After that night, Ace focused his time and energy to the team, training, and being the best marine, he could be. He spent hours training, exercising, and building his strength and endurance. He had always enjoyed running and exercising, but his focus had intensified after the bar incident.
On his down time, he enjoyed going to Hawk and Charlotte’s to visit and play with their twin boys. Jesse and Joshua were so much fun to play with. The men on the team had a blast spoiling the boys. They were a bright light on the carnage they dealt with when on missions. While Hawk had several bothers and a sister, the men on the team had become like uncles to the twins. Ace especially had gotten attached to the boys. He felt those boys were the closest he would ever get to having children of his own.
Ace and Joshua had established a close relationship. The young boy had gotten attached to Ace. He loved for Ace to read him stories, play blocks, or let him ride on his back like a horse. Ace was more than happy to take the teasing from his teammates. The smile on Joshua’s face was reward enough to make up for the ribbing the guys gave him about being a horse.
Despite filling his time with activity, Ace was still lonely. The more time he spent with Hawk and Charlotte, the more he saw what he was missing out on. He confessed his feelings one night to Hawk and Charlotte while they were sitting around talking after the boys had gone to sleep for the night.
“Ethan when are you going to find yourself a woman and settle down?” Charlotte asked. “It’s plain to see you want children. You are so good with the twins.” Ace didn’t want to answer but he couldn’t lie to his friends.
“It’s not going to happen for me, Charlotte,” Ace confided. “It’s not like I don’t want to, but I haven’t had any luck. All the women I meet are not marriage material.” Ace sighed sadly as he considered his situation.
“Don’t give up, Ace. It will happen when you least expect it,” Hawk said as he stroked Charlotte’s hair. “I wasn’t looking when Charlotte landed in my life. Be patient and it will eventually happen. I didn’t believe in fate or destiny before I met Charlotte, but now I know it’s real. Don’t lose hope.” Ace nodded and smiled to assure his friends that he wouldn’t give up, but inside he had a hard time believing it would ever happen for him.
Late that night, lying in his bed, he regretted not having a family of his own. He longed to have the life Hawk was living. He wondered if Destiny would intervene on his behalf and send him a good, kind-hearted, loving woman. Ace remembered his mother’s and grandmother’s teaching about God, faith, and prayer. Lying there alone in the dark, Ace prayed that he would meet the woman he was meant to be with soon. Little did he know, he wouldn’t have long to wait.
Chapter 2
Two months later…
Daisy Duke Robertson had never had an easy life. She had been teased incessantly as a child over her name, her intelligence, and her lack of style. Her mother was an erratic woman obsessed with television shows and had named her children after her favorite characters. Unfortunately for Daisy and her siblings, the Dukes of Hazzard was her mother’s favorite show at the time of their births in the early to mid-eighties. At thrity-six, Daisy had worked hard to make a success of herself. Joining the Navy after high school, she worked her way up the ranks. While it had gotten easier for women to have successful careers in the military now than in years past, Daisy had still struggled to achieve her goals. Daisy had always been a nerd and physical fitness had never been her strong suit. However, Daisy had been determined to rise above her raising and to make atonement for the mistakes of her past. Despite her limitations, Daisy excelled in the Navy. She had pushed herself beyond anything she could have imagined she was capable of being.
Daisy had chosen to seek a medical degree while in the Navy. She had enlisted during her senior year of high school but remained on the reservists list while going to college and medical school. Daisy had become a very skilled trauma surgeon. She had gone full time Navy after medical school and had served several tours overseas in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan. She was not only a good surgeon, but had also been exceptional in combat. She had become an excellent shot and had excelled in hand to hand combat during her training. Being experienced in combat situations and always being willing to seek the toughest of assignments, Daisy had gained the respect of her colleagues. It had been a long, hard road, but she finally reached a point in her life where she felt it had all been well worth the struggle. She wanted to make a difference for the men and women that were injured in combat. It was the least she could do to help make a difference. That was why she often went into combat zones to treat the wounded on the front lines. There is what is known as the golden hour in trauma cases. It was imperative to get treatment as quickly as possible to save a person’s life and as much of their functioning abilities as possible.
Daisy had never had time for dating or relationships. She was too focused on her career and becoming a success, an asset to the Navy. She had something to prove and amends to achieve. She had wanted to desperately to rise above her meager upbringing and to atone for her mistakes. She rarely saw her mother or siblings. It had become too painful to go home, so she had kept communication to Skyping, texts, and emails. Traveling the globe for the Navy left little time for family or romance. Sometimes she regretted that she had never taken time to settle down and have a family. She loved kids and before the night of the bonfire, she had dreamed of having a large family with several children. Now, she was getting almost too old to be having children. Her biological clock was ticking, loudly.
Daisy had had her share of lovers over the years, but never anything serious. She didn’t really date, it was more of a casual fling with a co-worker or the occasional one-night stand, but only when she felt completely in control of the situation. Daisy had no intention of becoming a damsel in distress by getting attacked by a blind date.
Daisy was headed back to Afghanistan for another 12-month tour. While on the plane, she meets a tight knit group of Marines Special Ops heading over to the base in Afghanistan for a mission.
Daisy had arrived early at the military airport and headed straight for the plane as soon as she was given clearance to board. After boarding the plane, she had settled into her seat in the cargo plane. She was unaware that there would be any other service members on the flight with her. She was heading out alone to cover for another doctor who had been called home for a medical emergency. She knew Dr. Stone well and was sad to hear that his daughter, Emily, had been severely injured in a car accident. It hit a little too close to her past and brought up some bad memories. While she waited for takeoff, Daisy said a silent prayer for the doctor, his daughter, and family. She also prayed that she would have a safe, uneventful flight.
