Page 44 of Save Me

It became obvious they would order in for supper, but he’d wait to talk to her about the groceries. He didn’t know if she did her own shopping, or ordered online for them to be delivered. There were so many little day-to-day things they were going to learn about each other. It was an exciting thought. All the days ahead of sharing laughs and frustrations—of having someone to come home to. It was Hunt’s dream of heaven on earth, and it was coming true.

Fort Liberty North Carolina

A TABLE FULL of soldiers were on base, eating their evening meal and trading digs and laughs with their buddies in between mouthfuls of food. Wall-mounted televisions provided the background for their meals and conversations, while what was airing wasn’t always noticed.

An evening news show was airing a follow-up to their previous story about the missing hiker in Colorado, celebrating the fact that she had been found and rescued by none other than a man from her hometown of New Orleans. They went on to explain that the man, an ex-Army helicopter pilot named Hunter Gray had been her childhood sweetheart. The news anchors were listing a quick rundown of his attributes, then followed up by making a joke about “Hollywood will come calling on this story!” when one of the men sitting at that table—a chopper pilot they called Rat—jumped up from his seat, pointing.

“Did you hear that? Did you hear that?” Rat shouted.

T-Bone frowned. “Hear what?”

Rat was running around the table with his fork still in his hand, shouting every word that came out of his mouth. By now, he had the attention of every person in the room.

“The guy who found that missing hiker lady in Colorado! It was Gator! Gator, by God, Gray found her! Using the skills he’d learned in the Army, they said. A former warrant officer with the freaking 82nd Airborne Division, they said! His childhood sweetheart, they said! Hot damn, y’all. That’s why he mustered out. He’d left his woman behind, and he, by God, went and found her!”

The room erupted in cheers!

Rat and T-Bone were hugging and slapping each other on the back. Cherokee and Memphis were grinning from ear to ear. Dallas and Roadrunner were high-fiving Cowboy. Tulsa and Chili Dog were staring at the TV in disbelief. Everyone in the room who’d served with him was cheering. Everyone who’d even heard of the ace gunner from the 82nd Airborne was on their feet cheering and whooping. Gator Gray had represented!

NEARLY TWO WEEKS had passed since Lainie’s release from the hospital. She was finally back on her feet for short periods of time, and moving slowly. She’d gotten as far as the living room before needing to sit down, and was still there when she saw a delivery van from a local florist shop pull up in her drive.

A man got out, took a huge floral bouquet from the back of the van and headed toward her house. She could walk, but not walk and carry something like that on her own, so she shouted at Hunt.

“Hey honey! Can you come help? There’s a delivery guy coming toward the house.”

At that moment, the doorbell rang.

Hunt had been unpacking his things from Flagstaff when she called.

“On the way!” he shouted, and came running through the foyer and straight to the door.

“Delivery for Lainie Mayes.”

“Thanks,” Hunt said, pulled a five-dollar bill from his pocket and tipped the man as he took the vase then toed the door shut behind him. “Wow, darlin’. These are beautiful! Where do you want them?”

“They’re gorgeous, and that’s the biggest bouquet I’ve ever seen! How about the dining table? We’ll see it every time we walk past, and it’s big enough to accommodate it.”

“Good call,” he said, and headed for the dining room with Lainie right behind him. He put down the vase then pulled the card and handed it to her, then saw her eyes widen in surprise.

“Oh, honey...oh my... I think these are for you as much as for me. Look,” she said, and handed him the card.

For Gator’s girl,

Rat, T-Bone, Roadrunner, Memphis, Cowboy, Tulsa, Chili Dog, Cherokee and Dallas, and the 82nd Airborne, sending our love.

Gator Gray...you did good.

Hunt was stunned. “Never thought I’d hear from them again.”

Lainie was elated. This was part of who he’d been, and evidence of how much they’d thought of him.

“We’ve been all over national news for some time. That’s probably how they found out. And that last update I saw, news anchors were really playing up your Army background and the childhood sweetheart connection.” She hugged him. “They love you, Hunt. Maybe not as much as I do, but they love you, and you made them proud.”

“All I wanted was to find you alive. The flowers are for a special lady, and that’s you.” He read the card again, picturing their faces as he saw the names, but then he kept going back to “Gator’s girl,” and finally frowned.

“Lainie, I don’t want you to just be Gator’s girl. That should read, ‘Gator’s wife,’ but she doesn’t exist, and that’s all wrong. Can we talk about getting married?”

Lainie slid her arms around his neck. “You already proposed to me once, remember?”

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