Waiting... On You (Force Recon Marines) (46 page)

He reached over and took her hand.
When she still refused to look at him, he gently grasped her stubbornly set
chin and turned her head to him. “Yes, he does, Hanna. He wanted to ask you to
marry him and move to San Diego with him. I talked him out of it.”

Her eyes widened, then narrowed. “I
don’t believe you.”

He grinned. She could be so damn
stubborn. “I’m telling you the truth,” he insisted. “Do you think I’d hurt you
more by lying?” He saw her resistance begin to crack. “I want to repair the
damage I did. I want to take you to San Diego to talk to Nick.”

She studied his expression closely,
still skeptical. “Explain what happened.”

“The day you came out of your coma, I
came by the hospital to see you. When the family came to visit, Nick and I went
down to the cafeteria. Remember? I asked him what he intended to do about you.
He said he wanted to ask you to marry him. I reminded him you had a great
career here and that it would be unfair to ask you to leave that and your
family to become the wife of a Special Forces soldier, never knowing where he
really was or if he’d be coming home. I reminded him, too, of how much Mom had suffered
when Dad died. That pretty much did it,” he admitted ruefully. “Nick has never
wanted to put a woman through what Mom suffered. He was old enough to remember
how torn up she was for a long time afterward. He was hoping for an assignment
that meant no more dangerous field work. He’s still reluctant to retire because
the Corps is all he’s ever known and he’s still pretty young. I think he has a
few ambitions left.”

“Oh, Lance....”

Hanna covered her eyes with one hand
as they filled with tears. She didn’t know if she dared to believe him.

“I’ll take you to San Diego to talk to
Nick. You don’t have to do this alone. I’ll help you. I can’t guarantee my
brother’s reaction, but I’m pretty sure he’ll want to work this out with you.”

“Have you talked to him about this?”

“No. Things have not been easy between
us since he left. He’s angry with me, because I talked him out of something he
really wanted. But I agree with Mom. He wouldn’t be calling us so much if he
didn’t still care a lot about you.” Lance slipped an arm around her shoulders
and nudged her closer. The tears in her eyes made him feel rotten. “He was so
shook up when you were shot. He told Chen if you died, he’d kill him. And he
deliberately waited to blow that elevator until Sheriff Thomas and the men who
shot you were inside it. He never left your bedside while you were in your
coma. He even slept in that chair in your room. For the first two days, Kurt’s
wife, then one of the floor nurses had to bring him meals. He wouldn’t even
leave you to shower or go to the cafeteria.” Lance was quiet and reflective for
several moments. “I should never have said the things I did to him. I’m not
proud of the pain I’ve caused both of you. I hope someday that the two of you
will forgive me.”

“Oh Lance!” Hanna threw her arms
around him. “I don’t blame you! How could I blame you for caring so much? I’ll
always love you.”

“As a friend.”

“Yes,” she confirmed softly, kissing
his cheek. “As a friend, but as a brother now, too.”

He put his arms around her and held
her tightly, his eyes closed as he breathed in the scent of her, committing it
to memory. “That’s okay,” he decided as he released her. “As long as you and
Nick get back together and keep me in your lives, I’ll be all right. You know,
Christopher would hate it if his Aunt Hanna and Uncle Nick stopped coming to
see him.”

“That will never ever happen.”

He covered her hand with his and
winked at her. “Then we’ll go to San Diego this weekend?”

“Shouldn’t you call Nick and talk to
him about this?”

Lance laughed. “Hell no! Let’s
surprise him.”

“I don’t know,” she said, frowning.
“What if he isn’t around?”

“We’ll track him down,” Lance declared
determinedly. “But, hell, knowing my brother, he will be. His life is as dull
as yours. The only fun you two seem to have is when you’re together. Otherwise,
you’re both workaholics.”

“Call him anyway.”

“Okay,” he relented. “I’ll let him
know I’m coming, at least. But you will go with me, won’t you?”

“Let me think about it, Lance. I’ll
let you know by tomorrow. If I do go, I’ll need to see what kind of time I can
get off. I’ve already taken a lot.”

