First Class Hero (First Class Novels) (15 page)

Dear Heather,

They say that absence
makes the heart grow fonder and it’s true. I can’t stop thinking about you. I
know we’ve only known each other for a short time but I know in my heart that I
love you and I know I could make you happy. You won’t ever have to worry about
being beaten again, or having to eat Ramen noodles every night. I want to take
care of you. I love you.

I have to start my
shift now, but I’ll be back.

A small sob escaped as she folded the paper. Paul enveloped
her in his strong arms and she leaned into him and cried. His heart broke for
her but once again all he could do was hold her until the tears stopped.

“He didn’t know,” she whispered once she was able to speak.

Larry had produced a clean white handkerchief from his
pocket and handed it to Nic. She graciously accepted it and wiped her eyes and
her nose.

“I’m sorry,” she apologized.

Larry shook his head, “Not necessary,” he smiled.

Irene stood and stepped past Nic and Paul still huddled on
the floor. “I’ll make some coffee.”

Paul helped Nic up and they followed Larry through to the
small table in the kitchen. Irene produced a tray of small truffles and
assorted cookies and Larry put cream and sugar on the table. Nic took a cup of
fresh-brewed coffee from Irene, followed by Paul and Larry, then the four of
them sat silently while they each ate a cookie and sipped the Columbian roast.

Larry was the first to speak as he reached out and patted
Nic’s hand. “I’m very glad you looked for us.”

Nic managed a small smile. “Me too, Mr. Wilkins,” she said.

“Please call me Larry,” he pleaded.

Nic nodded and smiled. “Or Grandpa?”

Larry’s chin trembled ever so slightly. “Or Grandpa,” he
managed to say.

“How did he die?” Nic asked.

Larry looked at Irene and she nodded.

“It’s been difficult for us to talk about him over the
years,” he began. “He was our only child. And we had hoped so much for him.
When he was sixteen, he had saved his money and had purchased a 1964 Mustang.
The body was in great shape but the engine needed to be totally rebuilt. He’d
helped me work on cars his whole life. He could practically change the oil in
my Buick blindfolded,” Larry chuckled.

“He was a very smart boy,” Irene added. “But he hated
school. Sitting in a classroom all day made him crazy so his grades weren’t
that great and he was adamant that he wasn’t going to waste four more years of
his life in college.”

“He had that Mustang purring like a kitten in about six
months,” Larry continued. “He was so good with his hands. He could fix
anything! The neighbors would bring him broken radios, and mixers, every kind
of small appliance and he could rip them apart and fix it. He was amazing to
watch.”

“He wanted to be a mechanic,” Irene said. “And after the Navy
recruiter visited the high school, he decided that would be a great way to
really learn a skill
and
see the world. I remember him saying he could
have everything he wanted.”

“I have to admit that we weren’t really thrilled about the
idea,” Larry confessed.

“My parents weren’t either,” Paul chuckled.

“You’re in the Navy?” Larry asked.

“I just retired.”

“You aren’t old enough to retire,” Irene chuckled.

“I was a Seal for eleven years.”

“Oh,” Larry gasped. “Well I can see why you’re parents
weren’t over the moon about that choice. But we gave in, not that Greg needed
our permission. He turned eighteen and enlisted. He went off to boot camp for
twelve weeks and when we saw him at graduation he was no longer a boy. He was a
man and we were extremely proud of him. And then twenty months later there was
a knock at the front door and our lives changed forever. Paul, help me out
here. The officer who came to see us?”

“CACO?” Paul replied. “The Casualty Assistance Calls
Officer?”

“Yes, yes. I knew there was some long name I couldn’t
remember. Well he came with another man. He was from the USS Bivans, and he
came and said he regretted to inform us that our son had died while at sea
during a training exercise.”

Larry paused, obviously reliving the saddest day of his
life. Irene reached for his hand and they gripped other tightly.

“There was a fire,” Irene said after realizing her husband
couldn’t continue.  “There was a major fuel oil leak in one of the main engine
rooms and it caught fire. Apparently one of Greg’s jobs as a Damage Controlman
was to assist in putting out the fire.”

Paul could see that now Irene was struggling to continue.
“He saved two lives that day.”

