Читать книгу Aon Ór Crossroads - C.J. Benvol - Страница 11

The First Year Is Always the Hardest, No Make That the First Three Months Are the Hardest

Cally had no idea how they had gotten to the car, but here they sat with the world oblivious to anything that had just happened to them. Dakota looked at her with his heart-melting smile and asked, “Did you mean what you said?”

“What did I say?” she softly asked with her head still in the clouds.

He watched her, and she knew this meant more to him than she could ever understand. “That you would regret not marrying me.”

Still filled with the power to do anything, she smiled. “I meant every word of it.”

He kissed her again. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” she said as he started the car.

Nothing seemed to matter anymore; the fear was gone and was replaced with something strange and filling. For the first time, she felt like nothing could ever hurt her again. Nothing could ever touch her as long as she had Dakota. The world was different; somehow, it wasn’t as large and scary as she had always thought. It was easier to manage, easier to accept.

“So why did you pick that song?” he asked.

She closed her eyes as she heard it playing in her head. “Because that’s how I feel about you. Why?”

Cally snuck a peek at him smiling as he laughed. “I was hoping you hadn’t let our sisters pick it out.”

Yeah, she had let them pick a song, but not the one she was going to use. “They picked their own, but that was the one I wanted.”

“So you finally have a voice of your own,” he mused, and she just made a face at him as he explained. “You never chose anything for yourself, and in two weeks, you pick out your own dress and music. A dress that is absolutely gorgeous on you, by the way.”

She wasn’t sure he would like it, but she loved it, and even though she was sure he would be a little disappointed that it wasn’t the traditional wedding dress style, she had really wanted it when she had first seen it. “You like it?”

“I love it. You should trust yourself more,” he encouraged.

She knew he was right, but she wasn’t sure she could. They pulled into a parking lot, and she looked at him. “What are you doing?”

When he stopped the car, he looked at her, a little off. “We’re having a wedding lunch with everyone. Don’t tell me you didn’t know.”

With so much going on and so many things being said and done all at once, she hadn’t remembered half of what was said. “I don’t think I can remember anything before this morning at this point. So don’t blame me for being so overwhelmed with marrying the man I love that I don’t remember every detail.”

He just laughed, clearly accepting that as a good enough answer for her lack of caring what they were doing outside of being together.

The day seemed to fly by, and the only thing that she could see was Dakota. They were getting back in the car when she decided to show him what she had gotten him for a wedding present. “I want to show you something.”

He looked at her, wondering, “What do you want to show me?”

“It’s a surprise. Now you need to go…” After she gave him the direction, he seemed just as curious. After everyone at work had found out that they were getting married, one of the girls had offered her a chance that she couldn’t refuse.

They pulled up to a small cottage-style house. A few feet away stood a garage with a loft above it, a wedding present of sorts. Now she was excited as she got out and waited for him. She pulled the key out of the little white purse Savannah had given her.

“What is this?” he asked, half laughing.

Cally pulled him up the outer steps of the garage. “A friend at work offered it to me. I thought it was perfect when she brought me over.” She opened the door to show him a small open space with sunlight streaming in the windows. On the far side was a half wall that met up with a full wall that lead to the bathroom. Behind that half wall was a bed and dresser.

In front of them was a living room that had an older flower sofa and love seat with a white wicker coffee table. To their left was a small kitchen that was only separated from the rest of the space by the lower cabinet and bar. The walls were all a bright white, and the light pine floors gave the space warmth.

Dakota looked at her and asked, “What is this?”

Cally smiled. “This is our place. Somewhere that’s not my parents or yours, somewhere that is ours.”

He shook his head. “We can’t afford this.”

She looked up at him. “I don’t go anywhere but school and work and I take every shift I can just to get out of the house. I don’t really spend the money I make, so yes, we can.” She turned to him. “I paid the full six months of rent, and I just have to cover the utilities.”

He looked down at her. “Are you sure about this? I’ll be staying at the base most of the week. You’re going to be here alone.”

She reached up and kissed him. “I’m the one that wakes everyone up in the morning and makes coffee and breakfast. I go to work, I come home, and go to bed. I don’t get in trouble, I don’t go out, so what’s the difference between what I do every day and what I would be doing here?”

“You’re fifteen. You shouldn’t be living on your own,” he argued.

“Now I’m fifteen and just a kid? Even though I was old enough and mature enough to marry you this morning? You need to make your mind up. You can’t have it both ways,” she argued.

She knew he didn’t like this, but she wasn’t going to live with his parents, and he didn’t want her living with hers, so it was this or fight over this. He shook his head. “What if something happens and I’m not here?”

She shrugged. “Baca lives in the main house. I can talk to her.”

“Does she really know what you’re planning?” he asked, still not convinced.

Just then, there was a soft knock behind them on the open door. “Hello.”

She looked around Dakota as he turned. “Baca, this is my husband, Dakota. Dakota, this is Baca.” It felt so strange saying those words for the first time, but at the same time, it felt so right.

She watched Dakota’s surprise as the older woman took hold of him. But as always, he didn’t miss a beat. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Baca shook his hand. “Cally’s told me all about you. Congratulations!”

He shook his head at her, and she could clearly see him getting angry with her, but Baca came to the rescue. “Why don’t we sit down and talk?” His eyes held hers as they went over to the sofa, and Baca started. “Cally told me how you two were getting married and that you wanted her to move into your parents’ house until you could get your own place. But I knew she wasn’t going to do it, and my Hubert and I had a rough start, so I knew I had to do something. We build this for our kids, but they’re all grown with families of their own. It’s been sitting here empty for years.” Baca looked to Dakota. “Cally’s a good girl, she’ll be fine here, and when you come back, you’ll have a little place of your own. I’m just a few steps away if she needs anything.”

Dakota was still reserved. “I don’t know.”

“I’m going to be fine, and the only other option is for me to live with my parents. So do you want to deal with that?” she insisted.

He looked to Baca. “How much is it?”

“Two-fifty a month, plus utilities, and she’s already paid the rent for the next six months, so it’s just the utilities at this point,” Baca offered.

He looked at Cally. “I had given her the full fifteen hundred on Monday after I saw it. I thought you would like a nice compromise to the fight we were going to have.”

Baca smiled, and Cally looked at his defeated face. “I’ll take good care of her when you’re gone,” Baca said.

Dakota shook his head. “Fine, you can have it, but we are still going to move up to the base as soon as a place opens up.”

Cally just nodded and kissed him, not wanting to rub in the fact that she had just won this fight. “Anything you want. I’ll follow you anywhere.”

Baca stood up. “I told you he would like it.” Baca gave her a wink as she started out. “I have some errands to run. I’ll see you later.”

Okay, now this was the best thing ever! Dakota had actually accepted her gift. “You’re not too mad, are you?”

He looked down at her. “No, but I’m not happy that you didn’t talk to me about this first.”

“Like you didn’t talk to me about proposing or getting married or moving in to your—”

He cut her off. “You’re never going to let me live that one down, are you?”

She leaned into him. “In a year or two, maybe.”

He looked at his watch. “We have to go.”

She shook her head, and he insisted. “My parents got us a hotel room for the weekend as a wedding present.”

She just started laughing. Yeah, they still thought she was going to move in with them, and they wanted to give them some “privacy” for a few days. She just took his hand as they headed back to the car.

* * * * *

The weekend slipped by way too fast. They were back at her parents’ house around noon on Sunday, and no one was there. She hadn’t really thought about it. She just decided to pack everything up and put it in his car. She didn’t have much, and packing only ever involved a few trash bags to put your things in and poof…done.

No sooner than they unloaded everything in their new apartment, they left to go to his parent’s house. When they pulled up, he started smiling that unnerving smile of his. She was beyond shocked when he said, “They got it early.”

Cally shook her head. “Okay.”

He turned her to the car. “Your wedding present.”

Her mouth hit the floor. It wasn’t new or flashy, but it was nice. It was a small, late model, black Opel Vectra, and she knew she couldn’t take it. “I can’t,” she stammered.

He turned her to him and wrapped his arms around her. “If you want that apartment, you will.”

Cally knew she was crying. She had never expected anything like this from anyone. She leaned up and kissed him. “I love it.”

He took in a deep breath before explaining, “Good, because now we have to explain why you’re not moving in with my parents.”

She looked at him. “They’re not going to let me have the apartment, are they?”

He shook his head. “No.”

“Then we tell them I’m staying with my parents, and we tell my mom I’m staying here.” It was the only logical solution to any of this.

She waited, and he shook his head. “This isn’t going to end well.”

And he was right. His parents had thrown a fit. Once they were done yelling at them, Dakota insisted that they tell her parents too. Her mother wasn’t happy but understood and let it go a lot easier than she would have ever expected. Now they just had to hope that the two sets of parents didn’t talk to each other too much and figure out where she actually was or was not staying.