“You’re the head of ER, Hanna. That
ought to give you some privileges, for crying out loud. Tell them there’s a
medical convention down there, or something.”

Hanna laughed. “We’ll see.”

CHAPTER
32

“ARE YOU SURE NICK SAID HE’D BE AROUND
THIS WEEKEND?”

Lance opened the rear passenger door
of the dark green military sedan and watched Hanna gracefully swing out of the
seat. She looked gorgeous in her full skirted floral print sundress and strappy
high heeled sandals.

“Yes, I’m sure, Hanna.”

She’d been nervous and edgy since
they’d left Seattle this morning. She never would have come if he hadn’t
reassured her over and over that everything was going to be fine and that Nick
was expecting them. She’d kill him if she knew he’d never told Nick that she
was also coming down for the weekend. His brother hadn’t been thrilled about
him coming down for such an impromptu visit, but he’d sent a car and driver to
the airport for him. Lance wanted to surprise Nick, and he knew his brother
well enough to know he would not turn Hanna away once he saw her.

Lance had been surprised to discover
that losing Hanna to Nick for good was not as difficult to accept as he’d
anticipated. After he’d given it some thought, he had realized that she had
waited all her life for his brother, and a love like that was a rare thing. The
depth of feeling that withstood that kind of test of time was an inspiration.
He was honestly happy for her, and confident she and his brother would work out
all their problems.

“I hope you enjoyed the brief tour of
San Diego.” Their driver was a young corporal by the name of Don Vincent. He was
Nick’s aide. He had met them promptly at the airport and driven them around the
city, then onto the Naval Amphibious Base on Coronado Island.

“We did. Thank you, Don,” Lance
answered. “I’ve been to San Diego, but I don’t believe that Doctor Wallace has.
I appreciate you showing her a bit of the city before coming here.”

The corporal nodded, and then glanced
at his wristwatch. “Colonel Kelly is out on the bay conducting underwater training
exercises. He shouldn’t be too much longer. Would you like to wait over there
at one of the patio tables?”

Lance wasn’t sure who was more nervous,
Hanna or the not-too-far-out-of-high-school corporal. Hanna had been as quiet
as a mouse since they’d landed, and the corporal had been talking nearly
non-stop since he’d picked them up. The auto tour had given him lots to talk about.
Lance thought he made a good tour guide, but he wondered if Hanna had really
seen anything out that backseat rear window she’d been staring through so
diligently.

It was a warm, sunny, southern
California day, with a fresh saltwater breeze blowing gently off San Diego’s
big bay, but Hanna’s hand was cold as ice. Lance squeezed it a few times in
reassurance as the three walked over to the patio situated between rows of
warehouse-type buildings. Across the tarmac, at the water’s edge, there were
rows of small cement docks. Several Zodiac type dinghies were anchored to the
piers.

Hanna took a seat at a round metal
table with a brightly colored umbrella shading it. Lance chose to remain
standing, as did Corporal Vincent, who stood vigilantly beside them.

While he and Lance chatted away, Hanna
stared out over the bay and the San Diego skyline on the other side. There
weren’t nearly as many skyscrapers across the bay as Seattle, but like the
Emerald City, they were constructed within a mile of the water.

She’d seen a fair amount of the city on
Corporal Vincent’s friendly tour― Balboa Park, the Gas Light District downtown,
the Embarcadero, and the Naval Hospital. It was just as beautiful as Nick had
always told her it was. The magnificent arc of the Coronado Bridge rose high
into the air to their left. The drive over it had been breathtaking.

Coronado Island wasn’t really an
island, but a long narrow peninsula. According to Corporal Vincent, it was home
to two important U.S. Naval bases― the Naval Air Station, at the far end
of Coronado, and the Naval Amphibious Base, where the West Coast teams of the Navy
SEALs were stationed. The charming little community was also home to the rich
and famous, trendy boutiques, exclusive restaurants, and one of the most noted
resorts in the country, the world famous Hotel Del Coronado, which accommodated
Presidents in its lavish suites when they visited.

