“I’m going to have to come on your jobs more often,” Ana said.
My body was feeling way too much pleasure to argue with her at that moment. If I could get to that feeling again, I might just have to agree to let her work with me. There had been nothing like that before and I couldn’t imagine I’d feel it again, unless I was with Ana.
“I’m pretty sure we broke some stuff on the desk.”
“Well, that’s life I guess.” Ana laughed.
“I guess it is.”
Ana and I sat naked on the floor for a good fifteen minutes before we were finally able to gather ourselves together and stand up again. We had just cleaned up the desk when there was a knock at the door.
“Mr. Foster?” the voice asked.
“Yes,” I said as I opened the door.
“We have transportation for your friend’s body. There is a local military deployment heading home with a few other casualties and they will allow you all to return with them.”
The words suddenly and somberly brought us both back to reality.
“Thank you.”
It was time to head home and back to the reality that was ahead of us both. There was a dead man and a family that would forever miss him. And we still needed to figure out what was going on with Stephano.
Chapter Twenty-Five
ANA
It was too loud to talk on the military plane and sleeping seemed like the absolute best option. I was exhausted. It was more than physical exhaustion though. My body and mind were so tired that I felt like I could sleep for a week.
Nate sat with Baller and Sandbag during the flight. They conversed with the soldiers and seemed to have a lot in common with them. They were all bringing home some fallen friends and I felt like sleeping was better than imposing on anyone during their time of remembrance.
Even as I rested my he
ad though, I felt like a new person. I was energized and not interested in just letting life pass me by. Instead of being afraid, I felt a new power, as if I could take on anyone and anything.
Of course, Stephano still loomed over my head, but I didn’t have that fear of him like I had before. My memories of my time there were now making me feel stronger and more like I could take on the world. This outlook was something so new to me that it scared me a bit.
Even when I was a child, I hadn’t had so much confidence in myself that I could take on the world. I had always had a feeling as if I would lead a mediocre life and probably never be truly happy. So, it surprised me greatly that my stunt of going to a war zone had been the thing that gave me happiness and confidence in my life.
Even the eight hours of sleep I got on the plane ride home didn’t feel like it had filled up my lost sleep meter. All I wanted to do was crawl into bed and get another day or so of sleeping done before I decided what I would do next with my life. There were a lot of choices ahead of me, and I couldn’t wait to sit and talk with Nate to see what he thought I should do. I wasn’t exactly sure how long he was planning on waiting before he started his own agency up, but I knew there would be plenty of training and things I should get started on while I waited.
But before we could do anything else, before we could even think about anything else, we had to talk with Rake’s family. I had expected that we would be able to drive to their house and talk with them, so I was surprised when his wife and child were waiting at the airport. Blankenship had brought them there to meet the plane.
Because we were traveling with soldiers for the United States Army who had also been killed in action, there was a full reception for them as they were unloaded from the plane first. It was an emotional scene as we stood to the side of the plane and watched the families as the caskets were brought off.
I had never witnessed such an emotional and sad scene before in my life. I was sobbing by the time Rake’s casket was taken off the plane and brought to the funeral home vehicle. I stood at a distance as his wife and child placed their hands on his casket and then kissed it. Their loss was tremendous and I didn’t think I could have understood that feeling before I met Nate.
I suddenly realized that I loved him. Not puppy love or lust like I had felt in my past. But actually loved him. I didn’t care if we always saw eye to eye; I didn’t care if we sometimes argued because my heart realized that we would figure it out. Together, we would figure out what would be best.
My tears weren’t just for the families and their losses. I also felt happy that I had a man in my life who was a good man and I knew I could have a future with. But with that future would always come some sort of uncertainty as his job brought him to places where he could get killed.
“You all right?” Nate asked as he stood next to me and let his hand slide into mine.
“It’s so sad. She finally found the love of her life and now he’s gone.”
I expected Nate to say something or counteract my sadness with some sort of statement about Rake living the life he wanted to, but he didn’t. Instead, Nate squeezed my hand harder and moved even closer to me as we watched in sadness. It was a reality for anyone that did the job Nate did, and I wasn’t sure I really wanted to be part of it anymore. If I was ever going to have a family or get married, it wouldn’t be a life for a mother, I was certain of that. I wasn’t even sure it should be a life for a father. But I would never tell Nate he couldn’t do a job that he loved.
“Thank you for bringing him home,” Rake’s wife said to Nate as she hugged him.