Great. "When is he not?"
The guy smiled as he picked up the phone and pushed the intercom. "Sir, the lieutenant's here."
"Send him," the CO grunted.
Keep it together.
"Sir?" He stood at attention.
"At ease," the CO said and leaned back in his chair. "Take a seat."
He'd prefer to stand, especially if he was going to get his butt handed to him on a platter.
"How is Mari? Is she feeling better?"
Brody stared at his shoes. "I guess she's doing okay," he said. How was he supposed to know?
"You guess? Eyes up, Marine. Tell me what's going on."
What was he, some kind of psychologist now? It was none of his business.
"Well?"
"She hasn't talked to me since the party," Brody replied.
"But I thought she was simply embarrassed about the roast, which no one cared about. That food you ordered was very good."
Brody cleared his throat. "Sir, it's a personal matter. Other stuff happened with her family last night and she...uh."
"Yes?" The CO shifted forward. Wow. This was never going to end.
"She decided that it might be best to sever ties with me." Sever ties?
"She broke up with you because of something that happened with her family? You didn't do anything?"
"I existed." It was true. He really hadn't done anything but try to care for her. More than he'd ever cared about anyone.
"This stuff she went through. Did you offer to help her?"
"Look, sir. She told me to get lost. I didn't think it was a good idea, but I didn't have much choice. She doesn't want me around, so I shoved off. I'm giving her space."
"Brody..." Odd. The CO had never used his name before. "What you've relayed was probably true at first, but like anything you really want, you have to fight for it with everything you've got. And in my book, you have a tremendous amount. I know I've been rough on you, but I believe in you. So should you."
Brody was stunned. "But she won't talk to me."
"Do you care about her?"
"Sir, you don't seem the type to...put your nose in other people's business. This doesn't affect how I'm doing my job, so I don't understand why you feel it's important to-" He wasn't sure how he was going to finish that sentence. He was going to get demoted. Served him right.
The CO shoved a finger toward him. "Marine, I'm not meddling. I'm trying to figure out why one of the best men on my post is requesting a week's leave just as we're coming to the end of grunt training?"
"Sir, my reasons for the leave have to do with my dad."
The CO stared at him.
Brody sighed. "He has cancer. He needs me to go to Houston with him so they can run more tests. It's a bad situation, sir. And I don't want to go, but my dad-" His voice caught. His dad was scared. He'd realized that during one of their many conversations over the last twenty-four hours. "It's the first time he's asked me for anything." Well, other than to babysit his stepsiblings. But this was different.
"Well, certainly I'll approve the leave and if you require more time, let me know. Make sure Corporal Petersen has everything he needs to give the final test."
"Yes, sir, already on it."
"One more thing, Brody. When you were with Mari, you really buckled down. You became a leader. Your students worked effectively as a team. She is what you needed to become a better man. So figure out how to make Mari feel better because women like that don't come around often. You let her slip through your fingers and I guarantee you'll regret it. I made that mistake once, and if I could go back and change it I would."
The man wasn't wrong, but what could he do about it?
"Marine, we never leave a man behind. Never. When she needed you the most, you let a few harsh words drive you away. What kind of man does that make you? Not the man I was thinking about promoting."
No. "Sir, bringing my private life onto the base isn't fair. I'm good at what I do."
The CO took a deep breath. "You're an exemplary Marine. But you need to work on your leadership skills. The man who helped that woman create the house of her dreams. The one who led that couple around so that they might hire her later. The one who used diplomacy to get the people who had hurt her out of the house so that she could heal-that's the kind of man I'd consider for command on this post. Do you hear what I'm saying?"
Brody was about to lose it when it hit him. He'd left her alone when she was hurting the most. He should have taken her and held her. Should have soothed her. Should have told her she didn't know what she was talking about.
He loved her. He couldn't live without her. And he wanted forever.
"I'm a fool," he whispered.
The CO chuckled. "Yep."
"Sir, there's something I've been meaning to tell you. You're right about me not being fit for command. I lied to you."
"What do you mean?"
"When Mari and I showed up at the picnic, she wasn't really my girlfriend. She just came so you'd think I'd settled down. And honestly, to get Carissa to leave me alone."
The CO steepled his fingers and stared Brody down.
Now I'm in for it.
"I see. I'm glad you were finally honest with me. But Lieutenant, you've looked like a man in love from that first day, and let me be frank with you, you aren't that good of an actor."
Had he been in love with her since the beginning?
"What am I going to do?"
"I suggest pulling out the big guns."
"I have to go, sir. I have to fix this." Brody saluted and made for the door.
"Marine?" Brody turned back around, but he was already halfway into the corridor. He had so much to do.
"Sir?"
"No matter what happens you've got the promotion."
That should have been the best news ever, but there was something he wanted so much more.
"Thank you, sir. Really."
Then he was out the door. Pull out the big guns.
He had an idea and took out his phone. Years ago his mother had left him something and he'd never had cause to use it. But he did now.
When his father answered, Brody said, "Dad, I need your help."
16
ON DAY THREE of her Brody detox, Mari felt awful. Head fuzzy from too much wine the night before, she nearly missed her office chair as she tried to sit down. It rolled with her weight, and the small movement made her feel nauseous.
Elbows on the desk, face in hands, Mari tried to come to terms with the fact that she'd made a mistake. Made a mistake in the worst way. And she didn't know how to make it right.
"What did you do? You look terrible," Abbott said as she came in and sat down in one of the white upholstered chairs across from the desk.
"Shhhhh."
"Nasty. Whatever happened must have been bad. Really, really bad."
Mari nodded. She spilled all the details. Every stupid thing that had happened.
"I can't believe I missed that. I knew I should have stayed in town." Abbott whistled.
"Shhhhh," Mari begged again. "Whisper."
"Wait," Abbott said in a loud stage voice. "So he wanted to make a commitment and even said he loved you. But you decided since your parents couldn't make it work, there's no way you could ever be happy in a relationship?"
"When you say it like that it's even more tragic. Daisy has been pointing it out to me all weekend. He showed up yesterday when I was doing the walk-through at the Caldwell house. I can't believe I missed him. And Daisy told him that I wasn't available. I'm sure he thought I was there and wouldn't see him.
"So then I went to his house and he didn't answer. I called the base and they transferred me to his CO. He said Brody was now on leave and out of town. He wasn't sure when he would be back. I asked him twice if he knew where he was, but he couldn't tell me. I had a feeling he wanted to, but they probably have rules about that sort of thing. Or maybe he's not really on leave. Maybe he's just gone and the CO wanted to let me down easy."
"Oh, no. Do you think he's being transferred?"
Mari felt like she could vomit again. What a fiasco.
"He cares about me. He's a great guy. And I dumped him in such a rotten way, I don't think he'll ever forgive me." Why did she let the past mess with her head?
She had the right to be happy.
Abbott smiled. "Well, I'm not so good with relationships, but he needs to know that you love him. I'd think that might be a good start."
Yes, it would. But when would Brody be home? She wanted to text him, but how would that look? The same with a phone call. No. It had to be face-to-face. She wanted him to see that she was ready for whatever he might be ready for.