Nic swung her head to look at Paul.

“You know?” she whispered.

Paul nodded and took her hand in his and laced his fingers
with hers.

“You’ve seen his file?” Larry asked.

“I have, yes,” Paul nodded. “One of the men he saved was
badly burned and DCFN Wilkins managed to drag him to safety and request
additional support. The other man he rescued had been overcome by the smoke.
And after they were both out of harm’s way, he went back in to do his job. But
there was an explosion and…and he didn’t make it out.”

“So my dad was a hero?”

“Yes,” Paul nodded and smiled at the woman he loved. “Your
dad was a hero.”

*****

On the drive back to Manhattan, Nic held Paul’s hand and
stared off out the window. Paul knew she had a lot to process and left her to
her thoughts.

Larry and Irene Wilkins had asked Nic to come back the
following weekend. She had eagerly accepted the invitation. Paul had offered to
drive her to which she happily agreed.

“Come with me to the Lathem family barbecue tomorrow,” Paul
asked as they drove down the Henry Hudson Parkway.

“I thought we were going on a date tomorrow,” she grinned.

“I want you to meet my family…and I want them to meet you.”

Nic looked into his eyes. “Thank you for taking me today. I
couldn’t have done it alone.”

“Yes you could,” Paul told her. “You are incredibly strong,
Nic. I am in awe of you and what you did today. So meet my family,” he grinned.
“And I’ll be right beside you for that too.”

Maureen greeted Nic with a bear hug as soon as she saw her
enter with Paul. “I’m thrilled you’re here!” she gushed.

Nic offered her some flowers she had bought on her way to
the Lathem home.

“You shouldn’t have,” smiled Maureen, “but I’m glad you did.
I just love dahlias. Thank you!”

“You’re welcome and thank you for inviting me,” Nic replied.

“Come in and make yourself at home. Paul, start the introductions
and I’ll get Nicole some lemonade.”

Paul guided Nic through to where all the noise was coming
from. They were downstairs in the Lathem house where everyone had congregated.
It was chaos. Nic met Matt and Janie first. They were Ella’s parents. Their
son, Christopher, was upstairs sleeping. Mark and Katy were next and Nic was
immediately intimidated by Katy. She was gorgeous, but absolutely delightful to
talk to. She was introduced to Andrew and Rory and Isabelle, and then David and
Ben. She’d already met Tim and he gave her a kiss on the cheek as he walked
through with a glass of lemonade for their guest.

“Mom says I am to give you this and make sure you are
comfortable,” he grinned.

“Thank you,” Nic smiled. “I’m fine.”

As she and Paul sat on the sofa, after pushing Ben onto the
floor, Ella ran to Nic and climbed onto her lap.

“This is your new friend, Ella?” Janie asked.

Ella nodded and played with Nic’s hair.

“She has told us all about you,” Matt chuckled. “And she has
read your book to me a hundred times in the last week.”

“She’s read it to you?” Nic was surprised.

“Oh yeah, and the story is different every time,” he
laughed.

After a couple of hours with the Lathem’s, Nic was in love
with them all. She sat on the bar stool and watched the interaction of the
brothers and wondered how different her childhood would have been if she’d had
a brother or a sister. Like her father, she’d been an only child. She wondered
if her dad had been a lonely child. After meeting his parents, her
grandparents, she doubted it. They would have been wonderful parents.

Then Maureen came out of the kitchen holding a huge cake
with candles alit all over the top. The family began singing Happy Birthday to Nic.

They all clapped and cheered at the end of the song and Nic was
utterly speechless.

“I know today isn’t your birthday, but you didn’t tell me
when it was and then to hear yesterday that I’d only missed it by a few days, I
was gutted. So happy belated birthday!” He leaned over and kissed her cheek.

“Blow out the candles,” Maureen said as she lowered the
cake.

Nic blew and blew again. And then she laughed. “Thank you!
This is a surprise. A lovely surprise. Thank you so much!”

Maureen hurried back into the kitchen and Katy followed.
Then Katy began delivering plates of the delicious chocolate cake to everyone.
Nic couldn’t believe Paul had been so thoughtful. Her heart melted a little
more.

