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“… What did you do?” she whispered aloud in disbelief, her heart thumping wildly at the realization that Austin had snuck something special in her bag without her being aware of it… which was funny because she had done the same thing to him.
She had taken the wooden spoon that he used at her parent’s house and wrote ‘Sarge’s Man’on the back of it and hiding it in his bag for him to find.
Slowly, she pulled on the ribbon and lifted the lid, before folding back the tissue paper and hesitated. Inside, there on a cotton bedding, was a resin heart. It looked almost like a paperweight with flecks of silver encased in the tinted creation… along with a note.
You have my heart… always.
~ Austin
Teary-eyed, she marveled at the heart that was about the size of a deck of cards, turning it over in wonder and admiration for the man that constantly knocked her socks off.
Closing her eyes, she pressed the heart against her chest as if it could remotely make her feel closer to him… and let out a heavy sigh.
It was going to be a long five months.
CHAPTER28
SPARKY
Three months later…
Paradox,Ricochet, and Riptide were gone for the next week on vacation, heading to Texas, and it made the barracks feel kinda empty. Copperhead was put in charge while their squadron leader was out and personally – not that Austin would ever say it aloud – he was pretty sure Reaper was testing the man to see how he would hold up under the pressure.
Austin got along well with his new wingman, but he hadn’t breathed a word to anyone about getting out in July. He was sort of afraid to jinx something or create an issue due to seeing it several times in the past with Reilly.
Reaper wasn’t anywhere close to Reilly… but he also didn’t want to test the quiet man, especially after hearing through the grapevine that his wife had miscarried at ten weeks. Just hearing that, had him wondering if Giselle just hadn’t told him or if she was pregnant and trying to surprise him.
They hadn’t discussed any of it, but then again… they also hadn’t been trying. He kinda hoped that she wasn’t, but only because they still had a lot to take care of before returning to Texas.
He had contacted a realtor in Yonder that came highly recommended to him from Harley and was silently checking the listings online, ready to make a jump if needed. The idea of surprising Giselle with a place just for them made his knees weak with unbridled joy.
Harley was ordering his business cards for Flyboys, his coveralls, and had set up his email with them already. Once he had his return date, she promised to put him on the schedule, so he had no interruption in his pay.
Giselle had mentioned that she was trying to get some of her credits to transfer to the state for accreditation to get her license to work in the medical field, but it was a slow-going process.
Everything seemed to be trudging along, moving at a snail’s pace, that it felt like July would never get here. Even Giselle made a comment that surprised him yesterday, because of the alarming truth and simplicity of her words.
“It’s too quiet,” she’d said, smiling at him. “We did inventory again this week because we ran out of things to do. No dehydration, no wounds, no scrapes or injuries. It’s like either the dust is finally settling or the poop’s about to hit the fan.”
“Duck and cover?”
“That’s not funny,” she chuckled. “I kinda like this because it gives me a chance to get my head sorted out regarding all the accreditation stuff… oh! I meant to tell you the news… you are never going to believe this,” she gushed happily.
“What’s up?” he asked, holding his breath, and praying that she didn’t announce she was pregnant. He wanted a little version of her so badly, but in a about a year from now. First, he wanted to get her home, settle into their jobs and lives together, and then have some fun creating their little family…
“Talk about ‘Six-degrees-of-Kevin-Bacon’…” she chuckled. “Ready to follow this mess? So apparently, Captain Logan’s best friend is a police officer in Tyler near Yonder, and a bunch of soldiers live in the area that used to be stationed here.”
“Okaaaay?” he drawled, unsure where this was going and a little surprised that she’d told Captain Logan about their marriage so easily. Maybe things were different on that base than they were here.
“So, Logan and Griffin are friends – and one soldier that used to be stationed here still works for Griffin. I’m not sure what he does at the station, but that guy’s sister… is married to a firefighter in Ember Creek, which is next to Yonder.”
“I’m still lost,” he laughed nervously as the speakers went off in the distance announcing, ‘lights out’. “Keep going… but hurry, babe.”
“Okay. The firefighter knows the chief, who is apparently ‘talking’ to one paramedic in Ember Creek, and they need an EMT. He told her about me! Which means, if I can figure out my licensing quickly? I might have a lead on a job when we get out in July,” she said excitedly, jumping up and down excitedly.
“Sweetheart, that’s incredible,” he smiled proudly. “I’m absolutely thrilled for you – and even if we had to figure it out when we got to Yonder? There’s hope we are going to hit the ground running.”
“Exactly!” she beamed. “You’ve got your gig already at Flyboys and I might have something lined up, just one town over.”
