Page 23 of Married to a SEAL

“I don’t want to forget anything in my room.”

Rebecca smiled. “Me either, sweetie. And we’re not in a rush. We’ll do one thing at a time, and by the end of the summer, we’ll be all set.”

Patrick pulled into the parking lot, finding an empty space under a palm tree. He reached over and took her hand, his strong, sure fingers wrapping around hers. Her heart fluttered unexpectedly, and she beamed at him. This was really happening. They’d talked about putting her house on the market or potentially renting it out if that made the most sense, but she and Patrick were taking the next step. Meeting with a realtor. Moving in together. Having a baby.

They were going to be a family.

He raised her hand to his mouth and lightly brushed his lips across the back of it, the heat from his touch sending shivers racing down her spine.

She flushed as she smiled at him. “Ready?” she asked.

“Hoorah. This might be the best Sunday afternoon we’ve had in a while.”

***

Rebecca’s stomach roiled as she turned on the news early the following morning—and for once it wasn’t due to her morning sickness. The newsfeed on CNN indicated a video had surfaced of the American woman being held hostage in Afghanistan. Although there’d been brief mention of the situation in the media over the past week, this was the first time the young woman’s image flashed across the screen.

Word from the Pentagon is that troops will be sent in on a secret rescue operation to obtain the missing American woman, the anchorman said.

She froze as she watched the news anchor begin to interview a former military intelligence officer. Of course the military would send in a team to rescue her—maybe even Patrick’s team. He’d mentioned they’d be deploying soon. Although after it hadn’t come up again in the past week, she’d allowed herself to momentarily relax and focus on their plans to move in together. To put whatever future deployments he had in the back of her mind.

Because that was just it, wasn’t it? He’d always be deploying somewhere with his team. He’d devoted his entire career to serving his country, and that wasn’t going to change just because their situation was.

This most recent incident felt different though—scarier. Like somehow everything was at stake. It was probably just because she was pregnant, she rationalized. Patrick had been gone plenty of times when they’d been together. Even when they’d first met, he’d vanished, sent off on a deployment to God knows where.

And this just in, the anchorman continued, the group claiming responsibility for the kidnapping are demanding $50 million for her release. No word on the condition of the hostage, although it is believed video footage will be released soon.

Her cell phone began buzzing, and her heart stopped.

No one would need to call her this early in the morning unless there was an emergency. But Patrick couldn’t have left yet. Wouldn’t have left without saying goodbye. This was just coming on the news right now, and he hadn’t even made arrangements for her to watch Logan. Although the men could be wheels up within a few hours, they did need to pack their bags. Arrive on base. Meet with the CO and get whatever briefings were required.

Which meant it was probably Patrick calling to say he had to deploy.

She grabbed her phone from the kitchen counter and saw his name flash on her screen. “I’m on my way over,” Patrick’s deep voice said over the phone. “I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

“Okay. See you soon.”

So this was it. He was no doubt leaving. She retied the sash on her silk robe, thankful she’d already showered and dried her hair. Not that she cared about him seeing her first thing in the morning, but she wanted a few minutes to talk to him before Abby woke up and they had to leave for work and camp.

She needed some private time alone for them to say their goodbyes.

Her stomach lurched.

Would it always be this hard when he was leaving? Other spouses had deployments that were a year long. Some even more. His SEAL team usually got in and got out, bringing him back within a week or two if not days upon occasion. This was nothing compared to what other people endured.

The sound of his SUV pulling in the driveway a few minutes later drew her gaze toward the windows. Goodness. It had been only a week ago when he’d made love to her in front of the window in the evening sun, telling her he wanted her to think of it the next time he was gone.

To remember that moment every night when she fixed dinner.

Her heart always ached every time he left, but now?

He was literally leaving a piece of himself behind.

His baby.

And she knew it wouldn’t get any easier over the next year.

The sound of the front door opening had her turning in the kitchen, and then she was rushing toward him. Throwing herself into his arms.

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