“You were decorated?”
“Yeah. I keep 'em all in a drawer, hidden away. I moved on from that part of my life, and want to keep it in the past. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing but love for my country and my brothers in arms, but my SEAL days are over.”
“I understand. And I'm sorry if I seemed pushy about it,” I added.
“It's alright. I know why you asked. I shouldn't have kept it from you in the first place.”
“Well, now I know, at least, why you don't want to watch war movies. So, rest assured, I won't be suggesting things like that again anytime soon.”
“Thank you. I'm really glad that you're so understanding about all of this.”
I looked into his eyes and then kissed him slowly and deeply.
“Why wouldn't I be? You've been so very good to me, Everett. I'm so, so grateful to have a man like you in my life. Someone honest, someone good. Everything you've done for me... It really means a lot; it does, trust me on that.”
“Thank you. I really do appreciate that.”
“Well, let's put a movie on then,” I suggested.
“That sounds like a great idea.”
But before we could, Everett's phone started ringing. He looked at it and then turned to me.
“Sorry, I have to take this. Bad timing, I know, but it's important.”
“Hi, Ben... uh-huh... Seriously? Right now? Damn, alright... Yeah, I know it's serious. I'll be there right away.”
He put the phone down on the sofa, and I could see from the look on his face that something serious was going on.
“Drug situation,” he said grimly. “I am so sorry, Viv. I have to go, right now. Do you mind keeping an eye on Janie while I’m gone?”
“Of course not. It's alright,” I said. “I know you have to do what you have to do.”
“Where did I put the truck keys,” he said like a rhetorical question. He placed his phone on the sofa next to me, and he got up and hurried to his bedroom to search for the keys.
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His phone buzzed as a message came through. I glanced at it, curious, and as my eyes read the first part of the message, which was visible on the screen without me having to unlock the phone or even touch it, nausea started spreading like poison through my veins.
“Hi Everett, it's Liza again. I just wanted to say that I can't stop thinking about how amazing it felt when you put your arms around me this afternoon, and I've been longing for you…”
That was all I could see – but it was all I needed to see. Everett hurried back into the room, now holding the keys to his truck. He grabbed his phone and stuffed it into his pocket without noticing that there was a message on the screen.
He leaned down and kissed me sweetly and warmly. It was very convincing.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” he said, and he jogged out of the house.
I didn't reply; I simply stared blankly at the door as it closed in his wake and watched as even more pieces of my world began to shatter around me.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Everett
As I jogged out of the house, I couldn't help but feel a strange mixture of emotions. I was kind of annoyed that I had to leave just as I was about to get comfortable and relax with Vivienne. It was an immense relief that I had finally opened up and gotten some things off my chest and told Vivienne the truth about my past. She had handled it with such compassion and care it only reinforced my feelings that she was the right woman for me.
And then, of course, there was the excitement about what Ben had just told me. William Stevens, one of those little punks who had been buying drugs when Kendrick had gotten shot, had been caught trying to sneak back into his house. Weirdly enough, his dad, that slovenly biker with the bad attitude, had been the one who had called us. I guess the news that his kid had been involved in a shooting had forced him to be a bit more proactive in the way he was bringing his son up.
This time, I was more careful than before; I took a semi-automatic Colt .45 pistol with me and made sure I didn't forget my phone this time.