It was nearly five when they got back to the apartment. He had let her drive her new car and had followed with some of his things from his parents’ house.

It was hard to say goodbye, but they both had to work in the morning. He looked at her with loving eyes. “I’ll call and get the phone turned on, and then I’ll get the rest of the utilities turned over tomorrow.”

She couldn’t say anything. She didn’t want him to leave, even though she knew he had to. She knew he had to go, but it was harder saying goodbye this time. She hugged him, and he pulled her chin up. “Are you sure you’re going to be okay?”

Cally just nodded. “Yeah, but that doesn’t mean I want you to go.” She knew he was questioning it. “But I know you have to go, and I’ll be fine. I have a lot to put away.” She looked back at all the bags and boxes.

He gave her one last kiss before he left, and she knew it would be a week before she saw him again. There was a lot to do, and she didn’t really notice that there wasn’t a T.V. It wasn’t that late before she went to bed and wished that she had Dakota with her.

The first week went by rather fast. She knew she wasn’t supposed to drive on her own yet, but she really didn’t have a choice. Her days consisted of unpacking, working, and she had picked up some food and a few books to read. She closed her eyes and sat back, wondering what everyone was doing. It had been so quiet that she hadn’t even realized how she missed having people around.

She had just pulled up from another late shift when she was startled by the second set of car lights following her up the drive. There was no real sign of Seth, but that didn’t mean much, and Baca’s car was already here.

Afraid of what this could be, she didn’t get out of her car and just watched the lights as they went off as the car parked behind her, blocking her in. She watched the dark figure getting out and walking toward her, but it was so dark, and there weren’t any real lights out here. So all she could do was watch as he walked up and opened her door. Damn, she hadn’t even thought to lock them.

She was shaking with fear when the light from the car hit his face as he knelt down. “I’ve missed you,” he said, just before he pulled her in for a deep, unrelenting kiss. Her arms wrapped around Dakota instantly and she couldn’t let go. She hadn’t talked to him since he left, so she wasn’t sure if he would be back this weekend or not.

It took her a minute to let go of the fear, enough for him to pull away and smile. “Should we go in?” he asked, and all she could do was nod. She was so happy he was back that she had totally forgotten how to speak.

“You’ve unpacked everything,” he said, surprised.

She just nodded. “I had a day off so…” Not thinking, she curled up on the sofa.

“Have you been all right here?” he asked, sitting next to her.

“I’ve been fine. I don’t like driving without all the right papers, but I really don’t have a choice. And it’s given me some freedom to go and pick up food and stuff.”

He just watched her, and for some reason, he seemed to be looking for something. “I had the T.V. hooked up, and here’s a cell phone for you. It’s an unlimited family plan,” he said, handing her the phone. “And we have a meeting with the base housing office next Monday at ten thirty. With any luck, we can get a place sooner.”

She didn’t know if she had just become used to the quiet in the past week or what, but it was strange having him here. She hadn’t had anyone over other than Baca. “Have you talked to your parents?” she asked him, hoping that they weren’t too hurt.

“Yes, they are disappointed, but they didn’t think you would leave your parents’ house. Hannah is disappointed, though,” he said, smiling. “Have you seen Savannah?”

There was no point in asking if she had talked to her parents, because that was the last thing on earth she would do. “Nope.”

“You want to go see her? There’s a party, and Jay said they’re going,” he offered.

She just shrugged. “If you want to. It doesn’t matter to me.”

“You haven’t gone anywhere but to work in the past week, and I’m betting you haven’t seen or talked with anyone either,” he accused.

“I told you that is how I am. What’s the point in going out if you’re not there? And I’m trying to lay low. I took on three extra shifts because one of the girls is in the hospital, and I knew it would keep me busy,” she defended poorly.

He stood up and pulled her up. “Come on, we’re going out.”

“Can I change first?” she asked.

“You have ten minutes,” he teased.

It didn’t take long before they ended up at one of his friends’ houses in the middle of a full-swing party. She didn’t like the large crowd of people, but it was nice to be out. For a while, they mainly walked around, and he introduced her to people. But then she found Annalise, and they started talking. A few minutes later, Savannah found them, and she knew from her sister’s anger she was in for it. Somehow, Savannah had to have found out what she had done.

The three of them walked off a little to get away from everyone, but she kept her eyes on Dakota as they did. She was watching him talking when Savannah hissed, “Where in the world are you staying?”

She looked back to her sister and started, “At—”

She didn’t get to finish that before Savannah hissed, “You’re not staying at his parents’ house. Hannah has been calling. So where in Hades have you been?”

She looked back to Dakota, terrified, and he just happened to look over to her and started toward them.

Savannah snapped, “He’s not going to save you! Where have you been staying?”

She knew better than to lie to her sister who gave her no choice but to try and explain. “We have an apartment, and I’m not hosting any parties, so get that out of your mind now.” He was still a few yards away. “If you tell anyone, I swear I’ll kill you.”

Savanna was shocked. “He’s letting you stay by yourself? What the freak is wrong with him?”

Dakota was just behind them when he answered, “We are fine, and when I’m not there, Baca is and she’s been checking in on Cally for me.”

“You’ve been talking to Baca?” She wasn’t sure if it was an accusation or anger that made her say it.

“You didn’t think I was going to leave you alone and not be able to check on you. I talked to her before I left, and a few times this week.” He wrapped his arms around her protectively. “I couldn’t reach you, so it was that or have my parents check on you.”

She was ready to yell when Savannah demanded, “Who is Baca?”

“A lady I work with,” Cally answered, never taking her eyes off Dakota and feeling a little betrayed by his admission.

“This is so wrong. You’re fifteen and living by yourself?” Savannah protested.

She nodded and looked at her sister. “I’m also married and want my own space when my husband comes home.”

“But he doesn’t come home every weekend. And then what are you going to do? And if Mom finds out, she’s going to kill both of you.”

Annalise offered, “I can stay with her when you’re not there.”

Dakota looked at Annalise, and then to Cally. “I like that idea better.”

She shook her head. “You really don’t like me being alone, do you?”

“She’s twenty, and if someone was to say anything, you could at least have someone there with you. It would be easier to defend to people,” Dakota offered. “And she wouldn’t have to stay with her parents full-time,” he joked.

“Baca said I should learn to pick my fights wisely, so fine, you can have this one, but—” she looked around the open yard and house “—“no one tells my parents, and no parties.” She Cally directed the last part to Savannah, because she knew that’s what her sister was planning.

Dakota just pulled her into a hug and said, “You’re far too wise for your age.”

Savannah was still upset. “When do we get to see this place?”

“You want to follow us over?” Dakota asked Jay who appeared from nowhere.

“All right,” he answered absently.

They pulled in the drive with Jay behind them, and Cally saw the light on at Baca’s, so she offered. “I’m going to tell her what you decided.”

“We’ll be upstairs,” he agreed as he got out and she headed over.

When she walked in, everyone was sitting around the T.V., flipping through channels. Dakota looked at her, and she told him, “Baca is fine with it. She thinks it will help if someone was to say something about it, but she said she’s still here if we need anything.”

That seemed to be all that needed to be said, and then they went back to watching T.V., and Cally went in the kitchen and made some dinner. She hadn’t eaten since lunch, and it was nearly eleven. She leaned against the counter and watched as they talked and laughed. It was strange, but it wasn’t. She knew this was their apartment, but this was the first time Dakota was in it with her, and to see him sitting back and relaxing was nice.

Annalise came in and asked, “Are you all right with this?”

Annalise was nice, and they had hung out before, so it wasn’t a big deal. “Yeah, it will make him happy, and that’s all that matters.”

Annalise offered, “I have a friend with a futon that we can set up over there.” She pointed to the empty wall near the bathroom. Baca had said that a dining room set had been there, but she had given it to her son when he moved out, so now the space was empty.

“Okay, whatever you need.” She didn’t say anymore, because she was exhausted and didn’t want it to come out wrong.

She turned and washed her dishes and put them away before she went in the living room and sat down next to Dakota. Annalise asked, “When are you going back?”

“Sunday night. We can move your things in Sunday if you want,” he offered.

She leaned against him as he wrapped his arm behind her and closed her eyes. She had gotten up at six and was lucky to have tomorrow off, but she was dead tired. She didn’t know how long she was asleep, but she woke up when she heard Jay saying, “Well, thanks for havin’ us over!”

She got up and looked to Savannah. “You better not say a word.”

Her sister nodded. “I’ll give Hannah your new cell number the next time she calls.”

She groaned and looked to Dakota. “Your sister’s going to kill me.”

“Not tonight,” he said with a devilish smile that made her melt.

The next morning, she woke up about eight thirty, and not knowing what she was supposed to do, she went in the kitchen and started breakfast. She put everything on a tray and took it back to the bed where her new husband was lying awake.

“Hmm, breakfast in bed. I can get use to this,” he teased.

