Chapter 6

The next day, a feathery-light caress touched her cheek. Dan’s voice drifted into her senses. “See you tonight.”

She tried to dig her way up from her dreams, moving toward him, but she was so tired…sleep was hard to deny.

Hearing his car engine turn over brought her half-awake, and then she fell deeply asleep again.

A strange voice jerked her out of her dreams several hours later.

Having a neighbor yell over the fence, “Welcome to the neighborhood!” while she was lying naked, covered only by an edge of the sleeping bag, in their marvelous outside makeshift bed…made her eyes snap wide open.

“Hi, I’m Stan.” Staring at the balding man who was holding a cup of coffee and watering his tomato plants as he overtly looked right at her made her want to scream. The fence was high enough. Either this guy was standing on a box or he was very, very tall. Whatever way she judged it…this neighbor was creeping her out!

“Oh, hi.” She wrapped the cocoon of sleeping bags tighter around her body and rolled off the air mattress and into the secluded enclosure of the doorway. From there she ditched the sleeping bag and sprinted for the bedroom naked.

Of course, there were no shades to block the view of passersby, but it wasn’t quite bright enough to see into the bedroom, either. According to her watch, it was seven thirty in the morning. She must have missed Dan leaving. Pulling on one of his sweatshirts and digging around until she located a pair of her sweatpants, she finally emerged feeling a little better.

She headed for the bathroom and tripped over two boxes blocking the door. “If that isn’t a call for organization, I don’t know what is.” She washed up and then got to work, unpacking boxes and setting up their house.

The list of things they needed felt endless: coverings for the windows and a bedroom set, including night tables, dressers, and a bed frame, as well as a mattress set. “Can I pick it out for myself? Do I need to wait for him?” She sighed. “I don’t want to wait to do all of this, I just want it done.”

Going back into the kitchen, she unearthed a stainless-steel pot, a mug that Mark had given her saying “I’m grrrrrreat!” and her stash of tea. While she waited for the water to boil, she made a grocery list. It felt as though her tasks would never be done. And it was doubly hard having to take care of it all by herself. “How do military wives do all of this?” Pack, unpack, move, put everything away, stock the house, and then do it again a few months or years later. All she knew was that they’d better stay put.

Making a cup of tea was therapeutic for her—opening the tea bag and smelling the burst of English breakfast tea, dunking the bag until it was the perfect color, and then waiting for it to cool so she could take that first steamy sip. The calming effect was immediate.

It seriously made life easier as she looked around the living room and counted the rest of the unpacked boxes. “I guess I better get to it.”

She missed the days when Mark used to stop by her apartment with breakfast. He’d surely make her laugh if he were there now. She was searching for the phone to give him a call when she found a granola bar with a note on it.

“Eat me. Xoxo.”

Damn, Dan was adorable! Next to it was her phone. Yay!

The line rang several times before Mark answered. “Hello.”

“Mark, it’s Aria. Listen I’m so sorry…”

“To be calling me before I finished my workout routine and it was time for coffee?”

“Well, I knew you’d be up.” She smiled and knew he’d hear it in her voice. “Listen, I’m sorry for being such a bee-itch. I didn’t mean to take you for granted that way. I really appreciate all of the help you gave us in hauling stuff into the house.”

“No worries. I was happy to do it.” He had happiness in his voice. “Hey, want to get together soon? Just you and me… You can leave the ball and chain at home.”

She laughed. “Sure. I’ll call you after I get my world sorted. Have a great day!”

“It already is one…I talked to you. Bye, Aria Angel.”

“Bye, Mark.” She hugged her phone and then immediately located her purse and placed it into its depths so she wouldn’t lose it again.

Her stomach growled, so she made her way back to the tea. Picking up the granola bar, she ripped open the wrapper and sunk her teeth in, pulling off a chunk of the espresso-infused, chocolate-chunk, chewy granola. “I must seriously be starved for this thing to taste good.” Sitting down on one of the boxes, she stared at her breakfast and then sighed.

Lifting the bar in the air, she said, “To new beginnings. It better get easier.”

***

By late afternoon, she’d set up what she could of the living room and dining room and some semblance of a home office. The desk had not been fun to assemble alone, but she’d managed, and without using the hammer, too. There were no awkward angles and overall it looked usable. Yay, me!

As soon as she booted up her laptop, email messages filled her screen. She opened the latest project and saw that one of the commercials she’d written needed an immediate rewrite for tomorrow’s filming. She reread the last version and then wrote three different options. Sending them to the client, she asked for feedback and then went on to the next issue.

