Meant to Be (14 page)

The hat had been a godsend, giving him
a reason to stop and talk. He remembered how his heart had skipped
a beat when she’d first raised her gaze. Her eyes, though dark and
mysterious, were touched with a peculiar velvety softness that made
it hard to look away. Everything about her told of intelligence and
resourcefulness and resolve. He couldn’t explain what had induced
him to go find her again, but it turned out to be one of the best
decisions he’d ever made.

Every minute of the twenty-something
hours they’d spent together held memories he didn’t want to forget.
He could still picture her in vivid detail, from the tips of her
painted toenails to her dark eyes with their secretive expression.
And then there was her walk—effortless and graceful, like Zoltar
the fortune-teller had said—as if she knew exactly where she was
going.

But the characteristic that attracted
him the most and he most readily recalled was her laugh. Although
quiet and meditative most of the time, he’d discovered that when
she laughed, she did so loudly, and with a sound that was joyful
and contagious.

Rad shifted his weight to get
comfortable, still thinking about the wide array of memories that
resulted from his short amount of time in Ocean City. It didn’t
seem possible that so much fun and laughter could have been
experienced in a mere one-day span. And it was likewise
inconceivable that he, Michael Radcliff, could have clicked so
easily and effortlessly with a woman he’d just met.

Closing his eyes again, Rad
pictured Lauren sitting on the bench with her feet propped up on
the sea wall. Funny, but she had been the first woman he’d ever met
who hadn’t asked what he did for a living. Depending on the
situation, he usually made up some innocuous occupation, but in
this case there had been no need. Of course, she was also the first
woman he’d ever met who could turn so instinctively to her four
o’clock and could beat him with so little effort at
Target Town
. He assumed
that being the daughter of a Navy veteran explained her familiarity
with military terms and maybe even her quick reaction times. But
there were other things, little things, he’d noticed that weren’t
so easily explained.

Like the way they both had tried to
take the seat in the restaurant that allowed a visual of the
entrance. She had conceded the chair to Rad without a word, but
then casually positioned herself so she had at least a partial view
as well. And when he had questioned her about why she so often
glanced over her shoulder on the Boardwalk, she had just smiled and
said she liked to see what was going on behind her.

Her reaction when he’d walked up on
her while she sat on the beach with her head in her arms was no
less guarded and unexpected. Even with her eyes closed, she had
seemed to sense his approach. Every muscle in her body had tensed,
and one hand had even gone to her hip in a seemingly reflexive move
that suggested familiarity with having a weapon there. He could
almost see her chastise herself for her instinctive reaction and
deliberately try to relax. And when he had spoken to her, she had
appeared more displeased at herself for allowing him to surprise
her than startled at his presence.

But that was part of what attracted
her to him. She was different. Friendly yet cautious. Easy-going
yet alert. She seemed to study everything and everyone as if taking
notes and putting them into a folder for a later date. She’d
remembered the name of every person she’d met at the party and came
across as friendly and amicable. Yet there was always a hint of
wariness and watchfulness in her eyes.

Rad sighed and tried to force his mind
back to the present. His time with Lauren had been magical, but now
he had to focus on the mission at hand. While life went on as usual
for Americans at beach resorts like Ocean City, he and his brothers
were heading to the other side of the planet to help prevent what
had happened to Lauren’s parents from ever happening on American
soil again.

The job he had to do wasn’t easy or
glamorous, but it was a necessary evil in a world of increasing
fanatical ideologies. The thought made Rad wonder what Lauren would
think of his career choice. Would she be appalled if she knew his
typical workday could involve blasting into a quiet house in the
middle of the night in a country whose language and culture were
foreign to him? And would she be shocked to know that he often had
no way of knowing if that house contained a family of four sleeping
on the floor—or fifty armed insurgents opening fire? How do you
even explain a job like that?

And how do you explain to someone that
even if you’re not actively deployed to the other side of the
world, the majority of your days and weeks and months are spent
training in some remote area of the United States?

Most people would probably think being
surrounded by death and constantly in training would make someone
lose touch with the softer side of humanity, but Rad found the
opposite to be true. Living on the edge and constantly making
life-or-death decisions made him and his comrades more acutely
attuned to the fragility and preciousness of life. It also made
them more aware of the important things in life—the things that
mattered.

For a moment Rad’s thoughts drifted to
something he had never thought about before—a normal life. Although
he’d never been in better mental or physical condition, he couldn’t
stay on the tip of the spear forever. In time his reactions would
slow, and he would need to settle down. Seemed simple enough, but
it couldn’t be more complicated.

Protecting people was his calling in
life. It wasn’t something he could just walk away from and forget.
He knew when he signed up for this gig that, in devoting himself to
protecting the American dream for others, he would never be able to
fully enjoy it for himself. That was just part of the
job.

Like the sign displayed at the U.S.
Naval Academy said:

Non sibi sed patrie. Not
for self, but for country.

But now there was Lauren.

“
Well, just be
careful.”

Wynn’s voice interrupted his thoughts.
Rad opened his eyes and lifted his head. “Whadyamean?”

“
When you fall that hard
for someone you’re bound to hit hard at the bottom.”

Rad lay back down. “No matter how hard
I hit, it’ll be worth it.”

“
Well, you got one thing
going for you.”

“
What’s that?” Rad didn’t
bother to open his eyes this time.

“
Heather and Annie liked
her.”

Rad lifted his head again. “They
did?”