It wasn’t a big deal, just something she was used to doing, so she shrugged. Then he said the words that hit the deepest part of her heart. “This is just the beginning of our forever.”

Yes, this is, she thought as she leaned down and kissed him.

The weekend went by as fast as the next week. Annalise wasn’t bad company, and Savannah and Jay had stopped by a few times. But even when Dakota came home on Saturday night, she felt strange; it all felt right, like this was how it was supposed to be. This was how her life was supposed to work out—happy and content.

It wasn’t until Monday morning when reality started sinking in again. “We have to get you a military I.D. before we go to housing.”

“I don’t have my birth certificate or even my social security card,” she thought out loud, knowing that they would need those before they could do much else.

He chuckled. “Your mom gave them to me after the wedding. I told her I needed them to get the housing application done.”

They had been driving for nearly an hour, and she was just now thinking about how much time it took for him to come all the way down to see her each weekend. He really must have loved her to make this drive so many times. And when winter set in, it would be icy and more dangerous for him to come down. She wasn’t sure why the guilt was setting in, but it was and it didn’t seem right.

Cally looked out the window as they passed a school and realized that school started in two weeks. Everything left her mind. “School starts in two weeks. We have to change all my records and fill out whatever they need done before I start.”

“We can stop there on the way back. We should be done with this by eleven,” he offered before asking, “What do we have to do?”

“I don’t know. But I’m thinking we should have my name and address changed and whatever else they want done.” She was totally guessing at this point, because she had no idea what she was supposed to do.

When they turned into the base, they were stopped at the gate. She handed over her I.D. card, and the guy just nodded. She was impressed they weren’t questioned. “He didn’t say anything about me coming on the base.” Last time she was there, she wasn’t permitted on the base and had to wait for him at the gate.

“It’s daytime, and you’re on the list because we have two appointments.” He shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal.

Now that was a first. “You said we had one appointment to get the housing application done.”

“We have to get you an I.D., and that is another appointment,” he answered, and she looked to see it was now almost nine thirty. They were stopping in front of a very intimidating building. She looked over at him wearing his fatigues and she had on the second nicest dress she owned; the nicest being her wedding dress was still in its sealed bag hanging in the back of the closet. She was so not ready for this. She groaned inwardly to herself.

He opened the door for her and she nearly stumbled getting out. Dakota took her hand, offering the support that she greatly needed at that point because she wasn’t all that sure of what they were doing at such an imposing place. They went in and down the hall, and he whispered, “Just remember that woman that told you we shouldn’t be married and don’t be afraid to let them know how you feel.”

“Oh, no, I wasn’t in my right mind that day. I was scared to death, and the only reason I even got out of the car was because of your mom.” That moment started flashing through her mind all over again. “You so don’t want me to go there.”

They walked into an office with several desks and smaller offices before he had a chance to answer. The woman at the desk asked, “Can I help you?”

“We have an appointment with Sergeant Mallory,” he said in the most formal tone she had ever heard from him.

They woman looked at a sheet. “Name?”

“Dakota?” a woman called from behind them before he had a chance to answer.

They both seemed to turn at the same time to see another woman wearing a uniform, looking right at them. She had her hair up and was coming toward them.

Dakota seemed to know her. “Cally, this is Katharine Mallory. Kate this is my wife, Cally.”

Kate just smiled. “Come in, and let’s see what we can get done.”

Well, he half-dragged her into the office with this tall muscular she-demon that made Savannah look like a weak newborn bunny. Cally wanted to run when the office door shut behind them. But she just followed Dakota’s lead and she sat down next to him.

“Did you bring the papers?” Kate asked, looking at something on her desk.

He handed over a folder asking, “How’s John?”

The woman had a breathy laugh as she spoke. “He’s crawling everywhere and into everything. Some days I’m just glad to have to come in so I can get a break from chasing him.”

Dakota looked at Cally. “Her husband and I work together,” he explained.

The woman looked up. “Everything seems in order. I just need to make a few copies, and we can get your picture.”

Kate ducked out, and when she came back in, she handed over a stack of papers. “I need you to go through that and sign it if it’s accurate.”

Dakota seemed to glance over it and signed it twice, and then handed it to Cally. She was looking over the papers when Kate said, “We haven’t seen much of you lately. Is that going to change soon?”

Dakota laughed. “As soon as we get housing. Right now, she’s staying with a friend near my parents’ house.”

“From what I’ve heard, the waiting list isn’t as long as they say it is. We have nine families that are being transferred in the next few months, so with any luck, you won’t have to wait that long, and we can see you more.”

“I know it will be nice not to have to go back and forth,” he said, making her heart ache even more knowing that she was the reason for him having to come down so often.

Kate handed the papers over and smiled. “It’s official. You’re now an Air Force wife.”

Cally had no idea what to say to that. She wasn’t ready for any of this and didn’t even know what this was. She was still trying to figure out what being a normal wife was. How was she supposed to know what an army wife did? Were they trying to kill her or just scare her to death?

Dakota laughed. “Don’t mind her, she likes to hassle all the new faces. But she’ll grow on you.”

“Let’s get her cards made up,” Kate offered, heading out the door again.

Cally just followed Dakota and didn’t say a word. It wasn’t long before she had two new I.D. cards, and they were walking out with Kate saying, “Bring her around sometime, and don’t be a stranger.”

“I will. And thank you.” He waved as they headed out the door and down the hall to another set of offices. He leaned over and whispered, “Breathe.”

She looked at him and lied. “I’m fine.”

This time, he didn’t know who they were meeting, and everything was a little edgy, but when they left, the man said, “It should be about six to nine months before something opens up. We’ll let you know.”

She looked to her watch as they headed back to the car. It wasn’t even eleven, and she felt like the day was almost over. Cautiously, she asked, “What now?”

They were heading out before he answered, “Well, we wait. But you can now get on the base, and Kate said your insurance should go through in the next month.”

“So we have started this and we’re walking out with almost the same as when we got here?” she asked, puzzled.

He laughed as they left the main gate. “That’s the military for you—all powerful and slower than a snail.”

The drive back wasn’t so bad. Dakota was telling her about his friends on the base, and she started to envy him. He had two lives to live, and both were hard on him. She shook her head at what it must be like for him to straddle two completely separate lives. She just wished there was something she could do for him.

They stopped in front of her school before she realized it. He grabbed all the papers and asked, “Are you sure you want to change everything?”

She looked him in the eyes and said, “I married you. I took you as my husband. And I’m going to admit it to the world and accept it fully, including at school.”

When they walked in the office, the assistant principal, Mr. Damarion, was looking right at her. She wanted to hide, because she knew he didn’t like her. Dakota pulled his hat off, and Mr. Damarion seemed to change as he said, “Dakota Hunter, it’s been a while. How are you doing?”

Dakota smiled. “Good, I just got married.”

Mr. Damarion looked at her and shook his head. “At least you’re doing better.”

Dakota looked at her, but shook it off. “We need to get Cally’s records and address changed.”

Ms. Johnson got up and asked, “Is there a policy or form for a student getting married?”

Mr. Damarion walked over to them. “Can I see the marriage certificate?”

Dakota handed him the whole folder, and they just stood there, waiting for his judgment. “We can get the address changed today, but I will have to see what we need to do about the name change.” He looked at her. “This doesn’t happen very often, if ever.”

Dakota was a solid strength beside her as she stood up and said, “I love him, and our parents approve.”

Ms. Johnson handed Dakota a paper to fill out, and then said, “While you’re doing that, I should make copies of those for our records.”

While the two of them were busy, Mr. Damarion asked her, “Is this going to cause trouble?”

She knew what he was asking. Were Seth and his friends going to start something over this? Cally just nodded. “Probably.” Then she smiled. “But that’s high school.”

Mr. Damarion groaned. “I don’t want to have to deal with your mother over this.”

Dakota interjected, “You won’t have to. She’s not going to be a part of this anymore. If there’s a problem, you can come to me.”

Mr. Damarion looked to Dakota, smiling. “Does he know what has happened?” The question was directed to her.

“Sort of. He knows about Seth and the fact Seth is still stalking me. But I don’t care if you tell him.” But he turned to her, and she knew what he wanted her to do. “Dakota, last year, I was dating Seth, and throughout the year, we ended up down here for a few issues. Mainly fighting over boyfriends and girlfriends and things like that.”

Dakota was looking at her a little curiously, and she finished saying, “But that won’t happen this year, because I’m married and I have no real interest in establishing friendships. I’m only coming here to do my work, and that’s it.” She knew she was getting a little cocky as she gave Mr. Damarion a great big grin. “Besides, I’ll only be here a few months, because when the housing comes through, I’ll be moving.”

Mr. Damarion just shook his head. “That is yet to be seen.”

Dakota was clearly surprised at the way she was acting, but he confirmed it. “I was told it should take less than six months to get housing, and then she’s going to move up to the base with me.”

