Rita Herron - Have Husband, Need Honeymoon

“Why did you stop writing, Brady?”

His head jerked back to hers, his breathing raspy. But he quickly looked away, studied his hands, his shoes, finally resting his hands on his knees. “I intended to keep my promises when I left. But…”

“You met someone else?”

“No.” His gaze flew to hers, a hint of desperation there, as if it was important to him that she believe him. “I was sent on a training assignment and was out of touch most of last year.”

“That’s when the letters stopped.”

He nodded. “I couldn’t contact anyone, not even my family, to let them know where I was.”

“What about when you returned?”

“I intended to write you then, but we did some combat maneuvers in Arizona, and I had the accident.”

“You were in the hospital?”

“About three months.”

Alison’s hand flew to her chest. “That serious? Vivi didn’t tell any of us.”

He nodded again, his eyes dark as he stretched his fingers in front of him and studied his hands. “I asked her not to say anything.”

“Why not? You knew we’d be worried.”

“Look, Alison, I’m sorry.”

“Was anyone else hurt?”

Brady hesitated. “My best friend, Josh, was killed.”

Alison’s heart broke for him. “Oh, Brady, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s over now, but things change, Alison. People change.” He flexed his hands, then balled them into fists. “When I was recovering, I realized I’d been away too long, that it was time for both of us to move on.”

She frowned in confusion. “Because you lost your friend?”

His voice took on a hard edge. “Because you have your life here, and I have another life. Why keep writing, hanging on to silly teenage dreams? Like you said, we were impulsive kids. We’re not anymore.”

His words sounded so harsh, so final. Alison tried to absorb what he was saying and the things he wasn’t saying. She had a feeling the parts he’d left out were as important as the things he’d openly revealed.

“When do you have to report back for duty?”

“In a month, but my enlistment time’s almost up.” He shifted, avoiding eye contact. “Mom’s pressuring me to come home and run the print shop, and with Dad gone and Vivi moving to Atlanta, I’m…I’m considering it.”

“What?” Alison couldn’t have been more shocked if he’d said he wanted to open a bridal shop. “But, Brady, you hated working there in high school, even for the summer. You never wanted to do anything but fly.”

“Like I said, Alison, things change. And so do people.”

Alison stared at him in confusion. Some things did change, but Brady giving up flying? He couldn’t have changed that much. Or could he?

Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.