himself, but he’d been a male, so he knew it hadn’t been as hard as it had been on Callie and her sisters. “Okay, so far, so good. Ivers had it in for you.”

“Y-yes. Oh, God, this is so hard to tell, Ty. I—I’ve never told anyone about it. Not even my sisters. Or,” she added with a sob, “my folks—my mother….”

His gut twisting in pain for her, Ty gripped her by the shoulders. “You can tell me, Callie. I promise you, it’s safe with me. If you don’t, Lewis and those other counsels are going to use it against you in some way to sway the board’s view of you. Come on, tell me the rest of it.”

Taking a ragged breath, Callie stared up at him. The burning intensity of his eyes sent a ray of stability through her—enough, at least, to confide the rest of the incident. Her fingers dug briefly into the white cotton of his shirt and she felt the strength of his chest beneath it. Ty was so strong, so self-assured, when she felt none of those things. “One night at 0300, after I got off guard duty, I went back to my room at the dorm. My roommate had guard duty that shift and I was alone. Ivers and his gang burst through the door.” Swallowing hard, Callie whispered, “None of the doors are ever locked, and they were supposed to knock and announce themselves, but they didn’t.” She bowed her head, ashamed. “They shut the door behind them, and they began to call me horrible names and push me around. They hated me because I was a woman on their male territory. That’s what it boiled down to. They were intimidating me in every way to get me to quit the academy.

“I remember they got rougher with me. They formed a circle in the dorm room and started pushing me from one man to another. I tried to fight back, but it was impossible. I was so angry, and I was scared, too. At that time of morning, I knew no one would come to my defense. I got knocked to the floor a couple of times, and I kicked out at them.” Miserably, Callie hung her head and added, “Finally, they left, and I remember sobbing as I made it to the door and shut it.”

“My, God,” Ty breathed, touching her cheeks with his hands, “did you report them? Did you tell your sisters?”

Choking on a sob, Callie said, “Report them? Seven of them against me? Who would the authorities believe? I was afraid to tell my sisters, because I knew both of them would move heaven and hell to get even with Ivers and his gang. If they did that, they’d both be kicked out, and I knew how much graduating and becoming navy officers meant to them. So I never told them. I sat on the floor, my back to the door, crying and shaking.”

Cold-blooded anger moved through Ty. Without a word, he opened his arms and pulled Callie against him. He held her tightly, his head resting against her own as she began to weep in earnest. No safe place. There had never been a safe place for her. All thought of the board hearing melted away, and Ty focused on Callie’s strength, her warmth. She had stood fast against such brutal treatment! Unconsciously, he rubbed her back with his hand and tried to soothe away some of her pain. Pressing against her hair small kisses meant to help, he inhaled her special feminine scent.

“It’s going to be okay,” he heard himself rasp. Would it be? No. Gently, he eased Callie away just enough to take his handkerchief and blot the tears from her face. She took the proffered cloth with a broken smile and dabbed her reddened eyes.

“I’m such a mess. The minute I go back in there, they’ll know I’ve been crying.”

“Let them,” he growled. Caressing her hair, he said, “Callie, they’re going to go after you on this. I’m going to have to tell them the truth. Otherwise, the board will accept the hearsay of Thorson. You know that, don’t you?”

She stood there feeling utterly naked and gutted by a world that really didn’t care that she had feelings, that she, ultimately, was a member of the human race. Numbness swept through her. The stormy color of Ty’s eyes told her so much that she reached out and touched his arm. There was such incredible tension within him, as if he were holding himself together so he wouldn’t explode.

“Yes, I understand.”

“I’m sorry….”

“You shouldn’t be apologizing,” she whispered, and handed him back the damp handkerchief.

He wanted to say more, but there was no time. “Tonight, after the hearing, I want you to come to my house. You need to be with someone for a little while. I don’t want you to be alone right now.”

Rallying beneath his quavering voice, Callie nodded. “Okay, but I’m not going to be very good company.”

“I don’t care.” He gripped her arm. “Are you ready?”

“Yes.”

