Judy Christenberry - A Soldier's Return

JIM CLOSED his hotel room door soundly and leaned against it. He let out the breath he’d been holding since he walked into Will Greenfield’s office earlier that day.

He was exhausted. He’d had long days and nights of combat that hadn’t left him this tired. Then again, the enemy didn’t frighten him the way his newfound family had, he thought wryly.

He was glad he’d found his sisters. They were everything he’d imagined them to be all this time. Beautiful, kind, generous. Exactly the way his parents would’ve wanted them to grow up.

But he was just as glad that he’d been able to leave them in Highland Park and return, alone, to his hotel. He was so different from them. He couldn’t live the lifestyle they lived. He couldn’t open himself up the way they had with each other. It was better for him to put some distance between himself and them right away.

As if that was settled, he moved away from the door and went into the bathroom to get ready for bed. A knock on the door interrupted his progress. Innately cautious, he peered through the peephole.

He couldn’t believe his eyes.

Throwing the door open, he demanded, “What are you doing here?”

Carrie mustered her courage and looked him straight in the eye. The whole way over here she spent convincing herself she was doing the right thing by getting involved in Captain James Barlow’s life. Their client had hired Greenfield and Associates—thus, her—to find him, so after all, he was her business. And that was the only reason she found herself at Jim’s hotel room door. Business.

It had nothing whatsoever to do with how her heart sped up upon seeing him for the first time without his dress uniform jacket.

She cleared her throat and replied to his question. “I’m following orders.”

“Whose orders?” Jim snapped.

“Will didn’t want you to disappear. Your sisters have been waiting a long time for their big brother to come home.” She made no move to enter his hotel room, but also made it clear she wasn’t going away until she had her say.

“I said I’d see them after I’ve settled in. I need to find a job and a place to live.”

“Will and Vivian would be glad to have you stay there with them. They have plenty of room,” Carrie said, but she already knew the answer.

“I won’t sponge off my sister’s family. You don’t live with them, do you?”

“No, of course not.”

“Then you understand,” he said, staring at her.

“Are you going to talk to Will about working with us?”

Jim sighed and stared down at her. “I don’t know.”

“He was serious when he said we needed help. We’ve got contracts with three different insurance companies and the cases are piling up.”

“I need some time to adjust. And I’m used to making my own way.” His voice was almost a growl.

“So did Rachel and Rebecca, but they became part of the family. And they all want you to do the same.”

She watched his face, seeing various emotions in his eyes. Most of all, she wanted to hug him and reassure him. He didn’t seem to grasp how much his family wanted to love him.

But she couldn’t tell him. After all, she wasn’t family. Nor could she hug him like his sisters had done. All she could do was try to maintain some contact with him. “Is it all right if Will calls you in the morning?”

“I guess so, but he doesn’t need to give me a job.”

“We need help, Jim. Truly,” she said earnestly.

“I’ll talk to him, but I’m promising nothing.”

“I’ll tell him.” She’d pushed him as far as she could, she thought. He’d given his word to at least speak to Will, and Carrie’s fantasy Jim would never break his word. So she said good-night and turned to walk away.

She could feel his eyes on her as she walked down the hall. Just before she entered the elevator, she looked back at him and gave him a warm smile.

His expression didn’t change.

AFTER SHE REACHED her apartment, she called Will. “He’s staying at the Holiday Inn in room #512. He agreed to speak with you in the morning, but he said you didn’t need to give him a job.”

“Thanks, Carrie. You did just what I wanted. I think it’s going to be a while before he feels comfortable with the family. But we don’t want to lose touch with him.”

“I agree.”

“Why don’t we both take him to breakfast in the morning? I think you can help talk him into trying out the job.”

“Me? I’ll be glad to go with you, but I doubt it matters to Jim what I think.”

“I’ll meet you at the office at eight-thirty. Then we’ll go pick up Jim.”

“Okay, see you then.”

Carrie hung up the phone and immediately moved to her closet to figure out what she was wearing tomorrow to impress Jim.

“You’re being ridiculous!” she exclaimed, but she didn’t stop until she found her favorite red suit and a new blouse she’d bought last week. She was glad that finally, in the last few months she had extra money to spend on her wardrobe.

It had taken her an extra couple of years to graduate college because she’d had to go part-time after her father’s sudden death. Then her mother had been sick, which had drained her of both time and money. But it had been worth it because she’d had time with her mother that she wouldn’t trade for any size bank account.

The luckiest thing that had ever happened to her had been to go to work for Will Greenfield.

Five years ago she’d come to work for him as a part-time receptionist, while she was in school. Then she began to handle some of the investigation work, the easier things that Will didn’t have time for. Over time, her involvement deepened until she was working full-time as a P.I.

Throughout it all, Will treated her as a member of his family—which at the time had only consisted of himself. Then he’d met Vivian, who happened to be the mother of her former best friend. Carrie had simply walked away from Vanessa, leaving her in the dark about the events that had changed her life so completely.

With her father’s death, her life had fallen apart like a house of cards. She no longer could afford tuition or new clothes or even the car her dad had bought her. She’d settled his bills by selling everything they had. Then she’d bought a cheap car and moved her and her mother into an apartment.

She still lived there.

But now she had her friendship with Vanessa back, and Will and Vivian in her life. And for the past year since she’d gotten involved in finding Vanessa’s siblings, she had Jim. The fantasy Jim anyway. From the moment she’d seen his picture, his face had spoken to her. She felt like she knew him—intimately.

She was definitely attracted to him.

But that was the fantasy Jim, she reminded herself. The fantasy Jim opened himself up to her, allowed her to love him. But the real Jim…? So far he remained the stoic soldier returning from war.

Carrie laid out her clothes for the morning and finally went to bed, in the arms of a strong-jawed fantasy man.

JIM AWOKE LATER than he’d expected. He attributed it to the airline travel yesterday, and meeting his family for the first time.

When he emerged from the shower, the phone in his room was ringing.

“Hello?” he answered.

“Jim, it’s Will Greenfield. Have you had breakfast yet?”

“No. I’m running late this morning.”

“How about you join Carrie and me downstairs in the coffee shop? I want to buy you breakfast.”

“You don’t have to,” he said.

“I know I don’t, but I want to discuss the job I mentioned yesterday. I figure breakfast is the least I owe you if you’ll listen to me.”

Jim realized this man was determined. Until he heard his pitch, Will wouldn’t leave him alone. He looked at his watch. “I’ll be down in ten minutes.”