Casualties of Love (19 page)

******

              Marcus sat in his bed reading over the letter he’d gotten for the third time. It was from Terri Lassiter, his friend’s wife...widow. He’d written to her after he’d been unable to get her on the phone or computer. She wrote to apologize for not answering calls and emails, stating that it had been too hard for her to connect with anyone in the days shortly after she’d gotten word of Lassiter’s death. She told him that she appreciated the messages though, admitting that it had helped to hear the voice of a friend, of someone who’d been so close to her husband.

              Marcus had apologized to her in his letter. He’d apologized for failing her, for not making sure her husband made it home. It had been his longstanding promise to Terri. Whenever they left on a mission or were about to be deployed, he’d stop by Kellan’s and Terri’s home to see Jacob and eat a good meal. She’d pull him aside, and tell him to take care of himself and to watch her husband’s back. He’d promise to make sure Lassiter made it back safely. She’d promise to pray for him just like she prayed for Kellan. She’d hug him, and Marcus would leave knowing there were people who cared if he survived the war. He looked down at the note Terri had sent, at the part he’d already re-read.

Don’t blame yourself, Marcus. I can’t believe you even wrote the words on paper. I’d smack you if you were anywhere near close enough to hit. Kellan loved you like a brother. He’d be mad as hell to know you were wishing it was you instead of him. This isn’t your fault and you didn’t break your promise to me and Jacob. I know you, and I know you did everything you could to watch out for Kellan over there. Come home safe.

She’d gone on to write that she and Jacob expected to see him when he got back. Terri had said that she was glad that he was ok, glad that he was coming home. Marcus didn’t understand how she could be. How, when he was the one with the least to lose and he’d make it back but her husband wouldn’t? It would have been better if it had been him instead of Kellan. Marcus had no wife, no kids, no parents or siblings to speak of. He didn’t even have a dog. It was just him and a house, a house he didn’t know why he’d bought when there was nobody to live in it with him.

              Rubbing a hand down his face, Marcus put the letter aside. Terri’s letter should make him feel better about going home in a few weeks, but somehow it just made him feel guilty. Then, he felt guilty for those feelings because he knew Terri in no way intended to make him feel responsible for her loss. She didn’t deserve the burden of his guilt. She deserved to have her husband. Since Marcus couldn’t make that happen, he vowed to do everything he could to make sure she and Jacob had everything they needed to get through the loss and to live as good a life as they could without Kellan.

Chapter 16

              Tyson was on a flight home that would land in minutes. Jessica was at the airport to meet him, to surprise him, when he got through security. She was excited, overjoyed that he was arriving safely, and on the verge of vomiting because she was so nervous. It had been seven weeks since she’d last seen him in person. Seven weeks since she’d touched him or held him. They had kept in touch through Internet calls as often as they could. Sometimes talking through Skype made her miss him more than she did when she couldn’t see him or hear his voice at all. But when he would tell her he loved her and that he couldn’t wait to be with her again, she’d be loathe to close the connection knowing she’d have to wait impatiently until she could see his face on her computer screen again. 

              Jessica got up to pace. She’d been waiting at the airport for about an hour. She hadn’t wanted to be late, but the waiting made her antsy. So, she walked the corridors leading to the terminal gates just outside of the security checkpoint. She took in the sight of the moms and dads, the children, the siblings, grandparents and friends that were gathered around to greet loved ones. There were wives and girlfriends, husbands and boyfriends, there to do the same. Some had signs; others had flowers or balloons or gifts. All were excited and joyous, knowing their family members were making it back safely one more time.

When Tyson had told Jessica that his parents weren’t going to be able to meet him and Marcus when they arrived, she’d formed the idea of surprising him. She knew that Tyson’s parents would show up if they could. She also knew that Marcus didn’t have anyone to meet him. She wanted them both to have a smiling face waiting like so many of the other returning Soldiers; so here she was, smile in place just waiting for them to make their way out.