From the patio of Ty’s home, they watched the sun set behind a bank of gray stratus clouds that were working their way toward the coastline. Callie had eaten very little—some salad, a few bites of the steak that he’d fixed for her earlier. The glass of wine soothed some of her emotional distress, but not much. Ty was quieter than usual, too, but Callie understood. The afternoon session at the hearing had been barbaric. Lewis had gone on to paint her as a woman who’d had a reputation for teasing men from the time she’d entered Annapolis. To prove it, he’d provided an affidavit signed by Lieutenant Ivers, who was now stationed in Pensacola, Florida. The “good ol’ boy” network was alive and well.

Ty came back out to the patio after loading the dirty dishes in the dishwasher. Dressed in a comfortable, dark blue short-sleeved shirt and chino pants, he met and held Callie’s lifeless stare as he approached her lounge chair. She had changed into a pale pink sundress with a boat neck and white sandals. The picture of her was fetching—poignant.

“I can’t believe you had twenty calls on your answering machine today,” he said, sitting down next to her.

“I can’t, either. I’ll bet they’re from more women who had suffered sexual harassment.”

Ty nodded and sat on the edge of the chair, his hands clasped between his thighs. “I just never realized the extent of the problem,” he murmured.

“You couldn’t. You’re not a woman.”

He took her comment with good grace, because she’d not flung it at him in anger. It was merely a statement, a sad statement, of fact. Holding her gaze, he said, “I haven’t done a very good job of defending you. I wish I could have done better, Callie.” Tomorrow morning, the board would convene and announce their decision regarding the charges.

Reaching over, she touched his arm, aware of the warmth of his skin beneath her fingertips. “I think, for not being a lawyer, you’ve done an incredible job on my behalf. Don’t be hard on yourself, Ty. I’m pleased. Isn’t that all that counts?”

With a shake of his head, he captured her hand and brought it to his lips. “No,” he whispered, “it’s not,” and he kissed the back of her fingers. Ty allowed her to reclaim her hand, but continued to hold her gaze, which spoke of desire along with grief and pain. “They’re using you as a scapegoat. To put it in military lingo, they’ve gone beyond the line of departure with their dirty tricks and lies.”

“Line of departure” was a military term referring to going beyond the point of no return. Remington and the other pilots, who, because they were Annapolis graduates, were supposed to honor the principles of truth and honesty, had veered away from that standard and lied. The regret in Ty’s voice was echoed in his face.

“I’m ashamed to say I’m an Annapolis grad,” he told her quietly. “Those men don’t dignify the honor of what it’s supposed to mean. Officers and gentlemen don’t lie, they take it on the nose instead.”

“You’re an idealist,” Callie said softly. “A white knight on a charger. Those days are gone, Ty. Truth, honor, dignity are parceled out by some men to others—but not across the board. There’s a gender war going on out there. I just got caught up in it and so did you.”

With a heavy shake of his head, he muttered, “I can’t believe that the board will find them not guilty. My God, if they do…” He sat up, unable to comprehend such a decision.

“If they do, and I think they will,” Callie said more strongly, “then it’s the navy’s way of sending the not-so-subtle message that zero tolerance against sexual harassment is a toothless tiger. A paper tiger, if you will. It looks and sounds good, and it’s great PR for the civilian world, but in reality, there’s nowhere for women in the service to get justice—to get the protection they deserve.”

Ty suddenly stood up and he held out his hand to her. “Come on, let’s go to the beach. I don’t know how you feel, but I want to get away from this for a little while.”

Without hesitation, Callie reached out, curling her fingers into his strong ones, and allowed him to pull her to her feet. Without a word, still holding hands, they walked through the house to the car parked in the driveway.

A full moon was overhead, the Pacific Ocean smooth and glassy under its silvery radiance. The tide was out, and Callie walked slowly at Ty’s side, her hand in his. They were both barefoot, the damp sand squishing between their toes, the foamy waters gurgling and playing tag with them as they made their way down the curved stretch of empty beach. The salt air was fragrant and slightly curled Callie’s hair. The coolness was wonderful in comparison to Miramar’s dry desert heat.

