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He nearly vomited from the pain within his soul as he started the car, leaving his wife behind.
* * *
Returningto Ghazni late that evening, Ian dropped his bag onto his bunk and didn’t say a word to anyone. He was still numb and reeling at the last several days. Talbot was gone on leave… Peña was lying there in his bunk, looking deep in thought, while several of the others ignored him. Keyes was the only one staring in silent disbelief at the ring on his left hand.
Ian met his eyes, gave a quick nod, and looked at the package from June that was sitting on his bunk. The box and he must have crossed in passing when he left for his visit.
Quietly, he turned away… putting the box on his footlocker. It had sat here already for a few days, one more couldn’t hurt anything – not like the pain of loss that he was feeling right now. He was truly worried that opening it might cause him to break emotionally.
Collapsing onto his bunk, he curled up painfully as his stomach protested violently once more.
17
SELKIRK
Two days later,Ian was eating something bland in the commissary that was supposed to resemble pizza, but looked more like a slice of cardboard with a bit of cheese sprinkled on it. The green beans were mush, and his ‘fruit crumble’ was more like diced fruit that had been thickened with some granola crunch sprinkled on top.
It sure wasn’t his triple cheeseburger… nor sushi with his wife.
“Hey Selkirk?” Muldoon hollered, rushing into the lunchroom. “You’ve got some Zoomie at the fence asking for you by name. What’d you do? Sleep with his sister? The dude looks super angry and he’s a big fella…”
Ian swallowed and got to his feet. It was time to meet his brother-in-law… face-to-face.
Leaving half of his tray, he gulped down some water quickly and headed out into the scalding sun. There were waves of heat radiating off the sand in the distance, and he could hear the clatter of trucks moving around on base, combined with the sounds of the jets somewhere nearby.
“Ian Selkirk?” a man said stonily, standing there in a flight suit and glaring at him. His arms were crossed over his chest, legs akimbo, as he stood there with this uppity, regal look on his face… and Ian nearly smiled.
That ‘regal’ look nearly mirrored June’s.
“I am – and you must be Joshua,” he said openly, extending his hand and trying to fit his palm through the fence to shake this man’s hand – but it wouldn’t fit. Instead, he lifted it upwards awkwardly and waved. “It’s nice to meet June’s brother.”
“Spill it,” the man said simply, unmoving. “I hear that you are sending my sister flowers, that you got married, and…”
“Your sister is the best person I’ve ever met. I hope I can make her happy and fill in a few vacant spots left in her heart. She’s an absolute sweetheart, and deserves all the happiness in the world. She probably deserves much better than me, too… if I’m being honest.”
“Yeah, but why you?”
“What do you mean – why me?”
“Why would June remarry someone…” his voice trailed off, and he gave Ian a hard look. “You aren’t her type.”
Ahhh…Ian realized that this man had been friends with her former husband, and was exceedingly protective of his sister. June was an extremely private person, and sometimes it was like pulling teeth to get her to talk… maybe it was a family trait? His own family was very outgoing, rambunctious, and wild.
“I’m not her normal type, no,” Ian admitted, smiling. “But I’m the man that makes her smile, adores her laughter, and craves the way we talk about anything, or nothing at all. She’s my best friend, and I just want her to be happy – so I go out of my way to make her so. I might not be her ‘type,’ but I’m the last guy she’s ever going to need. I can promise you that…”
“You married her in the church?” Joshua asked quietly, still watching him.
“Yes. I’m Catholic, and my parents would have had my hide if I didn’t. I wanted our marriage blessed by the church, and…”
Joshua grunted and dropped his stance, lowering his crossed arms… looking at him.
“June’s really happy?”
“Very,” Ian replied. “At least, I hope so. I always wonder if I could make her happier by doing something else to surprise her – but she seems truly happy.”
“Did you actually buy her a house?” Joshua said quietly, lifting an eyebrow in an appraising manner. “I thought I read that wrong in her email, but…”
“I’m very opinionated, stubborn, and a little bit sexist… okay, maybe a lot,” Ian admitted unflinchingly, grinning. “I want to take care of my wife, would love to have a family someday with her, and I don’t want to see her struggle. We both want a haven, a home, a place to hide where we can be ourselves… and as a macho, sexist jerk? I want to give it to her.”
