Gabe
She was okay.
Tabby was safe. That’s what mattered. But I was still shit out of luck.
I stared at the phone in stunned disbelief. I hadn’t expected her to fall into my arms and forgive me exactly but I hadn’t expected this either!
She had told me off! The sweet, loving woman who’d given me her virginity had actually told me to go to hell.
She’d more or less broken up with me and then gone dark.
And now she was ignoring my texts. True, the way she’d signed off had been adorable. It was typical Tabitha. Worrying and sweet and scolding all at once.
But she’d told me goodbye at the end. Told me to take care. It sounded so final.
Well, I was not having it. Not for one more minute. She was mine dammit! I had screwed up but I apologized. It didn’t have to mess up the rest of our lives!
Tabby!
Dammit woman, do not disappear on me like that!
I love you dammit!
I waited but she was gone. I could almost guarantee she had turned the phone off. Well, this was getting me nowhere. I cursed and threw my phone across the room.
I had no idea where she was and that drove me nuts.
Worse than that, I knew she considered herself single. I felt a sickening wave of jealousy come crashing over me. I’d pushed her away and now she was out there, beautiful and vulnerable and alone.
Maybe she was too upset to say no to a handsome stranger who wanted to take care of her.
Maybe another guy would snatch her up, protect her, love her.
Maybe another guy would prove himself worthy.
I held my head in my hands. I had to do something to get her back. I had to at least try and get her to believe that I loved her.
She could be anywhere though.
And I had no way of finding her.
Or did I? I rubbed my eyes. I had been trying to sober up since yesterday and the lack of sleep wasn’t helping me think straight.
I had to focus.
I furrowed my brow and realized I had an ‘in.’ My men. It was hard as hell to get in touch with them when they were at sea, but if they were on base…
I sent out a message request to Hobbs. He was the one who was always hogging the damn lines so I figured he would see it first.
Plus, it was his ass I’d saved when I pushed him down on the deck.
I got a message back about twenty minutes later. We opened a chat window and there he was, just like old times. Even in chat he seemed loud.
Torp!!! What’s the good word man?
I wanted to see how you assholes were doing without me.
We cry ourselves to sleep every night.
I bet. How’s the ship?
Good as new. Not as shiny without you. No elbow grease. New CO’s a lightweight.
I grinned. I had been kind of a hard ass about shit like that. It was good to know I was missed.
Can I do anything for you, Torp?
Yeah, I need recon. Can you get me the 411 on a missing person?
Who’s missing?
My woman. We had a fight and she took off. I need to find her.
Say no more. You got a general vicinity?
No, just a cell phone. And where she rented a truck.
Hit me up and I’ll get back to you at 0:800.
Your time or mine?
Yours.
Thanks man I owe you one.
No way Torp. You took a hit for me. Plus I always thought you had pretty eyes.
I laughed. He really was a cut up.
Tell the guys I say hi.
Will do.
I signed off, wondering why I hadn’t done this sooner. I missed the hell out of the crew but we had only talked a handful of times. In a way I’d been running away from the reality of my situation. That I was really out of the service for good.
That I was a different man now. I’d changed. From the accident, sure. But more than that, Tabby had changed me.
Even if I walked again without assistance, I was different. And I was out of uniform for good.
Tabby had made me a man in a way I had never realized was possible. A man who looked after what was his. A protector.
I wanted to be more than an officer now. I wanted to be a husband and hopefully a father.
It was taking some getting used to. But I felt a lightness in my chest. I had missed talking to my crew way too nuch. And they were going to help me find Tabby.
I knew they wouldn’t fail me.
I finally crashed for the first time in days.