Engage (5 page)

He cleared his throat. “Do you think he’ll actually leave?”

“I hope so.”

“Do you? Really?” he asked. “I’m not blind or deaf, Elsie. I know what’s going on here. I can already tell something’s different about you.”

“I just need some time to absorb things.”

“You’re not going to move in with me, are you?” he asked.

I sighed. I had already known the answer, even before Henry came whirling back into my life. “I don’t think so, no.”

“Are we breaking up?”

My eyes watered at the thought. “Do you want to?”

“No, of course not. I know I haven’t told you this, but I love you,” he said, breaking my heart. I hadn’t known about the depth of his feelings for me. “So no, I don’t want to break up, but we have to because you don’t feel the same way about me.”

“I really wish I did,” I said. “I want to be with you.”

Seth sighed, seeing right through me and my half-hearted attempt at our relationship. “No you don’t. You want to be with Henry.”

He was right, so we broke up.

5  |  ASSIGNED MISSION

Henry rang the doorbell at exactly nine o’clock on Saturday morning, wearing a dark pair of jeans, an orange shirt under a black leather jacket, and a pair of scuffed black boots. “You ready?” he asked, not bothering to come inside.

“Will this work?” I asked holding my arms out to show my jeans, tall boots, and a purple turtleneck sweater.

He grinned as his eyes took me in. “Almost,” he said but didn’t elaborate. He held out his hand. “Come on, let’s get going.”

“I knew it,” I said as he led me to a Harley motorcycle. It was red, black and chrome, and larger than life. Hazardous to my health indeed.

“It’s a Softail Deluxe. I bought it the day I arrived.” On its seat were two helmets and a black leather jacket. He lifted the jacket and walked around behind me. “Try it on.”

I slipped my arms into the buttery soft leather and turned around to face him. “Fits perfectly,” I said. “Your ex-girlfriend’s?”

“In a manner of speaking,” he said. “Yours.” He zipped it up slowly, his knuckles lightly grazing my breasts as they glided up then popped the snaps at the collar.

I didn’t know if it was the jacket or Henry’s proximity, but I suddenly felt warm all over. “I can’t keep this.”

“Yeah you can,” he said, zipping up his own jacket. “Think of it as a belated birthday and Christmas present.”

I played with the jacket’s ruffled bottom, which lent a flirty, feminine touch to what was otherwise an androgynous jacket “Thank you. It’s exactly what I would have bought.”

He flashed me a grin. “I know,” he said then held out a small helmet.

“You know this is going to ruin my hair, right?” I asked, gingerly pulling the helmet over my head. So much for having nice hair today.

“It’ll be worth it,” he said before flipping down my visor. He climbed on the bike and flashed me a grin, all muscle, metal, and pure confidence. He had never looked sexier. I might have gasped inside the privacy of my helmet. “Climb on,” he said and popped his helmet on.

I’d never been on a motorcycle before so I didn’t know how to even approach the metal beast. I came at it slowly, slightly afraid of what it could do to me.

He laughed. “You can use the peg to step over.”

“Okay.” I settled in behind him and wrapped my arms around him, feeling his solid muscle even under all that leather. “We’re going all the way to Dallas in this?”

He nodded. “It’s a nice day; I think we can make it there in two hours tops.” He squeezed my arm. “If you need to stop, just pat me on the chest twice.”

“How the hell am I going to hold on for two whole hours?” I asked. Already my muscles were aching from clutching him.

He turned around to face me. “You don’t have to hold so tight. Once we get going, you can lean back a little and relax,” he said. “Don’t worry. I would never let anything happen to you,” he added and flipped his visor down. A few seconds later, the bike roared to life.

I nodded. We were off.

The ride was smoother than I anticipated. After realizing that we weren’t going to crash every time we leaned into a corner, I finally relaxed and loosened my hold. I was most grateful for the backrest, which stopped me from flying off the back every time he accelerated.

The ride afforded us absolutely no time or means to talk, which came as a bit of a relief. I really didn’t know how to tell him about Seth without making it sound like the breakup was because of him, even if it really was. Henry already had an overabundance of confidence; he didn’t need one more thing to inflate his ego. For now, I was going to play this card close to my chest.

