Page 21 of The Homecoming

He nodded, picking her hand up and kissed it. “You can tell me anything.”

“I just…” she began, “I don’t know what we’re doing. This summer we’ve been acting like a couple, but you’re who you are. Even though I’ve known you my entire life, I still know very little about you and…” Her words drifted off as she became lost in her thoughts

“You know everything you need to know,” he replied. “I’m not a complicated man, what you see is what you get. At home, I want my life calm and simple—I want to enjoy the outdoors and come home to you. If you don’t want to be with me, all you have to do is say so and I’ll leave you alone.”

“But you’re going to leave. Out of the blue, you’re going to get called and you just have to go. I don’t get to know where you are going or what you’re doing. I don’t even know exactly what you do, except that it’s probably dangerous. Maybe you kill people. And any piece of information Idoget doesn’t make me feel any better.”

“Because it’s dangerous, babe. But I’m highly trained and I’m good at it.” He sighed. “Most civilians don’t have the stomach to hear about it. Yes, I hunt down and kill certain targets. But I promise you, I am one of the good guys. These men I go after are evil and have no problem slaughtering innocents, women, and children. They use them as shields to keep air strikes at bay. People like us, we go in after them. I do it to keep you, our families, and everyone else here safe. I do it so you don’t have to worry about it, and that’s why I don’t talk about it. It’s just part of my job.”

She gazed across the field, staring at the miles and miles of corn stretched about before them. “You realize that every time you leave for work, I have to live with the fact that the man I love is getting in harm’s way. Even if it is for the greater good.”

“You love me,” he interrupted.

“What?”

He smiled. “You said I’m the man you love.”

“I…” she began, but couldn’t think of a response that sounded good enough.

He wrapped his arms around, pulling her tight. “I love you, too,” he whispered into her hair as he kissed the top of her head.

“Really?” She let her head rest on his chest and relaxed into the safety of his embrace.

“Yeah.” They sat for a while in silence. “I understand that I come with some challenges,” he said, his voice low. “Marry me.”

“What?” She sat up and looked him in the eye. “Marry you?”

“Yeah, that way you’ll be protected, you’ll get my benefits if I die.”

She stared at him. “Seriously, you think I’m gonna give a shit about money if I have to watch your flag-draped coffin be brought in on an airplane? That’s just insulting.” She climbed from the back of the jeep and walked away.

“Where are you going, Autumn?” he called out to her. “We’re miles from town, and that’s just a cornfield.”

She stopped and walked back to the jeep. “Fine,” she said. “Take me home.”

He opened the door for her.

“Can I explain myself?” he asked once they were on the road.

“Fine.”

“I realize that being with me is a challenge and I thought you’d be more willing to take a chance on me if you knew there was a safety net… That I’ll take care of you. I’m aware I’m asking a lot of you.”

“Well, it’s insulting to me to say that. As if the only reason I’d want to marry you is for your money.”

“I know that, that’s why I want to give that to you. I’m a protector, it’s what I do.” He paused before pointing out, “I can at least provide that if you’re my wife.”

“I’m not saying no, but I’m not saying yes. We’re definitely not going to get married right now. I can take care of myself, thank you very much.”

After Daniel dropped her off at home, Autumn didn’t go inside. She waited until his taillights disappeared down the street and went to her car. At The Bar, Autumn slid onto a stool at the bar and ordered a white wine. The cheapest one they had––she couldn’t tell the difference. How could he ask her to marry him like that, and for the worst reason? Could she even accept Dan’s job? He made it sound okay. Over the last four years, she’d come to her own opinion on the war in the Middle East. She didn’t think their troops should be there, even if soldiers like Dan and Jason were noble. She had come to believe that taking lives was wrong, and her fears about him killing people were true. Maybe Dan was right, though, people like him did things so people like her didn’t have to worry about them. He only took out those who deserved it.

Did she truly believe that?

Weasel appeared on the stool next to her. “Hey there, Ms. Mac, whatcha doing?”

“Having some wine.” She held up her glass, giving it a swirl.

“Whiskey,” he told the bartender.

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