The Corporal and the Choir Girl

“Good morning,” he parroted.

“I don’t think we were supposed to sleep together until after the wedding.”

She turned her body to face him. Bra

ndon loosened his hold only slightly. He had no intention of letting her go right now or ever. Moving his fingertips through her mussed hair, he brushed her strands aside so that he could have a clear view down into her lovely face.

Brandon had never expected to fall in love. He was glad he was lying down for the occasion. It was a dizzying event.

Reegan looked up at him with so much trust in her eyes. But there was still a vulnerability on her brow. He wanted to brush it away. Before he could have that right, he’d need to come clean about everything.

“I blamed myself for your brother’s …” He couldn’t use the word death now, since it may no longer be accurate. “For losing Reece. He asked permission to investigate something that seemed off. There were a group of women headed into a danger zone we were surveilling. He wanted to warn them. I thought they might be setting a trap. He argued against it. I let him convince me to take the chance.”

Brandon took a breath. He waited for the darkness to assault him, for the smoke to fill his nostrils. The sights, sounds, and smells were all there, but they weren’t strong. They were no longer a visceral experience, just a memory.

“Were they the bad guys?” asked Reegan.

“We still don’t know for sure,” Brandon answered. “But some evidence has come to light that we may have been wrong.”

“Well, you could always count on Reece to do the right thing. Even if that meant he’d sacrifice himself for the possibility of the good in others. If he is gone, then I’m glad he did it trying to save someone else’s life. And his last act brought you to me.”

Brandon closed his eyes. There were no flames, no smoke, no sand behind his eyes. There was only the glow of orange-red. He’d rested his forehead against Reegan’s forehead, and her hair filled his vision.

She was a blessing come to life. He felt he could breathe again. He felt absolved.

He opened his eyes in time to catch Reegan tilting her head. Both of her soft pink lips closed around his bottom lip. Brandon relaxed into her sweetness. One of his hands came up and cupped the side of her face, tilting her head so that he could capture both of her lips with his.

As much as he wanted to hear her voice, to hear the sweet songs she made, he wanted the sweetness of her lips even more. His fingers tangled in her hair, holding her to him, and he deepened the kiss.

Reegan gasped. The sound of her voice, coupled with the sweetness of her lips, added onto the softness of her flesh broke something inside Brandon. The soldier in him threw up his hands in surrender.

Before he could wave the white flag, a pounding knock sounded at the front door.

They both groaned. Neither pulled away from the other. Reegan’s hunger for him was reflected in her blue gaze.

Just as Brandon thought to ignore it, the knock sounded again. He knew it wasn’t one of the women from the ranch. It was an authoritative knock. Like a soldier’s knock. But he knew it wasn’t one of the men on the ranch.

Rolling out of bed, he ran his hand through his hair as he left the bedroom. He took a few deep breaths as he approached the door so that he wouldn’t bite off the head of the person on his doorstep. Throwing open the wood door, Brandon’s suspicions were confirmed. Standing on the stoop were two uniformed officers. Alongside them was Chase.

“Corporal Lucas?” said one of the uniforms.

Brandon nodded. He glanced over at Chase whose look was grim. Brandon’s first thought was to shield Reegan from whatever news they were about to deliver. But it was too late. He already felt her coming up behind him.

“We have communication that Private Reece Cartwright has been found.”

Reegan gasped behind him. Brandon turned with his arms outstretched in case she was about to faint. But who was he kidding? This was Reegan. The woman had been thrown tragedy after obstacle, and she was still standing.

Her blue eyes were bright. Her lips tilted up in a smug smile. “I told you.”

Yes. She had told him. He knew now never to doubt his future wife’s intuition.

“We’re putting together a team to retrieve him,” the uniformed soldier continued. “We’d like you to be on it.”

Chapter Twenty

Reegan’s emotions were being tugged in two different directions. On the one hand, she’d been right. Her brother was alive. Her heart felt like it was expanding, growing ten times as large as though it could hoist a sail and head overseas to retrieve her brother. And that’s where the tug in the other direction came into play.

She turned to Brandon. His jaw was tense. His hands were balled into fists.