Debbie Macomber Navy Series Box Set: Navy Wife / Navy Blues / Navy Brat / Navy Woman / Navy Baby / Navy Husband

* * *

As Steve walked away from his parked car at the Navy base in Bangor, less than ten miles north of Bremerton, he was convinced his strut would put a rooster to shame. Lord, he felt good.

Carol had come to him, wanted him, loved him as much as he’d always loved and wanted her. All the world felt good to him.

For the first time since they’d divorced, he felt whole. He’d been a crazed fool to harp on the subject of Todd Larson to Carol. From this moment on, he vowed never to mention the other man’s name again. Obviously whatever had been between the two was over, and she hadn’t wanted Todd back. Okay, so she’d made a mistake. Lord knew, he’d committed his share, and a lot of them had to do with Carol. He’d been wrong to think he could flippantly cast her out of his life.

In his pain, he’d lashed out at her, acted like a heel, refused to have anything to do with her because of his foolish pride. But Carol had been woman enough to forgive him. He couldn’t do anything less than be man enough to forget the past. The love they shared was too precious to muddy with doubts. They’d both made mistakes, and the time had come to rectify those and learn from them.

Dear God, he felt ready to soar. He shouldn’t be on a nuclear submarine—a feeling this good was meant for rockets.

* * *

Carol found herself humming as she whipped the cream into a frothy topping for Steve’s favorite dessert: French pudding. She licked her index finger, grinned lazily to herself and leaned her hip against the kitchen counter, feeling happier than she could remember being in a long time.

Friday night had been incredible. Steve had been incredible. The only cost had been her bruised pride when she’d arrived at his apartment with such a flimsy excuse. The price had been minor, the rewards major.

Not once during the entire evening had Steve mentioned Todd’s name. Maybe, just maybe, he was ready to put that all behind them now.

If she was pregnant from their Friday night lovemaking, which she sincerely prayed she was, it would be best for the baby to know “her” father. Originally Carol had intended to raise the child without Steve. She wasn’t sure she would ever have told him. Now the thought of suppressing the information seemed both childish and petty. But she wasn’t going to use the baby as a convenient excuse for a reconciliation. They would settle matters first—then she would tell him.

Steve would make a good father; she’d watched him around children and had often been amazed by his patience. He’d wanted a family almost from the first. Carol had been the one who’d insisted on waiting, afraid she wouldn’t be able to manage her job, a home and a baby with her husband away so much of the time, although she’d never admitted it to Steve. She knew how important it was for him to believe in her strength and independence. But this past year had matured her. Now she was ready for the responsibility.

Naturally hindsight was twenty-twenty, and she regretted having put off Steve’s desire to start a family. The roots of their marriage might have been strong enough to withstand what had happened if there’d been children binding them together. But it did no good to second-guess fate.

Children. Carol hadn’t dared think beyond one baby. But if she and Steve were to get back together—something that was beginning to look like a distinct possibility—then they could plan on having a houseful of kids!

* * *

It was early afternoon by the time Steve made it to Carol’s house. A cold wind from the north whistled through the tops of the trees and the sky was darkening with a brewing storm.

Carol tossed aside her knitting and flew across the room the minute she heard a car door close, knowing it had to be Steve. By the time he was to the porch, she had the front door open for him.

He wore his uniform, which told her he hadn’t stopped off at his apartment to change. Obviously he was eager to see her again, Carol thought, immeasurably pleased.

“I’m glad to see you’re waiting for me,” he said, and his words formed a soft fog around his mouth. He took the steps two at a time and rubbed his bare hands together.

“I can’t believe how cold it is.” Carol pulled him inside the house and closed the door.

His gaze sought hers. “Warm me, then.”

She didn’t require a second invitation, and stood on the tips of her toes to kiss him, leaning her weight into his. Steve wrapped her in his embrace, kissing her back greedily, as if they had been apart six weeks instead of a single day. When he finished, they were both breathless.

“It feels like you missed me.”

“I did,” she assured him. “Give me your coat and I’ll hang it up for you.”

He gave her the thick wool jacket and strolled into the living room. “What’s this?” he asked, looking at her knitting.

Carol’s heart leaped to her throat. “A baby blanket.”

“For who?”

“A … friend.” She considered herself a friend, so that was at least a half-truth. She’d been working on the blanket in her spare time since before Christmas. It had helped her feel as if she was doing something constructive toward her goal.

Suddenly she felt as if she had a million things to tell him. “I got energetic and cleaned house. I don’t know what’s wrong with me lately, but I don’t have the energy I used to have.”

“Have you been sick?”

She loved him for the concern in his voice. “No, I’m in perfect health … I’ve just been tired lately … not getting enough vitamins, I suppose. But it doesn’t matter now because I feel fantastic, full of ambition—I even made you French pudding.”

“Carol, I think you should see a doctor.”

“And if he advises bed rest, do you promise to, er … rest with me?”

“Good heavens, woman, you’ve become insatiable.”

“I know.” She laughed and slipped her arm around his waist. “I was always that way around you.”

“Always?” he teased. “I don’t seem to recall that.”

“Then I’ll just have to remind you.” She steered him toward the bedroom, crawled onto the mattress and knelt there. “If you want French pudding, fellow, you’re going to have to work for it.”

* * *

The alarm went off at six. Carol blindly reached out and, after a couple of wide swipes, managed to hit the switch that would turn off the electronic beeping.

Steve stirred at her side. “It’s time,” she said in a small, sad voice. This would be their last morning together for three months.

“It’s six already?” Steve moaned.

“I’m afraid so.”

He reached for her and brought her close to his side. His hand found hers and he laced her fingers with his. “Carol, listen, we only have a little time left and there’s so much I should have said, so much I wanted to tell you.”

“I wanted to talk to you, too.” In all the years they were married, no parting had been less welcome. Carol yearned to wrap her arms around him and beg him not to leave her. It was times like this that she wished Steve had chosen a career outside the Navy. In a few hours he would sail out of Hood Canal, and she wouldn’t hear from him for the entire length of his deployment. Other than hearsay, Carol wasn’t even to know where he would be sailing. For reasons of national security, all submarine deployments were regarded as top secret.

“When I return from this tour, Carol, I’d like us to have a serious talk about getting back together. I know I’ve been a jerk, and you deserve someone better, but I’d like you to think about it while I’m away. Will you do that for me?”

She couldn’t believe how close she was to breaking into tears. “Yes,” she whispered. “I’ll think about it very seriously. I want everything to be right … the second time.”

“I do, too.” He raised her hand to his mouth and kissed her knuckles. “Another thing … make an appointment for a physical. I don’t remember you being this thin.”

“I lost fifteen pounds when we were divorced; I can’t seem to gain it back.” The tears broke through the surface and she sobbed out the words, ending in a hiccup. Embarrassed, she pressed her fingertips over her lips. “I’ve been a wreck without you, Steve Kyle … I suppose it makes you happy to know how miserable and lonely this past year has been.”

“I was just as miserable and lonely,” he admitted. “We can’t allow anything to do this to us again. I love you too damn much to spend another year like the last one.” His touch was so tender, so loving that she melted into his embrace.

“You have to trust me, Steve. I can’t have you coming back and even suspecting I’d see another man.”