Soldier On (29 page)

“I left the muffins on the counter. I figure if the scent is enough to make you hurl, it’s best to keep them out of sight.”

She nods and takes the seat beside me. I watch as she carefully sips her juice.

“I have so much to do,” she says.

“You do, but I think you should just take one thing at a time. You have nine months to figure it all out. Right now, your first priority—”

“I have to figure out a way to tell Xavier.”

“Yep.”

Suddenly, her face brightens. “I can use food!”

“Food?”

“Remember when Becky told Uncle Jesse she was pregnant? She made baby shrimp, baby corn . . .”

I grin. Leave it to my crazy best friend to pull a
Full House
reference out of thin air.

“Xavier loves your
baby
back ribs.”

“I know, right?” She excitedly jumps out of her chair and heads to her pantry. “I didn’t really plan on grocery shopping today, but—”

“Plans change, Tessa.”

She turns toward me with a hopeful expression on her face.

“They do, don’t they?”

I walk over and hug her tight.

“They really do.”

After a whirlwind trip to the grocery store, I drop Tessa back at her apartment. I left her with her grandmother’s recipe book in hand and a massive grin on her face as she began to prepare her baby-themed dinner for Xavier.

I pray Xavier takes the news well. I’d hate to have to kick his ass.

It’s a pretty day, and I am a ball of nervous energy for my best friend, so I decide to take a walk around campus. The wind has picked up, so I grab Brandon’s hat out of my backseat and use my rearview mirror to make sure it looks right.

I smile at my reflection.

I really love his hat.

Despite the breeze, the sun is nice and warm as I begin my walk. Peyton College is beautiful in the springtime. Students hang out on the quad, kicking around soccer balls and listening to music. Excitement is in the air, filled with the promise of sunshine and, for many of us, graduation. I’ve spent four years at Peyton College. There are many buildings I’ve never stepped into and thousands of students I’ve never met. And that’s okay.

I’m ready to move on. I’m ready to start my life.

By this time, I thought I’d know exactly what that meant. I would know where I was headed and what was waiting for me. Mom said she wanted me to be adventurous this last semester, and in a weird way, that’s exactly what I’m doing.

I’m jumping headfirst into life without a solid plan.

That’s a big deal for a control freak like me.

I look off in the distance and realize there’s one last thing I need to do before graduation. It’s something I’ve wanted to do since I was a freshman, but I kept putting it off. Waiting for the right time.

And the right person.

Inevitably, I end up at the coffee shop. I watch Brandon through the window while he waits on a customer. Dressed in his paisley apron, his smile lights up the room, and I can’t help but laugh as the little girl on the other side of the counter points at his apron and giggles. When they leave, he sees me through the glass.

I smile and wave.

He waves back just as an older woman, with pretty silver hair and a matching paisley apron walks up behind him, patting him on the back. I can only assume that’s Ms. Linda, his manager.

A few minutes later, Brandon walks out into the April sunshine.

“Hey, you.”

“Hey, you.”

“Nice hat.”

I smirk. “You love it?”

“You have no idea.”

He steps closer and dips his head, kissing me gently.

“Brandon, will you take a walk with me?”

“I’d love to take a walk with you.”

We take each other’s hand, and I lead him down the sidewalk and toward the trail that will take us to Rainbow Rock.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Brandon

“I wonder where they are now?”

I know it’s a rhetorical question, so I don’t bother answering.

We’re sitting on top of the mountain, overlooking campus. Steph slides her fingers along the multi-colored ink on the gray slab of rock.

“And these people . . . the ones with hearts drawn around their names. Do you think they’re still together?”

“Honestly? Probably not.”

She frowns. “That’s not very optimistic, Brandon.”

“No, but it’s realistic. Look at the dates. Some of them are more than twenty years old. Do you really think all these people are still in love?”

“I’d like to think so. Rainbow Rock should be something sacred.”

“You’re right. It should be.”

“Have you signed it?”

I shake my head.

“I always meant to,” Steph says. “I just kept putting it off. I realized today that I’ve put it off long enough. We’ll start packing soon. Finals are coming up. Chances are good I would have forgotten all about it.”

“I’m glad you thought of it. I would have forgotten, too.”