The bridge connecting it to the city
of San Diego was hundreds of feet above the bay. Supported by mammoth girders
that looked like the legs of a gigantic dinosaur, the engineering marvel
allowed the huge ships that passed beneath it access to the deep waters of the
bay. The Naval Amphibious Base was located at the upper end of the Silver
Strand, tucked into a small cove near one end of the bridge.

The rest of San Diego’s Big Bay was
home to other naval facilities, the Marine Recruitment Base, and a Coast Guard
station. The San Diego International airport was located next to the bay as
well. The rest of it was filled with private marinas, fancy four-star hotels,
and tourist attractions like Seaport Village and the Maritime Museum. Cruise
ships docked alongside big ferries that toured the bay and the Navy’s retired
aircraft carrier that was now open to the public.

Private sailboats, fast motorboats,
and even expensive yachts trolled the azure blue waters of the bay. But it was
the Navy that dominated the harbor. It was unmistakably their bay. Their military
presence was everywhere— on the water, in the air, and on this broad finger of
land called Coronado Island.

Helicopters flew constant treks across
the bay from one military facility to the other. Giant warships and cruisers
sat at anchor at its edges. And those versatile rubber dinghies, like the one
Nick had borrowed from the naval base on Whidbey Island, jetted back and forth
across the bay like busy worker bees, some with uniformed men, some with black
suited divers, some with military police and Coast Guard patrols. They whizzed
by all sorts of privately owned boats, from the huge to the small, from yachts
and sailboats to cruisers and jet skis, impeded by no one.

She’d find out soon enough, she
supposed.

San Diego was Nick’s favorite duty station.
He loved the city, the weather, and the diving in the bay. Other than medical
conventions or lectures, Hanna had never traveled much. She had lived all her
life in the Northwest, in Port George, and she loved its green mystical beauty
and enchanting waterways. San Diego Bay was not as big, but it was,
nevertheless, beautiful. Her Emerald Mermaid would fit right in with the numerous
sailboats in the bay.

Hanna assumed Nick was on one of the
Zodiacs out in the bay.

Behind her sunglasses, she slowly scanned
the waters beyond them, then the area around where they were waiting, just in
case his six-foot-four frame had already landed.

Corporal Vincent broke her silent assessment
when he announced, “His teams should be here any time now.”

In the distance, beyond the small
marina in front of them, she thought she spotted two small black boats speeding
across the water toward thebridge. San Diego had truly captured her heart, but
she suddenly wanted to turn around and drive back to the airport. She rose
slowly to her feet, watching the two Zodiacs approach.

The corporal turned to her and smiled.
“Looks like them.” The he looked eagerly at Lance. “Got some good news to tell
your brother, huh?”

“Oh yeah,” Lance confirmed. “But Hanna’s
just a bit nervous about it.”

“I can see that.” The young Marine
grinned. “Congratulations.”

Nervous
didn’t begin to accurately define it.
Hanna’s entire attention was locked on the approaching dinghies. Two inflatable
reinforced hull rubber boats were racing toward them, as if everyone in them
was really anxious to get back to base. It was Friday afternoon. The weekend
beckoned, apparently.

Hanna could see that each Zodiac carried
six men. All twelve were dressed in full body wet suits. Even at a distance, she
instantly recognized the man standing a head above everyone else, in the center
of the boat. Feeling as if her knees had turned to Jell-O, she rose slowly to
her feet.

Lance reached out and caught her hand
reassuringly. “It’ll be okay, sweetie. Relax.” The look she returned him was
desperate. He slipped an arm around her bare shoulders and gave her a
comforting hug.

The distance diminished way too
rapidly, and the lead boat docked first. The men inside climbed out. Their
laughter and jostling made it apparent they were overjoyed to be finished for
the day.

The second boat pulled up to a pier
parallel to the first one. One black suited diver got out and moored the boat
to a cleat. The rest of the men lifted air tanks and gear out. They were more
controlled and sedate than the first group. They looked older, too, more
experienced. Hanna tried desperately not to look at the last man to get out of
the Zodiac.