Tidal pools glowed like magical mirrors, and from time to time, Callie would lean down, her cotton dress gathering around her as she crouched to look at the moonlit beings who lived beneath the water. Ty would join her, his arm grazing her own and he would point to a slow-moving starfish, or they would appreciate the beauty of a flowerlike sea anemone that had opened its many tentacles to capture unseen plankton in the pool.

“When I was a kid,” Ty told her in a low voice as they watched a starfish move slowly across one pool, “I used to dream of seeing the ocean someday.”

“And what was your reaction when you did see it?” Callie asked as she looked at his deeply shadowed features. There was such serenity and strength in his face.

Ty smiled at her. “The first time I saw it was when I visited the academy when I was seventeen. My parents took me to Chesapeake Bay and then over to the Atlantic Ocean on the other side. I was awed by the power of it, the beauty.”

“I still am,” Callie admitted softly.

Ty rose and brought her to her feet. Risking everything, he eased his arm around her shoulders. “You,” he admitted thickly, as he drew Callie to him, “are like the ocean, you know.”

Callie felt the strength of his arm go around her, and she acquiesced to Ty’s need to hold her. She needed him, too, but was afraid to tell him so. Her hands came to rest against his chest, and their hips lightly touched. As she lifted her head to meet his dark, smoldering gaze, her lips parted. The crash of the surf, the roar of water touching and changing the shifting sand reminded her of herself with Ty Ballard. He was like the restless ocean, and she, the yielding sand beneath the force of it. As she met and drowned in his gaze, her breath caught. In that moment, she knew he was going to kiss her, and nothing had ever seemed so right to her.

Closing her eyes, Callie rose to her tiptoes to meet his descending head. As his mouth swept against her own, she felt his power, felt his strength move against her lips with a certainty that set off a line of explosions through her reeling heart and body. The roughness of his beard, the salty male odor of his skin and caressing warmth of his breath washing across her face all combined to lull her into a world where she was wanted, where she was indeed cherished. His arms moved slowly, easing around her body, pressing her fully against him, and Callie surrendered to Ty, to the safe harbor he was offering her.

The world seemed to melt with each breath she took, with each hungry, exploratory touch of his mouth pressing urgently against her own. With each breath, she met and matched his hunger. As she lifted her lashes slightly, she saw the moonlight touching and caressing his rugged features, bathing both of them in a silvery radiance, as if blessing their kiss. The chilly coolness of the ocean was counterpoint to Ty’s warm breath and the heat of his mouth as he caressed her. Lifting her hands, Callie eased them along the planes of his face, delighting in the different textures of him as a man, reveling in the thought of his generous, giving heart. As her fingers tunneled through his thick, dark hair, she felt him tremble against her.

Their breathing was ragged, their mouths devouring each other and their bodies fusing into a heady oneness that left Callie dizzy with need. Gradually, ever so gradually, just as the tide slowly retreated from the sand, Ty eased his mouth away from hers. His eyes were hooded, glittering with unspoken need of her, on every level. Her body tingled hotly as he stroked her shoulders, back and hips. As his mouth drew into a deep smile of satisfaction, her lips lifted in acknowledgment. And when he caressed her hair with his hands, completely absorbed in the touch and texture of her, Callie had never felt more beautiful or more desirable.

“I think,” Ty rasped in a gritty voice, “that if we stay out here, we aren’t going to get the sleep we need to put us in good stead for tomorrow.” Callie’s hair was luxurious, and he ached to love her so thoroughly that she’d cry out with utter pleasure. Ty knew he could do that for Callie, but it was something that, if it did happen, was down the road. Just the sparkle in her eyes, the longing he saw in them, told him that she’d enjoyed the kiss just as much as he had. There were a lot of hurdles to overcome, however, and he knew that as never before.

With a small laugh of frustration, Callie said, “I think you’re right.”

Capturing her face between his hands, Ty looked deeply into her eyes. “But I’m not sorry for anything that happened. Are you?”

She shook her head. “I never gave you a chance,” she admitted.

“What do you mean?”

