Chapter 13

 

Rebecca walked out of the OBGYN’s office the following week, an early ultrasound photo clutched in her hand. She glanced down at it again, her heart swelling. The black and white image didn’t look like a baby at this point. It barely looked like anything, if she was honest. But that tiny little image was her baby. Their baby. Her heart filled with joy as she glanced at it again.

Funny how something so small could change absolutely everything.

She tucked the ultrasound picture safely into her purse, her heels clicking on the asphalt as she walked across the parking lot. Scrolling through her contact list, she dialed her assistant’s cell number. “I’m on my way into the office. Are there any updates on the court time this afternoon?”

“It’s still at 4:00 p.m. I have all the documents you’ll need to bring with you.”

“Wonderful. My appointment went longer than I thought—I had to wait almost an hour to see the doctor.”

“Ugh, that’s the worst. Maybe you should bill them for your time.”

“Right?” She unlocked her car door and climbed in, tossing her purse onto the passenger seat. “I’m sure I wouldn’t be the first patient who’s considered that. It wouldn’t have been so much of an issue if they hadn’t changed the court date and time on me. At least you’re on top of everything. Goodness knows my mind has been all over the place lately.”

“Don’t worry about a thing. I have it all under control over here. And things will settle down soon. I mean, they can’t get any crazier, right?”

“That they cannot,” Rebecca agreed. “I should be there in half an hour or so. Once I gather everything, I’ll head right to court for the proceedings. You notified the client of the time change, correct?”

“Yes, it’s all taken care of.”

“Wonderful.” She said goodbye, then backed out of the parking space and unrolled her windows. There was nothing like a sunny June day to leave her feeling happy and optimistic. The sea breeze blowing in as she drove back to the office was enough to put anyone in a good mood. And tomorrow was finally Saturday.

She and Patrick had talked every night over the past week. Although their phone bill would be astronomically high this month, it was more than worth it to hear his voice from the other side of the line. The other side of the Atlantic Ocean. He was supposed to be arriving in Walter Reed up in Maryland today. She’d wanted to rearrange her doctor’s appointment and drive up, but Patrick had insisted she and the kids just come up first thing in the morning instead.

It’d be a hell of a drive to go visit him frequently, but she’d take the kids up each weekend until he was cleared to come back to Virginia Beach.

To come home.

She’d met with the realtor again this week, too, and was planning to put her home up for sale later in the summer.

There was nothing like a near-death experience to make her shift her priorities. They’d been planning to move in together, yes, but with the baby on the way and Patrick nearly dying?

The sooner they were under the same roof, the better she’d feel.

She shuddered thinking about what it would be like when he deployed again one day. They’d just deal with it whenever that day arrived, she supposed. She had Patrick each had their own careers, and part of what made their relationship work was that they accepted that about the other.

For better or worse.

“You look happy,” Rebecca said to her assistant as she walked into the reception area of her office thirty minutes later.

“Just enjoying this beautiful summer day,” she said cheerily, taking a sip of her iced coffee. She rolled her desk chair back, smiling.

Rebecca stopped midstride and gazed at her curiously. “Something’s up.”

“Nothing’s up. I’m just happy, enjoying this beautiful day.”

“We’re inside, and you already said that. Wait. Did you finally meet one of those military men you’ve been swooning over? That’s why you’re grinning from ear to ear.”

“My good mood does have something to do with the military,” she said mysteriously.

“You met someone.”

Her assistant glanced at her watch. “You’d better hurry to make sure you get to court in time. Everything you need is in your office. I’ll fill you in tomorrow if you still have questions.”

“You better,” Rebecca said, shaking her head as she walked back toward her own office. “And I need to hurry before I’m late.” A second later she let out a shriek of joy as she saw Patrick sitting in her desk chair, arms crossed, blue eyes gleaming with amusement. The cotton tee shirt he had on hugged his muscular chest, the bandages wrapped snuggly around his ribcage showing through the soft fabric. Her purse fell to the ground by the door as she launched herself at him, momentarily forgetting about his injuries.

He slowly stood to his full height, grunting as she collided with his solid chest.

“Oh God, I’m sorry. Did I just hurt you?” she asked, pulling back.

“I’m fine,” he said in a low voice, his blue eyes warming as he wrapped his muscular arms around her and pulled her close. His large hand cradled the back of her head as he held her to his chest, and she inhaled his clean, masculine scent, instantly relaxing into his solid warmth. “If an IED couldn’t take me out, neither can you.”

She burst into tears.

“Shh, sweetheart, don’t cry,” he said, running a hand down her hair. “I was just teasing you.”

She looked up and met his gaze as hot tears continued to fall down her cheeks, and then he was ducking down and kissing her, thumbing away her tears. He tasted of peppermint and something else that was pure Patrick, and she kissed him deeply, not caring that anyone else in the office might walk in and see. His full lips moved over hers again, equally soft and demanding, and then his tongue slowly sought entrance between her parted lips.

He caressed his tongue against hers, leaving her gasping for breath as he held her.

Finally he pulled away, both of them breathing heavily.

Her hands slid down his chest, feeling the bandages beneath his tee shirt. He held perfectly still, his gaze fixed on her movement.

“Am I hurting you?”

“Hell no. I’ve dreamed of kissing you, touching you. That’s what kept me going. You couldn’t hurt me if you tried.”

“But when did you get here? How? I thought you were supposed to be at Walter Reed?”

“I told them I needed to be home in time for your doctor’s appointment,” he said, the corner of his mouth tugging up in a smile. “I almost made it, too. Traffic was hell.”

“But how? I thought you’d be up at Walter Reed for a few weeks. They told me you were flying there today.”

