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Chapter Seventeen
Birch went through the next two months forcing himself to focus on his missions and be present so he didn’t endanger his teammates or himself but he felt like he was in a fog. It was almost as bad as the time after Blade’s death. He and Ally talked, FaceTimed, and texted constantly. They downloaded the Marco Polo app and sent each other funny videos. He loved her, desperately. Yet being back in the military and focusing on honor, exactness, and loyalty to his team and his country made the promise to his brother become even more solid in his mind. How could he move on with Allison without breaking that promise? How could he live without the woman who was coming to mean everything to him?
This week had been particularly miserable, but there was light at the end of the tunnel. It was almost time for Allison’s Christmas break. She’d fly to Florida and stay at a hotel just outside the base. He’d be able to spend an entire weekend with her before she flew to New York to be with her parents, Abe, and Rachel for the actual holiday. Then the next weekend she’d come back to be with Birch again. Two weekends in a row. With Ally. Heaven. He said another prayer for some sign from above that Blade would release him from that desperate promise made over eight years ago.
He was in a Humvee driving through the desolate hilly area east of Tecate, Mexico. An under-the-radar assignment working with the Mexican military to help catch drug runners bringing their poisons through the tunnels under the border into America. Sadly there were so many tunnels it was difficult to find or stop even a fraction of them. Their eyes in the sky had identified a few major tunnels, and Birch’s unit had been deployed to get on the ground.
It was a boring assignment but Birch tried to stay alert. You never knew when danger could erupt. Especially when on the lookout for drug cartel members.
“Hey, Professor,” Kelton said in an undertone from the seat next to him. “I’m sorry about that pic and the story of your girl with that actor.”
“Excuse me?” Birch’s gaze flickered to his teammate and friend and he saw Kelton’s blue eyes really did look sorrowful. “What picture?” he demanded. “What story?”
Kelton glanced to the front seat but Captain Jewel, or “Iceman” as some of the platoon was brave enough to call him, was focused on the landscape and Johnny who was driving was chatting easily with the Captain about the hockey game where he saw Isaac’s brother-in-law, Beckett Tanner play.
Kelton slid his phone out, tapped for a second and handed it over. Birch didn’t want to take his gaze off of the possible dangers that might be in these hills, but he found he couldn’t resist looking. One glance and his stomach turned itself out.
Allison was in Jeremiah’s arms and this was no scene for a movie. They were in a swimming pool and from what he could tell she was naked, pressed up against him while Jeremiah kissed her neck and she clung to him. Her eyes were closed but she appeared fully invested in the embrace. The caption read, “Co-stars fall in love in Kauai.”
Nausea threatened to choke him. He wouldn’t believe it, he couldn’t. He knew how Hollywood was. He knew what a scum Jeremiah was. Could he have doctored the pictures? Sadly, there was no way Birch could deny it was Ally in that loser’s arms. She’d promised him she wouldn’t date Jeremiah. Could she have lied to him? Betrayed him? Allison was pure and good. She couldn’t possibly have lied to his face and then gone and jumped in bed with Jeremiah. Right? And she’d told him so sweetly, so beautifully that she’d never been with a man. Lies again?
“No!” he roared. No! Not Ally!
Isaac swung around. “Birch?”
Birch shoved the phone back at Kelton. He couldn’t look at that picture, ever again. Unfortunately it was seared into his mind.
“You okay, man?” Kelton’s voice.
“Birch? Professor?” Isaac was questioning him.
“No.” Birch shook his head. His vision was darkening and his stomach revolting. He was going to … He spewed, turning toward the window so it mostly just ricocheted back and drenched him.
“Birch!” He heard his name and some curse words and then he heard the words that snapped him back to the reality that he was on a dangerous mission. “Incoming!”
Bullets slammed against the bullet-proof windows and Birch clutched his M4 and focused on what he was here for: fighting and saving lives.
Before any of them could return fire, something exploded underneath them and the Humvee flipped, rolling down a steep hillside. Birch’s head slammed into the window next to him, and the darkness took over before he could even fight back.
* * *
Birch was struggling to wake up, to come back to reality, to find Allison. Her face kept flashing through his mind and she was smiling, but she wasn’t smiling at him, she was smiling at that loser Jeremiah Jansen.
Suddenly, as clear as day, he saw Blade walking toward him, materializing out of a fog. He tried to run to his brother but he was pinned down, couldn’t move. Everything was fuzzy but Blade.
As soon as his brother reached him, he gifted him with that grin that could get Blade out of trouble with even their mother. “Hey bro. You’ve been praying hard I hear.”
Birch nodded, still unable to move or speak.
“Here’s your sign man, Ally’s the right one and I want you to date her.”
Birch’s breath burst out and he was suddenly free and as strong as he’d ever been. He leapt to his feet and ran to his brother, pulling him into an embrace. Sadly, he couldn’t feel him but he could feel the happiness Blade always shared with him.
He pulled back and asked, “You’re sure?”
“Sure I’m sure.”
Blade gave him one more grin and a hang loose sign and disappeared.