“I thought you were like the pilots I’d had relationships with off and on through the years. I put you in the same mold, but this hearing has shown me you were different.”

Ty eased his hands from her face, because if he didn’t, he was going to kiss her again. “Now that I understand what fuels your wariness, I can see why you did.” He rested his hands on her small shoulders—shoulders that remained strong and proud despite what life had dumped on her.

“I was wary, wasn’t I?” She caressed his jaw, thrilled that he enjoyed her touch so much.

“I always wondered why you were like a wild animal around me. You watched me a lot. I could see the distrust in your eyes. It makes sense why you never did trust me. I was an Annapolis graduate, too. I could have been just like the rest of those jerks who had hurt you before.”

“But you weren’t like them. Over the past week I began to see that.”

With a sigh, Ty gripped her hand and they began to walk back toward the parking lot. “Hell of a way to meet, isn’t it?”

“Completely unexpected.”

Ty drew her to a halt, his face very serious. “Listen, Callie, no matter what happens tomorrow morning, I want our relationship, what we have, to build. I don’t want it to end. Do you?”

His honesty was refreshing. It wasn’t a line, either—Callie was certain. She squeezed his hand gently. “You’ve been my still center in this hurricane. You know that, don’t you?”

“No, I never realized that’s how you saw me.”

“You’ve been there for me since this began. You saved me from a beating I’m sure would’ve come if you hadn’t heard my screams. And when you were ordered to defend me, you could have backed out if you’d really wanted to.”

“I did,” he admitted, “at first. I was worried what it might do to my career.”

“And now?”

“I don’t care. I care more about you. You’re worth fighting for, worth defending.”

A delicious sense, like an ocean tide, moved through Callie. The sincerity in Ty’s gaze made her feel solid and prepared for whatever might happen tomorrow morning. “And what if I’m found guilty? You know my reputation will be destroyed. Will you still want to build on what we have?” Callie knew that fraternizing with her after the fact could, indeed, hurt Ty’s career. It wasn’t fair, but that’s how it worked in the navy.

Stepping up to her, Ty brought her into his arms and held her hard against him. “Listen,” he breathed against her ear, “I know you’re not guilty. I don’t care what the board says. I’ve never walked away from truth in my life, and I’m not about to start now. If they make you a scapegoat, that won’t change my feelings for you, Callie. It never will.”

The grim atmosphere in the hearing room left Callie’s hands sweaty and damp. Commander Newton had several papers in his hand as they reconvened. Callie sat tensely next to Ty. Dr. Marlene Johnson was only a witness and didn’t have to remain for the entire session wishing her stomach would unknot just a little.

After kissing Ty last night, she’d realized how much he meant to her. That, combined with the ever-mounting number of phone calls from women in the military who wanted to wish her well, support her, or tell her their equally humiliating and shaming stories, had begun to buoy her in an odd way. Unable to sleep well last night, she’d had more realizations come to her, and she’d begun to see something good growing out of this hearing after all—regardless of the outcome.

“The board,” Newton said, his voice echoing through the room, “has diligently looked at all the evidence in this case of sexual harassment. Because of the various testimonies not agreeing with one another, it is impossible to determine who is at fault.”

Callie’s eyes narrowed, and she felt as if someone had gut-punched her.

“As a result,” the commander said, “each officer will have a paper put in his or her personnel jacket detailing this hearing. That is all. Dismissed.”

Stunned, Callie stood at attention, as did everyone else as the board rose and left the room. Fury boiled up through her, more heated and more galvanizing than she’d ever experienced. She felt Ty’s hand restraining her from moving as, one by one, the pilots filed out. The look of glee on Remington’s face sickened her. Relief was written on those of the other pilots. She glared at all of them.

Finally, they were the last two people in the room. Ty slowly turned to Callie. “I’m sorry,” he said, shocked by the verdict. “That shouldn’t have happened. They had plenty of evidence….”

“Welcome to the real world,” Callie whispered fiercely. She was shaking with anger. “I expected it.”

Ty studied her pale face and flashing blue eyes. There was such determination in them right now. “I know you did.” He rubbed his chin. “I didn’t. I mean, they didn’t censure Remington at all.”