Mr. Damarion just shook his head as he walked back around the counter. “You have your work cut out for you if you think this is going to work. Ninety-three percent of teen marriages end in divorce within three years.” He pointed at her. “And that one is trouble.”

Dakota was clearly surprised. “She’s as quiet as they come, and we’ll make this work.”

She wrapped her arm around him as she asked as sweetly as she could, “Is there anything else we need to do?”

Ms. Johnson looked to Mr. Damarion, and he said, “Have them turn in the name change form for the adoption sheet. We can adjust the form later if we need to.” Then he disappeared into his office.

Dakota shook his head. “You have to explain this one.”

She couldn’t hold back the laugh as she said, “What can I say? I’m a little wild, but I think you’re taming me very well.” She reached up and kissed him, not caring that they were still in the school.

They were about to walk out when Mr. Damarion peered around the corner and added, “She better not get knocked up before she moves. I don’t need a pregnant teen running the halls.”

Dakota turned to him, and as formal as he could be, he said, “Sir, yes, sir.”

Then he leaned over and whispered to her, “We may have to wait on the babies until we’re on the base.”

She knew her face was turning red, but there was nothing she could do to stop it. She had no intention of having a baby anytime in the foreseeable future. Being married at fifteen was one thing, but having a baby was pushing it way too far for her. She wasn’t even out of high school, and they were talking about babies and kids and things she so wasn’t ready for. She had thought this move was to help get her away from having to raise her sister, not to start a family of her own. She may be a teen bride, but there was no way she was going to be a teen mom too!

Dakota turned her back to the car and asked. “Why are you so quiet all of a sudden? I thought you were enjoying tormenting Mr. Damarion.”

She just blurted it out, “I’m not ready to have a baby. I’m not even out of school yet.”

He just laughed. “I was just teasing. There’s plenty of time for that later.” He kissed her and smiled. “Besides, I would at least want us living in the same house before we even think about that.”

“Great, now I’m going to be a teen bride and mom all before I have a diploma,” she groaned unceremoniously.

She let her head fall back to hit the car, and he took advantage of that by kissing her neck as he opened the door next to her, saying, “I want to pick up a few things before we head back.”

She just nodded. “Fine,” she said and slipped in the car with her blood on fire and her head spinning from his well-practiced kisses.

She looked around the drive and noticed there was no one home at his parent’s house. She looked to him and said, “I’ll wait while you get what you need.”

“They’re not home,” he assured her.

She just smiled, knowing the truth of it. “No, but Hannah is, and I have a feeling she’s not too happy with me.”

He got out and went in while she waited. Not five minutes went by when Hannah came out and got in on the driver’s side. Her look put fear into Cally as she demanded, “Why?” It sounded like an accusation more than anything.

“Because,” was Cally’s only answer, and then she offered, “I’ll still pick you up for school if that helps.”

Hannah debated that, but the door was opened again, and Dakota ordered, “Out.”

“Fine,” Hannah tried as she got out, clearly still pouting because Cally hadn’t wanted to move in with her and her family.

* * * * *

The next two weeks were a little stressful as she got ready to go back to school. Dakota had to stay on base for drills, so he wasn’t able to come down, but they talked every night, so it wasn’t bad. Between work and preparing for school, she stayed busy.

The first morning of school, she was shaking. She picked up Hannah, and they drove in relative silence when they got there. She got out and told her new sister, “I don’t have to work today, so I can wait, but I want to try to be out of here by three twenty.”

“I’ll be back here by then,” Hannah said as she headed over to where some of her friends were.

Dakota had told her to check with the office to see if they had made the changes to her file yet. So her first goal was to get her schedule (which was sent to her mom’s house) and to see what her name was going to be today.

When she walked into the office, Ms. Johnson smiled. “I have your schedule printed out, and we were able to make all the changes, so you should be good to go.”

She couldn’t get used to seeing her new name, but every time she saw it, she had to smile: Callista Hunter. She couldn’t help but think about Dakota and the fact that he wasn’t there with her. Someone bumped into her, and she looked up. “Thank you, Ms. Johnson.” The older woman just nodded as she started talking to someone else.

She looked at the clock on the wall and realized the first bell would ring in a minute, so she headed to her homeroom. She had barely reached the stairs when the bell rang, and she rushed up the stairs, hoping to avoid the crowd.

She walked in and sat down at the desk with the folder that had her new name on it. Ms. Bell walked in, smiling, and said, “Miss Marson, I believe you’re in the wrong room.”

She got up and handed the teacher her schedule. “I got married over the summer. My name’s Cally Hunter now.”

It was clear that her teacher didn’t agree with this. “I heard one of the students got married. I just assumed it was a senior.” Ms. Bell gave her the paper back and said, “Sit down then.”

She watched as many of the people she knew walked in and took their seats, a few giving her a strange look. When the final bell rang, Ms. Bell started her first day speech and ended with, “Does anyone have questions?”

It would figure that Seth’s best friend would be the one to ask. “Why is Cally in here? She should be in Mr. Porter’s homeroom.”

Ms. Bell looked to her with that “I told you so” look, and instead of having to force her teacher to explain, Cally jumped in. “Over the summer, I got married and took my husband’s name.”

That had done it. Everyone was either staring or whispering, and Conner asked, “Who gets married when they’re in high school?”

Someone else asked, “Are you pregnant?”

“I’m not pregnant and I am married. It’s not a big deal, so lay off,” she warned, hoping to get this over with as fast as she could.

Just then, the bell rang, and she headed out the door when Ms. Bell grabbed her arm. “It’s only going to get harder, so you had better be prepared for this.”

She knew her teacher felt bad for her, but she was happy, and she knew she could do this. “I have nothing to do here but get my diploma, so it doesn’t matter what anyone says or does.”

That look she gave Cally told her that she would need that confidence if she was going to make it through this. “If you need anything, my door is open.”

As Cally walked down the hall to first period, she could hear the start of the rumors. There wasn’t a step where someone wasn’t talking about her and there wasn’t a word they said that bothered her either. It didn’t matter what any of them thought. She loved Dakota and loved him enough to take him as her husband, and she wasn’t ashamed to let everyone know it.

When she walked into Geometry, the first face she saw was the one she didn’t want to see. Seth was sitting in the far corner, talking to a few of their friends, and she did the only thing she could. She sat at a desk on the opposite side of the room as far from him as she could get.

Mr. Porter started class before any of them could come over and say anything, and she was thankful. But no matter how fast she was, she couldn’t beat Seth out of the room. He ambushed her in the classroom demanding, “What the heck?”

She looked him in the eyes and said it point-blank. “I married him, and I want you to leave me alone. I don’t want you calling or coming over or anything. Just leave me alone!” She pushed her way past him and rushed to her next class.

She was one of the first ones in the lunchroom that day and considering she didn’t eat at school, ever, she just sat down at the table near the door. She hadn’t said much of anything to anyone and didn’t expect to have much of a social life this year. But it wasn’t long before a few friends sat down with her and started asking, “Why did you get married?” and “What about Seth?”

Cally shook her head as Janna called out, “Hannah, why don’t you sit with us?” As Janna started introducing her, she just laughed. But then Janna turned the focus back on her. “Well, Cally, what happened?”

She shook her head. There wasn’t much to say, and she started laughing harder when Hannah asked, “What do you mean what happened?”

Janna looked at her and started the fill-in. “Cally and Seth were a hot couple last year. But Cally broke it off with him. They were supposed to get back together before school started, but now there’s a rumor that—”

Janna looked at Cally to finish, but Hannah did it for her. “That Cally got married.” Everyone looked at Cally’s new sister, and then to her, but Hannah wasn’t done. “To my brother.”

Now that got their attention and a very loud “What?”

Cally was still laughing. “I married her brother on August fourth, and I’m very proud of it.”

Mark asked, “Are you pregnant?”

She just shook her head. “I’m not pregnant and I wasn’t when I got married, and yes, he knew I wasn’t.”

“Then why did you do it?”

There was only one answer that made sense. “Because he’s an angel and I love him.”

They looked at her like she was insane, and Amanda asked, “And what about Seth?”

“I told him to leave me alone. I don’t want anything to do with him.” She looked at the rings on her finger and said, “I will never cheat on him. I won’t do anything that could ever destroy what we have.”

Janna was the first to say it, “O.M.G., you are in love-love.”

She just looked at Hannah and nodded. “I am.” And Hannah smiled back, clearly approving of her answer.

“So what was the wedding like? Do you have pictures?” Amanda asked.

Hannah pulled out a pack of pictures and started explaining everything to the smallest detail. Cally had no real interest in getting anyone’s approval or being the novelty, so she let Hannah have her moment. When the packs of pictures came to her, she started pulling out a set. She hadn’t seen anything from the ceremony, and with each picture, something changed in her.

They really did look good together, and he was the most handsome man in his uniform. His short hair was hidden by his hat, but you could still see his deep penetrating gaze. She handed the pictures back to Hannah when lunch was over and put the set she took in her bag.

