4. Seth
Ihit end call on the satellite phone I’ve been using.
“Maybe next time,” I mumble to no one as I push off my bunk and head toward the mess hall.
There’s been an ache in my heart ever since I deployed. I spend most of my time missing the only person I’ve ever given my heart to. Sure, we only spent one night together, but that night meant everything to me. I knew the moment the sun came streaming through the window that morning that my heart would only ever belong to her.
When Brady asked me to attend a yoga class to help a friend of his, I scoffed at the idea. Attending a yoga class, let alone any type of fitness class, never crossed my mind. Give me a couple of free weights and a treadmill and I’m good. But something deep in my soul told me I’d regret it if I didn’t go, so I reluctantly agreed. And I’m glad I did because that day I found that thing—or, better yet, that person—I’ve been missing in my life. I knew the moment I laid eyes on Bristol that she was entirely too good for me. Her long red hair and brilliant smile could light up a room, but her eyes captivated me. When she looked at me, it was as if she was looking into the deepest parts of me, setting my soul ablaze for the first time in my life.
After that, I always found an excuse to head to Tyson’s Creek with Brady. He knew something was going on but never once made a big deal out of it. He seemed just as eager to head home to Tyson’s Creek as I was. It might have something to do with the beautiful girl I saw him with at his going away party before we left to head over to the sandbox for the next year. I’m pretty sure that something happened between them that night, but he hasn’t said a word about it. I wish he would talk to me, but who am I to give advice to anyone about relationships?
The connection I feel toward her has only grown stronger since I woke up that morning. The moment I laid eyes on Bristol Reid, I knew she was someone special. The more time we spent together, and the more I got to know her, I could see our future playing out before my eyes. Bristol is the type of woman I can see myself settling down and starting a family with. When we are together, all my worries and troubles turn into nothing but background noise.
It took me months to get Bristol to admit the attraction we felt toward each other. To give me a chance to show her she meant the world to me, even if there was no guarantee that I’d return. I knew deep in my soul that if I didn’t find out how delicious she tasted as I licked the salty sweat from her skin, or how it felt to have her pressed tightly to me as she moaned my name, I’d regret it for the rest of my life. However, now that I know all those things, the idea of never having them again tears me in two.
Bristol wanted one night together, no strings attached, but to me, it was so much more. I knew I was shipping out in a few weeks, but it didn’t matter to me. I wanted—no, needed—to know everything I could about Bristol, or I’d have regretted it for the rest of my life.
“Finally decided to join the land of the living?”
The only response I give Brady is a grunt as I grab a tray and begin piling on food.
“So talkative today.” He rolls his eyes as I head toward a table in the back.
I’ve known nothing but being a Marine, having signed up as soon as I was old enough. Being a ward of the state helped me cut through a lot of the red tape, making it easy to enlist a few months before my eighteenth birthday. Ever since my parents died when I was eight years old, I bounced around between foster homes, each one making the hope of finding a family a little more impossible, before being placed in a group home my freshman year of high school. I was old enough to take care of myself, and as long as I stayed out of trouble, they left me alone. Being part of the system taught me to keep my head down, but I always yearned to be a part of a family once again.
“Seriously, man. Who pissed in your Wheaties?” Brady asks, breaking me from my thoughts as he takes a seat across from me in the mess hall.
“Just trying to figure out what the hell I want to do when my contract is up,” I mumble as I shove another bite of food into my mouth.
I’ve spent the last two decades in the Marines, trying to find my place in the world. I’ve traveled across the world fighting for my country, which gave me a sense of belonging for the first time since my parents passed away. But I always felt like something was missing. There was a part of me that was still searching for that one thing that would bring me back to life.
“You could always come home with me,” he responds matter-of-factly, as if he hasn’t just handed me my heart’s desire on a silver platter. “My dad told me they’re looking for guys at the station. Since we’re in the military, all we have to do is pass the civil service exam and then attend the academy. Nothing too hard.”
Having no family of my own, I had nowhere to go during leave periods or holidays, so ever since I met him, Brady has always invited me to join his family. But I had no way of knowing that this last trip would change the direction of my life forever.
“Maybe.” I try to remain calm as images of reuniting with Bristol again filter through my mind. She told me we couldn’t be anything more because she couldn’t live with not knowing if she was the most important person to me. That if given the choice, I’d choose her over everything else. Maybe this is my chance. “But don’t you have to wait for a date to open?”
“Yeah, but I doubt you’d have to wait too long. Besides, maybe you could work at Ace Hammer construction company with me until a spot opens at the station,” Brady suggests.
I met Vance and Connor, the owners of Ace Hammer, a few times during my visits to Tyson’s Creek. Brady and I are a few years older than them, but it seems everyone in Tyson’s Creek is friends or at least cordial with each other. The same was true for me. Connor and Vance didn’t bat an eyelash when Brady brought me home on leave. The three of us became fast friends, much to Brady’s delight. They seem like pretty decent guys, but they’ve both been dealt a pretty shitty hand in life.
Vance and Connor started a construction business after Brady enlisted in the Marines. They both started taking business classes while they worked on building their company from scratch. Since they were one of the few construction businesses in the area, they started small, keeping their prices affordable and working off word-of-mouth referrals, but their business really exploded after doing a job in Magnolia. I guess tearing an old farmhouse down to the studs and rebuilding most of it in about a week is good for business.