“My career is scuttled. Give them a month and I’ll bet they transfer me out of here to some hole-in-the-wall station. Probably Adak, Alaska, if they can get away with it.” The derision in her voice didn’t escape Ty. Real fear ate at him as he considered her statement.

Placing a hand on her shoulder, he said, “Let’s get out of here. I’ll take you home, Callie.” He felt utterly helpless. So how must she feel, after being railroaded? Worse, Ty knew that tomorrow morning she had to go back to work under Remington’s watchful eye.

Callie nodded and walked out of the room and down the passageway. She was grateful that the civilian press had not been allowed on the station during the hearings, but they would be parked on the doorstep of her home. What should she tell them? The truth? Yes.

Ty was silent on the drive to her home. He barely noticed the late-morning blue sky, the golden sun touching the desert landscape. Inwardly, he was hurting for Callie, who remained quiet and contemplative.

“What are you going to do?”

Callie glanced at him, savoring his rugged profile, which she had once feared equaled cruelty. “Go home, dodge the reporters, lock the door and think.”

He reached over and gripped her cool, damp hand. “Is there anything I can do?”

“No.”

“I can talk to the reporters, too.”

She smiled sadly, a fierce longing welling up through her. “If you do that, Ty, your career is as good as dead and you know it.”

“So?”

“So, I don’t want that to happen. You’re happy here. You’re a great pilot and teacher.”

Squeezing her hand gently, he rasped, “There’s a bad taste in my mouth, Callie. I don’t like what happened to you. It wasn’t right and it wasn’t fair. Just because four pilots get together and fabricate a story doesn’t make what happened to you right.”

“No, it doesn’t. But life goes on, and I’ve got to look long and hard at my career in the navy.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s over, Ty. Do you think I can go back to work with Remington? I know what he’ll do. He’ll harass me verbally even more now that he’s gotten away with it—now that he knows the good ol’ boys are going to protect him no matter what he does to me or another woman.”

She pulled from his grip and rubbed her wrinkled brow. “I never thought something like this would happen to me. After that incident in Annapolis, I worked so hard not to overreact to men hitting on me, harassing me. I just became a ghost, a silent genderless being, praying that if I faded into the background, they’d leave me alone.”

A touch of panic ate at Ty. As he turned down the avenue toward Callie’s home, he saw many cars and trucks in front of it, representing all the major television stations. Reporters milled around, waiting for her return. Grimly, he parked the car and glanced over at her.

“I’m walking you through that gauntlet.”

She smiled a little. “You’ve always been there for me. Thanks.”

The next morning, Ty was at his desk in his small, cluttered office. He sipped hot coffee and tried to pay attention to the curriculum information in front of him. But his head and his heart wouldn’t let him forget Callie. How was she doing? Glancing at his watch, he saw it was 0755. At 0800, she had to be over at Intelligence, where he was sure Remington was waiting for her. His hand moved into a fist, and Ty admitted to himself that he wanted to punch the bastard out for what he’d done to her.

Forcing himself to concentrate on his upcoming class, Ty rose. He took the mug of coffee and his lecture notes with him as he moved purposefully down the tiled passageway. The young pilots sat at their desks waiting for him, and the noise died away as he entered the room. As he went to the lectern, they became straight-faced and attentive. It was the last place Ty wanted to be; he wanted to be with Callie to protect her from Remington.

After the lecture, Ty went back to his office to prepare a test for the pilots. To his surprise, Callie, in her light blue summer dress uniform, was waiting for him. He smiled a little and quietly closed the door to his office so that they could have some privacy.

“Hi…”

Callie nodded. “Hi, yourself. I thought I’d come over and tell you what I did.”

“Did?” Ty dropped the lecture notes on his desk. He walked over to her and placed his hands on her shoulders. She was very pale, her eyes very dark. “Remington?” he growled.

“I didn’t give him a chance. Here, read this,” she said, handing him a piece of paper.

Ty released her and stepped back to read the letter. His brows knitted and he glanced up at her. “You’re resigning your commission?”