Her cell phone rang, jarring her out of her writing. She had answered most of her emails, handling three emergencies for a very needy client, adding new scripts to his television and radio campaigns, as well as sending two quotes to potential clients. Overall, she had caught up nicely and only needed another hour before she was ahead of the due dates on her project schedule.

The cell stopped clamoring and then rang back. It was Dan’s signal for “Urgent, pick me up now.”

She dashed over to her purse, fished out her cell phone, and answered immediately. “Dan, hi.”

“Hi, Aria. Sorry to bother…you sound distracted…like you’re working.”

“I am. No worries, though. What’s up?”

“Ah, I forgot to tell you… I ran into our neighbor on the right side this morning, and she invited you to a tea this afternoon. I told her you’d be happy to go with her.” He sounded a little apologetic, but not nearly enough for having committed her to something without her agreement.

“Dan, why would you do that?” She looked down at her attire. Could she look any grubbier? She shook her head. She wasn’t thrilled about going anywhere, especially with all the work she had to do. “Can I get out of it? What if you call her and tell her I’m busy?”

“Sorry, I don’t have her info on me. Listen, I have to go in a minute.” There were voices in the background; someone was telling Dan to hurry up. It sounded like Hammer.

Blast, blast, blast! She hadn’t washed her hair. Her dresses were still wrinkled from the move, and she had tossed her old battered ironing board, planning on buying a new one. Nuts! She didn’t have anything to bring with her, either. A hostess gift was required, wasn’t it?

Dan’s voice came back on the line. “It’s a neighborhood thing. You’ll get to meet more of the military wives.” There was a short pause. “Just go. You don’t have to stay long. Please? Do it for me.”

She drew in a long deep breath. “Fine. When will she be here?”

The doorbell rang. No way! This can’t be happening.

“I think I’ve answered my own question.” As she walked to the door, she said, “Call me before you leave the base—you’re picking up dinner.” Hanging up before he could protest, she flipped the bolt and yanked open the door.

“Hello.” There was a tall, slim woman dressed in a purple flowered dress with a small lace collar. A strand of pearls hugged her neck, with matching bobs in her ears. Her brunette hair was piled on top of her head. It was difficult not to stare at the tiny curls perfectly spaced around her updo. “I’m Eve Louise Lockwood. It’s nice to meet you. Welcome to the Silver Strand.”

“Hi, Eve. I’m Aria McCullum. Would you like to come in? Sorry for the mess. We’re still getting settled in.” She couldn’t even offer the woman a seat, unless they went into her office and she relinquished her privacy and her desk chair. That was her special spot, and she didn’t want anyone in there. Guess she’d have to forgo manners this time.

“Are you ready?” The woman looked her up and down. “I mean…is that what you’re wearing to the tea? The attire is more elaborate, on the dressy side. Of course, if this is all you have… Um, I could loan you something, though our sizes might be off by a few inches.” Eve was almost six feet tall and could have been a supermodel. Anything that Aria borrowed would drag on the ground and make her look as if she were playing dress-up in mother’s clothes. She knew the woman was trying to be helpful, but how could she communicate politely that she didn’t even want to leave the house?

Was it appropriate to say that she was nesting? Or rather, she’d prefer to live in sweats and pajamas for the next two weeks while she worked the kinks out of the new living space and her life in general, how about that?

Aria shook her head. Her husband had asked her to go. She knew she should at least try. “Thank you for the offer, but I’m fine. I have other things to wear.” The woman didn’t look as if she believed Aria. Her expression, with its raised eyebrows and turned-down nose, was dubious, to say the least. “I wasn’t expecting you. My husband just called, literally two minutes before you arrived, to tell me about the tea.”

“Oh, I see.” She was very polite, but her tone grew a little chilly. “Well, we need to be at Caybreena Hinnell’s house in fifteen minutes. She doesn’t like her guests to be tardy. If you don’t mind, I’d rather not be branded and stuck on her bad side. So, ahem, should I leave you the address, or are you coming with—”

“Give me a minute and I’ll be good to go.” Aria hurried into the bedroom.

Digging through the closet, she knew what she wanted to wear. Withdrawing an Armani blue silk dress, which was probably too dressy but fit her like a glove, she knew it would work. Carefully she pulled it on, then wedged herself into a pair of nude stockings and stuffed her feet into a pair of sparkly heels.

Unearthing her makeup bag, she quickly powdered her face, slapped on blush and mascara, went without eyeliner, but added a dash of her signature pink lipstick. She fluffed her hair so the curls were a wild mass of springy red gorgeousness.

Briskly, she left her bedroom and grabbed her keys off the kitchen counter. Stopping in front of her neighbor, whose eyes were wide, she asked, “Shall we go?”