As they were walking out the door, Hannah came up beside her. “I was going to give you a set after school.”

She looked over to her new sister. “I’m sorry I just took them. I don’t have any pictures of us or of Dakota.”

Hannah just laughed. “You’re family now. It doesn’t matter.”

The rest of the day went much the same. People would point and stare and ask the same questions over and over. The teachers were having a time with her last name, and she ended up with a headache before last period. She no longer cared who was in her classes or what anyone said. The truth was it didn’t really matter.

Class was almost over, and everyone was just talking. Ms. Randal came up to her and asked, “Would you like to explain this before it gets carried away on the rumor circuit?”

She sat back, and everyone seemed to quiet down. “I fell madly in love with my boyfriend, and he asked me to marry him and move upstate. We were married on August fourth, and it’ll be six months or so before we get a place up there. I’m not pregnant and I never was and I never once said I was. We got married because we’re soul mates, and that’s it.”

Ms. Randal nodded her reassurance as the bell rang. She got up and grabbed her bag and said, “Thank you.”

“You needed to set this straight. There are tons of rumors flying around,” her teacher replied as she headed out to her car.

Hannah was waiting for her, and she just got in quietly, not needing more gossip. Hannah, on the other hand, was excited and chatty. Hannah had been the center of attention as “she defended her sister-in-law” from the vicious rumors. Cally didn’t care what people said or did. She wasn’t going to be here long enough for any of it to matter, and the only thing that did matter was the one thing she didn’t have right now—Dakota.

When they pulled up, Hannah asked her to come in, but she wasn’t in the mood after the day she had, so she offered softly, “Next time.”

The whole day had been a reminder that she didn’t have Dakota here with her. Every couple holding hands or whispering down the hall made her think of him, and every time someone said something about him, it made her want to cry. That’s why she was so thankful when she got home and Annalise wasn’t there. She just fell on her bed and started crying.

It was late when Dakota called, and by then, there were no tears left in her. “So how was your first day?”

She just lay there and gave that answer that always worked with parents: “Fine.”

But he saw through it. “What happened?”

“Seth is in my first class, and I told him off in front of everyone. The whole school is in an uproar because I got married. Your sister is the center of attention, because she’s the sister to the guy I married. And half the school thinks I’m pregnant.” It came out sounding like she was reading a dull list of facts.

He just started laughing. “And what did you do?”

“I just walked around telling people I’m not pregnant and I am married. And my name is Cally Hunter, not Cally Marson,” she explained blandly.

“And yet you were ready to cry when you left school,” he nudged.

She just shook her head. “Your sister has a big mouth.”

He laughed. “She was worried about you. She said a lot of people are angry at you over the whole ‘Seth thing.’”

She really didn’t want to bring up the whole “Seth thing,” so she went for, “I was fine until your sister pulled out the wedding pictures at lunch. That’s when I started missing you the most.”

“So all this is because you miss me?” he asked with a little more hope in his voice.

But she couldn’t help it as she reached over and took the pictures out of her bag as she answered, “Yes, I miss you, and I know you can’t be here every day, but it still hurts to know you’re not here.”

“Would it be easier if you weren’t there alone?”

She started flipping through the pictures. “No, I could be at my mom’s and I would still miss you. I could be at your parents’ and I would still miss you. So no, the whole where I live thing doesn’t matter. It’s the being without you that I miss.”

“It won’t be this way for long. As soon as we get a place, we’ll be together so much that you’re going to want to kill me,” he joked.

She knew he was right, but she still missed him. She changed the subject to him and was thankful he didn’t remember to bring up Seth again.

The rest of the week was pretty much the same. She was the talk of the school, and she just ignored it all. She worked each night and came home to make dinner, do homework, and went to bed, then repeated. She knew she shouldn’t have wasted the money, but she bought a frame for every single picture from their wedding and put them all over the apartment one night. Annalise had told her that it was too much, so she hung a drape up over the half wall and put the majority of them in there.

When she got home Friday night, the world seemed to change. He was home, waiting for her, and she ran as fast as she could up the stairs. When she opened the door, he was on the sofa, watching T.V. with Annalise and she froze. He looked so perfectly content while her world seemed to be falling in around her. She dropped her bag and sat next to him, and it took everything she had left not to attack him with kisses. Yeah, the world was finally right for a few minutes. But as with all good things, their time together was limited.

“Where did you get the picture?” he asked.

She looked above the T.V. at the picture. She loved that one the most out of all the pictures she had of that day. So at work, when it was slow, she decided to use the picture maker and blew it up. It was just the two of them standing in front of the old brick courthouse, but with those double-size wood doors and the antique lights, the picture came out beautiful. It was just the two of them standing there, but they were looking at each other, and you could see the love glowing around them. She didn’t know if it was a reflection or fluke, but there was actually a pink and gold halo surrounding them. It was the perfect wedding picture.

“Your sister brought them to school, and I stole a copy. That was one of my favorites, so I blew it up and framed it.”

“You did a good job altering it.” He seemed impressed.

She couldn’t take her eyes off of it. “I enlarged it, I didn’t change it. I wish I could have hung the rest up.”

Annalise shook her head. “You got three, and that’s good enough.”

She rolled her eyes, and Dakota asked, “What did I miss?”

Annalise turned to him. “She tried to hang every single picture up. I told her it looked trashy. It’s bad enough she hung the sheet up.”

He gave her a look that she couldn’t read. “What’s with the sheet?”

She couldn’t hide the red heat that hit her cheeks and couldn’t look at him, so she focused on her hands twisting her shirt. “I missed you and it hurt a lot, so I decided that I wanted to surround myself with pictures of you. Annalise didn’t like them all over, so I put up the sheet so she didn’t have to see them.”

She curled into a ball as he got up and walked in the bedroom area. “Oh my goodness.”

Her arms were around her knees and her head was resting on them. She couldn’t look at them or say anything.

“That’s what I said. The whole place was like that when I got home Wednesday night. I told her that there was no way we were going to have that. When I got home Thursday, she had the sheet up and those three pictures,” Annalise told him, still disapproving of what she had done.

She felt him sit back down next to her. “I will deal with this in my own way, and that is my way,” she mumbled in her arms.

“Why did you put them all up?” He didn’t sound angry as much as surprised.

“I missed you, and they give me a piece of you when you’re not here,” she mumbled into her lap.

There was a knock on the door that saved her from anything else he could have said in that moment. Annalise must have opened the door to let in Savannah and Jay who were now starting up a conversation with them. Savannah was saying that she should stay the night with her because her parents had gone out of town. She looked up to see Savannah looking at the picture and smiling. “We got a few like that too. I thought it was just the camera.” Savannah looked at her. “What’s your problem?”

Annalise couldn’t hold back. “Look in her room.”

Her head hit her knees before her sister even stood up. But it wasn’t long before she heard it. “Obsessive much?”

Dakota was ever the one to get details that were best left alone. “What’s been going on at school?”

She heard Savannah sit down. “She told you everyone is talking about you two?”

“Yeah?” Cally didn’t get how he could make such a simple word into such a significant question, but he managed it.

“She’s the center of most conversations. There are bets on when she’s due and if she’s not making the whole thing up and why anyone would get married so young.” Savannah made it sound like that was it, but you could hear the “there’s more to it” in her voice.

Jay’s the one that added, “There’s a few that think she’s saying she’s married to make her ex jealous.”

Dakota started rubbing her back. “And what’s she saying?”

Savannah pounced with the open invitation. “She’s told a few people that she fell in love and got married and that she’s not pregnant. But no one believes her, and she’s not really defending herself, so it’s getting worse by the day.”

Jay asked, “What’s she told you?”

“Nothing. She said there was talk, but that was it. But I’m starting to understand the room a little more.”

Savannah sounded puzzled. “I don’t get it.”

“She doesn’t care what other people think, but she’s constantly thinking of me, and it helps to keep her sane.” He paused for a few seconds. “But we’ll be together soon, so it’s not going to be forever. I just don’t understand why you won’t defend yourself.”

Cally rolled her head to look at him. “Because it’s none of their business. I don’t kiss and tell and I’m not going to start now.”

“It’s not the same,” Savannah argued.

She looked at her sister. “I go to school, go to work, and come home. I have to deal with this for what, six months? I’ll deal with it, whatever.”

“Why would you put up with it?” her bossy sister started to argue.

She cut her off. “I don’t care.”

“But there’s a reason.” Savannah knew her far too well.

“He’s left me alone because of it.” she said in the quietest deadly tone.

Her sister’s face said it all. “You’re doing all this because of Seth?”

She just rested her chin on her knees and stared at her sister.

“He’s still bothering you?” Dakota asked.

“Nope.”

“Because he thinks you’re lying and insane,” Savannah answered.

“Yep.”

“Why don’t you just tell people the truth?” Dakota asked.

“I did, and I’m done with it. I’m married and happy, and nothing else matters.”

