Page 24 of Mountain Man's Bride

CHAPTER 17

Everlee

Ibeamed at the FaceTime call, my best friend’s goofy picture lighting up the screen. Not wanting to miss this opportunity to finally actually see her, I quickly swiped to answer. “Hey!” I exclaimed. My smile immediately dimmed when I saw how tired Charlie looked. “Charlie?” I questioned, my voice softening.

She burst into tears. My eyes widened in shock. Charlie wasn’t one to get teary—not unless something was really bothering her. I hated being halfway across the country and unable to wrap her in my arms and hold her. She was alone right now, and that knowledge settled in my gut like a stone.

“Charlie, whatever it is, tell me, and I’ll get it fixed,” I swore.

She sniffled and shook her head before wiping the sleeve of her long-sleeve shirt under her nose. I bit back my grimace. I hated when she did that, and she knew it. “I have something I need to tell you, and you might want to be sitting down before I do.”

Tripp walked into the kitchen, and when Charlie didn’t even say anything about finally seeing what he looked like, I knew it was going to be bad. Nerves swirled in my gut, coiling tightly like a rattlesnake. I quickly slid onto a barstool, my hand shaking so badly now, Tripp had to take the phone from me and lean it up against our paper towel holder. Then silently, like the perfect husband he was, he placed his hand on my lower back, his heat burning through my sweatshirt, settling me a little.

But who was there to help Charlie?

“I, um…” Her voice trailed off. “God, this is hard.” She sniffled again, another tear running down her cheek. She wiped it away before staring at me with glassy eyes. “I joined the army, Ever.”

For a moment, I couldn’t seem to process her words. I stared at her, unmoving, for a good minute. But when her words finally settled into my brain, every muscle in my body locked up tight. Tears burned down my cheeks as I silently began to cry.

“Charlie, whatever is happening, we can help,” I cried, desperate for her not to join. The military was dangerous. It didn’t matter what contract she’d signed, what job she chose to do, it was dangerous. “Charlie—”

“It’s too late, Ever.” She hiccuped. I shook my head, my bottom lip trembling. “I knew you’d try to talk me out of it—and might even accomplish it—so I did everything before telling you. I ship out to basic training in a couple of weeks.”

I dropped my face into my hands, my shoulders shaking. Tripp rubbed his hand up and down my back but otherwise remained silent. After a moment, I lifted my head to look at her. “Why didn’t you ask for help?” I croaked. “I—we—would’ve helped in a heartbeat.”

She shook her head at me. “It’s time for me to figure things out, Ever. This might hurt to hear, but I didn’t want you to save me this time.” My lips trembled because it did hurt. “You’ve bent over backward for years to make sure we had everything we needed. Because of you, I was able to attend online classes for college. You’re the reason I’m going into the military with a degree rather than starting out as an E1.” A wobbly smile tilted her lips. “You finally got your happily-ever-after, Ever, and you deserve it so much.” I sobbed. “Now, it’s time for me to go find mine.”

I wrapped my arms around myself, my vision blurry. “I hope this brings you everything you’re looking for,” I croaked. Even if I didn’t like it, I would support her. She knew that.

Her lips twisted into a painful smile. “I hope it does, too, Ever. I really do.” She heaved a tired sigh. “Will you fly out to Miami to see me off?”

Immediately, I nodded. “Yes. Of course, I will,” I told her. “Just text me the details, and I swear to you, I will be there.”

She swiped at her cheeks and nodded. “Okay.” She sniffled again. “I need to lay down and get some rest. My head is pounding. Let me know of any flight details, okay?”

“I will,” I promised her, forcing bravado into my voice that I didn’t feel. “I love you. And take care of yourself, you hear me?”

She nodded before the screen went black.

And I fell apart in my husband’s arms. “She’s leaving,” I cried. His arms banded around me like steel, and he did his best to hold me together.“She’s going to go into something dangerous—” I was sobbing so hard, I could barely get the words out my throat.

“I know, sweetheart,” Tripp whispered as he lifted me from the stool. His arms were strong around me as he carried me into the living room, where we settled in the recliner and he began to gently rock me. “I’m sorry, baby.”

“I hate this,” I whispered, my hands twisting into his shirt. “I hate this so much.”

He brushed his lips to my forehead, his fingers running over my body in hopes of soothing me. “Just let it out, sweetheart,” he whispered. “Let it out.”

CHAPTER 18

Tripp

The time for Charlie to head out for basic training came a lot faster than I wanted it to. The closer the day came for us to fly to Miami, the more upset Everlee got, which affected her blood sugars. The stress of inevitably seeing Charlie off and no longer having an easy way to check on her was messing with her mental health, too.

Writing letters would not be the same as being able to just pick up her phone and dial her best friend if she wanted to talk.

I was doing my best to hold my wife together, but there was only so much I could do. This was something Everlee had to learn to come to terms with on her own. All I could do was do my best to soothe her through it all.

Everlee’s hand clenched around mine as we began the descent into the Miami airport. I raised our joined hands and pressed tender kisses to the back of her hand. She slowly tore her eyes away from the window to look over at me, her eyes glistening with tears.

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