Birthdays had never been any kind of special event for Nic.
Her mother had sometimes gotten her a present, most of the time though she got
handed a five-dollar bill. In her teens it was usually a ten. She could count
on one hand the number of times she’d had a birthday cake with candles. Yet
here she sat with Paul and his family who didn’t know her at all and they sang
to her and wished her a happy birthday. This may have been the best birthday
she’d ever had.

Tim was the first to leave. His shift at Fire House Ladder 5
started in thirty minutes so he said goodbye and left.

“It’s always much quieter after Tim leaves,” Andrew joked.

“That’s because he’s the baby and always had to scream to be
heard over the rest of you lot,” Peter chuckled. “He’s always had a good set of
lungs on him.”

One by one the brothers and their families left, leaving
Paul to suggest he take Nic home. They said their goodbyes and began walking
‘til Paul could hail a cab.

“Your family is everything I longed for as a child,” she
admitted with a longing in her voice she didn’t try to hide.

“I was very fortunate to have a very happy childhood.”

“I used to wonder at night if I could try to be just a
little bit better then maybe my mom would love me and I would get a brother or
sister. But no matter how good I was it didn’t happen.”

Paul put his arm around her waist and pulled her close. “It
must have sucked.”

“Yeah, it did. But I guess in some ways it helped because I
was always trying to be so good that I never got into any trouble. My classmates
were partying and having sex and I was doing homework or practicing my flute. I
made it through high school with no arrests or pregnancies,
and
straight
A’s.”

Paul managed to flag down a cab and they slid into the back
seat. As the taxi began moving, Paul pulled a small velvet box from his pocket.

“Happy Birthday,” he grinned.

Nic was speechless. She stared at the pale pink box Paul
offered her and slowly took it from his hand. She caressed the velvet and tried
to blink back the tears. She carefully lifted the lid and saw the beautiful
pendant inside. It was a gold star on a gold chain.

“Oh, Paul!” she whispered. “It’s lovely.”

“I saw it and knew it belonged around your neck,” he said.

“A gold star for the teacher?”

Paul nodded. “But also because when you smile, there are
little gold flecks in your eyes that sparkle just like the stars.”

“Oh Paul,” she smiled.

“Yep,” he grinned, “Just like that!”

“Thank you. Thank you.”

The taxi pulled up in front of Nic’s building and Paul paid
the driver and they headed inside. As they stood in the elevator, Paul laced
his fingers with hers. They walked to her apartment door and he let her hand go
so she could pull her keys from her pocket. He took them from her and unlocked
the door and followed her in.

“Do you want a bottle of water?” Nic asked.

“Sure. I’ll open some windows.”

Nic stood in the kitchen, her heart beating wildly in her
chest. The past few days had been an overload of emotion and now Paul was here
and her mind had finally caught up to her heart. She loved him. She was in love
with him. It had been sneaking up on her over the past several weeks and now
she was in-your-face, can’t deny, trumpets blaring in love with him.

Her face felt flushed so she ran the faucet in the sink and
patted her cheeks with the cool water.

“You okay?”

The voice behind her made her jump. “Yeah, fine,” she
mumbled and turned around.

He was right there – right in front of her – so close their
bodies were almost touching. Paul ran his finger gently down her cheek. Then he
leaned in and kissed her.

Nic grabbed onto the counter behind her to keep her balance.
The kiss was sweet and soft and wet and inviting. He pulled away and her lips
clung to his. She felt him smile.

“Nic,” he whispered. And he kissed her again.

Her hands left the counter and snaked around his neck, her
body now pressing against his. His hands moved from her hips to her back and he
kneaded her flesh. A moan escaped her mouth and she instantly withdrew,
embarrassment filling her to the core. She dropped her hands and dropped her
head.

“What is it?” he asked.

Nic shook her head, unable to look at him. Paul pushed her
chin up with his finger and searched her eyes.

“I don’t have a girl in every port. I’m not interested in a
fling. I’m not a creep.”

“I know,” she whispered.

“I want one girl. I want to get married and have a family. I
want you.”

Nic gulped, her heart in her throat. She blinked back tears
as he smiled at her.