Page 76 of Operation: Return

He had to be talking about Lacy, but why should she keep anything from her boss? “What is this about?”

“You know Eric, the horse trainer?”

“I met him. He seems like a really nice guy.” And he had to be good at his job because Pete said all the horses were nice.

“He used to know someone who is now a military lawyer.”

“Oh . . .” Meaning they could help Cole to become Taylor again, if he wanted to.

“She is also Eric’s one regret. Women have to work even harder than men in military situations. Us guys can start feeling like we’re all that and we forget that if a woman is keeping up, or doing better, she’s had to work at least half-again as hard as we did to get there. Well, Ali excelled at everything. Physical skills, mental tasks, training, she had it all. When Eric proposed, he was still pretty young, pretty green, and she saw a stunning military career ahead of her. One that would be easier without him.”

“Oh . . .” She didn’t know what else to say. There was probably more to the story. Ambition sounded so cold, but in the face of falling in love, anything sounded cold. “And you want to have her come here to help Cole, but what about Eric?”

“He doesn’t know yet that she’s coming. But she knows he’s here. She misses him and now sees his worth since she’s experienced a little more life. She had a husband who didn’t treat her well. I’m telling you this because Eric has been hesitant to even try to contact Ali. You are the reason Ali will be here.”

“Because you want me to say that even if Cole doesn’t want to work on getting his life back, I should encourage it.”

“I don’t care if he legally changes his name. That’s up to him. But he should get his identity back and Ali is top-notch. She can help.”

Erica swallowed, wishing she wasn’t putting Eric in this position.

Someone knocked on the door and Erica turned as Cole strode in the room. She flew from the chair and raced into his arms.

“There’s my girl.” He kissed the top of her head. “I’ve missed you.”

“And we’ve missed you, though I hear you can’t return to work for another three weeks.” Connor laughed.

“About that . . .” Cole grinned. “I was wondering if Erica could get three weeks off too?”

“What?” She didn’t understand why she would need time off unless Cole needed her help to do things during the day.

He pulled a ring box from his shirt pocket and opened it to show her. “I can’t get down on one knee because I probably couldn’t get back up. But I want to marry you, then I want to take you on a three-week honeymoon so we can start all over again.”

She slid the ring on her finger, then hugged him. “I don’t know. What about Pete?”

“He’ll come with us.”

“Or you could leave Pete with Lacy. She loves that little boy and it’s not like she can have one of her own.”

The room fell silent, and Erica wasn’t sure how to reconcile her joy about marrying Cole with her sadness for her new friend.

“In case you were wondering, that means I approve the three weeks. Get out of here.” He waved them off.

“Come on, I’ve got something to show you.” Cole threaded his hand in hers and led her out the door.

* * *

“I’m sorry.I know I probably shocked you in there.” Cole slowly ran his thumb over the ring Erica had quickly slipped on her finger, enjoying the feel of it on her hand.

“A little, but I had hoped. Maybe I shouldn’t have hoped, but I did.”

He stopped and took her other hand, taking a minute to look in her eyes and feel the unease there. “I know we both did some things. I can only apologize for me and hope you accept it.” He took a breath and let the breeze cool his hot skin. He found that he overheated easily outside of the overly cool hospital. “I knew Pete had to be mine as well as a guy can know without being told.”

Erica opened her mouth to interrupt him and he promptly kissed her to stop what she had to say. He’d hear her out, but after he apologized. His wrong had come first and worst and he wasn’t going to let her take any heat for what he’d done.

He eased away from her and grinned.

“What was that about?” She laughed.

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