Page 34 of Never Yours

“No problem! My girlfriend got me hooked on a fantasy series that wasn’t available. I had to make sure I had a way to read them while we’re gone. Last thing I want is to come home to is her spoiling the ending of book seven.”

Once we land, Daniels and I make quick work to text everyone before our phones are confiscated. Unfortunately, neither of us is fast enough when an officer with enough medals to set off a metal detector from a mile away greets us. “Rogers. Daniels.” We salute and he reaches his hand out, palm face up. “Phones, tablets, and laptops.”

Here we go…

ingrid

. . .

Irap my knuckles on David’s door. It feels weird calling him David, but weirder calling him Mr. Rogers. He’s always been Pop, but I don't deserve to call him that after everything that’s happened.

There are hushed whispers before he opens the door. The scowl on his face quickly dissipates as soon as he sees me, replaced with worry painting his features. “Ingrid. Is everything ok?”

“I’m sorry, did I come at a bad time?” I glance around him, in search of the other voice I heard.

He looks behind him into the house. “Oh, uh… Nope. Was just watching a movie.”

When he turns back, I blurt, “Caleb’s gone,” the admission making tears prick behind my eyes. Choking them back, I say softly, “He’s… gone.”

“I know, sweetheart,” he sighs. “Do you want to come in?”

As I nod, he opens the door wider for me to enter. I make my way to the living room where the TV isn’t on, but it’s the least of my worries. Taking a seat on the sofa, he joins me. “I have some questions.”

“What about?”

“Everything you know about the Navy.”

He chuckles softly, “Well, I can’t share anything classified. But what’s on your mind?”

“There’s a phone in his house. A landline. No one has landlines, except people in their seventies. He got a call last night, and he wasn’t the sweet and fun Caleb I know. It was like he was a different man altogether. While on the call, he was serious, emotionless…”

“He’s a specialist, he could get a call at any moment if there is an emergency. I can’t get into specifics, but he was going back in for two years to train teams of people to prepare for those sorts of emergencies. The call he got, he could be sent anywhere in the world. It could be one week or eight months.”

“So, it was an emergency?”

“Maybe. It’s above my clearance, but you don’t get that call if it’s not serious. I tried to look into it, but I’m not able to access where he’s headed or for how long.” After a moment, he continues, “You know, my wife, Mary, hated when I would get the call. I had a duty to uphold, so I would leave without hesitation. When cancer took her from us, I retired. I couldn’t have my kids worrying about me, or worse, risk orphaning them. It wasn’t until Caleb followed in my footsteps that I really understood the fear she felt. He’ll understand when he has a wife and kids of his own.”

My breath catches, and my heart stops. The idea of Caleb being with someone else is too unbearable a thought, but I don’t know that I could handle living in constant fear. “So, we just wait by the phone? Hope he’s ok?”

“No,” he laughs, “I know you’ve been gone for years, but I watched you grow up. You never waited for anything to happen, you made things happen. I’ll always love you like you’re one of my own, no matter what. You were meant to take on the world, not watch the world happen around you while you wait for a man, who could be on the other side of it.”

I take in his words. Waiting for Caleb, I would feel stifled. Not waiting, I’ll feel like a piece is missing.

“Did he tell you he adopted a dog?” I chuckle. “Said it’s our dog.”

“Oh, I heard.” He smiles and shakes his head. “He’s only ever had eyes for you. I tried to warn him when you came back to take his time, but there’s no stopping him when he sets his mind to something. He’s determined and doesn’t give up—part of why he’s so good at his job, and why they called him.” With a quick rake of his hair, he assures me, “Cass didn’t tell me the details about why you’re here, but there are only a handful of reasons you’d be back. None that come to mind are positive. But no matter what it was, I don’t think it would’ve mattered to him.”

“I do care about him,” I sigh. “A lot. But, I came back because I needed Cass. So, what do I do now?”

“Only you know the answer to that.”

I chew on my lip. “What would you do?”

“It doesn’t matter what I would do. You’re not like Caleb—he can be a bit impulsive if you haven’t noticed. You’re not. But, just like Cay, you’ve always had big plans and followed through on them. Caleb would wait a hundred years on his front porch if I told him you would show up one day. But you? You can wait by the phone and live your life at the same time if that’s what you want to do. When I was away from Mary, I wrote to her every day in a journal. It might be good to do the same to tell him how you’re feeling—even if angry—while he’s away.”

“And if he doesn’t call?” My stomach drops, and my tears threaten to fall.

“I can’t tell you how I know.” He places his hand over mine. “But, he’ll call you before he calls me.”

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