“
Yeah. They apparently
talked a good bit.”

“
I hope not too
much.”

“
You know you’re safe with
those two.”

“
Yeah, I know.”

Wynn groaned as he eased himself into
a more comfortable position. “So what does she do for a
living?”

“
Not sure,
actually.”

Wynn turned toward him, as if not
believing he’d heard correctly. “You never asked her?”

“
It never came up.” Rad
opened one eye and focused it on Wynn. “I didn’t exactly tell her
what I do, so I didn’t think it was right to ask what she
does.”

Rad closed his eye and thought about
it. When it came right down to it, he didn’t know that much about
her, and in the short time they’d been together, she hadn’t done
much to clear up the mystery.

“
So she could be someone
famous for all you know.” Wynn sat up on one elbow and talked in an
excited whisper. “You know, like an author or a movie star trying
to hang out with the regular folks for the weekend.”

Rad smiled. “Yeah, I guess
so. If you want to consider
us
regular folks.”

“
Heather said she travels
a lot.”

“
Yeah, I did get that much
out of her. Sorry to ruin your fantasy, but I get the feeling she
works in a bank or maybe an embassy or something overseas. Probably
sits at a desk all day.”

His mind wandered
again.
And wears red heels and short black
skirts.

“
Oh.” Wynn sounded
disappointed. “How’s that gonna work if you’re on opposite sides of
the world all the time?”

“
I haven’t quite figured
that one out yet.” Rad lifted his head and shot him a piercing
glance. “Get some shut-eye, would ya?”

Chapter 12

Wynn laid his head back
down and tried to rest like the others. Rad was right. He needed to
get some shut-eye while he could. It would be a long trip, followed
by more training and lots of nights with little sleep. They would
be overworked and under constant threat—and no doubt loving every
minute of it.

He turned and gazed over at Rad. It
appeared he had finally drifted off. At least the goofy smile had
disappeared. It worried Wynn just a little that his friend had
fallen so hard so fast, especially considering the fact that he was
the most level-headed, and frankly, detached and unemotional,
member of the group. The thought made Wynn grin. On second thought,
that’s how he had fallen for Heather—hard and fast. Maybe it wasn’t
such a bad thing after all.

Wynn felt his eyelids get heavy as he
glanced around the plane. None of the men surrounding him knew what
their mission was going to be, but they all knew it was something
big. They’d been training at a compound for two weeks before the
short break to Ocean City, and now they were heading to Afghanistan
to train some more. And then they would wait for permission to
execute the operation they had already worked so hard to
undertake—a go-ahead that may or may not ever come.

As he listened to the increasingly
loud snoring of those who had drifted off, Wynn wished he could do
the same. It wasn’t the grunts and snorts of those surrounding him
that kept him awake. They were as familiar and comforting to him as
a child hearing his mother sing a lullaby. Rather, it was thoughts
of the brief time he’d gotten to spend with Heather. The goodbyes
seemed to get harder with each deployment, and he wasn’t even
married yet.

Wynn could hardly fathom what it would
be like once she officially became his wife. Although he didn’t let
on to the guys how excited he was, Heather wasn’t the only one
counting down the days. He’d known she was “the one” the first time
he’d set eyes on her at a party. The fact that she was with someone
else at the time and he didn’t even know her name had not deterred
him. With Rad’s help and prodding he’d tracked down her contact
information and worked up the nerve to ask her out. He’d never
really expected her to consent, but she had, and they’d been
together ever since.

Well, together ever since in a
military way. It took a special type of woman to accept the
separation this way of life required. Frequent training phases
followed by long deployments meant she was a single woman much of
the time. But Heather was intelligent, practical, and independent.
Much as she loved being pampered when he was home, she was
perfectly capable of taking care of herself when he was not. Their
time away from each other seemed only to make their connection
stronger. She was his friend, his lover, and his soul mate—and
would soon be officially joining his military family.

Wynn glanced around the plane at the
men sleeping or resting in various and odd positions throughout the
plane. Yep, this was the family she’d be joining, and it would be
hard to ask for a better one.

These were the men to whom he
entrusted his life on a regular basis, and who always had his back.
They were more than teammates. They were brothers. Especially Rad.
The two of them had hooked up early in their military careers and
somehow ended up going through most of their training together. No
one knew Rad as well Wynn—and vice versa. They’d been through the
most grueling and demanding times together, seen each other’s best
and worst sides, and through it all, remained friends.

Wynn lifted his head, and seeing Rad
appeared to have fallen asleep, tried to relax again by closing his
eyes. Rad was one of a kind. Easy-going and laid back as he was
when not on duty, he was a fighting force to be reckoned with when
in the battle zone.

But then again, so were all
the men here. They were the cream of the crop, the type of men who
were willing to lay down their lives for the country they loved.
This group would never ask,
How many will
we be facing?
But rather,
Where are they?

The sound of extra-loud snoring and
snorting reached Wynn’s ears, and his gaze shifted over to Bipp,
whose nighttime wheezing was legendary.

Bipp was their explosives guy. Shorter
and stockier than most of the other men on the team, he was a
consummate professional. No matter how dangerous the situation, he
approached each mission with an icy resolve, his expression, his
composure, his demeanor, always calm and unruffled.

In this aspect, he resembled pretty
much all the men on the team, Wynn thought to himself. No matter
how strongly each one of them felt about what they were doing, they
always appeared completely devoid of emotion. The more things
heated up around these guys, the more they calmed down and
focused.