Steph excitedly digs into her backpack and pulls out permanent markers in several different colors.

“Pick a shade. Any shade.”

“You choose.”

“Hmm.” She settles on a bright green. “It’s not camo, but it’ll do.”

I chuckle and watch as Steph searches for a bare spot on the gray slab to write our names. She’s really starting to embrace this whole soldier situation. Today, she’s even wearing my fatigue cap that she apparently stole out of my truck.

Not that I mind. I love when she wears it.

“I’m not an artist, but I think it looks okay,” she says as she draws a heart around our names. “Here. You date it.”

I take the marker, and just below our names, I write today’s date.

“It’s perfect, Steph.”

She laughs and searches for her phone in her backpack. After snapping a picture of our names on the rock, she then scoots closer and takes a photo of the two of us.

“For Mom,” she says.

I smile and lean back against the stone, stretching my legs. Steph rests her head in my lap while I play with her hair that peeks out from under the hat.

“I saw Tessa this morning. She doesn’t have the flu,” she says.

“Oh?”

“She’s pregnant.”

I blink. “The flu would be better.”

Steph gazes up at me. “You really think so?”

“Right now? Yes, I do.”

She nods. “Me, too. They were careful, but it happened anyway. She’s so scared, Brandon. Afraid of what her family will say. What
his
family will say. What this means for their future. Xavier doesn’t know. She’s telling him tonight.”

Steph grows quiet, and for a minute, I try to imagine how I’d react if she told me she was pregnant. Would I be happy? Would I say the right things?
Do
the right things?

We just had our conversation about sex last night. And today, we’ve been given definite proof that our decision to wait is a good one.

“What are you thinking?” she asks quietly.

“Wondering how I’d react if you told me you were having my baby. And thinking it’s ironic that you and I just talked about this last night.”

“I know. I was thinking that, too. I can’t imagine it. I mean, they’ve been together for two years, and she’s still freaking out. We’ve only known each other a few months.”

“We’re doing the right thing, Steph.”

“I know.” She rises up and crawls into my lap, wrapping her arms around my neck. “But someday . . .”

I pull her close. “Someday?”

“We’re talking
fireworks
.”

“Especially if you’re wearing this hat.”

“You really love this hat, don’t you?”

“I love it on you.”

She kisses me, tender and soft, and I can’t help but wonder how I got so lucky. We have no idea what our future holds, and I don’t have a thing to offer her except a pretty Kentucky house and a loud, barking beagle.

But she loves me anyway.

“Speaking of things I need to do before graduation, what are you doing Sunday?”

“Just studying. What do you want to do?”

I adjust the cap on her pretty head.

“I need to say goodbye to a friend,” I tell her.

On Sunday afternoon, we make the drive to Magnolia Gardens. Sunday is typically a day for families, but I know Tom has no family. Or at least none that ever visit.

As we drive to the nursing home, I tell her all about Tom McBride. The two tours in Vietnam. The grenade attack. His blindness. And I tell her about his wife, Connie. By the time we reach the entrance, Steph is a sobbing mess, and we have to sit in the car another fifteen minutes until she’s calm enough to go inside.

I sign us in, and the nurse points us toward the back deck. Like always, Tom is sitting on his bench, his face raised toward the sunshine.

“Good afternoon, Tom.”

He turns toward the sound of my voice.

“Afternoon, Brandon.” Tom inhales deeply. “Hmm. Either you’re smelling particularly good today or you’ve brought someone to meet me.”

I chuckle. “I did bring someone with me. This is Stephanie.”

“Your girl?”

“Yes, sir.”

He smiles brightly and slides down the bench. Steph and I sit down next to him.

“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. McBride.”

“You can call me Tom.”

“Well, then, you can call me Steph.”

“You sound like a Steph,” he says with a nod. “And you sound like a sweet girl. I hope Brandon’s being good to you.”

“He’s very good to me.”

“I’m glad. There’s nothing like being in love. It makes you look at the world differently, don’t you think?”

Steph squeezes my hand. “It absolutely does, yeah.”

Tom tilts his head in her direction. “I hope you don’t mind, but Brandon told me about your father. I’d like to thank you for his service, but I know that doesn’t take the pain away. I’m sorry about that.”