Page 86 of Forever Fallen

“It’s the same for me. I won’t ever give you up.”

“Every time you come home, it will give us a chance to fall in love all over again…” she said softly, staring up at him.

“I don’t deserve you…” Ryan whispered thickly.

“And I certainly don’t know what I did that brought you to my side,” she teased. “I must have saved someone special, prevented some major catastrophe, or something… because you are an incredible being and I certainly do not deserve you either.”

Ryan cleared his throat and tried his best to look stern as he gazed at her… but there was a twinkle in his eyes that was unmistakable.

“So, you want to have a baby, eh?”

“Maybe a little boy with your dark eyes and your smile…” she breathed, looking up at him as he slowly leaned down to kiss her and hesitated.

“What if it’s a little girl? Maybe a sweet little girl with your delicate features and that impish smile…” he said huskily.

“I would treasure her because she was a part of me and a part of you… and ultimately made with our love,” she whispered, curling her fingers around his neck, closing the gap between them, and pressing her lips to his.

“I think I can manage to accommodate my wife’s request,” he chuckled, taking her hands in his and tugging her towards their room.

Sophie couldn’t help but laugh at the sheer delight in his expression and felt such joy knowing that they were of one mindset.

She could see the nervousness in his gaze at the thought of being absent if she delivered a child - but knowing that she wasn’t expecting him home right away seemed to relieve a secret burden he’d carried.

She adored Ryan’s sense of honor and had witnessed it firsthand at her grandmother’s funeral. Duty was important to him, just as much as family, and he would always do what was necessary, no matter how hard it was.

Now, they would have a few more days together to share the most special, sacred moments a couple could experience together… and she prayed for such a blessing.

Before Ryan, with her childhood, her past? She had always been afraid of a relationship or having a family… but seeing him, knowing him, and recognizing her own past and limitations – she knew how she wanted a family, a child, to be raised.

In a house full of love – and with Ryan.

“Happily so, in fact…” he finished tenderly, hooking a finger under one of the spaghetti straps of her dress, before pulling her into his arms and kicking the bedroom door shut.

CHAPTER26

REAPER

LeavingSophie this morning was the hardest thing that Ryan had ever done in his life. She was so strong, so incredible, that he was teasing her about his departure to make her laugh… and keep him from crying.

The last few days had been sheer heaven.

They cleaned out Sophie’s apartment, turned in her keys, and got everything moved. He worked on a few things on the house, getting a few updated plugs replaced, changing out the air filter on the air conditioner, flushing the hot water tank, and painting the white picket fence that enclosed a small portion of the front yard. He wanted the place to look nice if Sophie was going to make this business work for them.

They handled all of the nasty, hard topics, despite her arguments.

He outlined what happened if he was killed in action – and though she protested and got angry, he wouldn’t shut up…

She had to understand how important this was to him because of losing his friend Lieutenant Jordan Greene. This was a necessary evil of having an active-duty spouse in a hazardous duty station… which he was.

Ryan tried to jot down everything on a word document on Sophie’s laptop, so she had access at any time. His blood type, his religion, his parents’ names despite the fact that they had died - in case she needed to list it for a baby announcement.

He gave her his basic information like his social security number, account numbers, his commander’s name, his duty station, and who to contact in case of emergency… he also informed her that she wouldn’t be able to contact them except via email, reassuring her that he would try calling when he could.

Sophie had never asked for anything since the moment he met her and knew her past… and the sheer fact that she’d asked for a child was humbling. She felt safe enough in their relationship to tackle something that had to be scary for her and trusted him to be there to support her.

… And in between all those tough moments, despite the hard work, the mental anguish of knowing he was leaving, and the unknown of what would happen next?

They made love every chance they got.

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