It was so sudden. I hadn’t seen it coming, and I was never good about being put on the spot like this… especially with someone that I did miss, even if he was a complete asshole.
But then again, Dalton had been a total prick the night that I met him, too… at least at first. Maybe Jeremy had changed. He certainly sounded like he might have.
And he was right, as much as I hated to admit it. The last thing that I really needed right now was to be alone with myself, trying to solve some depressing problem in my head that nothing was going to fix, no matter how I tried…
I could use the distraction.
Besides… it was only dinner, right?
Dinner was practically harmless.
“Okay, Jeremy, ” I finally conceded with a defeated shrug. “Let’s do dinner tonight.”
“Perfect. I knew you’d come around, Clara.”
As I heard his wicked little chuckle over the phone, I wondered if I hadn’t just made a huge mistake…
Chapter 18
The Californian sun baked down onto my shoulders as I stepped out onto the familiar driveway from my rental car. Covering my eyes, I began strolling the short distance around the front of the expensive little house, perched at the edge of this cul-de-sac.
It hadn’t taken me long to consider the hot, bright desert of the American Southwest another stunning rendition of home sweet home. After all, I’d spent years under this burning sun, in an environment easily just as inhospitable as this one.
While I walked up the driveway, my mind drifted back to the same place it had the entire week that I’d been here: my last night with Clara.
…And what a clusterfuck that had been.
She’d seriously wounded my soul with the severity and suddenness of her emotional reversal. It had taken me an hour of stomping around my rental house and throwing shit before I could finally cool down enough to think rationally. That’s when I’d decided to call upon one of my closest friends in the marines, and I booked a flight for the following morning out to California.
Almost every day since then, I’d ventured out into the blinding, white heat to come to this house… the one place that I thought might heal me.
“Dalton!”
My old marine buddy, Darren, was standing in the backyard and waving me over. “You’re right on time, man. I’m just heating up the grill now. Not exactly bangers and mash, but how do you feel about a solid, one hundred percent unadulterated American burger?”
“You guys always kicked our bloody arses when it came to food,” I grinned. We embraced with matching backslaps, and his beautiful wife popped out through the sliding backdoor.
“Dalton! I thought I heard you pulling up a moment ago. Welcome back!”
Sam gave me a peck on the cheek as I hugged her. “Are you feeling any better?”
Samantha was Darren’s high school flame. They’d separated after he entered his marine career, unable to withstand the distance, but when he got out two years ago they had worked to rekindle that fire.
The rest was history.
“Oh, leave him alone,” Darren smiled as he played with the charcoal. “He’s still here, which tells me what I need to know.”
I overlooked them talking about it in front of me as if I wasn’t here, but I was pleased that the subject was being dropped.
“I’m fine,” I reassured her. “Just enjoying this little impromptu vacation for the moment.”
“Good! How are you liking California?”
“Not too bad, although I’m sure I’ve bedded women wetter than this entire state,” I smiled crudely. “Once you get over that part, it’s actually pretty nice out here.”
“I’m sure you have!” Sam laughed. “Hell, maybe I have, too…”
It had come as a bit of a surprise that they had an open marriage. It personally wasn’t for me, or anything I’d ever participate in, but it didn’t take much convincing for me to see that they were hopelessly in love with each other.
Good for them, I thought to myself.
“Anyway, can I grab you anything from inside?” Sam politely asked me. “I’d be a horrible hostess if you were out here parched under this sun!”
“Actually, could I trouble you for a beer?”
“By all means. We still have a few Newcastles in the fridge, unless you’d like a Mexican import? Options are Dos XX and Corona, off the top of my head…”
“Dos XX, if you’d be so kind,” I replied. “If you’ve got it, Lager.”
“I think we just might,” she smiled before turning back to her husband. “How about you, dear? Feeling thirsty?”
Darren was preparing a few patties on the counter beside the built-in grill. Pausing to think for a moment, he shrugged. “Go ahead and make that two.”
“Okay then, back in a sec!”
She sauntered inside, and we started trading old war stories.