Eve nodded, her chin practically on the floor and her mouth wide open. “Y-y-you look gorgeous.”

“Thanks.” Locking the house behind them, Aria walked down the street with her neighbor. “So tell me about yourself. What do you do? And the people I’m about to meet, what are they like?”

“Well, I’m a mom of triplets…Reggie, Ryan, and Rickie. You’ll hear them before you see them. Our last neighbors didn’t like them very much, but the military seems to change things up quickly enough that no one gets too annoyed. What rank is your husband?” The woman rattled on at a brisk pace.

“Uh, he just made Chief. I think. I don’t know too much about military stuff.”

Eve looked shocked. “Oh, you’ll need to learn ASAP. Everything is about rank in this neighborhood. My husband is a Senior Chief Petty Officer and—Caybreena Hinnell’s house that we’re on our way to—her husband is up for Command Master Chief Petty Officer. She’s the point person for the neighborhood, the one who sort of runs things.”

“Are all of the people in this neighborhood associated with the Teams?” Aria was curious.

“SEAL Team? Oh, goodness, no.” Her laughter was a titter, sounding like a little high-pitched bell. “You really are new, aren’t you? Most of us are Navy, of course, but there are some other branches here. Air Force and Marine Corps. But there are no Army families that I am aware of. This neighborhood mainly houses enlisted Marines or sailors and their families.” She stopped abruptly in front of a house with a manicured lawn and an insane amount of flowers planted so uniformly, Aria wondered if someone came out with a measuring stick to confirm they were all the same height, size, and width apart, ripping out the ones that did not fit.

The door opened before they made it even halfway up the walk. A tiny blond stood there with her hands on her hips.

Aria plastered a smile on her face and put out her hand. “Hi, Caybreena. I’m Aria McCullum. It’s nice to meet you. Thank you for inviting me to your tea.”

Her hostess gave her a cold look. “You may call me Mrs. Hinnell. And honestly, I had no idea Eve was bringing a guest.”

Aria barely knew what to say, and Eve was shifting uncomfortably beside her. But Aria refused to be cowed. She straightened her shoulders and looked Caybreena—or Mrs. Hiney, as Aria now thought of her—directly in the eyes. “Well, how kind of you to allow me into your home.” With no choice left to her, their hostess stepped aside.

“Well, if you insist on staying, Aria…” Caybreena’s voice dropped to a whisper. “Though I think it’s a mistake. It’s never too early to learn that rank and privilege go hand in hand.” A false bravado lifted her voice higher. “Then, come meet my neighbors.”

Mrs. Hiney led the way into heavily scented room, as if potpourri had been mashed into every fiber and thread of furniture and carpet. Aria wrinkled her nose and then sneezed, bringing another sour look from Caybreena.

Yep, like hell Aria would offer to leave now. She’d rather be the thorn in this woman’s paw then back down, and she wanted to know what she was up against. If a fight was what this tiny blond termagant wanted, then Aria could give it to her.

Oh, Dan, you should have let me stick to my plan and stay home. This tea is going to be awful.

***

She was right! The tea had been an unmitigated disaster. Especially after she’d accidently spilled tea on Caybreena’s new carpet. Aria was sure the spot would come out without much effort, but of course Mrs. Hinnell had to throw a hissy about it. If her husband hadn’t asked her to go to this event, she would never have attended. She cringed thinking about it.

Aria didn’t think things could get much worse until she saw her front lawn.

There was a refrigerator in front of the door to her house and furniture filling their yard. Digging into her pocket, she looked for her phone. It was in the house. Someone had probably called, but she had been in such a rush when she left that she had neglected to bring her cell phone with her.

Tears filled her eyes. How was she going to get the door open, with the refrigerator blocking it? Worse yet, what was she going to say to Dan?

Sitting down on the couch, which was actually pretty comfortable, she gave in to the day’s stresses, exhaustion from unpacking, and all the work she had to catch up on, and cried. She wept until there was nothing left inside of her, and then a thought occurred to her. She hadn’t closed the back door to the patio.

Getting up from her comfortable spot, she walked down the block to the gate that let her onto the path that went around the whole neighborhood and walked down to her house. Sure enough, the door was open. She took off her shoes, tossed them into the yard, and then hiked up her dress and climbed over the fence. She was relieved to be home. Grabbing her shoes, she went inside. There she found a six-pack of beer on the counter from her neighbor Stan and his wife, Julie. Had he climbed over the fence, too? The thought of his being in her house gave her uncomfortable chills, yet more than anything she wanted to crack one of them open and drown out the afternoon’s event.

