The rich, commanding voice threatened to send him walking away. Instead Ben placed his hand firmly on the door and stepped determinedly inside.
‘Hello, Dad.’
Ben knew it would wind the old man up—him marching into his barracks office, in uniform but without an appointment, and not addressing him as Colonel. It wasn’t intentional but it was too bad. This wasn’t about his dad. This was about him. And about Thea.
This was the next crucial step in his plan to win her back. Not that it was much of a plan. Despite being in the military, he’d spent much of his career winging it, making up his own medical procedures as he went along in the desperate need to save a life. The only difference this time was that by winning her back the life he would be saving was his own.
He stared across the desk, prepared to see the inevitable disappointment. However, the man behind the desk looked surprisingly drawn, unusually thin beneath the dark tan from the Afghan sun. He peered over his glasses, and Ben registered a flicker of shock as he made himself stride in confidently.
‘I heard you weren’t in Afghanistan.’ Ben stood in front of the desk. The etiquette drilled into him from childhood even now precluded him from sitting down until invited. ‘I didn’t believe it.’
‘I came back a while ago.’ His father gave an imperceptible gesture and Ben pulled out a chair and sat down accordingly.
‘You weren’t planning on being redeployed the last time I spoke to you,’ Ben challenged.
He had crossed paths with his father at their last camp, a couple of weeks before Ben had been caught in the IED blasts. Yet Thea said she’d seen his father at the hospital soon after Ben had been transported back.
‘Things...changed.’
Could his father really have given up his command for him? No, he was being fanciful, caught up as he was in his drive for information. There had to be a more logical explanation.
‘I understand you passed your Medical Board Assessment today, clearing you for active duty? Congratulations.’
‘Thank you.’ Ben inclined his head.
He’d been in there less than an hour ago, but why should he be surprised that his father already knew the results? The Board probably had the Colonel on speed dial.
‘However, I won’t be returning to active duty. Tomorrow I’m going to tender my resignation from the British Army,’ he announced quickly, without fanfare. ‘I’ll be handing my official letter to my Commanding Officer.’
‘I see.’
The Colonel looked grim, and Ben felt a rush of irritation.
‘I’m only coming to forewarn you now as a courtesy, Dad.’ He intended to emphasise that it had nothing to do with his father’s position as Battalion IC.
‘May I ask what has precipitated this decision?’ his father asked stiffly.
‘This isn’t the life for me any more,’ Ben answered simply, surprising even himself with his confidence in his decision. ‘I’ve enjoyed it for twelve years, but it’s time for me to move on to new things. I’m not running away.’
He wanted to get that in before his father leaped to his own assumptions. He knew it was true. He was running towards something. Towards a new life, a new future, and the only woman he’d ever loved. He just had to convince her that he’d changed enough for her to love him too. Not that his father would ever understand any of that.
‘I have never known you to run away, Benjamin. Not in the twelve years you’ve served your country and not as a boy.’
Ben certainly hadn’t been prepared for his father’s apparent acceptance. He sat, shocked, as his father continued. Awkwardly, but with the resolute glint in his eyes that Ben recognised so well.
‘I know you better than you realise, Benjamin. So I understand why you waited to pass your Medical Board before tendering your resignation. You wanted to see your recovery through and you were determined to pass. Because now you can be satisfied that the decision to leave is all yours—no one else’s.’
‘Right...’ Ben frowned. ‘Thank you.’
Of all things, his father’s understanding, his acceptance, was the last thing he’d expected. He stood up to leave, almost forgetting why he’d wanted to come.
Abruptly he stopped. Turned. ‘Did you visit me in the hospital?’
His father hesitated. ‘Yes,’ he acknowledged after a moment. ‘I suppose your young lady told you?’
So Thea had seen him. Ben was shocked.
‘She’s Daniel Fletcher’s sister, I understand?’