“As of tomorrow morning.”

His heart thumped hard in his chest. Callie was leaving the navy. Where would she go? Suddenly, he felt like a greedy miser, unwilling to part with his newfound riches. Handing the paper back to her, he saw a new light in her blue eyes—one of challenge.

“I never expected this.”

“Neither did I. Maggie got home last night, and we talked long and hard about it.” Callie’s mouth lifted in a hint of a smile. “I’ve had it, Ty. I’ve taken all I can in the navy in the arena of sexual harassment. I told Maggie everything last night—including what happened to me back at the academy.”

“What was her reaction?” Ty leaned against the desk, studying Callie and finding hope in her eyes.

“She cried. Partly out of anger—and partly because she hadn’t known.” Softly, she added, “We just held each other and cried together. Maggie was hurt because I hadn’t told her or Alanna, but she understood why I didn’t, too.”

“So what led to this resignation?”

With a sigh, Callie moved around his small office. There was a photo of Ty standing proudly beside his F-14 fighter plane, his helmet beneath his arm. He was a warrior in every sense, but a warrior with morals and values—a rarity in today’s navy, she thought. Lifting her chin, she held his troubled gaze.

“I showed Maggie all the phone messages, the letters and cards that have been sent to me. She was just amazed. So was I.” Callie moved her finger along the smooth, polished surface of the maple desk. “A woman lawyer, Louise Jordan, came over to talk to me last night as well.”

“Who is she?”

“She works with the ACLU in San Diego. Maggie met her and liked her, too. Louise has been trying to create a sexual-harassment center in the city. She has permission to create an extension of the American Civil Liberties Union devoted to prosecuting sexual-harassment cases. After reading the newspapers and listening to the television reports, she felt that I would be perfect to help her.”

“Oh?” Ty moved over to her. Callie’s face was thoughtful with purpose.

“Yes. She made me an offer that I didn’t want to refuse, Ty. I’m going to work with Louise to open a center where sexual-harassment data can be collected, public-relations work with the media can take shape and cases can be pursued.” She searched his face and saw relief flash across it. “What do you think?”

With a slight grin, Ty asked, “Better yet, how do you feel about it? Is this something you want to do?”

“More than anything,” Callie breathed, her voice quavering. “Ty, I’ve had over fifty phone calls now. Do you know how heartbreaking it is to sit there and hear these women tell me how they’ve been sexually harassed? How it affects them? No, I’ve never felt more right about anything.”

“So you’ll stay here?”

“Yes.”

Releasing a long breath, Ty murmured, “I’m glad. I was scared you’d be leaving, moving off somewhere….”

She read between the lines of his admittance. “We really haven’t had the time to get to know each other properly, have we?”

With a chuckle, he shook his head. “Not unless you count no time and a lot of pressure as proper. Now that I know you’ll be hanging around, I’m making you my priority, if you don’t mind.”

Heat rushed into her face, but Callie didn’t worry about it as joy flowed through her, sweet and hope-filled. “I like being your priority, Commander.” Reaching over, she touched his clean-shaven cheek. “I’d better leave. I’m sure you’ve got work to do.”

Ty nodded. “I’m afraid I do. I’d like to take you to dinner, though, Callie. Tonight?”

She smiled a little and met the promise in his dark, narrowed eyes. “Ty, are you sure?”

“About us? Of course I am. Why?”

“Once the navy finds out that I’m actively handling at least fifty sexual-harassment cases that have originated on this station alone, your name will get dragged into it if you see me—or are seen with me.”

Touching her flaming red cheek, Ty murmured, “I don’t give a damn.”

“But—your career…”

Just the soft velvet of her skin made him tremble inwardly with need of Callie. He saw the searching, worried look in her blue eyes and managed a deprecating smile. Framing her face between his hands, he whispered, “I learned the hard way about what’s really important to me, Callie. I lost a marriage because I put flying before my wife.” His voice dropped with feeling. “Never again. I’m not blowing it this time. I’ve learned my lesson.”

