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Right now, they were running full out and what a sight to see.
“Would you look at that,” Gunner released her and knelt on one knee, holding his arms out loosely to his sides as the wolves approached.
They stopped five feet away, sniffed the air, then moved closer. All at one their tails started to twitch, then wag, and shortly thereafter, their rear ends got into the action. Within seconds they were wiggling, excited and all over Gunner, licking and rubbing against him.
Oakley didn’t care that tears ran down her face as she watched. She had no doubt that Gunner was just here on leave. He’d be leaving soon, but right now, she had this and this was a moment right out of a dream for her.
The wolves remembered him. They were excited to sniff and rub against him, seek the touch of his hand. “They’re magnificent,” he looked up at Oakley who watched with a happy smile on her face.
“And so are you,” she sank down to one knee in front of him, parking herself close. “God, it’s good to see you, Gunner. I--”
He saw her expression morph into a look of uncertainty and filled the silence with a confession. “I wasn’t sure I’d ever see you again, but I promised myself that if I did, I would tell you something.”
“Then tell me,” The touch of her hand as she placed it against the side of his face spoke as much as her words.
“This is it for me. Active duty, I mean. When I report back it will be to make things final.”
“Why?” she seemed surprised, which he’d halfway expected. Walking away from who you’ve been for most of your life was more of a challenge that facing an enemy. At least when you face a physical enemy, it will be a battlenot dissimilar to a hundred others you’ve fought, so your odds of survival are decent.
Life can stop your clock in a blink and without warning. And you have no control at all.
That had never mattered much to Gunner. He was a weapon of war, at least in his mind. That was his worth and he took pride in being the best he could be to continue earning his worth.
He’d always fight for survival, but if he fell, then so be it. He’d die serving something he believed in. That had to matter. To him. He didn’t care what it meant to anyone else. Maybe he was lucky he didn’t have any “back home”, or anyone whose life would be affected by his death.
That way of thinking served him well. Until it didn’t.
Which was right now. Right here, kneeling in the dirt and feeling pretty much like he was in a kind of natural cathedral or a sacred place.
The rising mountains, cascading pastures and rolling fields of grass, moved in accordance with the dictates of the elements, earth, fire, wind, and water. Taking only what is needed to survive and playing its role in the ecosystem of this land.
This was a place for truth, and sometimes speaking the truth was the most fearsome foe of all. Speaking the truth meant baring yourself, what’s inside you, to someone else. Letting someone see you for who you are. All of it. Good and bad.
Gunner zeroed in tight on her eyes, locking his gaze to hers and holding fast until there was no need to hold. They were connected. He knew she was aware of their surroundings, as was he. Above the clouds drifted,providing breaks in the sunlight, creating shifting shadows that passed by like swirls of energy, riding the wind.
Something new appeared. Rising with the current was a song. Ba’Cho and Nashoba.
It was a singular experience. And perhaps one that should have given him a whisper of unease.
But it didn’t and that told him everything he needed to know.
“You, them, us.” He admitted, hoping it wasn’t the wrong thing to do. ”I want that. That’s what I came to tell you. If you don’t want it, I’ll go back to doing what I know how to do, or if Riggs calls it quits, I’ll work for him or—”
He paused, searching her eyes for a sign. What he saw gave him the courage to continue. “I want you, Oakley. And them, and us. A life, or at least a chance to see if we can make one. I can start as friends if that’s what you want, but I want you in my life and I want to be part of yours.
“And that’s why I’m here. To ask you what I should do when my two weeks of leave ends.”
Her smile was a balm to his frazzled nerves. Damn he could face down a battalion of armed men easier than waiting these few seconds to discover if she was going to shoot him down.
His smile started to appear halfway through her sentence when she said, “If I’m lucky, you’ll tell the Navy it’s time for you to step into the next phase of your life and thank them for all you learned.”
“And then?”
“Then you come home to me,” she then looked at the wolves. “And them.”
“Where?”
“Home isn’t a place, Gun, it’s a who. So, you come home to us, and we’ll get started on figuring out the where and what kind of life two smart strong people like us and two wolves can create.”
