Page 30 of Gator's Gambit
“All right then. Well, best you be on your way. You don’t want to be late for your flight.” Briefly, she squeezes me tight, “I love you, my boy.” Letting me go, she steps back.
Just then Dad pulls into the drive. “Oh good, I made it in time.”
“Hey, Dad.” He hops out of his truck, pulling me into a bear hug when he reaches me.
“You know the drill by now. Stay safe, kick some bad-guy ass out there, and come home in one piece, yeah?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Well then, best be on your way, son.” Grinning at him, I salute and head for the car. “Godric …”
“Yeah, Dad?”
“Love you, boy. Be safe.”
“Love you too, Dad.”
The trip to the base is filled with Em’s chatter – her valiant attempt to lighten the somber mood in her small vehicle. Her attempts to engage Fancy in conversation are met with half-hearted responses but, knowing her friend as well as she does, Em doesn’t let it deter her.
The short drive to the base is over too quickly, and I dread the moment I’ll have to take my leave of Fancy. Who the hell knewit would be this hard? Em hops out, wraps her arms around me, and hugs me with all her might.
“Love you, Ric. See you on the flip side.” I barely get an “I love you too,” out before she dashes back to her car and gets in behind the wheel, leaving just Fancy and me standing there.
Trying to breathe through the tightness around my chest, I glance over at my sister for a second before deciding, fuck it, and hauling Fancy into my arms. She wraps herself around me, clinging for all she’s worth.
“I’ll let you know as soon as I’m back and we can finalize plans for you to come out to Riverton, yeah?”
“Yeah,” she replies so softly I barely hear her over the noise around us.
A young airman comes over, respectfully stopping a short way away. I nod over at him, and he steps closer. “We’re going wheels up in ten, sir.”
“Thank you,” I reply, my stomach sinking. This is it.
Cupping Fancy’s cheeks in my hands, I look down into her precious face, memorizing every freckle, the plump lips that are so kissable, her eyes – endless pools I love to lose myself in.
“I know it’s all been said already, multiple times, but it bears repeating. Please be careful out there and come home to us. I’m not sure I would survive losing you now that I’ve only just ‘found’ you.”
“I promise to be careful. I have more than ever before to come home to. You be careful too. With that maniac out there, this is the worst possible time for me to be leaving. Stay close to home as much as possible, and be vigilant.” I pause a moment, hesitant to confess to what I’ve done, but press forward.
“I’ve reached out to a friend; his name is Tex. He’s looking into this freak and working on getting him off the streets. In the meantime, if you ever feel threatened or in danger do nothesitate to contact him.” Fancy nods, but doesn’t reply, doesn’t look at me either.
“Fancy, I’m not fucking around here, okay? This guy is clearly dangerous, and I can’t be worrying about whether you’ve got enough self-preservation to accept help when you need it or not. Please promise me you’ll reach out to Tex if you need to?”
I feel bad when a look of guilt settles on her face. “I’m sorry. Yes, you’re right – I don’t want you distracted by worrying about me. I – I promise I’ll contact your friend.
“Thank you,” I reply. “Let me have your phone and I’ll put his number into it for you.”
I see the same airman from earlier indicate five minutes and nod. I input Tex’s number into Fancy’s cellphone, then hand it back to her. Taking one last bracing breath, I kiss her like my life depends on it.
“I love you, more than I can ever express,” I say when we finally part. “Please take care. I’ll talk to you when I’m back.”
“I love you too, Bean.” Reaching around her neck, she unclasps her chain and hands it to me. “This is St. Michael, the protector of soldiers, amongst others, and I want you to take him with you. I’m gifting him to you, so he can keep you safe out there, and bring you home to me.”
Going up on tiptoes, she places the necklace around my neck, the pendant still warm from her body heat. Something shifts, then settles within me, and I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, I will fight to my very last breath to come home to her.
With one last kiss and a wave for my sister, I head for the plane, my heart in my throat and tears in my eyes. Fuck, if the guys could see me now, they’d have a good laugh at my expense. But, for the first time ever, emotion weighs so heavy on me I can’t prevent the sheen of moisture in my eyes.
“Sir, your commander sent this for you,” I hear the airman from earlier say. Looking his way, I see him holding out an official looking envelope to me.
