The world swam around me. I heard the sound of a helicopter propeller and more shots rang out, followed by more yelling and another explosion, and then finally, quiet. I looked down. My arms were now entirely drenched in Leland's blood. If he lost much more, he wouldn't survive.
The helicopter landed and I heard footsteps running toward us. "Here," I called out. "He needs a medic." Why did I feel so damn cold and tired? Why did the SEAL kneeling down in front of me look like he was moving further and further back, through a long tunnel? I blinked my eyes, my head feeling heavy on my shoulders. The last thing I heard was, "He's shot too–he's going down." Who? Who was going down? The world went dark.
CHAPTER 20
Three months later, October
Grace
I looked down at the diamond on my finger, smiling a small smile, before picking up the brief that I had been working on.
A small knock sounded at my office door. "Come in!" I called.
The door opened, and Alex came in and shut it behind him. "Hey gorgeous fiancé," he said.
"Hey yourself," I said, smiling, but not getting up.
He came around my chair and put his hands on my shoulders and started massaging them as he leaned down and kissed the top of my head.
"Ahhh," I moaned out. "Don't stop, that feels great."
"You almost done here?" he asked.
I frowned. "Probably not. Another hour?"
"I'll wait. We'll grab a late dinner."
"Okay. I'll come get you when I'm done." I looked back over my shoulder, smiling up at him.
He kissed the top of my head one more time and then headed out the door, closing it behind him.
I glanced back down at my ring again. I was still getting used to seeing it there, as it had only been three days since Alex had proposed.
I leaned back in my chair, thinking of the whirlwind the last three months had been–getting settled in a new job, which I loved, and meeting Alex, my sweet Alex. We had only dated for three months, but as I had told Abby and my sisters, when you know, you know. I was twenty-seven years old. I knew what I wanted. And so when Alex dropped down on one knee during dinner at Joël Robuchon, I had immediately said yes. We hadn't set a date yet, but I was thinking a fall wedding. I looked at my ring for another minute and then I got back to work.
**********
Carson
I threw back the last of my beer and sat it down on the bar in front of me. Leland, sitting to my right, his crutches propped up on the bar next to him, gestured to the bartender for two more bottles.
The bartender put a finger up. "Hold on, man," he said on a smile.
Leland nodded and looked over at me. "Last time I heard those words, I was on a helicopter spouting blood," he chuckled.
I laughed a humorless laugh. "Yeah. Can't say I remember much of that flight."
We were silent for a minute before the bartender put our bottles in front of us. I nodded thanks.
"So, Carson," Leland said, "have you decided if you're gonna take the medical discharge?" He looked over at me cautiously, taking a sip of his beer.
I closed my eyes for a minute. "I think I'm gonna stay," I said, thinking that I was grateful the Navy had given me the choice. Turned out, the bullet wound to my chest had just missed my heart. A centimeter to the right, and I'd have died on the spot. The burns to my hands had all but healed, except for some slight scarring in several places on my fingers and palms, but the nerve damage would take a lot longer. It would be at least a year before I could be trusted to fire a weapon properly. It'd suck to sit at the base cleaning weapons while all my buddies came and went, but that was the way it went. I had no other option.
Leland hadn't gotten so lucky. The internal injuries from the bullet wounds had been repaired, but his leg was f**ked up badly enough that he'd been medically discharged, no choice. At least he hadn't lost it though. He'd always walk with a limp, but he'd walk on his own flesh and bone.
Leland nodded, looking like he was deep in thought. Finally, he looked over at me. "Would you make a different choice if you had a job, something meaningful, to go back to?" he asked.
I furrowed my brow. "I'm not worried about finding a job when I get back. Being a SEAL, having that on my résumé, I figure I could do a lot of things. I'll just have to figure out what. You have all that opportunity too, man."
He nodded. "Thing is, I have a built-in job. My father is gonna want me to run the hotel when I get back. I've been thinking a lot though, these last three months man, and I know you have too." He ran his hand through his dark hair. "Shit, about a lot of things–about you saying we needed to do something, Carson. You were the first one to say that." He was silent for another few beats as I nodded, acknowledging that I had said that, and I had meant it.
"If you'll listen to me, I might have a job offer you can't refuse," he said quietly.
I chuckled. "Already have my dream job, Leland. You know that."
He studied me for a second. "Not even for Ara?"
I froze. Now he had my attention. Ara. Sweet Ara. He knew I'd do anything for her. All the guys knew it.
"I'm listening," I said quietly, and he started talking.
The Dove
CHAPTER 21
Two months later, December
Grace
I walked into my boss's office and smiled at him as I took a seat in the chair sitting on the other side of his desk.