A Soldier's Return

“I’ll talk to him, but I’m promising nothing.”

“I’ll tell him.” She’d pushed him as far as she could, she thought. He’d given his word to at least speak to Will, and Carrie’s fantasy Jim would never break his word. So she said good-night and turned to walk away.

She could feel his eyes on her as she walked down the hall. Just before she entered the elevator, she looked back at him and gave him a warm smile.

His expression didn’t change.

AFTER SHE REACHED her apartment, she called Will. “He’s staying at the Holiday Inn in room #512. He agreed to speak with you in the morning, but he said you didn’t need to give him a job.”

“Thanks, Carrie. You did just what I wanted. I think it’s going to be a while before he feels comfortable with the family. But we don’t want to lose touch with him.”

“I agree.”

“Why don’t we both take him to breakfast in the morning? I think you can help talk him into trying out the job.”

“Me? I’ll be glad to go with you, but I doubt it matters to Jim what I think.”

“I’ll meet you at the office at eight-thirty. Then we’ll go pick up Jim.”

“Okay, see you then.”

Carrie hung up the phone and immediately moved to her closet to figure out what she was wearing tomorrow to impress Jim.

“You’re being ridiculous!” she exclaimed, but she didn’t stop until she found her favorite red suit and a new blouse she’d bought last week. She was glad that finally, in the last few months she had extra money to spend on her wardrobe.

It had taken her an extra couple of years to graduate college because she’d had to go part-time after her father’s sudden death. Then her mother had been sick, which had drained her of both time and money. But it had been worth it because she’d had time with her mother that she wouldn’t trade for any size bank account.

The luckiest thing that had ever happened to her had been to go to work for Will Greenfield.

Five years ago she’d come to work for him as a part-time receptionist, while she was in school. Then she began to handle some of the investigation work, the easier things that Will didn’t have time for. Over time, her involvement deepened until she was working full-time as a P.I.

Throughout it all, Will treated her as a member of his family—which at the time had only consisted of himself. Then he’d met Vivian, who happened to be the mother of her former best friend. Carrie had simply walked away from Vanessa, leaving her in the dark about the events that had changed her life so completely.

With her father’s death, her life had fallen apart like a house of cards. She no longer could afford tuition or new clothes or even the car her dad had bought her. She’d settled his bills by selling everything they had. Then she’d bought a cheap car and moved her and her mother into an apartment.

She still lived there.

But now she had her friendship with Vanessa back, and Will and Vivian in her life. And for the past year since she’d gotten involved in finding Vanessa’s siblings, she had Jim. The fantasy Jim anyway. From the moment she’d seen his picture, his face had spoken to her. She felt like she knew him—intimately.

She was definitely attracted to him.

But that was the fantasy Jim, she reminded herself. The fantasy Jim opened himself up to her, allowed her to love him. But the real Jim…? So far he remained the stoic soldier returning from war.

Carrie laid out her clothes for the morning and finally went to bed, in the arms of a strong-jawed fantasy man.

JIM AWOKE LATER than he’d expected. He attributed it to the airline travel yesterday, and meeting his family for the first time.

When he emerged from the shower, the phone in his room was ringing.

“Hello?” he answered.

“Jim, it’s Will Greenfield. Have you had breakfast yet?”

“No. I’m running late this morning.”

“How about you join Carrie and me downstairs in the coffee shop? I want to buy you breakfast.”

“You don’t have to,” he said.

“I know I don’t, but I want to discuss the job I mentioned yesterday. I figure breakfast is the least I owe you if you’ll listen to me.”

Jim realized this man was determined. Until he heard his pitch, Will wouldn’t leave him alone. He looked at his watch. “I’ll be down in ten minutes.”

“Fine. We’ll have coffee waiting for you,” Will promised.

It was the “we” that bothered Jim. He liked Will Greenfield. But Carrie… There was something there when he looked at her. Something that made him want to run in the other direction. He should run in the other direction he told himself. He didn’t want to hurt her. And that was all he’d bring Carrie. Or any woman.

He dressed in black slacks and a royal-blue dress shirt. After all, he was no longer a soldier. When he looked in the mirror, it was strange to see himself in anything but khaki-green. Hoping he hadn’t made a mistake in leaving the service, he picked up his billfold and his room key and headed for the coffee shop to face Will and Carrie.

When he entered the coffee shop, he looked around for Will Greenfield. But all he saw was Carrie Rand in a bright red suit, sitting in a booth. He frowned. He hadn’t planned on a breakfast alone with Carrie. The less time he spent with her the better everything would be.

He considered returning to his room, but he’d agreed to breakfast. Reluctantly he walked over to the booth.

Carrie glanced up and gasped. “Jim! You’re not wearing your uniform.”

“No. I’m a civilian now,” he said.

“But yesterday—” Carrie began.

“Was my last day in the military. I was traveling and it was easier to do so in uniform. Where’s Will?”

“Um, he had an emergency call he had to take. Please sit down, Jim. He should be back shortly.” Carrie signaled the waitress, who came to the table with a pot of coffee.

“Here’s a hungry man,” Carrie said with a smile. “Please pour him some coffee and maybe he’ll be ready to order in a minute.”

“I can order now, if you’re ready,” Jim said quietly.

“We’ve already ordered. I asked our waitress to hold our order until you got here. Will said for us to go ahead and not wait for him.”

“I’ll take two eggs over easy, bacon, wheat toast and a short stack of pancakes.”

“You certainly seem to know your mind, Jim. Will likes that.”

“It’s a habit the marines encourage,” Jim said with a nod.

“I bet you were a fast learner, too,” Carrie said, hoping to see Jim smile. She was sure a smile would increase his handsome quotient tremendously. Which was pretty incredible since she’d thought his stern appearance would be hard to beat.

Jim said, “Yeah.”