“At least she knows her mind,” Jay added, trying to defend her.

“Is this what he was talking about?” Dakota asked, knowing she knew he meant what Mr. Damarion had said over the summer.

She sat back and looked him in the eye. “Yes. He knew this would be blown up by Seth and his friends, and I had prepared myself for it.”

“Why?”

“This is what happens when you deal with him. He makes everything worse and twists it to make you the worst person on earth if you don’t do things his way.”

“So you’re saying that he told you to breakup with me, and you agreed because you knew he would do something like this?” Dakota asked, shock and anger filling every word.

“I knew this would happen, and I still married you. I married you because I love you, and there’s not enough fear in the world that could have convinced me not to. I accept my decision, and I’m willing to live with it. Are you?” she challenged with a confidence she didn’t know she had.

He wrapped his arms around her, and it was the best thing in the world. Being in his arms made the whole world feel like it disappeared, and right now, she needed that more than anything. She loved him, and there was no questioning that. She loved him more than anything anyone could say or do, and no matter what happened, she would love him, and that’s all that mattered.

“I love you too. I just wish there was something I could do,” he said, trying to comfort her.

She couldn’t let him take this on himself. “I can deal with this, don’t worry. In time, it will die down, and I’ll just disappear into a distant memory.”

Savannah being Savannah asked, “Are you pregnant?”

“No.”

“Then there’s nothing to worry about,” she replied with some underlying meaning.

But her sister was wrong. The next week, Seth started more rumors and speculation. She just ignored it, and when it started to hurt, she would look at the pictures she put in the cover of her binder to help her get through the day. She needed Dakota the most at school, and just having a picture of him there was enough to keep her going through the days. Dakota was her whole world and she just needed to keep going some way.

By the third week, things started leaning toward the belief that she wasn’t married at all. She had made it into the lunchroom early and took her seat and started her homework. A few people came and sat around her, but what caught her off guard were the three guys behind her, joking at her expense.

One said, “Yeah, I bet she doesn’t even have a name for this imaginary husband.”

The other said, “No way he’s real. Who would marry her?”

Cally had her breaking point, and that was it. She stood up, knocking her chair over, and turned on them. “My husband’s name is Dakota Rowan Hunter. He’s twenty-one and works on the base. So no, you won’t be seeing him around school. I don’t give a damn if you believe he’s real or not. Dakota is my husband and the only people in this world that our marriage involves is him and me, so go to the devil! And I will live my life the way I want, and I chose him over any of you immature jackbutts, and that’s the only reason you can’t let this go. Just because I’m more mature than y’all don’t mean you need to keep bringing it up every five seconds. Grow up and get a life of your own, and stay out of mine!”

She hadn’t realized how quiet the large crowded room had gotten until Mr. Damarion asked from behind her, “Is there a problem here?” Yeah, he knew there was, but he didn’t want to deal with it, and she could see that clearly.

She turned on him. “No, sir. I was just explaining something. I’m sorry I got loud.”

His shock was enough to tell her he would let this go, but just this once. “Okay then,” and he started to walk away, and she turned and sat down.

She had been working on homework before that, but now it seemed everyone was talking about her yet again. Hannah’s face told her that Hannah was going to run home and call Dakota, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. The first of many new questions started, and she just groaned. She wasn’t making this any easier on herself. She should have just kept her mouth shut, but no, she had to stand up for herself and defend her marriage.

By Friday, her little rampage had gone viral. Hannah had told Dakota who was proud of her for standing up for herself. The whole school knew her husband’s name, and now she was getting all kinds of mixed reactions, most of them bad.

But it was at lunch on Monday where the true inferno started. Cally had gone to the bathroom and was walking out when a few of the rednecks stood up and confronted her. She had seen them around school and at a few parties, but she didn’t really know any of them personally.

The taller of the two started. “You need to shut your mouth. If I hear you’re spreading lies about my friends again, I’m going to beat the tar out of you.”

She wasn’t too sure what they were talking about. “What did I say?”

“Dakota is a close friend, and he doesn’t need you spreading your lies around. So shut the frick up before I’m forced to shut you up,” the shorter one snapped.

She wasn’t stupid. She knew how to pick a fight and she knew this was one she wasn’t going to win, so she said, “Fine, whatever.” She got a few steps away before she added, “But you should get your story straight and ask him. He’ll tell you the same thing.” She made for the door, because she knew this wasn’t going to end well.

Cally turned back just as she made it out the door, and Mr. Damarion dismissed them. She wasn’t stupid, and she headed off to class as fast as she could manage. The rest of the day was spent with her avoiding anyone that hung out with that group. But there was something she missed in all the avoidance—the rumor that she had admitted she lied about being married.

By the end of the week, she had heard that there were a few people gunning for her. It seemed that she had ticked off people that she probably shouldn’t have and it was the people that should have had her back if they were truly Dakota’s friends.

Friday at lunch, they had decided that it wasn’t enough to just threaten her. She was heading back to class when someone nearly crushed her arm with their grip and spun her around under the stairs. She was facing the two guys from the other day, two more and three girls all looked ready to kill her. She just waited until they decided to do something.

A black haired girl stepped forward. “Tramp, you need to shut your damn mouth before I shut it for you.”

The tall guy from the other day shot, “I warned you to keep your mouth shut.”

She just shrugged. “I haven’t said anything,” which was true; she hadn’t needed to say anything. People seemed to say everything for her.

Another girl snapped, “Just because your sister dresses you up and takes you to a party don’t mean you have the right to make crap up about people you don’t even know. You’re just a little piece of trash.”

She shook her head. “I don’t care what you say or think. And you’re no friend of Dakota’s if you don’t know he got married. Don’t believe me? Ask his sister, she’s sitting right inside those doors.”

“That’s how much you know. He doesn’t talk to his sister,” one of the other guys threw in her face.

The black haired girl threw in, “Pathetic little whore is just trying to get attention. Go crawl back to that trashy ex-boyfriend and leave honest people alone.”

She saw Mr. Damarion standing behind them and just took a step back, and the black haired girl took a step forward and shoved her into the underside of the steps. She heard the loud crack of thunder that ran through her head just before the pain was so intense that she thought she was going to throw up. She wanted to cry, but she knew it wouldn’t do any good to show weakness in front of them. It took everything in her to hold it together, but somehow she did.

Mr. Damarion’s deep rumbling voice stopped the other girl as she came at her a second time. “Miss Michaels, Ms. Hunter, my office now! The rest of you get to class before I give you detention!”

She leaned back against the cold brick wall, trying to fight the pain as the group in front of her started breaking up. Her head was spinning with the pain, and there was no way she was moving from this wall for a while. She held her breath, trying to gain her balance, when she heard Mr. Damarion say, “Miss Chaise, take Ms. Hunter to the nurse.” He looked at her and said, “And then I want you in my office.”

Janna put an arm around her and whispered, “You’re in for it now.”

“I noticed,” Cally replied weakly as they walked.

“Why don’t you just admit you made it all up so they will leave you alone?” her friend asked, trying to help her out of this mess.

It was taking everything she had to just keep walking. “Because I married Dakota and I accept that, and if those jackbutts want to beat the crap out of me for loving him, then screw them.”

“At least ask your sister for help. She can at least get them to back off,” Janna offered, trying to help her see reason.

But it really didn’t matter. She wasn’t lying and hadn’t done anything wrong, so she had no reason to bow down under their threats. “No, I’ll deal with this on my own.”

She opened the door to the nurse’s office and nearly fell in the chair nearest to the door. Janna explained, “She was pushed into the stairs and hit her head. Mr. Damarion asked me to bring her down.” Janna turned to her. “Good luck.”

Yeah, good luck not getting suspended or beaten up after school, she thought to herself.

Ms. Rime asked, “Where did you hit your head?”

She leaned forward and pointed to the back of her head and said, “It’s not that bad.” She didn’t need the school nurse calling Dakota at work. She would be fine if she could make it home; heck, she was even willing to admit defeat and ask Savannah to drive her home as long as she didn’t call Dakota.

When she started poking and moving her hair, it took everything she had not to wince with the pain. When the older woman walked to the refrigerator and took out an icepack, she huffed, “Put this on it while I call your mother.”

Cally made her best plea as she put the ice on her head. “I’m fine, you don’t need to call. It doesn’t hurt that bad, and I can go back to class.”

But the woman looked at her questioningly, then pulled out a penlight from her desk. “Let me see.” Ms. Rime started flashing it in her eyes and then said, “No concussion, but I have to call home. It’s policy with head injuries.”

She sat back and moaned as she watched the nurse pull her pink card and then looked at her. “Is this right?”

“Yes, and he’s going to be furious,” she snarled.

Ms. Rime made a disapproving face as she sat down and called. “I need to speak with Private Dakota Hunter.” A pause. “Yes, his wife’s been in an accident.” A shorter pause. “Yes, I’ll hold.”

