My Kenna: A Military Romance

Dedication

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About The Author

To everyone who needs a happy ending.
 

There is something ominous about dreams. Dreams not only tell the stories of the subconscious, but they can predict stories not yet told. So when Kenna dreamed of her ex-boyfriend for the first time in six months, she didn’t take it lightly.
 

Kenna woke up, took a shower, and called in sick for work. She checked her email to make sure she didn’t have any unread messages and then she made sure all her doors were locked.
 

Caleb Grayson was not a man to be taken lightly.
 

Six months ago Kenna Murphy had finally gathered up the courage to leave him. He was a controlling, vindictive, bastard who used emotional manipulation like China used chopsticks. She’d spent two years with him and in those two years he’d cheated on her more times than she could count, he’d convinced her she was crazy, and he’d made her cut all ties with her family.

When Kenna finally got the courage to leave Caleb, Caleb had beat her. He beat her so hard that she suffered a broken rib and had to go the hospital for a concussion. Kenna filed charges against him, but the only thing that stuck was the restraining order.
 

For the next two months Caleb sent her a barrage of messages, ranging from sweet “I love you’s” and “please take me backs” to hateful, spiteful things that Kenna couldn’t dream up if she tried. Kenna eventually changed her number. She never saw her family except for updates on Facebook. She blocked Caleb on every social media outlet she could, however even that failed.

One time, Caleb sent a link pretending to be her landlord asking for money. The link was spyware that infected her computer and he was able to track her from her computer; gather information about her whereabouts and who she was seeing.
 

The only way Kenna was able to get rid of Caleb that time was to do a factory reset of her computer and lose everything. It was then, when Kenna realized how far Caleb was willing to go to gain control of her, that she realized what she had to do.
 

 
Kenna said goodbye to her family and friends and moved away to a small mountain town. She told no one, unwilling to risk their lives. She deleted all of her social media accounts, save one email that she made for job purposes, and periodically checked that email to make sure Caleb didn’t find her.

She was officially off the grid.
 

It had been four months without Caleb. Four months of freedom within a prison. Four months until the dream that put Kenna back on edge.
 

Kenna dreamed she was back together with Caleb. Caleb was cheating on her and Kenna was asking him why he did that to her. Caleb told her it was her fault, that she didn’t dress sexy enough and if she just tried harder he wouldn’t have to look elsewhere.
 

That kind of logic still fucked with Kenna.
 

Even though Kenna had already checked her email, she checked it again. Call it a feeling, but Kenna had to be sure that Caleb hadn’t found her. When she clicked refresh, her inbox had received twenty-two new emails. Her stomach sank.

Only one person was that manic—that insane, to send her twenty-two emails in the span of ten minutes. Caleb Grayson had found her.

Selected emails to Kenna Murphy from Caleb Grayson.
 

I LOVE YOU.

Tomorrow at 1 p.m.
 
we’re going to make love and it will be wonderful, Kenna. I’ve missed you so much you have no idea how long I’ve waited to see you again.
 

Who the fuck do you think you are keeping me waiting? Running away fro me? I’m going to punishyousohard you went svn knowahti you.

I’m so, so sorry Kenna. You just don’t know what you do to me. Why did you run away? We’re meant to be together, Kenna. You’re my soulmate, Kenna.
 

Kenna, I’ve talked to your parents and they say they don’t know where you are but I think they’re lying. I’ve also talked to your bitch sister. I KNOW she’s lying.

I will hurt your family unless you tell me where you are.

I’m sorry my Kenna I won’t hurt your family. I love you and I love your parents because they made you. Just tell me where you are so we can be together.

I bought you a ring and on the inside I had inscribed
always Caleb’s.
 

I got your goddamn name tattooed on my arm and you won’t even ducking tel me where u r.
 

JUST FUCKING TELL ME WHERE YOU ARE.

WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU KENNA. I’LL FIND YOU EVENTUALLY AND IF YOU TELL ME ILL GO EASIER ON YOU.
 

YOU CANT HIDE FROM ME FOREVER KENNA IM YOURFUCKIGN SOULMATE KENNA

Butch Ward didn’t mind small towns. He grew up in one: a small town by the name of Bonne Terre that most people had never heard of. Bonne Terre was a small town in Louisiana with less than 300 people calling it home.
 