Drowning in his gray gaze, Callie felt such incredible hope thread through her that she was speechless. More than anything, she wanted to kiss Ty. It wasn’t proper because they were on a military station, but suddenly she didn’t care. Placing her hand tentatively on his chest, feeling his reassuring heartbeat beneath her palm, she leaned upward. As she met his mouth, she wasn’t disappointed. Ty’s arms swept around her, molding her to him, his hunger for her as stunning as it was beautiful. In those moments, all of Callie’s fears dissolved in his heat, his giving and taking as their mouths met and clung to each other. His breath became her own, his heart matched rhythm with hers, and she spiraled into a world where she was cherished and loved.

As Callie eased away from Ty, she searched his hooded eyes, which mirrored turbulence and desire. Love? There was that word again. She’d been so gun-shy about ever saying it, much less possibly feeling it. Shaken, but knowing that now they at least had the time, Callie didn’t want to look at the revelation too closely. Not yet. As she stepped back and Ty’s hand slid down her arm to capture her fingers, Callie realized just how wounded both of them had been by their separate pasts.

“I—I’ve got to go,” she whispered unsteadily.

“Sure…” He wanted to step forward and kiss her again. Kiss her until she was breathless. Her mouth looked soft, beckoning—and Ty had never felt this depth of feeling. “I’ll pick you up at 1900?”

“Yes…fine…” She was behaving like a giddy schoolgirl, but Callie savored the feelings and didn’t apologize for them. Quietly leaving his office, she walked down the passageway. Her papers would be processed speedily, and she knew that within a week she would be leaving the navy.

As she moved out into the bright, hot sunshine and walked to her car, Callie felt tremendous loads from the past falling away. She had lost her case before the board. She had been made out to be a liar by a group of pilots who had conspired against her. All along, her main concern had been for her career. Now she laughed, the sound carrying across the asphalt parking lot, free and lilting.

In the eyes of the pilot fraternity, she was a loser—someone who had made trouble for them. She was an outsider because she was a woman. What a loss, she thought as she opened her car door to let the accumulated heat out of the vehicle. She was no less intelligent, no less capable than any man, and she knew that. She’d always known it, but because of the incident at Annapolis, she’d demoted herself. Shame was a great leveler, and Callie realized, as she slid into her car, that it had stopped her from standing up and fighting back a lot sooner.

Dr. Lipinski had done her a favor by reporting the incident, she decided as she drove off the station to her home. At the time, she’d been very upset with the doctor’s insistence. Now she was on the other side of the storm, and she saw very clearly why the doctor had been adamant.

Feeling better with every mile she put between herself and the station, Callie shifted her thoughts to Ty Ballard. A frown began to form on her brow as she drove up to her home. He was risking his career by continuing to be seen with her. As soon as navy personnel realized that she was going to become a civilian spokesperson on behalf of sexually-harassed navy women, the heat on him would be turned way up.

Her heart jagged at the thought. Climbing out of the car, she moved to the shade and opened the door to her home. More than anything, she didn’t want Ty hurt by all of this. Yet the look in his eyes and the promise in his voice told her that hell could erupt and it wouldn’t make him back away from knowing her better.

How much her life had changed in one week! She’d been cowering in fear as Lipinski had turned the report in to the legal department. Now she felt revitalized, with a mission that she knew could change the landscape for all women—civilian and military. Compared to her life as an Intelligence officer poring over reconnaissance maps and satellite photos, this was an exciting and challenging change.

Shutting the door, Callie breathed in a huge sigh of relief. At least the reporters were no longer dogging her heels. She’d made some allies among the women reporters, who’d promised her air time when the center opened.

Change, if it was going to come in this sphere, would be made one mincing step at a time. As Callie dropped her purse on the sofa and eased out of her heels, she smiled. Moving into the bedroom, she slipped out of her uniform and threw it in the clothes hamper to be washed. As she went to her closet and opened it, Callie realized that very soon she’d no longer be wearing uniforms. The thought was foreign for a moment as she stood, contemplating what to wear.