Daisy eyes were still closed in prayer when she heard several deep voices getting closer. When she opened her eyes, several large men were entering the plane. They were all tall, buff, and handsome. She had hoped she wouldn’t have to make small talk on the trip. She had been having a hard time sleeping lately and was looking forward to catching a nap on the flight. Daisy wasn’t really a believer in psychic abilities, but she had been having a recurrent dream about a helicopter crash and running from terrorists. She supposed that the many times she had served in combat zones was finally taking its toll on her mental health. Realistically you could only see so much carnage and remain unaffected. However, Daisy had learned the hard way to never ignore her recurrent dreams. More than once, those dreams had come true in some form or fashion. After years of experiencing the aftermath of her dreams, Daisy knew to be watchful and minimize the damage if possible.
As the men entered the plane, they were joking with one another and horsing around. They were enjoying picking on one guy in particular about missing out on another meaningless hookup due to their unexpected mission. The men were having fun at the man’s expense, but nothing overtly unkind or outwardly crude. It was obvious the men were a close-knit team. Briefly, Daisy felt a little jealous of their closeness but dismissed it as soon as it appeared. She knew her sins and that she didn’t deserve to have close friendships. Her only goals were to serve her country and help those service members in need. She had lost her right to happiness many years ago. Most days it didn’t bother her. She rarely thought about her loneliness, but occasionally like today, something would bring it to the forefront of her mind.
The men stopped their joking when they saw her sitting on the far side of the plane. She was seated on one of the benches. Daisy shifted unconsciously under their scrutiny. She made eye contact with one of the men. She was immediately attracted to him. He was tall 6’ 4” maybe with dark blonde hair and strikingly handsome features. He had about 3 days’ worth of scruff on his face that made him look menacing. However, she could tell by his eyes and observing him interacting with his comrades, he was only menacing toward the enemy. He had full lips that looked like they would be very soft but demanding. Daisy wondered what it would be like to have a kiss from those lips. She mentally chastised herself. She was too old to be fantasizing about a complete stranger. Especially one, that she would most likely never see again after today.
The men began to settle into the seats on the benches on either side of the plane. The man Daisy had been admiring came over and sat down right next to her. She was acutely aware of his presence. She shifted again to give him room for his things. She reached over to move her bag out of his way so he could store his bag under the bench.
“Thanks,” the man said in a deep baritone voice that caused goosebumps to erupt on her skin. He stuck his right hand out. “Hi, I’m Ace. Looks like we will by flying buddies for this trip,” he smiled warmly. Daisy just stared at his outstretched hand for a moment. She wasn’t very good at casual conversations with strangers.
“Umm…your welcome and Hi. I’m Dee,” Daisy replied without elaboration. Daisy had always hated her name and having to explain how she had gotten it. She had long ago shortened it. It just made things easier for her. As she shook the man’s hand, a warm electrical buzz ran from her hand, up her arm and settled in her chest. More goosebumps erupted on her skin as desire flooded her body. She was surprised at her physical reaction and feeling of instant connection to this complete stranger. He apparently felt it too as he jerked his arm awkwardly. She was hoping her short greeting would clue him in that she wasn’t up to conversation. Her new companion seemed intent on having a conversation with her, however.
“Well Dee, let me introduce you to the guys,” Ace said. “The ugly guy over there with the dark brown hair is Deadeye, next to him is Straw (the poor guy they had been teasing as they entered the plane), and the next guy is Wallace. Beside me is Mercury and the other guy is Bull. He’s the newest member of our team. Over there on the other side of the plane, we have Tank, Worm, Virus, and Hack.” Daisy gave a nod to each of the men as they gave her a chin lift. She immediately tried to dismiss them by turning away. However, Ace was not to be deterred.
“So, Dee what brings you out on this adventure over the ocean? Are you traveling alone? Where’s the rest of your team?” Ace asked with a raised eyebrow. Sighing heavily, but not wanting to be rude, Daisy decided to answer his questions, even though she was getting irritated with the man’s undying need to chat.
“I’m not part of a ‘team’. I’m a surgeon. I’m heading to Afghanistan to replace a doctor that was called home on a medical emergency,” Daisy replied without any other information.
“Wow, you’re a doctor?” Ace exclaimed. “You don’t look the part. You are dressed more for combat than a hospital.” Daisy looked down at her attire and realized he was right. She had dressed in desert camo and had her combat boots on. She had laid her protective gear and helmet on the bench next to her. She had a pistol strapped to her side, a knife sheath in her boot, and her Navy issued assault rifle was close by. She was ready for combat, because she had been informed there had been an increase in the number of bombings and IEDs where she was headed to. With the increase in causalities and them being down a surgeon, she was expecting to head straight into the field when she arrived. There was unfortunately a steady stream of men and women in need of a surgeon. Daisy often volunteered to go into the field to give them treatment as quickly as possible.
“Yeah, I often go into the combat zone when I am over there, so I like to be prepared. I expect to hit the ground running if you know what I mean,” Daisy replied casually. She had been there so much it almost felt like going home instead of going to a foreign country. She could already feel her adrenaline kicking in.
“When you are over there? How many times have you been deployed?” Ace asked skeptically. His face was drawn up in a frown like he couldn’t imagine she could have been there many times.
“I’m not sure, let me think,” Daisy began to mentally count the times she had been sent overseas. She had officially been sent three times, but she had been the first to volunteer to fill in when someone was sick or injured or when demand was high and extra hands were needed. This was her fifth volunteer deployment so that made eight.
“Eight,” Daisy finally replied. Ace’s surprise at her declaration was plain to see, as it was written all over his face. He looked around at his companions as his eyebrows raised into his hair line.
