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Sitting in the passenger side of his Camaro, awaiting his return, she acknowledged to herself that their current situation wasn’t perfect. Or even remotely like anything she’d imagined during the two years of waiting for him to return to her. She hurt for him. Worried for him. And yet...her spirit soared. They could deal with whatever was to come. She had no doubts there. As long as they were together, they’d be fine.
And the baby! She burst with the need to tell him. And yet sensed that the time wasn’t right. Obviously, whatever had happened to her beloved husband had affected him emotionally. He’d always been such a sensitive guy. As strong as they came. Able and willing to do whatever it took to get a job done. And yet...his heart had been huge. And wide open to her.
So they had work to do. The enemy had closed his heart’s door. Her job was to help him open it. Yeah, maybe it was going to take a miracle.
She sat there alone in the car grinning like an idiot.
Because she was carrying that miracle.
* * *
Platitudes, “you got everything?” “yes,” “you need to stop anywhere else?” “no,” filled the first part
of the drive as they left San Diego. Two years driving alone and yet Emily felt completely natural in the passenger seat while he drove the car that had been sitting without him for so long.
Surreal, sure. But right.
“I thought I’d make meat loaf for dinner,” she said as they pulled onto the highway that would take them north toward home.
He nodded. Adjusted his seat. Turned the ancient radio on and then back off again.
She suggested a stop at a big-box store so he could get that toothbrush, anything else he needed, and she could get some ground beef. He was fine with that, named a store closer to Marie Cove so the meat wouldn’t spoil. And then he was silent again.
So silent.
Shutting her out? Or just shut in?
“I thought I’d take the day off tomorrow,” she offered another five minutes down the road. “We could drive down to the beach. Or hike the cliffs above the beach in town.” It was more a walking path than anything, but they used to hang out up there, watch the ocean, solidify their future.
“I have meetings at the base all day tomorrow.”
Glancing at him, she frowned. Did he really? “I thought you were on a six-month leave.” Officer Hall had said something about that before he’d left the day before.
“I’m not on active duty, but I have duties. Information to convey.”
Stifling the first flood of feeling that came up—resentment against the job that had already taken so much of him from her—she reminded herself that Winston loved the navy. He needed to serve.
And it was probably good for him to have a normal routine. Sitting around doing nothing had never been his way. And probably not good for someone who had two years’ worth of bad memories to purge.
Settling back in her seat, her head against the rest, she spent the next half hour telling him about the accounts she was working on, about people who’d come and gone from the firm where she worked, giving him updates on those he’d known.
He didn’t seem to mind.
* * *
What in the hell was he going to do about bedtime? With no intention of resuming married life with Emily, he couldn’t just go climb into bed with her.
But if he didn’t, she’d merely set to waiting for him to get better. Her patience could last a damned lifetime. Her lifetime.
He needed her to see the truth. The plan was to show it to her.
Life wasn’t about the beach anymore. Or gazing at the ocean and dreaming silly dreams. It was about keeping focus on the goal. In the end, that was all that lasted—the need for focus. For the decent guy to serve the goal.
* * *
She suggested stopping at the cell phone store to get him a new phone. She’d been paying for his line all along, still had the same number active. He went along with her, chose a new smartphone, because there was no good reason not to do so. And he needed one.
Over dinner, her sitting in her normal seat, him in his, eating off the same dishes they’d bought together, from the same cupboards they hadn’t changed since they’d moved here, she gave him a rundown of their finances. She’d done an impressive job for them. Incredible, really. In two years’ time, she’d almost doubled their wealth. Not that it made them wealthy. But they were definitely more comfortable than when he’d left.