At about an hour in, we took a break in Gainesville, Texas, to use the restroom and stretch our muscles for a few minutes.

“So why did you get out of the military?” I asked as I rolled my neck. “You never did say.”

Henry ran a hand through his hair. “They didn’t kick me out, if that’s what you’re wondering.”

“Then what?”

“Living in Korea made me realize a few things about myself, about my life. I went back and forth a lot, not sure if I really wanted out.”

“What made you finally do it?”

He gaze was steady. “You,” he said and promptly put his helmet on.

“What? What do you mean?” I asked but he pretended not to hear. “You can’t just say something like that—”

The bike rumbled to life, effectively cutting off all conversation.

Thoroughly miffed, I climbed on behind him and smacked him upside the helmet. I couldn’t be sure, but I thought I felt him chuckling as we pulled out of the parking lot.

It was nearly eleven-thirty by the time we exited the interstate and rode into a suburban neighborhood filled with brick houses. We came to a stop in front of a beautiful two-story house with white columns flanking the red door. We climbed off the bike and removed our helmets, and I tried to salvage my hair by twisting it up into a bun.

“What did you mean back there?” I asked as I followed him up the concrete walkway.

He looked over his shoulder with a faux frown. “I don’t know what you mean,” he said and rang the doorbell.

“You know exactly what I mean,” I grumbled. I meant to say more but a tall woman answered the door. She was tanned, her blonde hair pulled off to the side in a messy-chic ponytail and she had the most beautiful blue eyes I had ever seen.

My heart fell at the sight of her, whoever she was.

“Henry?” she asked with an excited smile. He held his hand out but she waved it away and threw her arms around him instead. “I’m so happy to finally meet you.”

Henry pulled away. “I think we’ve actually met before. In Florida?”

Her eyes grew wide. “You’re right. I’m sorry, that was a while ago,” she said. “Anyway, come in. I’m so rude.”

We walked inside and were greeted with a cinnamon apple scent. The house was beautiful, with comfortable furniture and an old country cottage feel. My eyes flew to the collection of bird figurines on the mantle over the fireplace. There must have been several dozen of them in different shapes and materials.

“Oh, I know, it’s kinda corny,” the woman said when she noticed me looking. “Birds are kind of like my emblem.”

I nodded, suddenly deciding that I liked her, whoever she was. She was too sunny to hate, even if she and Henry were involved.

Henry’s hand pressed into the small of my back. “This is Elsie.”

“I’m Julie,” the woman said, giving me a firm handshake. “It’s so nice to finally meet you. Jason told me so much about you.”

My skin tingled and I felt hot and cold at the same time. “Jason?” I breathed. I prayed that Julie was about to tell me that Jason had been alive all along, just living two hours south of me.

I felt Henry’s hand squeeze mine. I looked down at our entwined fingers, not knowing when that had even taken place. “She and Jason were dating when he was killed,” he said.

“You were?” I asked, my eyes flying back to her pretty face. “I didn’t know he was even seeing anyone.”

“We’d been on and off since college,” Julie said. She motioned for us to sit down and she followed suit. “I lived in New York until three years ago when I moved here to Dallas for work. Come to find out, Jason lived only a few hours away. We started seeing each other a few months before he was deployed.” She bowed her head, losing the sunny smile on her face. Her big blue eyes were filling with tears when she suddenly exhaled and stood up. “I’m really sorry for your loss.”

“His death was your loss too,” I said and in that instant, as our eyes locked, I somehow got the feeling that she and I would be friends. I didn’t know how I knew it, only that I felt a kinship with her through our shared loss.

She blinked and shook off the cloak of sadness. “Anyway, would you guys like a drink? Or maybe some apple pie?”

“I’m starving,” Henry said. He stood up and patted his stomach. “Would you like some help?”

“Sure, thanks,” she said and they walked off, leaving me alone in the living room.

I stood up to look at the birds again, my eyes landing on a little glass eagle with its wing outstretched as if about to take flight. It was different from the other birds, which were all cutesy and pretty, and I wondered if maybe Jason had given it to her.

I was reaching out to touch the tip of its glass wing when a little voice said behind me, “Who are you?”