“My stitches are healing perfectly. My ribs are still broken, so I’ll be moving extra slowly for a while. And I’ll have to do physical therapy for six weeks minimum. But they discharged me from the hospital. I can rest at home just as well as in a hospital bed at this point.”

“But shouldn’t you be at home in bed right now?”

“Nope. I’ve been up walking around all week slowly getting my energy back. I mean, I won’t exactly be doing PT every morning—well, not the military version anyway. Physical therapy on the other hand will keep me busy for a while. I was pretty damn lucky, to tell you the truth. They flew me into Andrew’s AFB this morning, but Blade came and picked me up. We just drove all the way down. That damn beach traffic made it longer than expected.”

Her eyes raked over him again, scanning for further injuries. He was standing slightly stiffer than normal, and she knew he had to be in some pain. But for a man who’d been airlifted to a hospital in Germany after sustaining injuries on the battlefield, he looked pretty damn good. “I can’t believe you’re here—that this is real. I feel like I’ve been waiting so long to see you. You must be exhausted after that long flight. And the time difference?”

Patrick shrugged, wincing at the movement. “I’m used to sleeping on planes. I actually slept an hour in Blade’s pick-up truck, too, on the drive down. The meds I’ve been on the past couple of weeks totally wiped me out. It feels better to be taking plain old ibuprofen at this point. And I’m still finishing up antibiotics to make sure I don’t have an infection.”

“Where are you stitches?”

“Right here,” he said, gesturing to his side. “Between that and the broken ribs, I won’t be doing any heavy lifting for a while. Or driving.”

“I can drive you around. And I’ll drive you to physical therapy in the morning. We’ll hire packers and movers this summer to get Abby and I moved in. I didn’t even tell you that I met with the realtor again.”

“Sweetheart, there’s an entire SEAL team that can move you and Abby into my place. They can pack up your stuff, too. We don’t need to hire anyone.”

“Oh, we can’t ask the guys on the team—”

“It’s already a done deal. Blade insisted when he picked me up. Hell, I appreciate the help. And the fact that those guys were looking out for you when I couldn’t. They know we’d do the same for them. I have done it,” he added with a low chuckle. “I’m not really used to leaning on the others for physical help like this, but if it’ll get you living with me faster, I’m all for it.”

“All right. Wow. This is just—it’s just too much. I still can’t believe that you’re even here. I thought I’d be driving the kids up to Walter Reed for a few weeks to see you. Holy crap,” she said, suddenly glancing around. “I have to get to court! Where are the papers I needed?”

Patrick cleared his throat. “That was sort of a guise to get you back in the office quicker. My idea,” he added. “When I called your assistant earlier, she told me you had the afternoon free. Apparently, the court time did get changed by the judge—to next week.”

“And you wanted to meet me here in the office?” she asked with a laugh.

“I was actually planning to meet you at the doctor—I wanted to surprise you there and get to see what the doctor said about the baby.”

“Oh! I have the ultrasound. Wait, where’s my purse?” she asked, looking around.

“You can show me in a minute,” Patrick said, taking her hand. He lightly ran his thumb over her knuckles, and she shivered, loving the way he always made her come undone with a single touch.

“I just can’t believe you’re really here. Alive. Okay. The kids and I are already packed to drive up to see you tomorrow.”

Patrick cupped her cheek in one hand and ducked down and kissed her again, his lips softly brushing over hers. It had been so long since they’d been together, her heart actually ached. She’d come so close to losing him.

Never seeing him again.

Never feeling his touch or looking into his eyes.

To have him here in front of here was almost too much. She felt like she might actually explode from happiness.

“I did have something else in mind that we could do one weekend,” he said, his voice husky.

“What’s that? You probably can’t do much of anything at this point., and that’s fine. Just relaxing and being together is all we need.”

Patrick smiled, his blue eyes heating as he gazed down at her. “It’s something I’ve been meaning to do for a while. That I should’ve done a long time ago.” His hand slid into the pocket of his cargo pants, and her heart caught in her throat as he slowly produced a black velvet box. He flashed her a knowing look before he eased himself down on one knee.

Rebecca gasped, her hands flying up to her face. “Patrick!” Tears smarted in her eyes, and her heart began pounding in her chest.

“Rebecca,” he said, taking her hand once again. His cool blue gaze met hers, but at the moment, it was filled with nothing but love. “I couldn’t wait a second longer,” he said, his voice thick with emotion. “I bought this ring long before my recent deployment, long before we found out that we were having a baby. I’ve been waiting for the perfect moment to ask you, but hell—no moment is more perfect than now. Nothing is more perfect than seeing you for the first time after I thought I never would again. I’ve loved you since the moment we first met, and I want us to spend the rest of our lives together. You’d make me the happiest man in the world if you’d be my wife. Rebecca, sweetheart, will you marry me?”

“Yes,” she whispered, fresh tears rolling down her face as she began to tremble. “Yes, of course I’ll marry you.”

“You’re shaking,” he said, sliding the diamond solitaire onto her ring finger. She looked at it in amazement, admiring the single diamond sparkling in the light. At one point she’d never imagined finding someone again—marrying someone again. And Patrick was everything she’d ever wanted.

“I’m just so happy,” she said as he rose to his feet. “I thought I’d never see you again—that I’d lost you. And now you’re here right in front of me—”

Patrick ducked his head and kissed her softly. “Don’t cry, sweetheart. I told you I’d always come back to you. And I want more than anything to marry you.”

“I love you,” she whispered, smiling up at him.

“I love you, too.” His fingertips grazed her cheek as he wiped away a stray tear. “I know neither of us want a big wedding. What do you think about getting married on the beach next weekend?”