Contemporary Romance: Passage of Arms - A Military Romance Novel (Romance, Contemporary Romance, Military Romance, Romance Novel Book 1)

              Passage of Arms
Copyright
©
2015 by Nancy Adams.

              All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the author. Reviewers may quote brief passages in reviews.

             
Disclaimer

              No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical or electronic, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, or transmitted by email without permission in writing from the publisher.

              While all attempts have been made to verify the information provided in this publication, neither the author nor the publisher assumes any responsibility for errors, omissions, or contrary interpretations of the subject matter herein.

              This book is for entertainment purposes only. The views expressed are those of the author alone, and should not be taken as expert instruction or commands. The reader is responsible for his or her own actions.

              Adherence to all applicable laws and regulations, including international, federal, state, and local governing professional licensing, business practices, advertising, and all other aspects of doing business in the US, Canada, or any other jurisdiction is the sole responsibility of the purchaser or reader.

              Neither the author nor the publisher assumes any responsibility or liability whatsoever on the behalf of the purchaser or reader of these materials.

              Any perceived slight of any individual or organization is purely unintentional.

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Table of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

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One More Week

“Did you think you could do this a year ago?”

“No,” loose brown curls framed Melissa’s gorgeous powdered face as she spoke. Her lips were a candy-coated deep pink. “A year ago I had no idea how I was going to get through the next month,” Melissa chuckled, and looked around the group of women resting in padded chairs. She met each of their eyes in turn.

“I mean, Ray came home for the birth, but then,” she chortled loudly, “he was gone five days later and it was just me. With twins,” her eyes bulged at the memories. Some of the women chuckled at Melissa’s comical nature.

“By myself, I had to do this,” Melissa nodded assuredly, “I mean, I was going to be both Mommy and Daddy for that first year. I was all alone.” Some of the women in the group nodded their head sympathetically. They all seemed to know or at least understand the sentiment.

“I had a couple of family members pass through and stay for a bit, but,” Melissa’s face fell slightly, “It’s not the same as when Daddy’s home.”

“And how was your homecoming?” Another woman’s thin voice broke through the focused silence.

At that question, Melissa giggled. “Good,” she nodded, and then beamed. “Really good,” the ladies in the room smirked. “But we still have to take it slow. He has to learn like I did, and I have to let him, with the girls, I mean.”

“And with you?” Another woman asked. Melissa chuckled nervously and looked down.

She wasn’t the next one to speak, however. It was the speaker of the group, an older woman named Sandy whose husband was a retired Major General. Sandy ran this division of military mothers of preschoolers, or Mops, as it was known. She had a warm heart for the young officer’s wives and dedicated a lot of time to the chapter.

When she started to speak, Sarah didn’t know what she said. Her own thoughts had drifted and she was no longer concerned for what Melissa had to say.

The room shouldn’t have felt stale, but it did. Somewhere in the distance, an air conditioner hummed and buzzed away, working to keep the building at a reasonable temperature. So far, it worked, but Sarah still felt heat beneath her collar. She was angry and she couldn’t deny it any further.

This was the part of the meeting that was going to get rough. There was always a glowing woman with radiant hair, and a handful more with pinched brows and jealousy brooding just behind their eyes. On this particular day, Sarah was one of the jealous ones. Melissa was one the glowing women.

Last night, her hell had thawed and she met her husband for the first time in over a year. Her daughters had finally been able to hug the man they had only seen on webcam videos. Their family was whole again and it showed all over Melissa’s face.

No one was surprised. They all counted down the days that their spouses would return. Melissa’s husband had returned just over a week ago. Sarah’s turn was just around the corner. In another week, another shipment of soldiers and Marines would be coming back from the battlefield, long overdue and sorely missed.

Then Sarah would glow like Melissa was glowing. Maybe Ruth wouldn’t be so difficult at night once Daddy was home to tuck her in too. Maybe she wouldn’t cry when Sarah had to remind her that Daddy was still off fighting monsters, keeping them out of the closet and from beneath the bed.

Sure, those games always got her little girl to giggle, settle down and relax enough to allow sleep to overtake her, but who helped Sarah relax and settle down? No one. Sometimes, she was just alone with a bottle of wine, blanket, tissues, and her worn Netflix account. When the wine wasn’t enough, she turned to Jack Daniels or Captain Morgan. Those men were friendly enough and they often helped the day to come sooner. Still, the morning brought no relief.

This tour was just hard. There was no way anyone could get around it. All the wives had similar stories. Some days were better than others. It felt normal to be out and about with just your daughter, your wedding ring, and your pride. Other days, it was downright painful. Like Father’s Day. That was tough. Or Valentine’s Day. That was even tougher. Mother’s Day was just another day for Sarah. She spent it cuddling with her daughter, a beautiful three-year-old fireball with the teeth and wispy hair to match.

