Page 9 of Undefeated Love
Once back in the limo, the flutes came out again as they celebrated with more champagne.
“I’m so glad that’s over,” Lei Lu said without looking up from her phone while texting. “Henry’s ready to go to the island. If we leave as soon as we get home, we’ll get there before dark.”
“Daniel and the kids are anxious to get started on the ‘real vacation’ as he calls it.” Nita was smiling as she texted with Katlin’s brother.
Katlin picked up her phone to see if she’d missed any messages from Alex. Saddened, she texted him:
Katlin:Spent the day shopping with the Ladies for Grace’s wedding dress. Bought bridesmaid dresses today too. Miss you. Wish you were here.
Alex:Miss you too
Katlin was disappointed in his brief response but he was probably very busy on the movie set. Hopefully he’d find time to call her that night. She decided to text Rachel, Jenny’s mother, to see if she could take her goddaughter out the next afternoon. As tired as she was, she could crawl into bed the minute they got back to the condo and sleep through till the morning.
When they got home, her two-and-a-half-year-old niece and five-year-old nephew were playing in the sand in front of the condo. She gave her older brother a hug then suggested he join Nita upstairs. She kept the little ones busy for nearly forty-five minutes before Simon had to go to the bathroom. To be sure they didn’t walk in on anything that would scar them for life, she texted both Nita and Daniel, warning them she was on her way up with their children. As they walked into their second-floor apartment, she was attacked by Damnit.
She loved her dog. He’d been rescued as a puppy nearly four years earlier at the Miami Humane Society. Whenever she was stateside, he was by her side. They’d been spoiled over the last several months traveling with both her and Alex while she was recovering from her TBI.
“I’m making an afternoon snack for the kids. Do you want some carrots, celery sticks, grape tomatoes, and broccoli?” Daniel asked from the kitchen where he was chopping vegetables.
Katlin snatched a few from the plate he was making for the kids.
“Are you alright? You look a little depressed. And tired.” Daniel nailed it.
Although Katlin’s stomach felt fine at the moment, she was a little depressed. While playing with the children in the sand, she’d watched Lei Lu and Henry leave hand in hand, heading for Grand Turk. Not a minute later, Tori and Marcus walked onto the beach, their arms around each other’s waist. Grace had immediately disappeared into their condo the minute they’d arrived back. Given the small, satisfied smile on her brother’s face, he and Nita had taken advantage of their time together.
“It’s lonely here without Alex. Everybody has somebody, except me. And nobody wants a third wheel.” Katlin kneeled and scratched Damnit’s neck under his collar. “But now I have you to keep me company.”
“He’s not a very good conversationalist.” Daniel pulled cheese and cold cuts from the refrigerator. “Have you talked to him since you got home?”
“No. The time difference between East and West Coasts is a killer.” Katlin yawned. “I’m sound asleep before he’s eating supper. When I get up in the morning, he’s sound asleep.” She gave him a halfhearted smile. “We text.” Kind of. She thought about his brief text on the way home from wedding dress shopping. It pulled down the edges of her mouth.
“You have two weeks, minus one day. Fly to Los Angeles and be with Alex,” Daniel suggested. “You were with him during the last movie.”
Katlin grabbed a couple pieces of cheese and a few slices of pepperoni. “I just might do that.” Although he hadn’t been very responsive to her text messages.
Daniel put his arm around his sister and pulled her in for a hug, kissing the top of her head. “Right now, little sis, you need a nap. You’re pale. Our blankets and Bella’s sunshade are still out there. Grab your bathing suit and go sleep in the sun.”
She put her arm around her brother’s middle. “I love you, big brother.”
CHAPTER5
Next Day
Katlin shifted on the hard plastic chair in the adult primary care clinic at Naval Medical Center San Diego trying to get comfortable. Then she stifled a yawn. Even though it was one o’clock in the afternoon Pacific time, she’d been up for nine hours. She’d tried to take a nap on the flight west, but her brain wouldn’t shut down.
She’d awakened that morning at six o’clock Eastern time to a text from Rachelle who had been up all night. Both her boys had the flu and Jenny had strep throat. Katlin felt for her old friend’s situation, but she was sick enough without exposing herself to more. Besides, Rachelle’s new husband, and father to the boys, was extremely helpful and a wonderful dad to all three children.
Awake at that early hour, Katlin was tired of being lonely. She was used to being surrounded by the women on her team and all the noise that comes from five strong personalities in one space. The condo, with four empty bedrooms and only she and Damnit, echoed with emptiness. So did Katlin’s heart.
She’d decided to fly to the West Coast to surprise Alex and spend the next eight days with him. Excited now that she’d made a decision, she checked the executive flight service that Guardian used. The soonest jet leaving Miami went to San Diego. Remembering her promise to Nita, Katlin decided to visit the base hospital before driving north to the Guardian Security Los Angeles Center.
Although Damnit had become a regular on the executive jet service, she should have given him a bath before they boarded. He’d been swimming in the ocean and working up a sweat running on the beach. Stinky dog was another reason she hadn’t been able to sleep. While driving to the base, she found a grooming service a few blocks from the gate and dropped him off for a doggy spa day.
Glancing anxiously around the waiting room, she wondered how long this was going to take. She’d already been there nearly an hour. Waiting. She’d forgotten what it was like to be a military dependent. At her rank, as a lieutenant commander, she was normally seen at Walter Reed Medical Center within minutes. But she also normally had an appointment with a specific physician.
Here, she sat in civilian clothes in a walk-in clinic, willing to see whatever doctor was next available. This is what she wanted; a second opinion. A second set of eyes on her files.
Katlin pulled out her phone and stared at it. Should she text Alex and tell him that she’d be there sometime late that afternoon? Or simply walk into the Guardian Los Angeles building and surprise him? She was so excited to see Alex, feel his strong arms around her, kissing her like only he could. She needed that feeling deep inside that she belonged to him and he belonged to her.
