Rediscovering Peace (Military Love Book 1) (24 page)

She left the kitchen and returned with a brown envelope. It had Oliver’s handwriting on it. I slowly opened it, I didn’t know what to expect. I unfolded the papers and started reading.

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I
didn’t know what to say. He said he had added me to his will. When? And most importantly, why? I didn’t want the money. I looked in the envelope and found a business card with a note on the back for who I am to contact once I received the letter. It was a military lawyer. I handed my mom the letter and let her read it. Tears were building in her eyes.

“You know, I didn’t like the guy a whole lot especially after he cheated on you, but I do believe that he loved you. What are you going to do?”

“I am going to call the lawyer tomorrow and donate all the money. I don’t want it. I never wanted it. I would much rather Oliver was alive than having the damn money.”

“I completely understand, sweetie. I feel the same way. He didn’t deserve to go like this. I will help you find a worthy cause and then you can decide where to donate it to.”

No matter what had happened in the last couple days, Oliver was right. I was a strong woman. And I would find a way to overcome everything and find my happiness again. With Braden. There was nothing that would stop me.

S
kye

“Baby, wake up. It’s just a dream, he can’t hurt you anymore.” I woke up to Braden’s voice. I was covered in sweat and crying my eyes out. He scooped me up in his arms and carried me to the bathroom to run me a bath.

“It’s okay, sweetheart. I am here. He can’t hurt you, it’s a dream.” He tried to calm me down as we both climbed in the tub. I leaned against his hard stomach and instantly let the comfort of his arms around me take over. This had become our routine since I had the same nightmare almost every night – Dylan/Stephen attacking me in the office but instead of Braden saving me, my attacker is able to rape me. That was the moment I usually woke up. I had talked to Dr. Ferguson about the dreams, and she told me they were part of the post-traumatic stress disorder I was suffering from. PTSD was not foreign to me, over the years with the military I have met a lot of soldiers who suffered from it. But never in my life had I imagined that I would fall victim to it one day. I wanted the dreams to stop so badly. Braden was doing the best to comfort and soothe me, but I saw the strain I was putting on him. He was already dealing with his own demons now he had to deal with mine as well.

“Does it ever get any better, Braden? The dreams? Dr. Ferguson tells me to be patient, but I want them to go away, I can’t stand it.” I asked him. He didn’t answer for a while but when he did I heard the pain in his voice.

“I wish I could say they go away forever, but that’s something I can’t promise to hold. When everything had happened I woke up from the nightmares every night. It was like I was stuck in hell. I refused to see someone for the longest time but when we were on a field trip one time I attacked one of my guys in my sleep. My leadership strongly advised me to go see someone and I finally listened. I couldn’t put my boys at risk. The counseling has helped me tremendously, but as you know, some nights the dreams still come back to haunt me. It has become a lot better since I have you back in my life. However, even before that they had come a lot less than in the very beginning. I think Dr. Ferguson can help you get on the right path and hopefully one day in the future they will vanish forever. For now, we will deal with them one day at a time and I will be here to hold you when you need me. I am not leaving your side.”

“How did I get so lucky? Thank you for your support, Braden. Not only through this but with everything. You never gave up on me.” He kissed the back of my head and we sat in silence both lost in our own thoughts.

The next day after sleeping a few more hours I got ready for my first day back at work. I had taken two weeks of medical leave to rest and heal properly. I was ready to go back. I hated being stuck in the house all day. Of course, I couldn’t sit still for longer than ten minutes and I had looked around for houses for Braden and me. I had found a two story house with four bedrooms on the beach. Braden and I had gone to look at it and decided right then that it was perfect. We could easily raise a family there and it was in our budget. Caige, Faith and I had put our apartment on the market and would be getting a nice sum back for it. I was sad that this era was ending but I was also eager to start a new chapter with the love of my life.

“Good morning, Skye. How are you?” Jake greeted me when I walked into the office. I looked around and had an uneasy feeling about being back at the crime scene. After talking with my therapist, she suggested that it would be best to face the issue head on. I couldn’t let what happened control every aspect of my life. I needed to just get over it.

“I’m okay. It’s not easy being back in this office, but I will live.”

“Look, Skye, I am so sorry about what happened. I should’ve listened to you about Dylan... err... Stephen. If there’s anything I can do to make being back at work easier for you, let me know.”

“It’s not your fault, Jake. You couldn’t have known what kind of person he is. Anyways... I see the launch of the vodka campaign was a success. I hate that I missed it.”

“Yeah it went great. Thanks to you.”

“You mean thanks to the team. Everyone worked hard for this, and I can honestly say that I have never worked with a better team.”

