D is for Deacon (Men of ALPHAbet Mountain)

But that didn’t mean he would be wanting to leave anytime soon. And if Rebecca was serious, we would be starting that new life immediately. The two realities didn’t seem to jive with each other very well. While I didn’t want to kick my buddy out, I didn’t know how he or Rebecca would feel about a long-term solution with both of them here. My guess was Everett would want to find a place of his own, and Rebecca would want that as well, even though they seemed to get along extremely well.

There was also the matter that she had a place of her own too. It was the first place we had been together, and the place where we had a lot of memories before the accident. It was a lot to think about, a lot to talk about, and a lot of decisions to be made rather quickly.

I didn’t intend on her ever leaving my side. Once this arm healed, I had every intention of figuring out how to make my life with her work. And bright and early the next morning, I planned on telling her that I was ready and that she was the only person I wanted. She wouldn’t even be able to say anything since I wouldn’t have had my meds yet that morning. My shoulder and my neck might hurt, but my mind would be as clear as crystal.

When I came to Ashford, I was still very much a broken man. The war had turned me into someone I barely recognized, someone who didn’t emote, at least very much. Someone who didn’t function in the world the way he should. I was always anxious and didn’t believe in myself very much.

Rebecca changed that. Somehow, when I saw her, I had confidence. I flirted with her, which was something I really hadn’t done. I wasn’t like Everett. I didn’t take the attack we survived and turn it into a catalyst to do everything and anything that scared me or intrigued me. I went internal. I got scared.

But Rebecca made me realize that I wanted so much more. I wanted the life I wanted before I joined the military, before the attack and before I was sent home not knowing who I really was anymore. She made me remember the part of myself that had always wanted to be a father, that always wanted to settle down and have a life as a husband with a loving partner. And I couldn’t imagine a more perfect partner than Rebecca.

I came to Ashford hoping to make some level of my dreams come true— at least to wake me up to what they were and remind me that they were possible again. All it took was a small-town waitress with dreams of being a tattoo artist to shake me out of that funk, and I would forever be indebted to her for it. She was the angel that rescued my mind, my heart, and my soul.

I couldn’t wait to start our lives together. But I would have to, at least for one more night. One more night of her not knowing how much I absolutely needed her, not just when I came to Ashford, but now and forever into the future as I tried to make every single one of my own dreams come true. And how I would do everything in my power to make every one of her dreams come true too.

First things first, she would be able to burn that waitress outfit. Or at least stuff it into the back of the closet, just so I could look at it once in a while and remember how I first saw her, how I first met her, and how I first made my move on her. I would like that better, but it would be her choice. Her life was going to be drastically different, but she needed to have that say.

Not that I thought she was going to want to stay working there. That part I already knew. At least I knew she had worked in their kitchen and knew how to make the pancakes the way they did. I would never have to go to Dina’s again to get my stack of pancakes if she was at home with me. Even if she didn’t make them, half the reason I went was to see the cute waitress anyway. Just having her to wake up to could make a bowl of cereal look like gourmet cuisine.

I shifted in the bed and scooted closer to her, wrapping my arm down and around her body. My left arm was stuck in the cast, but my right arm was fine, and I made use of it by pulling her tight against me. My palm settled on her breast, and I cupped it in a comforting way. It wasn’t sexual in that moment but peaceful. Loving. Protective.