Several of the men from the first
group noticed Corporal Vincent and his guests. One of the men gave a loud
whistle, the kind a man makes in appreciation of a good-looking woman. Hanna
glanced around, certain she was not the recipient of it.

To her dismay, the whistle drew Nick’s
attention. He looked to his men, then followed their line of vision to the
patio. Lance waved, and Corporal Vincent started over to his commanding officer.
Hanna’s looming reunion with Nick had her clutching Lance’s hand in an
unintentional vise grip.

Oh lord, she really couldn’t do this!
What if her arrival angered Nick?
Lance could be completely off base about his brother’s feelings. Was there
anything worse than a woman chasing down a man who had said his goodbyes?

She almost retreated to the car when
she heard Nick’s deep voice raised in angry censure as he chastised the younger
group for their undisciplined behavior.

Corporal Vincent reached his side. He
spoke to his commander, turned and pointed to Lance and Hanna, then listened to
something Nick said, while another black suited diver came up to them. After
dismissing the two teams of divers, Nick started toward them. Corporal Vincent
and the second diver followed.

Hanna knew she was squeezing Lance’s
hand so tightly he had to have lost all circulation in it. Her pulse sped up so
that her heart felt like it was beating in double time, ready to fly right out
of her chest.
Oh good heavens! She had to get control of herself or she was
going to have a full-blown anxiety attack!
She took a deep breath, held it
a few seconds, then slowly released it.

It had been over two months since
she’d seen Nick, and yet it seemed like two years. He’d lost some weight, but
it didn’t detract one bit from his magnificent stature. In the skin tight wet
suit, every muscle was sharply defined. His handsome face was even more darkly
tanned than when she’d last seen him. His black hair was wet and spiky, with a
single dark strand dipping onto his forehead. He wasn’t wearing dark glasses,
like his companion. His eyes were squinting against the bright sunlight, and
Hanna couldn’t read his mood in them. But there was a hint of it in the grim,
unsmiling line of his mouth.

Her heart sank. He didn’t appear happy
to see her, and he didn’t look the least bit welcoming. The urge to turn and
run was nearly overpowering. This was her worst nightmare. Lance was so wrong! Nick
didn’t want her here.
Damn it all! She was the world’s biggest fool!

Thank God, she had her transition
glasses on. The dark lenses hid the tears that began to fill her eyes. The wind
blew her cotton skirt up above her knees. With a silent curse, she pushed it
down and dropped the sweater tucked under her arm in the process. Nick was
suddenly in front of her as he bent down to pick it up. He handed it back to
her without a word. His narrowed gray eyes simply passed over her from toe to
head before they narrowed on his brother.

“Lance.” Nick’s smile was not really a
smile, only a cynical twisting of his lips. “I hear congratulations are in
order. I suppose you and Hanna have come down here to ask me to be your best
man.”

It wasn’t even a question. Hanna drew
in a sharp breath as she realized what Nick thought.
Good heavens, no wonder
he looked so grim!
She glanced at Corporal Vincent. Apparently all that
hand-holding had given him the wrong impression.

Lance laughed. “Bro, you always were
clueless as hell when it came to Hanna! Unfrigging believable! I didn’t come
down here to tell you that I was marrying her, you dumb ass!”

The men from both training teams were
on their way to one of the buildings behind them, but stopped a few feet away, suddenly
interested in what was going on. Their suspended expressions matched the shock
on Corporal Vincent’s face. It was almost comical. Apparently, no one called their
CO a
“dumb ass”
. The man standing next to Nick, though, found the
brotherly rebuke downright funny, openly chuckling.

“Well,
little brother
,” Nick
demanded angrily, emphasizing the last words and raising his voice for his
audience’s benefit. “What the hell did you come down here for? And why did you
bring her? I thought you just wanted to visit for the weekend.”

Lance hurled his brother’s anger right
back at him. “Well, I hadn’t planned to tell you in front of an audience....”
His gaze swung to Nick’s companions briefly. “But what the hell!” he concluded
as he threw up one hand. “I came down here to repair the damage I caused.”
Pausing, he hooked an arm around Hanna’s waist, which prevented her from
stepping away. “Do you want to talk about it out here then?”