“I agree. Well, Mr. Logan called yesterday and said that he wanted to have us work on future projects as well. I want you to be solely responsible for that account. You have proved to me that you can do it.” He grinned at me.

“Are you for real?” I was in shock. Sure I had been responsible for the last campaign but it was a whole different story being in charge of the whole account. That could mean more than one campaign at a time.

“Yes I am. Of course, you will get compensated properly and get a bonus for each campaign that you work on.”

“Thank you, Jake! This means so much to me,” I squealed and hugged him.

“You’re welcome. You will be completely in charge and you don’t need to come to me anymore to sign off on things. The team reports to you and only you. I am here if you have questions.”

“I don’t even know what to say right now.” I was rendered speechless. This was a huge chance for me to prove myself even more in the business.

“You don’t have to say anything. Follow me, please.” I looked at him suspiciously but followed him down the hall. He led me into one of the vacated offices, with the difference that it was no longer vacated. In the time I had be gone it had been painted in a mint color and a new L-shaped mahogany desk had been added. I turned to Jake and looked at him confused.

“What is this?”

“What does it look like? This will be your new office. You can decorate it however you want it. Just order what you need.”

“An account that I am solely responsible for and now a new office? I think this is the best work day in my life. Thanks.”

Jake laughed at my over-excitement. I had taken over my old office from a former employee so I just left it the way it was. But this I would be able to decorate after my liking.

“Well, I will let you get moved. Don’t worry about anything else today, just get settled in here. The team can catch you up on anything else later.”

He walked out of my office and I looked around. I already had various ideas and couldn’t wait to start implementing them.

The rest of the day I spent browsing the Internet for office furniture and decorations. I most certainly had the best boss ever, though in the back of my head I knew he had done this mostly because of what had happened. I wasn’t going to complain. This was my chance and I would be damned if I’d let it slip through my fingers.

Today was the day we would be meeting with Braden’s dad for the first time since we took him to rehab. I really hoped that he was doing better than when we saw him last. But whatever happened I was going to make sure he knew that we supported him one hundred percent. I just stepped out of the office when Braden pulled up. He jumped out of my Mustang and came around to open the passenger door for me. He was ever the gentleman and I found myself falling more in love with him every day. He completed me.

“How was your day, beautiful?” he asked while he pulled out of the parking lot.

I went to tell him about my new responsibility and he was genuinely happy for me.

“That’s awesome. You deserve it more than anyone.”

We spent the two hour ride talking and holding hands. Every now and then he would look at me and give me his dazzling dimple smile that he reserved only for me. I saw the love in his eyes and knew that I couldn’t have made a better decision than giving us a chance. No man would ever make me feel like Braden did. He treated me like a princess and was incredibly patient with me.

We were greeted by the same receptionist as before and were led into a small conference room. It overlooked the lake the rehab center was located on. The view was beautiful. After a few minutes, the counselor and Braden’s dad walked in. He looked much healthier than he had last time. He was clean shaven, had gained some weight and didn’t have bags under his eyes anymore. I was amazed how much of a difference two weeks had made.

“You look great, Dad,” I said and hugged him. He returned the hug and didn’t let go for a few moments.

“Thank you for coming today. As you can see Michael has already come a long way and I am confident that he will be able to go home after the thirty days are over. Of course, he will still have a long road ahead of him but with your support I am positive that he will make a full recovery,” the counselor explained to us.

The next hour we talked about everything that had happened in the rehab and Michael assured us that he was done with alcohol. He agreed that his wife wouldn’t want him to live his life that way.

“Dad, I think when you come back you should consider selling the house. I know it’s going to be hard, but I think the memories of Mom could drag you back down the path you had been on. I don’t want you to be self-destructive again.” Braden approached the subject of selling the house.

“Son, I have already thought about that myself. Everywhere I look there is a piece of your mom. I don’t want to forget about her but the house is a reminder of her being gone. Joe here and I have already looked into places that I could rent or buy. Once I get back I will look at some places and make my final decision. I am no longer afraid of change. I think it will be good for me.”

I smiled at him. “I am so glad you’re on the right path. Braden and I will always support you. If you feel like picking up a bottle again you just call us and we will be there. We are moving to the beach soon, maybe you should find something there too so we are close to each other. I am sure once we have children they would love to have their Grandpa close.”

“Son, I am telling you. If you ever let this girl go I will kill you with my own hands. You are a lucky son of a bitch.”

Braden laughed at his dad. Soon we said our goodbyes and headed back home. We were both relieved with how well the meeting had gone. Only sixteen days and we would have Michael close to us again.