Chapter Thirty-Eight
Ashley
It felt serendipitous that starting my new assignment and moving into the beach house coincided with my apartment lease ending.
Moving day came, and Tammy took over directing the movers Travis Sterling had arranged as a “welcome to the team” bonus about which items were going with me and which were going to the storage unit I’d rented.
“And who is this Travis guy, again?” Tam asked as the movers took the last of the boxes out to the truck.
“Travis Sterling—the Sterling in Carson, Burns, Sterling and Cooper law firm. The man whose beach house I’m moving into. He’s the one who’s on the WWP board.”
“Is he single?”
“No. My understanding is the beach house was a push present for his wife when she had baby number two, or maybe it was their third child... Anyway, two of her siblings live in Boston, so she spends her summers in Cape Cod now, and they hadn’t been using the house here.”
“Maybe he has a brother you can date.”
I laughed. “Maybe.”
“Speaking of dates… when are you going out with Dr. Handsome?”
She’d been calling Jeff “Dr. Handsome” since meeting him when he visited me in the hospital after I’d had Millie.
“On Friday. I thought that would give me time to get settled into the new place. Plus, my mom is off that night, so she said she could watch Millie.”
“Um… hello? I’m available to babysit, too, ya know!”
“I know, but I feel like I already impose on your time enough. I’m sure your secret boyfriend would agree.”
I knew Tammy was seeing someone, but for whatever reason, she’d remained tight-lipped about it.
“I told you, I don’t have a secret boyfriend. I have a friend with benefits, and that’s all it is. We have rules.”
“And you’re okay with it just being sex?”
She hesitated for the briefest second, so I had my suspicions, but she answered with a resounding, “Absolutely.”
“Good for you. I wouldn’t mind having some sex that didn’t involve batteries.”
My vibrator and I had gotten very close when my pregnancy hormones were running rampant, but I missed kissing and being held all night in strong arms.
“Maybe Dr. Handsome will scratch that itch.”
“Yeah, maybe.”
Somehow though, I had a hard time envisioning that.
Fuck you, Sloane Davidson.
He may very well have ruined any other man for me.
~~~~
I thought it would be good manners to let my new roommates know I’d arrived before we started unloading my and Tammy’s vehicles. So, with baby carrier in hand, I approached the front door to the main house and paused.
Technically, I lived there now, but it felt weird just walking in, so I rang the bell, and Tammy joined me as we waited for someone to answer.
I’d already met all three guys the other day. Crash Davis was an Army paratrooper in his early thirties who’d been crushed in a JLTV rollover accident. He lost his right leg below the knee, and his left was amputated from the hip.
Sergeant Scotty Roberts was a rifleman in the Marine Corps also in his early thirties who’d suffered shrapnel wounds, causing him to lose his left eye, left arm below the elbow, and left leg below the knee.
Stu Laughlin, the youngest of the three, was in his mid-twenties. A Navy Seal who’d lost both legs just above the knee in an underwater IED blast.
They’d all spent months hospitalized in various locations around the world and country, but all called San Diego home, so they’d made their way back to California, and into the WWP’s transition project.
I’d learned that the vetting process to get accepted into the program was rigorous. Which made sense since they’d be sharing a living space with others. They had to be recommended by not only their doctors and/or physical therapists, but by hospital social workers or counselors.
So, I wasn’t surprised when all three men had greeted me warmly and despite their injuries, displayed positive energy. I especially liked how supportive they were of each other. I was looking forward to working with them.
Stu was the one who answered the door.
“Ash! So good to see you again! Come in!”
He moved so Tammy and I could walk inside.
Crash shuffled to the entryway.
“Welcome!” He cocked his head and asked, “Isn’t it your move-in day?”
“Yeah, I just wanted to say hi before I brought stuff in.” I gestured to Tammy, standing next to me. “This is my best friend, Tammy. Tam, Crash and Stu.”
“Hi,” she said with a little wave.
Both men smiled and told her hello.
I lifted Millie’s infant carrier a little higher. “And this is my daughter, Amelia, but we call her Millie.”
Crash looked down at my little girl who was fast asleep.
“She’s beautiful.”
“How old is she?” Stu asked.
“She just turned a month two days ago.”
“She’s so little,” Stu commented thoughtfully as he leaned down to peer closer at her. “It’s going to be nice watching her grow.”
“Yeah. I’m glad you have a kid. We’re really going to miss Sandy’s boy, Oliver,” Crash said wistfully.
“And Sandy, too, of course,” Stu quickly added with a grin.
That made me smile.
“Of course.”
Tammy murmured to me, “I’m going to get started unloading my car,” then offered a bright smile to the men. “It was nice meeting you.”
Crash quickly called after her, “Do you need help?” then backtracked when he gestured to his artificial limbs. “I mean, I don’t know how much I could do right now, but I could try.”
Her smile was genuine when she told him, “I appreciate that, but I got it. There’s really not that much.”
I added, “The movers are bringing the bigger pieces later.”
“We can watch Millie while you bring things in,” Stu offered.
“Are you sure you don’t mind?”
“Of course not.”
I looked down the hall toward the living room with the spectacular ocean views. “Is Scotty here?”
Crash replied. “No, he’s at his support group. Never misses a meeting. He’s actually moving next week into the guest house of one of the guys from the group.”
“Oh, I didn’t know that! Well, I’m disappointed that I’m not going to be able to work with him more, but I’m happy he’s doing well enough to be on his own.”
Stu seemed wise beyond his years when he stated, “That’s the goal, right? And he’s ready. He’s been here for five months. My social worker said the longest anyone has been here is six months.”
“How long have you guys been here?”
Crash replied, “Two months,” and Stu said, “Three weeks.”
“So, we’ve got some time to get to know each other while you prepare for greener pastures,” I said with a smile.
“Looking forward to it,” Stu said with a solemn nod, while Crash gave me a mischievous grin and said, “Feel free to have your friend over anytime.”