She looked at Cally. “This is why you’re hurt, isn’t it?”

“Yep.”

“Your mom should never have let you do this. She should have known better.” Then the woman turned to the paper, and her tone changed. “Yes, I’m calling about Cally. She had an accident and hit her head.” Ms. Rime gave her an evil side glance. “Yes, she seems fine, and she wants to stay in school.” There was another pause while he said something to the nurse, and then she held out the phone to her.

“It’s not my fault,” was the only thing she could think to say.

He didn’t sound angry but worried. “Are you all right? What happened?”

“I’ll be fine. It’s just a bump on the head. Can we talk about this later? Like in five minutes after Mr. Damarion suspends me?” she offered.

“You got in a fight?” he accused, shocked.

Out of habit, she shook her head which caused her to wince. “No, but it didn’t look good, and I’m thinking it’s not going to end well either.”

“I told you to deal with this and not to run from it. Now look where it’s gotten you. Cally, I can’t come down there every time you decide to let people walk all over you. Face this mess and deal with it, don’t let them push you around.” He wasn’t yelling, but it didn’t seem to matter. It still felt that way.

“I’m fine. I’ll deal with it.” And she handed the phone back.

“Mr. Hunter?” Ms. Rime asked. “All right, thank you,” Ms. Rime said before she hung up.

The angry nurse turned on her. “He said to send you back to class.”

She stood up and headed out the door, holding the ice on her head. Nothing was as terrifying as that phone call, so when she walked in the office, it didn’t faze her. She saw Miss Michaels sitting near the counter and took the seat farthest from the girl. She watched as Ms. Johnson called into Mr. Damarion’s office, “She’s here.”

He peered around the corner, ordering, “Get in here, both of you.”

Cally walked in and took a seat nearest the door and waited while the other girl sat a few seats down. She could see he wasn’t all that surprised to see her in here. “Ms. Hunter, what happened?”

Was he really asking her that? He saw what happened. He knew. She looked at the table and knew he was also giving her a chance to do something about it. If she got the girl suspended for fighting, then this would never end, but if she took the brunt of this, maybe they would lay off of her.

She looked him in the eye and lied. “We were talking, and I backed into the steps and hit my head.”

“Is that so?” he asked the other girl.

The other girl looked at her, surprised that she had flat out lied to save her. Clearly, she didn’t want to argue. “Yes.”

He looked at Cally and asked again. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, sir,” she said quietly.

He slid a slip across the table to the other girl saying, “Go back to class, and I don’t want to see you in here again.”

When it was just the two of them, he looked at her, wanting to know what had been said. “What did he say?”

“To deal with it and stop avoiding it.”

“How do you plan to do that?” he asked. It sounded like he was trying to gage her and what she was going to do.

Cally looked down and said, “I just did.”

“Fine, but I don’t want to see you in here again,” he warned as he slid her a hall pass.

She had missed most of that class and got back just in time to grab her things and head out as the bell rang without having to explain or deal with anyone else. That didn’t, however, stop her head from pounding the rest of the day. She ran into Savannah just before last period and knew this was the only chance she would have to ask her. “Savannah, I need a favor.”

She looked so put out. “What?”

“Can you drive me home? My head is killing me and I can barely see straight,” she admitted, hoping her sister wouldn’t say no.

Savannah looked like she was debating it but finally nodded. “Yeah, I’ll meet you at your car. Do you have to work?”

“No, I have off today.” Thankfully. She wasn’t sure how they had planned that one, but at least she could sleep this off on her own.

Her sister nodded and walked off.

Cally sat through last period with fear running through her. If they decided to attack her after school, she wasn’t going to make it. With her head this bad, she was sure she should have gone to the hospital, but that would have meant she had to admit that she couldn’t handle this on her own. Dakota was already doing too much by coming down almost every weekend, and she couldn’t let him keep doing this. She had told him that he didn’t have to come down this weekend, and he had argued a little but caved. Now she wasn’t sure he wasn’t going to come just because of this crap.

Cally looked up just as the last bell rang and grabbed her bag. She hadn’t even pulled a single thing out, and now she needed to get out of here as fast as she could without being stopped. She made it to her car without anyone stopping her and saw Hannah there waiting. She had just unlocked the door when Savannah walked up. “What in the world did you do?”

She threw the keys to her sister and got in the back, and Hannah asked, “What’s going on?”

She looked at them. “I hit my head and asked Savannah to drive us.”

With everyone in the car, they headed to drop Hannah off, and then she got up front and let it come out. “You’re going to tell me.”

“A few people are defensive because of the rumors and they confronted me at lunch. I hit my head on the underside of the stairs and have a bad headache. Ms. Rime said I was fine, and she called Dakota, and he’s angry at me. So there, anything else?”

“Who did this? I’m going to kick their—” Savannah said, getting defensive.

“I don’t know.”

“Bull, you know.” Her sister was riled up.

She closed her eyes and said softly, “I don’t know their names.”

Her sister clearly didn’t like that, but there wasn’t anything she could do about it. “You’re going to show me who they are on Monday.”

She wasn’t in the mood to argue. “Fine.”

When they got back, Annalise was there. “What’s going on?”

She wasn’t in the mood to deal with them, so she went in and lay down as she heard Savannah start explaining it. She closed her eyes and didn’t know how long she was asleep for. At one point, she could have sworn that she heard Savannah saying, “She’s been asleep since we got back. Yeah, I’ll tell her.”

The next night, when Dakota called, it didn’t seem as bad. “How did it go?”

“I lied and somehow got us both out of trouble,” she told him as she stared at the pictures of them on the wall.

“How’s your head?” His voice was laced with concern.

She didn’t want him to worry. If she told him that her head was just as bad as when she hit it, she knew he would come down, but she knew he couldn’t be here all the time, so she lied again. “Fine, it’s just a little bump.”

“You know you have to do something about all this. It’s gone too far,” he started.

But she didn’t need this now. “I have it under control. Don’t worry, it won’t happen again.”

“What started all this?”

She could tell he needed something, but she didn’t want him to worry. “I told a couple of guys off. I had enough and snapped. I told them that I didn’t think anyone in the school was good enough for me and that they could all go to the devil. That had a few people furious, and they confronted me.”

“This wasn’t Seth and his friends?” She could hear him getting riled up.

“No, it was someone else. It’s not a big deal. I think by getting that chick off the hook, I might have calmed them down for a while,” she offered.

“Cally, what aren’t you telling me?” he asked, concerned.

“It’s just petty high school stuff, it’s no big deal. So what did you do today?” Anything was better than keeping on that track.

* * * * *

The next two weeks went easier. Savannah and Jay had a spat that weekend, and she forgot about the guys that came at her by Monday. They seemed to leave her alone, and she assumed that it was mainly because of what she did. But the rumors didn’t seem to stop. There were a few new ones that she was sure Seth and his friends had started.

The one that seemed to be adding fuel to the fire was that Dakota wanted someone to “shut her up.” A few people were saying that he had claimed not to know her, but when she asked him, he had said that he hadn’t talked to anyone down there for over a month. And none of that did anything to help her situation at all.

Cally just dropped it, and then after school, it happened. The rednecks were in full force as she headed out to her car. She was stopped just outside the gym, and this time it came to more than just a little shove warning her to back off. This time they were out for blood, her blood.

“You lying hooch. He don’t even know you,” one was saying.

She shook her head. She knew her husband knew her and wasn’t going to feed this bunch any more than they were already running on.

Next, a blond chick came at her and backed her against the wall. “You need to be taught how to keep your mouth shut.”

This one hit Cally right in her ribs, and her eyes started to water with the severe pain. But she didn’t want to show weakness, so she just held it in. The blonde started laughing and looked to her friends. “That should teach her to keep her mouth shut.”

A teacher noticed the crowd and came over. “Break it up! Get to where you have to go!”

She was thankful for her interruption, and as she started to her car, one of the guys yelled, “Next time, you won’t get off so easy!”

She made it in the car before she let out a long moan. Her ribs were killing her, and she couldn’t hide the pain. She was thankful Hannah was staying after for the dance so the girl wouldn’t see this and run back to her brother. She didn’t need Dakota getting involved in this any more than he had been already. It was starting to become clear he wasn’t sure she could take care of herself, and with this, he would end up forcing her to stay with his parents so they could “watch” her and make sure she was okay.

Pain or not, there was no way she could let this get out. She went to work and bought the largest ace wrap she could find and a bottle of pain meds. When Baca checked her out, she asked, “What happened?”

She had already seen Dakota’s little “check-ins” with Baca, so she said, “I twisted my ankle during gym. It’ll be fine after I wrap it up.”

“My son, Tom, was always twisting his ankles in gym and basketball. It’ll be fine in a few days, just don’t walk on it too much,” Baca offered reassuringly.

She gave her coworker a weak smile. “I’m just a big baby when it comes to pain,” she joked.