After getting to know each other better, Vance offered me a job. He said any friend of Brady’s was a friend of theirs. At the time, I didn’t think twice about it, but now, that offer seems even more appealing by the minute.
“What the hell do you know about construction?”
“Enough to get by,” he answers quickly. “Honestly, I don’t know jack shit either, but after being in the Marines for all these years, we have to do something physical. It’s either that or lose our minds from boredom.”
I nod in agreement. After being nothing more than a glorified grunt during my time in the Marines, manual labor is something I can get behind. I would even go as far as to say it’s something I would excel at. Also, knowing that I am using my hands every day to give someone a place to call their own, something I never had in my life, sounds like the perfect job for me.
“Where am I going to stay?” I question, knowing I have enough money saved to buy a small house somewhere, but I don’t want to make any rash decisions.
“As if my parents will let you stay anywhere but with us. Besides, you can crash with me in the apartment above their garage. It’s nothing fancy, but it”s more space than we’ve had in a long while.”
The Thomases welcomed me with open arms the first time Brady brought me home during a stand-down, a time of rest and recovery the command gives us after deployment, and they ensure I always feel like part of the family every chance they get. Hell, his mom even sends me care packages over here in the sandbox, claiming she wants to brighten my day just a little more.
“But seriously, where else are you going to go? I’m the only family you have.” A mischievous smile crosses his face. “Besides, this will give you a chance to prove to your girl you’re not going anywhere.”
I made the mistake of telling Brady about what Bristol said after our first meeting. Instead of laughing in my face, he seemed to understand where she was coming from. We spent a few nights racking our brains, trying to find the perfect plan to convince Bristol that she was the most important person in my life, but we always came up empty. Maybe this is my chance.
“Bristol is not my girl,” I mutter as I stand up, grab my tray, and turn toward the exit. “She made it perfectly clear she wanted nothing else to do with me after that night.”
Brady grasps my shoulder, pulling me to a stop. “But you never told her everything, did you?”
I shake my head, wrenching my arm from his grasp. “She has no idea we’re coming home for good in about six months.”
“I’m sure someone has told her that we are coming home. Tyson’s Creek is a small town; I’m sure someone has said something,” he continues.
“That doesn’t change anything,” I mumble to myself as I empty my tray into the trash and stomp off toward my tent. Thankfully, Brady turns and heads back for the table instead of following me.
Bristol made it perfectly clear that she wanted more than just a man who would come in and out of her life every couple of months. Being a military brat herself, she saw the strain that the military lifestyle put on her mother. However, I’ve spent the last year thinking about her and how she stole my heart, hoping that when I finally got out of this sandbox, she’d give me a chance to prove to her I was nothing like her father.
“I wish it was that easy,” I mumble as I throw the flap to my tent open and flop down on my bed, grabbing the phone that I left lying on my bunk.
I’m tempted once again to dial her number but decide against it, stuffing the phone under my pillow and closing my eyes. Maybe I can grab a quick nap before I have watch in a few hours.
“Damn it, Seth. Stop being so stubborn!” Brady shouts as he smacks my boots and pushes my feet off the side of my bed, then plops down in their place. “I’ve never known you to give up so easily.”
“I make decisions that could cost someone their life almost daily. I have to be sure about them,” I growl before sitting up and resting my elbows on my knees.
“Would it kill you to take a chance?”
Brady waits for me to answer, but I remain silent.
“I know how much she means to you. Ever since that party at Tranquility Retreat, you’ve been different. You’ve been looking forward to your life after the military.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“You’ve never thought about getting out. You’ve never once said anything about what you wanted to do after retirement until that night. Now you’re trying to make plans for the future. Plans that could easily include Bristol if you let them.”
“When did you become so fucking demanding, man?” I smirk in his direction.
It’s hard to admit that he’s right, but I know deep down that he is. Being a Marine is all I have ever known, but since meeting Bristol, I want something more out of life.
“Give that buddy of yours a call. I don’t have any plans for after my contract is up. Might as well keep bothering your ass,” I concede.
Brady jumps up and whoops loudly. “I knew you just needed an excuse.”
I shake my head and give him a forced smile. “No. I just want more of your mama’s cooking.”
“Best damn fried catfish you’ve ever tasted,” Brady preens, and my mouth waters, thinking of the fish fry the Thomases had before we left.
“It’s the only catfish I’ve ever tasted.”
“Hence why it’s the best.” Brady slaps me on the back before hurrying out of the tent, probably wanting to call in that favor before I change my mind.
I throw both hands behind my head before leaning back on my bunk and crossing my feet at the ankles. I close my eyes and attempt to imagine what it would be like to run into Bristol again now that time is on our side.
If I managed to find some way to get Bristol back into my life, I could never let her go again, even if I tried. Brady is right; it’s just a matter of time before we run into each other. Tyson’s Creek is a small town, so we will run into each other, eventually. I just have to be patient. Not everyone is given a second chance to make an impression on the woman of their dreams, so I need to seize this opportunity and make the most of it.
I tried to say goodbye to her once, but now our paths are about to cross again. I’m sure she’ll be shocked to see me at first, but if I play my cards right, maybe we’ll be a couple before the year is out.
“Wishful thinking,” I mumble into the empty bunkhouse as I give up on getting a quick nap before watch and decide to head toward the gym.
Maybe Tyson’s Creek is where all my dreams will come true… or maybe I’m just setting myself up for another heartbreak.