The best and most appealing way Butch could think of to get out of Bonne Terre was to join the military. There was a certain romanticism to the military that appealed to Butch. He’d always defended the weak. When the popular kids picked on the less popular, Butch stood up for them. Butch didn’t fancy himself a hero, he only saw himself as someone who wouldn’t sit idly by as the powerful beat up the weak.
 

Butch was always a great student, but being a great student at Bonne Terre High was like being a great chef at McDonalds. So Butch wasn’t immediately accepted in to a good school and off to a great career in the military. He was going to have to work for that, he knew.
 

Butch joined the marines with sights on being special forces. He had to pay his dues first, though. Which meant being stationed in a small, mountain town.

He left basic training with two new friends, Alec and Jose, and together they boarded a plane to a quiet town in Colorado where they would wait at base for further instructions. They weren’t reserve, but that didn’t mean they got to see action immediately either.
 

Apparently this base needed some TLC and Butch, Alec, and Jose were the ones to give it. When Butch, Alec, and Jose stepped off the plane snow was falling. It was the first time Butch had ever seen snow. He paused, letting the snowflakes fall on his skin.
 

He might not be special forces yet, but the military was already doing what Butch had hoped. He was experiencing new things and Butch had a feeling it was just the beginning.
 

Kenna only read the emails once before deleting and blocking the address. There was no use in torturing herself. So he’d found her email? That didn’t mean he’d actually found
her
. She’d stationed herself in the most remote and small town she could find.
 

Still, Kenna was uneasy. When Kenna was uneasy she gave herself two options: stay uneasy or get out and do something about it. Kenna went with the latter. She was sick and tired of Caleb trying to control her life, even from miles away.

Putting on a black dress, tights, and cute snow boots, Kenna went out to a local bar. She didn’t plan on getting drunk or even meeting anyone, she just wanted to be surrounded by people. Since moving out on her own, she’d not met anyone. She hadn’t really tried, though. Kenna was too afraid to make friends; she was worried that she’d have to pick up and leave again.

The last time Kenna had to leave her friends and family behind it nearly killed her, she couldn’t imagine doing that again, so she didn’t make friends. The way Kenna assuaged the loneliness was by surrounding herself with strangers. Even people on the periphery helped.

Kenna sat at a barstool close to the fire, letting the warmth of the flames engulf her. Outside it was negative two degrees. Icy, snowy, and the sky was white because the moon reflected against the snow. It was beautiful, yet harsh and bitter. Kenna was grateful for the warmth of the fire.

The tavern was always packed, as it was one of the only two in town and the other one periodically closed for no reason. Kenna ordered a beer and let the sounds of other people’s conversations soothe her. The nice thing about small towns, Kenna was learning, is that everyone acts like one big family.

People had tried to get to know Kenna more than once, but Kenna had spurned them. She just couldn’t bear losing another family. So now they only mildly regarded her. They smiled at her and treated her friendly enough. Kenna knew most of their names, though. She knew the bartender was Solomon Riff and that he owned the place. She knew that he lived upstairs with his wife and two kids, who were both under five.

Kenna knew that the couple fighting next to her fought at least once a week, about the same thing: The girl’s cheating. Kenna knew that they would makeup and the girl would cheat again, with the guy across the tavern who was currently watching the couple fight.

Kenna knew these people, even if she tried not to.
 

“Hello there. Can I buy you a drink?”
 

Kenna turned to the voice and was surprised by an unfamiliar face. It was a man, probably early-twenties, so just a little older than her. He had skull-shaved dark hair and hazel eyes. Kind eyes, Kenna thought. He wore a half smile on his face that softened his features but the rest of him was hard. Hard muscle and hard jaw.
 

Kenna gestured to her beer. “I already have one.” The man was gorgeous, but Kenna didn’t get to know people. She didn’t date, for obvious reasons.

“Well, then,” The man said with a slight southern accent. “Could I get your name?”

Kenna eyed him. Giving him her name couldn’t hurt, right? “My name is Kenna.”
 

“Nice to meet you Kenna,” The man said, smiling. He gave her his hand to shake. “I’m Butch Ward.”
 

“Nice to meet you Butch.” Kenna smiled and went back to her beer. Maybe in another life her and Butch could have been something.