******

              Tyson was tired - dog-ass tired. He and Marcus had been flying for what seemed like weeks. He wanted a shower, a hot meal, and a bed. Preferably one he didn’t have to get out of for days. Of course that wasn’t going to happen. He had a little downtime and then he had to go through what he and his team had coined their detox. They basically had to complete debriefs and the scheduled processes for what the military called reintegration. It was to help them transition back to their “normal” lives. Normal.
Yeah right
, he thought. Their normal had been so altered by what they saw and did on a daily basis during their tours that it wasn’t even funny. Tyson just wanted to get home.

              Marcus was dragging ass next to him, barely bothering to respond to anyone’s attempts at interaction. As usual, Marcus approached total social dysfunction as they passed the awaiting friends and loved ones that lined the corridor of the airport terminal. There were nearly thirty soldiers on their flight alone that were making it back today. So there were a lot of people waiting to greet them as they were exiting the security checkpoint. Marcus, having no family, became withdrawn under the best of conditions, which included times when Tyson’s family or Lassiter’s showed up to welcome them home. As Tyson had already informed Marcus that the Kidds were not making an appearance today to celebrate their return, Marcus had gone near silent and sullen. Tyson wasn’t far off from the same state given his degree of fatigue, so the two of them were of the same mind. Eyes forward, walk straight to baggage claim, and move the hell on quickly. But just as they were about to hit the escalator for the baggage area, Marcus let out a low wolf whistle. Tyson took in his grin and then followed Marcus’ line-of-sight. What he saw stopped Tyson in his tracks.

              Jessica was no more than ten yards from him. Her eyes were raking over him systematically. She seemed to be taking stock of his wellbeing.  When she was satisfied with what she’d gleaned, she smiled at him. She looked amazing. Her hair was loose and flowing. Her normal curls were straightened so that the silky strands fell gracefully over and past her shoulders. Her lips were glossy and her cheeks were tinted with the barest color. Long, dark lashes framed her luminous brown eyes. She wore jeans that fit like a second skin, a fitted graphic tee and a lightweight blazer. Tyson noted that she looked taller and wondered about it until his slow perusal of her fantastic form ended at the high, and very sexy heels that made her legs look a mile long. 

She’s beautiful.

             
“That she is, brother,” Marcus said, clueing Tyson in on the fact that he’d actually said the words out loud.

              They stood still, looking at each other. It was much like when he’d awakened to find her in the infirmary in Afghanistan. He couldn’t believe she was there. He couldn’t look away. She had come to meet him, to welcome him home. Tyson couldn’t stop the wide grin that spread across his face. Her smile brightened and his chest went tight. He took a step toward her and she mimicked his action.

              “Ah, shit!”

              Tyson heard Marcus speak just before he felt someone slam into him. His arms went up to grab the body that was flung at him so that they wouldn’t fall over in the middle of the crowd. He took his eyes off of Jessica and looked down to find Bethany plastered to the front of his uniform. Her arms had been flung around his neck and she was hanging from his body with her head pushed into the curve of his shoulder.  Before he could speak, she shifted, kissed him, and started gushing about how glad she was to have him back home.

Tyson quickly looked over at Jessica. She wrapped her arms around her middle and went completely still. Her smile had disappeared. Her eyes were pinned to the woman in his arms. Still in a bit of shock over Bethany’s sudden appearance and assault on his person, Tyson hadn’t yet let Bethany go. He knew he should hasten to do so, but one look at Jessica’s pained expression and his limbs stopped functioning. She wasn’t that far away, so Tyson could see the muscles along her jaw flexing. He could see the increased rate in the rise and fall of Jessica’s chest. He could see the hurt in her eyes.

He shook his head at her, never taking his eyes off of hers. He willed her to not leave, to not believe what she was seeing, to give him a chance to explain. But, she was already backing away.

“Marcus,” he called out. Begging his friend to intercede with that one word.

“I’m gonna kick your ass,” Marcus said under his breath, but he went after Jessica.

