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Alone with her fears and her nightmares.
She tried to push them away, to focus on something else, but it was no use. Her thoughts kept returning to that night. The night that had changed everything…
chapter ten
Six Years Ago
For the first time in months, she and Connelly were in the same city at the same time, and she couldn’t wait to see him. It had been too long since their last meeting— a hastily arranged dinner when they crossed paths at an airport between deployments and training missions.
Veronica kept glancing at her watch, counting the minutes until she was free from her duties. The military and its required protocols were usually a source of comfort for her, their predictability and order appealing to the girl who had grown up with a volatile alcoholic mother and a father who loved his daughter but was away from home working more often than not. But today, those routines felt like shackles.
When she was finally free, she dashed out of the hangar at Lackland Air Force Base, the San Antonio sun burning bright overhead, casting long shadows of her and her fellow officers on the tarmac. A fighter jet roared past, jet wash tingling across her skin. She smelled like oil and sweat and jet fuel and desperately needed a shower. By her calculations, she had just enough time to pop by her on-base housing before meeting Connelly at her favorite coffee shop near the River Walk. He was staying at the Hyatt there, free for a whole seventy-two hours before he had to fly back to rejoin his squadron at Hurlburt Field in Florida, and she couldn’t wait to share this vibrant city she’d fallen in love with. It was so different from Seattle’s rainy, hilly streets where they’d grown up.
When she entered her apartment, the air conditioning hit her in a frigid blast that sent chills racing over her skin.
Or maybe that was excitement.
She shed off her uniform on the way to the bathroom and hurried through a shower. She slipped into her swimsuit, a pair of jean shorts, and a tank top that showed off her new tattoo—a delicate, colorful pair of wings just above her left shoulder blade. She’d drawn it herself, and her tattoo artist had done a fantastic job translating her vision into ink. She twisted her hair into a clip and dabbed on some light makeup. She glanced at herself in the mirror before she left. She barely recognized the reflection staring back at her— not Lieutenant Martens, Air Force pilot, but a twenty-something woman who was eager, excited, slightly nervous.
She pressed a hand to her belly to steady the flutter there. God, why was she nervous? It was just Connelly.
Finding parking was a bitch, but even that didn’t dampen her mood. She navigated through the familiar streets of San Antonio with an unusual spring in her step as the city pulsed with life around her. Music floated from the open doors of bars and restaurants that lined the vibrant downtown streets. People laughed and talked over their margaritas on terraces. Kids splashed in fountains while their parents sat under the shade of trees, watching them with soft smiles…
And there he was.
Still dressed in his battle uniform with his duffle bag slung over one shoulder, he grinned as he watched the kids play through the water.
The flutter became a rabble of butterflies beating their wings inside her.
“Connelly!”
His head turned in her direction. Their eyes met, and his smile widened. That familiar boyish grin that hadn’t changed since their childhood made her heart do an extra little ba-bump. He dropped his duffle bag by a nearby bench and strode over to her, opening his arms for a hug.
“God, Vee.” His throat rumbled against the top of her head as he held her tight. “It’s been way too fucking long.”
“I know.”
They stayed like that, just holding each other under the hot Texas sun for several long moments. Finally, he set her back down, his hands lingering on her waist for a fraction of a second longer than necessary.
She took a shaky step back and tugged on the lapel of his uniform shirt. “You haven’t even changed.”
“Just got in.” He looped an arm over her shoulders and snagged his bag. “Walk with me to the hotel. And explain to me again what we’re doing today...?”
“Floating the river” was a uniquely Texas pastime she loved the moment she learned about it. It consisted of tubes, beer, and a long stretch of lazily moving water. She explained the concept to him as they strolled toward the hotel.
“I figured we’d grab lunch first, then hit the Guadalupe River. I’ve already got tubes and a cooler ready to go.”
Connelly gave her a skeptical look as she informed him of their impending adventure. “So, let me get this straight—we float down a river... and that’s it?”
Veronica laughed at his puzzled expression. “You didn’t float when you were at Lackland?”
He shook his head. “The pipeline didn’t leave much time for me to explore the neighborhood.”
He was talking about the pararescue training pipeline, which started with fifteen weeks of intense special warfare training at Lackland and ended over a year later in a pararescue apprenticeship at Kirtland AFB in New Mexico. She’d seen the new wannabe PJs training on base and knew it was hard as hell. She respected him for getting through it and, in her mind, just proved he deserved to relax.
“Well, floating is relaxing and fun.” She nudged him with her shoulder. “Trust me, you’ll love it.”
As they reached the hotel, Veronica waited as he checked in, shifting from foot to foot. It was still strange to see Connelly here in her new world, which felt so far removed from their shared past. But his grin was infectious, and she found herself returning it with equal measure, brushing aside her nerves.
