"You did?"
"Right after Desert Storm. I worried I might turn into my old man and decided to try med school. I'd considered it before, but flying tugged me, too. Confused the hell out of me sometimes when I was growing up." He spiked a hand through his hair, all the combing his short cut needed. "Six months into med school, I knew it wasn't going to work. Not the way I'd planned. Med school was the right choice. But not civilian life."
The Explorer wove a winding path through the clusters of condos—thatched wooden buildings shaded by towering oaks and hanging Spanish moss. Sunlight dappled a Hansel and Gretel breadcrumb-like trail alongside the road. What a beautiful place to call home. "Okay, so you're not getting out of the military. But plenty of other guys can fly that plane. You don't have to do everything. You're a doctor, Gray. Why not make your mark in the service that way?"
"There's the fundamental difference in the way we military people think. Every one of us honestly believes we can make a specific difference or we would have gotten out long ago. Just as I have to be a doctor, I have to fly." In front of his parents' condo, he slid the car into park. Gray released the steering wheel and flipped his hands over. "Could another set of hands have gotten Magda out of Sentavo? Maybe. But maybe not. It doesn't really matter, since knowing won't change a thing. This is what I do."
The intensity in his eyes scared her. Fascinated her. How could she not admire him? Want him.
Her hand reached up to his jaw, and she allowed her fingers the pleasure of caressing his beard-stubbled face. Just as she considered tracing his bottom lip…
Magda flung her Happy Meal toy on the floor. Lori blinked away the moment.
She twisted to retrieve the toy, pausing to straighten Magda's strawberry jumper and blow a kiss. Seeing Magda so happy and excited, Lori couldn't regret joining Gray for the day. The little girl deserved so much more from life than she'd seen so far.
Lori spun back around as Gray's family poured from the front door like water from an emptying aqueduct—a younger, heavier-set version of himself, his mother and his lanky sister, along with in-laws, nieces, nephews…
She lost count as they gushed down the steps. Envy nipped her, followed by a hefty bite of anger. She would have traded a hundred Barbie house dreams to spend an afternoon in a family like this.
Realization tingled over her as she wondered if she hadn't done just that.
* * *
Lori tapped her toe on the porch, launching the swing in motion. She cradled Magda in her lap, the gentle rocking as soothing for Lori as the child.
An ocean breeze bowed the rushes along the marshy coastline, then detoured through the lower deck screened-in porch. The precious perfume of baby shampoo and sunshine twined around her.
She'd had an awesome day.
Damn.
Every minute had been exactly as she would have wanted—if Gray had brought her to his parents' home a year ago as a precursor to a proposal.
Instead he'd brought her to say goodbye.
Irritability swept away her contentment. Maybe she could bang around some dirty pots in the kitchen. Lori turned to Angela seated at a rattan table with a glass of milk. "I feel guilty sitting out here while they're doing the dishes."
"Fair's fair. We cooked. They clean. They're probably almost done, anyway. Just enjoy holding Magda. They grow up too fast." Angela sipped, bracelet jingling as replaced the glass. "Thank you for coming today."
"Thank you for including us."
"That's not quite what I meant, dear."
"I know."
Footsteps hammered on the overhead deck as the men and children thundered down the wooden plank steps, fanning out onto the yard. Gray tossed a football underhanded to his brother as they divided into teams along the shore.
Magda squirmed in Lori's lap. "Doc!" she squealed and pointed. "Doc!"
Gray turned, smiled and gestured for Magda to join them. "Send her on out. I'll watch her."
Lori eased Magda to the ground and walked her across the porch, the sticky hand so dear clutching hers. Lori nodded, pushing the door open. "Go ahead, sweetie."
Magda bolted forward, arms pumping, her strawberry jumper a blur as she sprinted toward Gray. "Doc!"
"Hey, Miss Magpie. Come be on my team." He tied a bandanna around Magda's head and dubbed her his copilot. Game calls, teasing shouts and laughter drifted through the screens.
Lori sank back to the swing, wrapping her arms around her waist, her lap too empty. "It's so idyllic here."