BOBBY WOKE UP IN a U.S. Military hospital.
Someone was sitting beside his bed, holding his hand, and it took him a few fuzzy seconds to focus on…
Wes.
He squeezed his best friend’s fingers because his throat was too dry to speak.
“Hey.” Wes was on his feet almost immediately. “Welcome back.”
He grabbed a cup, aimed the straw for Bobby’s mouth. Hadn’t they just done this a few months ago?
“The news is good,” Wes told him. “You’re going to be okay. No permanent damage.”
“Colleen?” Bobby managed to say.
“She’s here.” Wes gave him another sip of water. “She went to get some coffee. Do you remember getting moved out of ICU?”
Bobby shook his head. He remembered…
Colleen. Tears in her beautiful eyes. I love you….
Had she really said that? Please, God, let it be true.
“You had us scared for a while there, but when they moved you into this room, you surfaced for a while. I was pretty sure you were zoned out on painkillers, but Colleen got a lot of mileage out of hearing your voice. She slept after that—first time in more than seventy-two hours. She really loves you, man.”
Bobby looked into his best friend’s eyes. He didn’t say anything. He didn’t have to. Wes always did enough talking for both of them.
“And you know, I love you, too,” Wes told him. “And you know how I mean that, so no making any stupid jokes. I’m glad Colleen’s not here right now, because I need to tell you that I know I was wrong. She doesn’t need a doctor or a lawyer. That’s garbage. She doesn’t need an officer. She doesn’t need money. Of all the women in the world, Colleen doesn’t give a damn about money.
“What she needs, bro, is a man who loves her more than life itself. She needs you.”
I love her. Bobby didn’t have to say the words aloud. He knew Wes knew.
“The really stupid thing is,” Wes continued, “that I probably knew that right from the start. You and Colleen. I mean, she was made for you, man. And you’re going to make her really happy. She’s been crazy about you forever.
“See, my big problem is that I’m scared,” Wes admitted. “When I found out that you and she had—” He shook his head. “I knew right at that moment that you were going to marry her, and that things would never be the same. Because you’d be one of the guys who’d found what they were looking for, and I’d still be here, on the outside. Searching.
“You know, on that training op that you missed because of your shoulder, because you were in Cambridge—it was just me and a bunch of mostly married men. After the op, we had a night to kill before our flight back, and everyone went to bed early. Even Spaceman—he had to ice his knees, he’s really hurting these days. Thomas King—he’s worse than some of the married guys. He just goes and locks himself in his room. And Mike Lee’s got a girl somewhere. So that leaves Rio Rosetti. Can you picture me and Rosetti, out on the town?”
Actually, Bobby could.
“Yeah, well, believe me, it sucked. He went home with some sweet young tourist that he should’ve stayed far away from, and I’m thinking about how that’s me ten years ago, and how I’m looking for something different now. Something you managed to find.
“Scared and jealous—it’s not a good combination. I hope someday you’ll forgive me for the things I said.”
“You know I already do,” Bobby whispered.
“So marry her,” Wes said. “If you don’t, I’ll beat you senseless.”
“Oh, this is just perfect.” Colleen. “Threatening to beat up the man who just saved your sister’s life.” She swept into the room, and everything was heightened. It was suddenly brighter, suddenly sharper, clearer. She smelled great. She looked gorgeous.
“I’m just telling him to marry you,” Wes said.
Bobby used every ounce of available energy to lift his hand and point to Wes and then to the door. “Privacy,” he whispered.
“Attaboy,” Wes said, as he went out the door.
Colleen sat beside him. Took his hand. Her fingers were cool and strong. “Colleen—”
“Shhh. We have plenty of time. You don’t need to—”
It was such an effort to speak. “I want…now…”
“Bobby Taylor, will you marry me?” she asked. “Will you help me find a law school near San Diego, so I can transfer and be with you for the rest of my life?”
Bobby smiled. It was much easier to let a Skelly do the talking. “Yes.”
“I love you,” she said. “And I know you love me.”
“Yes.”
She kissed him, her mouth so sweet and cool against his.
“When you’re feeling better, do you want to…” She leaned forward and whispered into his ear.
Absolutely. Every day, for the rest of their lives. “Yes,” Bobby whispered, knowing from her beautiful smile that she knew damn well what he was thinking, glad that Wes wasn’t the only Skelly who could read his mind.