Darren was a good man. He’d been one of the more senior members to my platoon, an older, more rugged version of myself. We’d become fast friends in the line of fire… bash brothers, they sometimes called a pair like us.
Darren had retired three years before I left the marines. With a steady military pension and a ton of money in the bank, he’d had the luxury of throwing himself into picking up a new skill.
The others were a little surprised to see that he’d become a freelance novelist, but it didn’t surprise me much. The guy was highly introspective, and very detail-oriented. With his firm grasp of Marine life, a greater scope of military operations, and a ton of stories kicking around in the back of his head, he was already starting to make waves with his first novel's release.
Last I’d heard, he was a sure shot to the tail end of the New York Times Bestsellers List.
When Sam returned with the refreshments, we were laughing riotously over some of the military pranks we’d pulled during our tenure overseas.
Life was always rough out there, and war never changed. But it was all about the approach you took to the life you chose.
We spent a good couple of hours chatting away, cooking up great food, and basking in the pleasure of our own company. Darren was a fantastic friend, same as always, and his wife was a real treat too. It was gratifying to watch her sit against him, her head on his shoulder and he delighted in tales of our old life, and ridiculous stories from before my time.
They really loved each other, he and her.
At least they got their happy ending, I thought.
“I have to admit, this has been a little on the surreal side for me,” Darren chuckled as he swished his beer around, towards the end of my visit. “I figured I’d see you around at a few reunions or something, but I sure as shit didn’t expect you to pick up the phone and be here in town for a week.”
“Yeah, it’s been a while since we’ve really seen each other, hasn’t it?” I smiled, glancing through the window at the dry, arid environment. “Although, you must not have wanted to get far from the desert if you settled in the American Southwest like this…”
“You know that’s not what I mean,” the older man sighed, setting his beer down with a deep, drawn out sigh.
I looked back at him.
“I don’t think I follow.”
A shrewd smile crossed Darren’s lips. “Dalton Carlyle. The British Bastard! I have seen you pull marines off of grenades with my own eyes. You’ve always, always had my back. You’re the only one out of our pack that I ever completely trusted with my life. When I was wounded and down in the dirt, you defended me from an insurgent with just a combat knife and the grit in your teeth...”
I shifted in my seat slightly, remembering that uncomfortable flashback again. Pushing the mental images away, I forced a faint smile at the recognition.
“…And yet, after all the things that could have killed us out there, it’s a woman that cripples you. From what you’ve told me, a good woman at that. Put you in the desert with a knife, or put someone you actually care about in harms way… and you’d go for the kni
fe, every time.”
“Darren…” I subtly warned.
Sam sat down with him as he continued.
“Bro, you’re a bonafide lady-killer. I wouldn’t believe this shit unless I’d seen it with my own eyes. Hell, the morning after you leave, I’ll be halfway convinced I dreamt this.”
“It’s more complicated than that,” I told him.
Darren nodded. “Yeah, the thing with the parents. That’s pretty out there, I’ll admit it. But I mean, you saw this girl before you knew about that, right? Isn’t that what you told me?”
“Yes,” I reluctantly admitted.
“And you were already interested?”
“I was.”
“So, I don’t get it.”
“Darren, she sent me away. She doesn’t want any part of this. It was hard enough to chase her when she was sort of onboard with the… complications we’ll be facing… but the second I opened my stupid mouth and told her about traveling the world, she snapped up tighter than our resources officer when we had that severed supply line.”
“Then go get her,” Sam cut in, facing me firmly. “Change her mind. Instead of sulking out here in the desert with your old war buddy, much as we both love your company. This isn’t your place, Dalton. You know that.”
I held my head in my hands.
“What am I supposed to do? Just march up and tell her, you know, fuck it? Let’s throw caution to the winds, no matter how crazy it sounds? Regardless of what our parents will think?”
Darren reached for his beer again. He offhandedly spoke: “If you ever really cared about this girl, it sounds like you’ve answered your own question.” He took a deep sip, leaving me with the thought.
Sam winked at me. “He’s right. Seems to me like you’ve already got this figured out.”