Page 15 of Unleash You

Anabelle

That day, I read her letter twenty times before I wrote back. I never expected I’d be jealous of her meeting someone. Probably because I never thought she’d meet someone, which in retrospect made absolutely no sense. My gaze lingered over the words “he reminds me of Wes a bit.” I should have told her the truth then, but that week had been particularly rough. Our camp had been attacked by the local cartel, who’d grown suspicious of our presence in the jungle. They lost many men. We lost one of our own.

Dear Anabelle,

I’m glad you found someone. I worry that you spend too much time alone. Life is short. Don’t waste a single day. Also, tell your new friend I’m a marine. If he breaks your heart, he’ll answer to me. I gotta go. Today we’re learning how to kill a person with our thumb. ;-) Here’s a picture of Templo Santa Lucía. The blue on the walls is much brighter in person. I went in yesterday to say a prayer for my buddy. It’s like you said: he died doing what he believed in.

Love,

C

“No, I’m staying for lunch. Anabelle invited me. I hope that’s okay.”

Anabelle opened her mouth a few times before she spoke. “Yeah, I did. The poor guy did spend the last two hours shopping with me. He deserves a treat.”

“How did you get him to do that?” Mom asked. “I can’t even get him to online shopping with me.”

“Well, my accounts are still frozen. So...”

I put my hands up in surrender before Mom decided to intervene. “I’m working on it. Should we go in?”

As it turned out, high tea was mainly an affair for women. Looking around the restaurant, I was the only guy in the place. Mom gripped my arm and ushered me to our reserved table. She showed me to a seat across from her. To my surprise, Anabelle sat beside me. That only left one other chair for Mr. Congressman right next to his mom. Glad I came.

“Anabelle, Lilly tells me you decided to take residence at your parents’ estate.”

“That’s right. I plan on doing some light renovations.”

“I told Josh about your home. And he was very impressed. Fox’s Bank is an important piece of land.”

I sat back. Of course, the congressman would be looking for a wife with a family name and roots in the community. Even if Anabelle had been gone for years, her family name still carried weight.

“You can tell Josh she’s not selling. My brother already tried.” I reached for the tray of tiny sandwiches the server had brought in and popped one in my mouth. It was tasty but so small, it was like eating M&Ms.

“Oh dear, Josh wouldn’t be interested in purchasing the place.” The greedy look Birdie gave Anabelle made my stomach churn.

“He’s right. I’m not selling.” Anabelle shifted her weight, and her bare thigh rubbed against my slacks. She froze same as me. Red crept up to her cheeks. “Sorry,” she said under her breath.

“It didn’t hurt.” I smiled at her and let my knee fall toward hers. Goose bumps fluttered up her leg, making the soft hair stand. If we were anywhere else, would I be able to fight the urge to press my lips against her skin and rub my rough stubble against her delicate complexion.

“What—” She bit her lip.

“Oh, there he is.” Birdie jerked to her feet to meet her son. “Josh, this is Anabelle. You remember her?”

“I think so. Last time I saw her she was in pigtails.” He chortled at his own joke. I honestly didn’t remember Anabelle ever wearing pigtails.

To Mom’s credit, the guy seemed decent. Old, but decent. He sat next to his mom, offering a slight nod to Anabelle. Was he okay with this match making too?

“Wesley.” I shook his hand across the table. “We met before.”

“Of course. I remember. How’s your dad?” He reached for the miniature quiche and managed to get two bites out of it.

“He’s doing great.”

“Oh, that man, he melts my heart. The way his face lights up every time they call him from the hospital to check in on a newborn. If it’d been up to him, we would’ve had ten kids instead of five.” Mom sipped from her cup.

“You’ll have little ones running around your house soon enough, dear.” Birdie squeezed Mom’s arm across the small table.

“What’s the damn hurry?” I immediately regretted the question. Both Mom and Birdie gave me a look that rivaled my commanding officer’s nastiest glare.

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