The base did everything they could to help make the officer’s wives feel more at ease in their husband’s absence, but there was only so much they could do. For everything else, the women just had to adapt, buckle down, and knuckle up.

Sarah didn’t like that. She used to be a different  person. This wasn’t the first deployment her marriage had seen. It wasn’t the first time she and Adam had lived two separate lives. She had just thought that once they became a family, it would become a priority for him as well.

Wait a moment. That sounded like they weren’t priorities to Adam. She knew that wasn’t true. He supported them and was a fine father. Albeit, he could be a great father if he were around.

Sarah bit her lip and turned her eyes from Melissa. She was actually giving some sort of speech. Sarah tried to listen, but she couldn’t get over the excitement in the tone. Melissa was speaking about being there to give them support, although she was so tempted to stay home with her husband.

Whatever. Soon, that would be Sarah gloating and smearing her man’s love for her around on the other women still awaiting their men. Just another week. That’s it. One more week. Seven days. She could do it.

The meeting ending about 15 minutes later. Other wives seemed to be handling Melissa’s excitement better than Sarah. She didn’t bother to stay and attempt chitchat. She wasn’t angry—she had to keep telling herself that. It wasn’t Melissa’s fault her husband had come home first. Sarah was just jealous. She could admit that. She’d be friends with Melissa again once her husband returned. That’s how things worked in their circle of friends, mommies, and wives.

There was always a new enemy and it just happened to be the spouse that received her husband back. In a week, people would be turning their noses up at Sarah, but she’d be too happy and finally complete to notice. Sarah looked forward to that.

She left the seating area and moved through the hallway. Sarah tried to avoid eyes, but occasionally, she’d make eye contact. She did what they all did. Smile brightly, tip the head, and mutter a greeting of the day.

Sarah mumbled something to this passing woman. It seemed to suffice. She stopped outside a room labeled
Moppets
and was greeted by a young woman with wavy brown hair.

“How are you doing today, Ms. Cole?”

Sarah forced a grin. “Ready,” she said firmly with a nod. The young woman nodded, and then turned, motioning to a small girl who had come to nuzzle against her leg.

“Look, it’s your mommy,” the woman stooped and picked up a wispy blond child with rosy cheeks.

“Did you have fun, Ruth?” Sarah asked sweetly. She took the short stock of flesh into her arms and squeezed her gently.

“Gwennie said her daddy is home,” Ruth offered in typical toddler speak. Her words meshed together and pierced the air in a childish squawk. Gwen was the daughter of another glowing woman. The mother’s name eluded her, but two women received their husbands a week ago. Soon, it would be her and that’s all that mattered.

“Oh, Gwennie told you that?” Sarah smothered her daughter’s hair down and kissed her forehead. Ruth nodded matter-of-factly. “What do you want for lunch?” Sarah easily segued into another topic. Her daughter was still so innocent and young that it was easy to do.

“Can we go to a Playplace?” Ruth asked with a wide grin.

Sarah returned the smile. It was just the thing she was hoping her daughter would say. A nice play indoors along with some food was a great idea. Within a few hours, her daughter would pass out for a nap and that would give her time to get her thoughts together. Maybe she’d sort through laundry or start dinner. She wasn’t sure which. She only had one child. She didn’t work either; still, things felt empty and out of place in her life.

She constantly felt lonely and the days it was the worst were the days she actually got to see her husband. It was always just a constant reminder of how far away he really was, and how truly alone she was and would be until he returned home and their family was complete.

His first tour didn’t feel like this. She had a job back then. A life and friends she conversed with regularly. Here, she just had playdates and meetup groups like Mops that she used to tire her child out for the day. Everything else was on autopilot.

After nearly a year, she thought she would have been used to it by now; but she wasn’t. Far from it. Each day was new and its own, ushering in a new set of meltdowns, emotional moments, tantrums, and feelings of despair. She could only focus on one moment at a time; and right now, it was time to focus on lunch.

Chick-Fil-A was a good start. In the car, Sarah buckled her child quickly and gave her another peck on the forehead. In the moment, a wave of emotion passed over her. She was tired of doing this on her own.

“Mommy, what’s wrong?” Ruth pressed her tiny lips together and squinted at her mother.

Forcing a smile, Sarah shrugged her shoulders. “Nothing, love. How do you feel about Chick-Fil-A?” Ruth grinned. She knew her daughter would love it. She checked the straps again and then closed the back door before making her way to the front driver’s seat.

She felt a sudden urge and desire to cry, but she knew she couldn’t. Not yet. She had to wait until her baby was tucked in for tonight. Here and right now, in this moment, she needed to focus on being strong.