Beneath the Fallen Stars

I take in his words, wondering if he believes her or not. To be honest, I’m not sure I really believe her, not after she was so horrible yesterday, saying the meanest thing. “Wow, do you believe her?”

He sighs, merging into the passing lane on the interstate. “I guess. She seemed remorseful and mentioned a guy she just started seeing, and to be honest, I just want to put her and our past where it belongs. Behind me. Maybe hearing her apologize was what I needed to really put our time together to rest and embrace the future. Embrace you.”

The smile on my lips is small, but there’s so much meaning and emotion behind it. I bring his hand to my mouth and place kisses on his scarred knuckles. “We have less than fifteen hours, Ford Gregory, before you have to report to base. We have a lot of embracing to get in before you go.”

His chuckle is low and deep, sending volts of electricity through my veins and landing straight between my legs. “We could probably take the next exit and… embrace.”

I shake my head and pull a face. “No embracing in rest stops.”

“Good point.” He kisses my wrist. “Let’s get to the hotel. I can’t wait to hold you in my arms.”

Me either.

Especially since the clock seems to be getting faster and faster with each passing second. Before I know it, and way before I’m ready, he’ll be leaving. Again. And I’ll be heading home.

Without Ford.

Without my heart.

Because there’s no way it’s going anywhere but with him.

It’s forever his.

Chapter 21

Ford

The alarm on my phone blares at 5:00 a.m., and I rush to turn it off. Shayne and I didn’t fall asleep until well after one this morning, and I know I’m going to be dragging ass today. That’s okay. It was worth it. Anytime spent with her is worth a few hours of lost sleep. I’m glad we have the room until eleven so she can sleep a little longer before her drive home.

Chad and Faith stayed in the room across the hall from ours, and I’m sure he’s going through something similar right now. They might not be where we are exchanging promises of love, but I know he’s into my sister, and she him.

Shayne is sleeping peacefully, and I hate to wake her, but I promised her I would. I decide to shower first and get ready to head back to base. As carefully as possible, I slide out of bed and quietly make my way to the bathroom.

The hot water feels good against my tired muscles and helps wake me up. Closing my eyes, I tilt my head back, letting the water flow over my face. I’m trying really hard not to think about her driving away from me today. Hell, it’s going to be me walking away from her as we report at 0600. I never knew how hard it would be to walk away from my heart.

Hands around my waist startle me, but I know it’s her. “Hey, baby.” I turn to face her, and there are tears streaming down her face. “Don’t cry, Shay. It tears me up inside.”

“I can’t stop,” she says. “I’m going to miss you so much.”

“I’m right here, baby.” I place my hand over her heart. “I won’t be able to hold you every night, but I promise you that’s what I’ll be thinking about as I lie in my bunk alone.”

“What if I move here? Then can I see you?”

“Yeah, but I can’t move off base for another year. I have to have four years of service in before we can do that.”

“Okay. So one year. That’s not so bad.”

“No, but what about when I’m deployed? I hate the thought of you being here all alone when I’m thousands of miles away.”

“I don’t know, Ford. All I know is that my heart feels like it’s shattering, and I don’t know how to fix it.”

My hug is fierce, but I don’t dare let go. Not when I can feel her body shaking and the sounds of her sobs over the running water. I don’t know how to make this better for her. I don’t know what to do when it’s not just her heart that’s breaking. It’s mine too.

“Shayne.” I pull back and cradle her face in the palm of my hands. “I love you. Do you hear me? I love you. Not just for today, or the past two weeks, I love you enough for a lifetime. Our lifetime. The next year is going to be hard, but I promise you that we’ll get through it. I need to know that you’re going to be there for me when I get home. I know that’s selfish of me to even ask that of you, but I need you, Shayne.” I sound desperate, but I can’t find it in me to care.