As she dressed in a pair of white cotton slacks and a multicolored, short-sleeved blouse, Callie’s thoughts rested on Ty. He was a fighter, there was no doubt of that. And more than anything, she liked him for his clear morals, values and principles. Not every navy pilot was like Remington and his group. No, Ty represented the other part of the navy, the part that would begin to work at getting rid of sexual harassment and giving “zero tolerance” some meaning.

Suddenly, Callie was excited as never before. There was fear there, too, but the deep excitement touched her heart and made tears come to her eyes. The next weeks and months were going to be brutal, she knew. Ty had shown his loyalty to her in every way. She only hoped that it wouldn’t damage his career.

The phone rang. Frowning, she went to the bedstand and picked up the receiver.

“Hello?”

“Lieutenant Donovan?”

Callie didn’t recognize the deep, baritone voice of the man on the other end. “Speaking.”

“This is Admiral Winston Burke calling from the Pentagon. Do you have a moment, Lieutenant?”

Shock made Callie stand very still. Admirals didn’t make phone calls from the pentagon just to chat. Something was up. Her heart began to pound. “Yes, sir, I do.”

Burke cleared his throat. “Good. It came to my attention late this afternoon that you are resigning your commission, Lieutenant. Is that true?”

“Yes, sir, it is.”

“Would you reconsider?”

Taking a deep breath, Callie whispered, “No, sir, I wouldn’t. Not under the circumstances.”

“The board decision?”

“Yes, sir.”

“May I be frank with you, Lieutenant Donovan?”

“Yes, sir.”

“I’ve followed your career for nine years, and I like your work. Because of the board decision, I’m initiating a separate investigation on what took place and the attack you suffered, Lieutenant. I don’t know what they will find, but I hope it’s closer to the truth than what the board allowed in their findings.”

Relief flowed through Callie and she released the breath she’d been holding. “You are?”

“Further,” Burke went on brusquely, “I’m asking you not to resign your commission until we can investigate this impartially, with an outside team from another naval air station. I guarantee that there will be both women and men on this team. Will you reconsider your decision?”

“Well…I—”

“Lieutenant, I’m ordering the Miramar Personnel Department to hold your resignation until you think about this new development. I want you to realize that not all male officers will protect the ‘good ol’ boy’ system. The navy has invested nine years and almost half a million dollars in your training to do what you do well. I find it reprehensible to lose someone like you over such an issue.”

Callie slowly sat down, dizzy with shock. She tried to think coherently. “Sir, this is all so sudden. I do have to think about it, and not just because of what happened to me.”

“Excuse me?”

“Sir, there are fifty other women on my station that have contacted me personally to say that they’ve also been sexually harassed.” She gulped and went on quickly, knowing it might be the one and only time someone with clout—possibly even the power to change the situation—would listen to her plea. “To honestly consider withdrawing my resignation, Admiral, I’d have to have your promise to investigate all these women’s claims—not just my own. I’m happy to know that someone cares about me and the job I’ve been doing for the navy, but this situation is much larger, much worse than just my case.” Her voice lowered with feeling. “If you’re really serious about this, Admiral Burke, you’ll launch a station-wide investigation into all the cases, not just mine.”

There was a long moment of silence.

“Is that what it will take for you to stay in the navy, Lieutenant Donovan?”

She heard the tightness in Burke’s voice and knew she’d thrown him a curve, but she couldn’t apologize for it. “Yes, sir, that’s what it will take.”

“Very well,” Burke said, “you have my word on it. Captain Walsh will give you a follow-up phone call in two days with details. In the meantime, my people will alert the station commander that we’ll be coming in.”

Callie closed her eyes, relief moving sharply through her. “Thank you, Admiral. I just never expected this…help.”

“Not all military men are harassers, Lieutenant. I hope this proves it to you.”

“It does, sir.”

“Goodbye.”

“Goodbye, sir.” Callie heard the phone line go dead and she stared at the receiver for a long, long time before gently replacing it in the cradle. Burke was right: not all men in the navy were harassers—or willing to go along with a cover-up. Her heart was optimistic for the first time as she rose and thought of the wonderful dinner she was going to share with Ty. Callie could barely wait to tell him the turn of events.