"What do you mean?"
"If I … try this and I blow it again, what about our children? If you want them."
Without hesitation he answered, "Yes, I want them. With you." His brows pulled together. "And you? What do you want?"
God love him for asking. No one else ever had. She'd always had to fight for what she wanted from life, and she'd fought alone. Not any longer. Andrew had made her fear she was too reserved, too much of a loner to be a good mother. But she knew that wasn't the truth—probably not then and definitely not now.
With faith that this man would accept and nurture all her dreams as his own, Kathleen shared her heartfelt wish. "Yes, I want them." Certainty flowed through her. "With you."
Tanner's eyes closed, his head falling to rest against hers. His throat moved with a long swallow before he looked down at her.
That sense of déjà vu hit her again. Thoughts of standing on the airfield in Germany flashed through her mind, brash Tanner staggering off the airplane, fighting through the pain. Bravado had glossed over his hurt and a fear that he would lose something important. She saw that same flicker of fear in his eyes now, a fear slowly easing away.
He'd been afraid of losing her.
He really loved her.
Then he smiled, a full-dimpled smile. He threw his head back and laughed, hefted her up and spun her around twice before cruising her to a safe landing on the runway. "You won't be sorry, Kathleen. There's nothing you can't do once you set your mind to it, and now that you've set your mind on us, hon, we're a sure thing. With the combined forces of our not-so-subtle wills, we'll make this work."
The man certainly did have a way with words, and she'd always loved a man who could talk. She'd always loved this man. "Yes."
"Yes what?"
"Yes, I love you. Yes, I'll many you. And yes, I'll populate the Air Force with our little warrior gods and goddesses."
"That's my Athena. A woman of few words, but when she talks, she says all the right things."
"Kiss me." Kathleen arched up on her toes as he leaned down, their lips meeting. She let her mouth soften under his, cling, just a leisurely sort of kiss, the kind given with ease as if it were her right. And it was.
Finally, after twelve years of longing, she could just kiss, enjoy, savor the feel of Tanner's mouth against hers, confident in the knowledge that she could return for more anytime, anywhere for the rest of her life.
Kathleen ended the kiss with a final nip. Her hands hooked around his neck, her head on his chest as she eyed the airplane just across the tarmac. Deliciously wicked intent fired inside her.
She stepped out of his embrace and patted along her jacket, then her skirt until Tanner finally asked, "What are you doing?"
"This uniform doesn't have enough pockets. I seem to have forgotten my UCMJ manual."
"And that's a problem because…?"
"I can't look up whether it's against regs for us to climb into that plane over there so you can jump me."
A slow smile kicked that dimple into his face again, a grin guaranteed to flutter her heart for at least another fifty years. "The way I understand that reg, Captain O'Connell, we're in the clear, since we're just taking cover from an imminent rainstorm."
Kathleen stared up into the cloudless night sky, but didn't bother contradicting him. After all, rain was always imminent in Charleston. Tanner had taught her she could bend the rules on occasion without compromising her principles. "Come on, hotshot. I'll race you to the airplane. Winner gets to jump the loser."
Tanner clasped her hand in his. "Athena, the way I read that one, it's a team effort where we're both going to come out winners."
Epilogue
Tanner slung his helmet bag on the counter and opened the refrigerator. Light sliced through the darkened kitchen, adding just enough illumination for him to find a postflight snack. No need to turn on the overhead and risk waking Kathleen.
Sleep was a precious commodity with a newborn in the house.
Rummaging through the shelves, he opted for a soda before bumping the door shut with his hip. Leftover adrenaline had him too pumped for sleep just yet. Even on a routine training mission, he still enjoyed every damn minute in that left seat. Thanks to the tender—and diligent—care of his resident flight surgeon, Tanner's back problems were a thing of the past.
As were any ghosts. Kathleen had laid those to rest for him, as well. He liked to think he'd done the same for her. The birth of their daughter a few weeks ago had solidified an already strong marriage.
Yeah, they made a top-notch team.