******

              Jessica felt strong arms grab her from behind. She immediately went tense. She had gotten maybe twenty feet away from the view of Tyson Kidd with that cute little brunette wrapped around his traitorous self. She had thought she might throw up. The pain had been just that swift, hitting her in the gut. Jessica had literally grabbed her stomach it had hurt so badly. She couldn’t believe he had the nerve to come after her and stop her exit. An uncontrollable growl began to emanate from deep within her. Jessica tried, but was powerless to silence it. She was about to scream her fucking head off in the middle of the goddamn international airport.

              “Shh. It’s me, sweetheart.”

              Marcus. He was the one holding her. The fight went out of her and Jessica began to tremble. Marcus turned them so that she wasn’t facing Tyson and his...Wife? Girlfriend? Hell, she had no idea what the woman was to him, had been too stupid to ask.
Oh my God!
Jessica started up a steady mantra that she assumed was in her head, but when Marcus shushed her again and pulled her into an embrace, she suspected she might have been repeating it aloud.

              “Are they married?” Jessica heard her voice travel up from beneath her face, which was buried in his chest.

              “No. Things aren’t as they appear, Jess. You should let him explain.”

              “She’s his girlfriend, then?” she asked, ignoring his statement.

              “Jessica...” he started.

              “Answer me,” she demanded. Even she hear the crack in her voice.

              “She has been, but you should talk to Tyson.”

              “No. I’m going home.” Jessica pulled out of Marcus’ embrace. “Thank you...for that. I’m glad you’re home.” She quickly put a palm to his face. “I missed you guys, so I thought I’d surprise you. Stupid. But I’m glad I got to be here when you got home, Marcus.” She kissed his cheek. Then, for the second time, she turned to walk out.

******

              Marcus looked over at the very sullen Jessica Watts. It had been one hell of a chore convincing her to stay over, to not drive off in the middle of the night when she was hurt and angry. He hadn’t realized how stubborn she was. She had finally relented and they were now sitting in his living room. She’d driven him home in the car she had rented. All he’d had with him from the plane was his duffle. He’d left his other bag because she refused to go to baggage claim. If Tyson didn’t get his stuff for him, Marcus was going to be pissed.

              Speaking of Tyson, Marcus’ phone was ringing yet again. They guy was blowing his mobile up.

              “If you answer that phone, I’m out of here. Do you hear me?”

              “Yeah, yeah. I hear you,” he said. “Just like the first five times you said it,” he muttered under his breath.

              “I heard that. I can just leave, you know,” she said. She’d folded her arms over chest.

              “No you can’t. It’s too late, and I’m not letting you drive off, so stop threatening me with it.”

She harrumphed and Marcus seriously had to fight the urge to roll his eyes. He checked the screen on his phone and found that it wasn’t Tyson. He wasn’t expecting the call or the caller.

“Don’t you answer that!”

“It’s not even him,” Marcus grumbled.

“Fine,” she groused. “You should get it then.”

He answered the call. The conversation took him completely by surprise and warmed his heart all the same.  He could feel himself smiling, but was hard pressed to control it. After a few minutes he ended the call with a promise to return it at a more convenient time. Days like today typically put his mood in the crapper. Walking off the plane and through the airport watching so many happy reunions and welcome home exchanges only served to remind him of his aloneness. It was particularly bad when Tyson’s family or Lassiter’s couldn’t be there. Couple that with Tyson’s ass backwards handling of his female situation, and the result was a piss-poor return home. But, that call had just improved his mood considerably.                            

“If you’re not into talking, we might as well drink,” he teased Jessica, trying to lighten her mood, too. “You game?”

              “Sure. Why not?”

              “No reason I can think of. What do you want? Of course I had no time to stock up before your, um, visit, but I should have something around here.” He looked through the bottles in the cabinets below his bar.

              “Whatever you’ve got is fine. And I didn’t say I wouldn’t talk to you. I don’t want to talk about Tyson. Feel free to chat away about anything else,” she said with a smirk. “Or anyone else, as the case may be. Like...who that was on the phone who so easily cheered your sour mood?”