Chapter 6
CHAPTER SIX
Will you be there when I get off the plane?
Lina stared at the phone for long minutes, not quite sure how to respond to the text message from Dalton. She stalled for time by grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge and filling a glass. These last few months of being married were not what she had expected. Not much had changed for her. She lived in California now and not in North Carolina. But her day-to-day routine was the same. She worked on her graphics, and she rarely left the house unless it was to go to the store.
Do you want me to?
Yes!!!
Wow, well, that was fast. She and Dalton had mostly communicated over text messages and once a week they had a video call if his position allowed it. He was funny and smart, and seeing him with no shirt on, even if he was in a time zone a million miles away, was…
Hot?
Sexy?
Shh, brain, don’t be daft.
He’s pretty.
Men aren’t pretty…
You didn’t answer.
Sorry, I was daydreaming.
Dalton had gotten to know her quirks over the last few months. At least virtually, they didn’t seem to bother him. Only time would tell if things were the same when he was actually here in the same house as her. Having a hermit as a wife might not be as much fun as he thought.
Will you?
Yes.
Immediately after sending the message, uncertainty made her question her choice. What right did she have to be there? She wasn’t really a wife. She was more of a roommate or a lodger.
Yay. See you at noon tomorrow.
See you then.
“What does one do at a homecoming?” It didn’t matter that there was nobody in the house to answer her. Just saying the words out loud eased the ball of panic that had dropped into her stomach. She scanned the kitchen until her eyes landed on her laptop. “Google it.”
* * *
“Who are you waiting for?”
The voice beside her made her jump a mile. All the people and noise threatened to overwhelm her. She was two seconds from bolting for the car. “Um, my husband.”
“I’m Caroline.”
Oh crap, she didn’t know how to people. Other than the cashier at the store, and the post guards and Dalton, she hadn’t spoken to anyone in months. “I—um— I’m Lina.”
“First time, huh?” Caroline bounced on her feet as she spoke. Her head moved back and forth as she tried to look everywhere and at everyone at once.
“It’s that obvious?”
“I was like you my first time too.” Caroline nodded to Lina’s hands. “Wringing my hands, worrying if I’d recognize my man in the sea of uniforms.”
Crap, she was right, Lina was wringing her hands. She immediately shoved them into the pockets of her skirt.
“Where did you buy it?” Caroline nodded. “The skirt?”
“Um, Amazon.”
“It’s awesome.”
“Thank you.” The longer Lina was around her, the more Caroline didn’t make her jump when she moved. “It has pockets.”
“They’re coming.”
“I don’t know what to do.” Oh no, she shouldn’t have said that. Why did she say that? This was why she didn’t do people. She said stuff that made her seem stupid.
“Stand right here, hold up your sign.”
“Sign?”
“You don’t have a sign? No poster?” If Caroline’s eyes got any bigger, they were going to take over her face. “Here, have one of mine. This one says welcome home.”
She grabbed the glittered paper Caroline pushed into her hands. “Um.”
“We wait for them to be released, then go jump your man,” Caroline advised. “And stop for burgers on the way home.”
What in the name of Dunkin’ Donuts had she gotten herself in for? This was so far out of her… what was the word Dalton used? Wheelhouse. This was so far out of her wheelhouse she was drowning, never mind Dunkin’.
“There he is,” Caroline squealed as soon as the order was given. “Matthew!” She swatted at Lina with her sign as raced into the arms of a tall dark-haired man.
There was a sea of camo everywhere. She couldn’t see anything. God, would she even know him when she saw him? All around her, couples hugged and kissed, kids pulled at their parents, joyous shouts and cries of happiness filled the air. Should she move? Did she push through the crowd or wait here? Indecision swamped her, and she stepped from foot to foot.
In front of her, the crowd parted, and she knew. Five feet away, standing with his feet shoulder width apart, waiting was the one she was here for. “Dalton.”
Indecision, nerves, and all that jazz forgotten, she dropped the sign and ran straight for him. His arms opened as she reached him and wrapped around her. Lifting her off her feet. His face buried in her neck.
“You came for me.”
The words were mumbled against her skin. She could barely make them out over the noise in the building. “Yes.”
“Thank fuck.”
“You’re all okay?”
“Yeah.” Finally, he put her back on her feet, and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “The others are with their families.”
A thought struck her, and she had to ask. “They all have somewhere to go?”
“Yup. C’mon, let’s go home.”
She remembered the advice Caroline had given. “You want burgers first?”
“You wife, are the best.” Dalton grabbed the go bag from where he’d dropped it at his feet and slung it over his shoulder. “Burgers sound awesome.”
“Phew, because I still can’t cook.” Together, they walked out to where she had parked his truck. So, this was homecoming. If it wasn’t for all the people, she could sort of like it.