“Nice.” They were still cold. She opened a drawer, found the bottle opener, popped the top, and drank a sip. It burned her throat a little—she wasn’t a beer drinker, just had an occasional glass of wine or champagne—but today she didn’t care. She took another sip and put it aside to go change into more comfortable clothes.

She knew Dan wouldn’t be able to answer his phone, but after such an awful afternoon, she just wanted to hear his voice. Even the way he asked to leave a message seemed deeply sexy, and she couldn’t wait for him to get home.

“Hey, babe. Just wanted to give you a heads-up, we have a furniture situation in our front yard. Can’t wait to see you tonight!”

She took a deep breath and tried not to let tears overwhelm her. She could get through this. They could get through this.

Her heart leaped as her phone rang. Maybe Dan had found a minute to call her back after all!

But it was Jimmy on the line—and he was crying.

“What’s wrong? Where are you?” she asked.

“I’m…in San Diego. At the h-h-hospital.”

“Jimmy, slow down. What hospital? Are you hurt? You were supposed to fly out a week ago.” Panic clawed through her. She was the adult, though, and always had to be. Making her voice calm and firm, she hoped he would hear her stability and slow down his breathing before he had an asthma attack. When he didn’t, she said, “Come on, Jimmy, draw your air in slowly. Do it with me. That’s right. Now let it out slowly. Good, just breathe with me.” Aria walked him through it for several minutes, getting her teenage brother calm, and then she asked the question that was on the tip of her tongue through the entire phone call. “Jimmy, where is Uncle David?”

Her brother took in a ragged breath. “He’s dead. Uncle David was killed in the crash.” The weeping began again as Aria put the cell phone on speaker and stared at it.

A police officer came on the line. The details came out slowly. Instead of going back to Vermont so Jimmy could catch the first week of school, her uncle and brother had driven up the coast to visit her uncle’s friends. Today they were on their way back to San Diego. On Interstate 5, just past the exit for the Marine base, they’d been in a crash.

Uncle David went through the windshield and was killed instantly. Her brother was completely unharmed but needed to be picked up from the hospital.

She told the officer she would be there in twenty minutes.

She sent Dan a quick text before she allowed herself to give in to the grief. Flashes of her parents’ death ripped her heart apart. But Jimmy needed her. “Get it together, Aria.”

Swallowing the lump in her throat, she pushed her sorrow to the recesses of her brain as she made her way to the hospital. She knew delaying the grief would cost her later on, take a greater toll, but she told herself she needed to do it…for Jimmy. He must have felt so adrift. What would it be like to raise a teenager? She didn’t know. She had been away from home for five years. Regardless, she’d make it work, because family was what mattered.

“All we have is each other.”

As she entered the hospital, the smell of the antiseptic assaulted her nose. She coughed and then cleared her throat. Stopping at the water fountain, she took a quick sip.

Police officers were waiting for her in the small ER lobby area. “I’m Aria McCullum.”

“I’m Officer Kendrik and this is Officer Rosa. Thank you for coming so quickly.”

“Where is my little brother?”

The taller one, Officer Kendrik, said, “We’ll take you to him shortly. Only a couple of things. First I need to see your ID.”

“Yes, of course.” She took her new military ID out of her wallet and presented it to them.

“We’re very sorry for your loss. The doctor should be done checking your brother out by now. Let’s go find him.”

He handed her a business card as they walked toward a double-locked door that said Doctors and Registered Patients Only. “Someone will be in touch…you know, for the arrangements you would like to have made for your uncle.”

Oh, God! Aria’s stomach churned. Simultaneously, she put one hand on her stomach and the other on her head. She wanted to throw up or pass out. Her body was fighting both responses.

“Mrs. McCullum, you look pale. Why don’t you sit down?” The police officer sat next to her. To his partner, he said, “Go get the brother. It’s time for them to go home.” He picked up a magazine and fanned her with it. “Do you want us to call someone for you?”

“No, I’ll be fine. Just give me a minute.” Aria counted slowly in her head, using a yoga technique to get control of her breathing. When she heard the door open, she looked up and saw her brother.

She rushed toward him and pulled him into her arms. Holding him as he cried, she patted his back the way she had when he was younger. She couldn’t imagine what he was thinking or how afraid he must be.

“Aria,” he sobbed.

“It’ll be okay.” She willed her own sense of calm into him, trying to ease him. But everything had changed. Nothing she could do would ever take back the horror of her brother experiencing the accident and witnessing his uncle’s death. All she could do was make the present work. She would, too. Jimmy was her only blood kin on this planet, and she’d move mountains to protect him.

Closing her eyes to block out her own emotion, she said, “I’m here. I will always be here for you. I promise.”