Chapter 14 - Wes
Hailey hums softly as she wakes, stretching like she has nowhere else to be. She turns toward me and blushes, eyes warm and sleepy.
“Now you have to get out of here,” she murmurs, amused. “Before someone notices you coming from the dorms.”
I smile despite myself and lean down to kiss her—slow, gentle, lingering—then steal another before she can protest. She laughs quietly, tugging a shirt over her head as I step back and pull on the rest of my clothes.
“I’ll distract anyone who comes by,” she whispers, half teasing, half serious.
“I don’t need distractions,” I murmur, brushing my thumb along her jaw one last time. “I just need five minutes.”
I slip out while the hallway is still quiet, taking the longer route back to my own dorm, keeping my head down and my pace steady. When I pass Michael later, he either doesn’t notice—or chooses not to.
Either way, I don’t look back.
However, after another shower and changing into the kind of clothes that make me feel strongest, I realize that I don’t want to wait for someone to notice that Hailey and I are together. I don’t want any gossip. I don’t want assumptions. Which means talking to her father.
I send her a text since we finally exchanged numbers last night, letting her know I’ll be off-base today, but back in the evening. She sends me a thumbs up, then a thanks. I smile and prepare myself. No pomp, no frills, I’m going to be direct with Colonel Carter. Which means I need my uniform.
After changing again, I get in my car and head to the base where Colonel Carter is.
It’s a two hour drive, but it’s worth it.
I told Hailey that we’re going to do it right.
I continue to tell myself that as I’m walked to Colonel Carter’s office after arriving.
Every phrase I’ve practiced flies right out the window when the door opens and the man himself sits there.
He greets me with a curt nod. “I expect more of a heads up if we’re having a meeting.”
“Normally you’d have it, sir. This isn’t a business meeting. It’s a personal matter,” I say, holding myself higher. I won’t apologize. Apologies mean shame and I’m not ashamed. That was my biggest back and forth on the ride here.
“What is it? Is Hailey okay?” He asks, standing up and resting his hands on the desk.
“She’s perfectly fine,” I assure.
Colonel Carter’s gaze sharpens. “Then why are you here? She’s the only personal matter between us.”
“It’s about her, sir. She’s fine. Happy. And I’m hoping she gets happier.”
He arches an eyebrow. “Be direct, Captain Holt. I’m not a man with unlimited time.”
“With all due respect, I care deeply for her,” I say. “I’ve fallen for her, and she’s chosen me in return. She knows how I feel, and it matters to me that you hear it directly from me—before rumors have a chance to reach you.”
He slowly sits down, not taking his eyes off me.
“Hailey is an astounding woman. She’s smart, empathetic, understanding, she cares so much about others.
She lights up a room and makes everyone she speaks to feel warmer, more seen.
She’s one of a kind and she wants me. She was never misled, she was never coerced, she chose me and I’ve chosen her, sir.
I’ll never let anything hurt her name or allow anyone to question her integrity. ”
Colonel Carter continues to watch me, his face unreadable. It’s intimidating. He could end my career with a word. He could send me to the far ends of the world to keep me away from his daughter. She’d fight, but if the paperwork is good …
No. I’m not backing down. I refuse to show weakness. She’s worth so much more than this conversation. It’s nothing compared to getting to be with Hailey the right way.
I lift my chin. “I love her and I want your blessing, not permission – respectfully – to prove that I deserve her and can support her, cherish her, and protect her the way a man should for the woman in his life.”
He watches me, waiting for me to back down, waiting for me to ask for permission even though I specifically said I wasn’t.
He starts to shift. Something in his eyes.
From colonel to father evaluating a man for his daughter rather than a subordinate.
The weight in his eyes meets mine and then he stands and walks around his desk to me.
I’m sure he’ll forbid it, say I’m too old for her, that she deserves more, that she hasn’t found herself yet. But he puts his hand out. “I have one condition, Captain. Respect. For Hailey, her future, and the life she is building.”
I shake his hand. “Always.”
He squeezes my hand. It’s not a blessing, not really. But he recognizes this is going to happen. That’s all I can ask.
Now that he knows, now that Hailey and I have nothing to hide and she’ll know I didn’t run, that I chose her, I feel good heading back.
I chose her and our honor. Which keeps me smiling all the way back home.
I think of her, of how happy she's going to be when I tell her, when she realizes I’m following through.
I’m not going anywhere.
***
“Captain,” Ryan salutes when I walk into the activity center at the Ridgehouse.
I still have my uniform on, but I feel like I’ve shed something heavier. The walls that I’d been carrying around with me no matter where I went, the worries about my future, no matter how quiet, and the restraint that was keeping me from really enjoying life.
Nodding to Ryan, I pat his shoulder, then find Hailey among the people drinking and laughing around the bar.
I take two steps and her gaze falls on me, soft, sure, no doubt or distrust. I’m not leaving again.
I’m not hiding in a corner and I sure as hell am done allowing space to be between us when there doesn’t need to be any.
I cross the room to her, destroying the space between us and taking her hands in mine. I twist her under my arms, pulling her close and meet her surprised eyes.
“Someone’s excited,” she murmurs. “Dad already called me. He can’t decide if he respects you more or wants to grill you.”
“He can think whatever he wants, baby,” I say, not caring who’s watching us. “I’m done fighting this. You’re mine … and I’m yours.”