I turned around to find a little boy of about four standing by the coffee table. He had a round face, floppy blond hair, and a familiar smile. “Hi there,” I said. “My name is Elsie.”

He marched straight to me with his hand outstretched. “My name is Will,” he said and shook my hand like a little man.

I stifled my smile. “Nice to meet you, Will. Is Julie your mom?”

He nodded. “But I don’t have a dad,” he said solemnly. “My mom says my dad died in
Apganistand
.”

My heart dropped to my feet and blood rushed to my head. “What… what’s your dad’s name?”

“Jason, like my middle name,” the little boy said proudly. “I’m William Jason Keaton.”

“Will.”

Both of our heads whipped around at the sound of his mother’s voice, and my eyes instantly connected with Henry’s. He glanced at Will then back at me, giving me a little nod and a smile.

“I guess you’ve met Will,” Julie said, setting a tray down at the table. She touched the little boy’s blond hair, the same color as Jason’s. “Will, this is Henry Logan. He was your dad’s very best friend.”

Tears filled my eyes and I turned away to hide my face.

“Nice to meet you, Henry,” I heard Will say.

“I’m very happy to meet you, Will,” Henry said, his voice closer now. He touched my shoulder. “This is your Aunt Elsie.”

I took a few seconds to collect myself before turning back around to face my nephew.

Jason had a son.

“Hi,” I said with a wavery voice. Julie handed me a tissue and I looked up at her with gratitude and newfound respect. “Did Jason know?” I whispered.

Julie nodded and took a tissue for herself, dabbing at the corners of her eyes. “I told him the same day he…” She pursed her lips, unable to continue.

“I received an email when I was at Osan,” Henry said, trying for a little levity. “Julie said she’d been looking for me, that she really wanted me to meet her son. I told her about you, Els.”

“Are you sure?” Even as I asked the question, I already knew the answer. With that easygoing smile and that open face, the little boy was the spitting image of my brother.

“There was nobody else,” Julie said, sitting on the couch and gathering Will into her arms. “Jason and I were even talking about getting married.”

I turned to Henry. “Do my parents know?”

“Not yet,” he said. “I thought that maybe you’d want to tell them.”

I was overcome with emotion as I looked at Henry, wondering how I had managed to be without him for so long. I thought that maybe, like that tape recorder, I had simply put my life on pause while I waited for his return.

I turned back to Julie and the amazing being in her arms. “Can I hug you?” I asked Will. He gave a shy little nod and came over.

I wrapped him in my arms, his little body so small yet overflowing with life. He hugged me back, squeezing my neck like only a child can. When he pulled away, he tugged at one of my wayward curls, just like his dad used to do and my heart burst with bittersweet love.

I tickled his sides and reveled in the utter abandon and joy of his laugh, taking a little bit of it for my own. Jason may have died out there in Afghanistan but a small part of him survived here in Dallas where he lived on in his child.

~

“You doing okay?” Henry asked as he walked me back to my apartment after our ride home.

“I’m more than okay,” I said, reaching for my keys. I shook my head, still reeling from the day’s events. “I’m an aunt.”

“Yeah, you are.”

I beamed up at him. “Thank you for taking me. That was the most amazing surprise.”

“I’m glad you liked it,” he said, sticking his hands in his pockets.

I opened the door, stepped inside, and waited. “Are you coming in?”

He shrugged. “I didn’t know if you wanted me to.”

I got him a beer and myself a bottle of water and we sat at the dining table once again. “So a Volvo and a Harley,” I said. “How very bipolar of you.”

“I bought the Harley the day I got back, and the Volvo, well, I figured I needed something sensible to counterbalance my metal death trap.”

“I like them both.”

“Even the motorcycle?” he asked hopefully.

“Especially the motorcycle,” I said. “It’s kinda sexy.”

He said nothing, just looked at me with mirth in his eyes.

“So tell me, New Henry,” I said, pointing my bottle at him. “What else is different about you?” I took a swig of water, waiting for his answer.

“Well, I’ve started to paint.”

I sputtered water all over the table. “Really? I didn’t know you were artistic.”

He laughed. “As a matter of fact, I used to draw a little back in high school. Then I took an abstract painting class in Korea because I was bored, and I guess I’ve kept up with it.”