Page 10 of Her Steadfast Hero

He pressed his fingertip on her plush lips. His Sarah was always worried that she was making waves.

“I promise you’re not pushing me into anything. And I’ll take that a step further. I won’t be pushing you into anything either.”

“I know that,” she said in a slightly exasperated tone. “If I didn’t you wouldn’t be coming home with me.”

David walked Sarah to her car and opened the door for her. “I’ll follow you,” he promised.

“Okay.”

A half hour later, he pulled up beside her in the driveway of her house. It was a pretty blue ranch style with a wealth of rhododendron and azalea bushes flourishing in the front yard. It suited her.

“You kept up.” She grinned at him. She pushed off her hood and looked up at the moonlit sky. The rain had stopped, and now they were blanketed by a beautiful Pacific Northwest night.

“I’m trained to track people, of course, I could keep up,” he said as he pulled the door key from her hands.

“No, you’re trained to protect people,” she corrected. “You’re a protector. I felt it from the first time I saw you in the hallway at the clinic.”

“You remember me from then?” he asked as he opened the door for her. She went to go in, but he held her back. “Let me take a quick look, okay?”

She frowned at him, “Why?”

“Humor me, it’s what I do.”

“My dad was like that.” He heard her say as he went into the house. He made a cursory sweep of the interior and ushered her in.

“Your dad did that, huh?”

“He was a cop in Georgia.” She smiled as she turned on lights, and set her purse on the counter. He watched as she kicked off her heels and dug her toes into the thick carpet.

“You never told me that before,” he said as he watched her stretch her arms. “There’s a lot you haven’t shared.”

“We’ve been talking about our careers and the base gossip. We would have gotten there eventually.” She stopped mid-stretch. “I guess there won’t be time for that now,” she said biting her lip. She twirled and headed toward her kitchen. He followed.

“What can I get you to drink? Usually, you have bourbon, but I don’t have that. I have beer and wine. I think I might have some tequila.” David watched as she stood on tiptoe to open a cupboard above her microwave.

“Anything will be fine.”

“I want to give you options. I invited you over.” She closed the cupboard and turned around to face him. He watched as she bit her lip. She did that whenever she was feeling unsure.

“I’ll have whatever you’re having, honey. Hell, water’s fine by me.”

She gave a relieved laugh. “Okay, I’m done being nervous,” she promised. “Let me give you a tour.”

She slipped by him, and he followed her out of the kitchen into the dining room that opened up into a spacious living room. The centerpiece of the room was a large fireplace made from river rock. On the mantle was a wedding photo, Sarah looked beautiful and so young. The man looked young and handsome in his dress blues.

“That’s Matt.” Sarah lovingly traced the photo with her fingertips. “He died in Iraq.”

“I’m sorry, Sarah.” Dammit, it explained so much. He stroked his hand down her arm, and she turned to him with a sad smile.

“It’s okay, it’s been a long time. I just wish…”

“What, what do you wish?”

“I wish I could have seen what kind of man he would have grown into, you know? Twenty-two is so damn young.” She bit her lip.

Twenty-two seemed like a million years ago.

“How long were you together?”