RussetI’ve spent four years as a Marine.
Four long, hard years where I’ve been putting my life on the line for my country. I’ve seen shit, I’ve done shit.
And it’s taught me a lot of things.
But one thing rises to the top of that list.
All that bullshit — the stuff I used to think mattered: fucking around, being my own man — it means nothing.
Not when there is a woman at home.
The woman.
The one and only woman that matters.
The one whose heart I broke the day I left.
She wanted forever; she was willing to commit. To me. A man with no money, no house, no place to put down roots.
She was willing to go all in. And I walked away, scared. Scared of that kind of commitment. She was only eighteen. The last thing a girl as perfect as Autumn Wood needed was her older brother’s best friend knocking her up and ruining her life. And that is just what I would’ve done.
Now I’m back. Putting on a clean shirt and running a hand over my cropped hair, I know I don’t look so different than when I was saw her last, but inside?
Inside I’m a changed man.
My phone buzzes and I reach for it.Grayson: You coming? Mom says dinner is in an hour.
Me: Yep, even bringing her flowers.
Grayson: Suck up.
Me: You know she’s always been like a mom to me.
Grayson: I know, fucker, just messin’. See you soon, it’s been a long ass time and everyone’s asking about you.I pause, my thumbs on the keypad. I want to ask if Autumn has been wondering how I’ve been … but I know she wouldn’t want me to. She didn’t want anyone to know about our stolen kisses the summer I left, the summer she graduated high school and was willing to throw caution to the wind.
She wanted me. Bad.
I wanted her. I just didn’t know how to show her.
The only reason I never slept with her before I left was knowing that a girl like her deserved so much more than I could give. I wasn’t going to take her virginity if I wasn’t prepared to hold her heart.
Now? Now I’ll fucking cradle her in my arms to the day I die.
I get in the truck I rented for the month I’m home, and lock up the extended stay motel room. Not exactly classy, but I’m headed back to duty after Christmas. Most Marines have family to go home to. I was never that guy. Family was a four-letter word to me. I grew up in foster care, and by the grace of God I had the foresight to enlist when I was nineteen. If I hadn’t I don’t want to think about where I’d have ended up.
So, I don’t have a place to call home, but when Gunney told me I needed to use some of my leave, I knew in my heart it was time.
Time to go back for Autumn. I’ve been dying to ask Grayson about her, but I know it will start a conversation I’m not prepared to finish. I need to speak with her before I speak to anyone else.
Stopping at the grocery store on my way to the Woods’ house, I run in for the flowers for Lindy. When I’m in the checkout line, I see Johanna Smith behind the register.
“Wow, it’s Thanksgiving not Halloween,” she says, crossing her arms. “So explain to me why I’m seeing a ghost.”
“Hey, Jo,” I say, running a hand over my smooth jaw. “Long time.”
“Yeah, real long.”
The flowers move closer on the conveyor belt and I wait for her to grab them. She doesn’t.
“You know, lots of people talking about you. You some hero now, right?”
“Not so sure about all that,” I say, clearing my throat. I hate attention like this, though I’ve been getting it a lot for the last few weeks since receiving the Marine Corps Medal.
“You rescued, like, an entire family from drowning. It’s crazy. I mean, you were always such a …”
I frown. I know how this ends. The way I’m seen with my Marine brothers is very different than how people in Meadow Hollow see me. Here, I’m the screw up, the teenager getting kicked out of class, smoking and drinking way too much.
“People change,” I say, nodding toward the flowers.
Johanna reaches for them. “Who are these for?” she asks as she rings them up.
“Lindy Wood, headed to Grayson and Autumn’s place for Thanksgiving dinner.”
“I know that.” She smirks. “Well, tell Grayson I said hi, and let him know I get off at four.”
“Will do,” I say. Since when does Grayson spend time with Johanna Smith? She was always so damn judgmental.
“Everyone in town has been talking about how you were on the news. Everyone is just really proud of you.” She twists her lips before continuing. “And, Russet, I know I’ve been a bitch in the past, and coming from me, this probably doesn’t really matter, but I’m really proud of what you did in the Indian Ocean. The world needs more real heroes right now.”