Baca handed her a receipt, and she took her wrap to the bathroom and carefully wrapped her ribs. Who says T.V. isn’t educational? she thought as she mimicked what she had seen them do on the doctor shows she watched. She laughed as she remembered an episode of House and downed two pills. She put her vest on and went into the office to hear Sara say, “Baca told me what happened. Do you need to go home?”

She shook her head, not needing anyone else to worry over her. “No, I’ll be fine.”

“Why don’t you get a drawer, and I’ll find a stool for you?” she offered.

Cally fake limped a little to play up her lie. If Baca found out that she gotten into another fight at school, she would tell Dakota, and Cally would never hear the end of it. “Thanks.”

The night was rather busy, but the stool helped to keep her still enough to deal with the pain without wincing too much.

The next few weeks went by with more threats, and Dakota came back the second week of October; thankfully, her ribs were doing better. She only winced a few times when she moved wrong, but he didn’t seem to notice too much. She closed her eyes and wished for this housing thing to hurry up, because she really, really wanted to move right now. She wasn’t sure how much more she could take.

Cally was in the bathroom changing for work when he walked in and saw the fading yellowish green bruises around her ribs. She had still been wrapping her ribs, but she had made sure not to let him know. “What happened?” he asked in surprise as he lightly rubbed his fingers over the marks.

She slammed her shirt on. “I was trying to take stock out when a box fell and hit me. It’s just a bruise, I’m fine.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he insisted.

Cally just shrugged it off. “It wasn’t a big deal. I get hurt at work all the time. What do you want me to tell you every time I get a little boo-boo?” She pulled up her pant leg to show him the ten bruises she had actually gotten at work.

He pulled her into a gentle hug. “I just worry about you.”

It felt good to know someone actually cared about her, but it wasn’t easy trying to show him he didn’t need to worry so much. She pulled back enough to look in his eyes. “I love you so much.” Then she kissed him.

“Sweetheart, I would take you back with me today if I could.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “And then I would have you with me every day, forever.”

“I know, but for now, we have to deal with this.” She opened the bathroom door. “And I have to go to work.”

He laughed. “I’ll see you next weekend. I have off Sunday and Monday, so I’ll drive down Saturday night.”

Guilt filled her knowing how much it took for him to come down so often. “You don’t have to. I’ll be fine.”

He studied her for a while. “It will be the last time I see you before Thanksgiving.”

“What do we do?” she asked playfully.

“Enjoy it.” He laughed.

The next week seemed to bring more and more rumors. Someone had heard what was happening to her, and they thought it would be fun to get her in more trouble. She had done her best to avoid and dodge and hide behind the friends she did have, but she couldn’t do it forever. Things were getting worse, and it was getting harder and harder to keep out of sight.

Monday morning, she had woken up to Dakota kissing her. When she left for school, she had forgotten everything about them.

Out of habit, she picked Hannah up. “What has you in such a good mood?”

She looked to her. “Dakota is home.”

Hannah laughed. “And I can imagine what you two were doing.”

“We didn’t do anything wrong,” she teased.

Hannah shook her head. “Oh, no, nothing at all.”

“Hey, we’re married and it’s expected.” She wasn’t sure where it came from. “Why is it okay to do it when you’re dating someone but not when you’re married?”

Hannah started blushing. “Because it’s gross and it’s my brother.”

They pulled in the parking lot and they headed into the cafeteria. Hannah went in, and Cally was getting a water bottle from the machines when she heard a voice she was coming to dread. “You just don’t know when to quit, do you?”

Cally side stepped and cringed when she realized she was under the steps again. She turned to face them for the third time and said, “I didn’t start this. I’ve been trying to find out who is starting all these rumors. It’s bull. If you want, you can call Dakota right now, and he’ll tell you the truth.”

There were nine of them this time, each one as big as the next. The three chicks were just as impressive as the guys, and only the blond that cracked her ribs was familiar to her. But each one of them had the same dark blue shirt on with the firehouse logo. Yeah, rednecks and their firehouses; they were all strong and powerful and they were aiming that firepower at her. She backed up and dropped her bag on the floor and put her back to the wall.

“You just don’t know when to stop, do you?” This time, the tall one grabbed her right forearm and twisted it up.

The blond girl hit her dead in the stomach, causing her to double over with the intense pain. She turned into the wall, forcing her arm to hurt worse but also pulling him into her, giving her a little advantage. Cally slammed her boot down on his, and he let go just in time for the blond chick to slap her hard across the face, sending her head into the wall with a deafening crack.

Now furious and fueled with pain, she turned and kicked the girl in the stomach, sending her flying into the guys and knocking them back a step. Another came at her, slamming their foot across the side of her calf, causing a loud crack of tear-splintering pain to run up her entire leg. She couldn’t help but fall to the ground with a near ear-piercing scream that filled the air.

Once she hit the floor, someone kicked her leg, and she did the only thing she could—she pulled her knees to her chest and held her face down with her arms around her legs as she braced her right side on the wall. The tears came fast and hard with each relentless kick. She felt her healing ribs crack again with each blow they landed. A splintering pain seized her right arm and shoulder, then wrapped around her back, causing her to scream again. One of them landed a massive blow that sent her head into the wall. Blackness overtook her, but not long enough.

She heard people walking next to her in a large crowd and she couldn’t move. It hurt too much, and she didn’t want to even try. She heard Hannah yelling, “Cally?” She shook when someone put their hand on her back. She tried, but she couldn’t say anything. The tears were coming fast and hard, and the pain was just too much for her to deal with this time.

Mr. Damarion asked, “What’s going on?”

Hannah’s voice was shaking. “I don’t know.” Then Hannah yelled, “Savannah?” causing Cally’s already pounding head to swirl in pain even more at the loudness.

She heard her sister next to her. “What’s going on?” Savannah wasn’t talking to them. She was talking to Cally, but she couldn’t move. She just knew if she tried, she would die right there.

Mr. Damarion was closer. “What’s wrong, Cally?” Even he seemed worried, especially if he was using her first name.

She just couldn’t. She wanted to yell and scream, but nothing seemed to work—not her mouth or body or anything. The pain was the only thing that existed, the severe pain that was going to kill her right here and now! It was going to take her away from the only thing in the world that mattered. Nothing but the pain existed anymore, and nothing but the pain seemed to matter.

Hannah gasped. “There’s blood on her shirt!”

Mr. Damarion ordered, “Mr. Turner, get the nurse down here and then get to class. All of you to class, now!”

She heard someone walking away when Savannah asked her again, “Who did this?”

She just shook as the tears kept falling.

Ms. Rime was running and out of breath as she demanded, “What’s going on?”

Mr. Damarion answered, “We don’t know. She won’t say anything and she’s got blood on her shirt.”

“Honey, I need to know what happened. Can you tell me where it hurts?” Ms. Rime asked softly.

Cally felt the cold hand on her head, and all she wanted to do was scream, but nothing would come out. It hurt too much to breathe, and there was no way she could find enough air to even make a sound.

Savannah was clearly ready to fight. “Damn it, let us help you!”

She could hear Hannah, but she seemed farther away. “Answer, damn it!” And Hannah never cussed.

Mr. Damarion asked, “What are you doing?”

“Calling Dakota,” Hannah snapped.

Savannah’s sarcasm was showing. “And what good’s that going to do?”

She could tell by the tone in Hannah’s voice that she was surprised by Savannah’s question. “He’s home. He can come and get her.”

Her heart sunk with his sister’s words. No, not Dakota; he couldn’t see her like this. She couldn’t show him how bad it was. She had to be strong for him. She tried harder, but the pain was too much to bear. No matter how much she wanted to fight, she just couldn’t stop them from calling him.

Then she heard Hannah. “Dakota, Cally’s been hurt and won’t talk to us. Mr. Damarion and Ms. Rime are trying, but she won’t move.”

Savannah said the words she wished she hadn’t. “There’s more blood.” Hannah repeated it. “She’s bleeding badly. You need to get here now.”

Ms. Rime stated flatly, “It’ll take him over an hour to get here. We need to call someone else. We need to get an ambulance here now!”

Savannah said what they knew. “He’ll be here in under fifteen minutes if he’s home.”

“That’s what he said too,” Hannah confirmed.

“Cally, honey, I need to see where you’re bleeding from,” Ms. Rime tried again.

But she wasn’t moving. Hades was coming, and she would be dead soon; if from nothing else, then from this pain alone. But there was no way she was moving from this spot until then. She focused on the pain and let the voices disappear behind the black veil as she tried to escape what was coming for her.

She heard his voice as he came down the hall. It was like cold water splashing over her as Dakota demanded, “What happened?”

Mr. Damarion answered, “We don’t know. Hannah found her like that about half an hour ago. We’ve tried, but she won’t move or speak.”

Dakota ordered, “Get back!”

She didn’t know how or why, but she could feel him kneeling next to her. His warmth seemed to penetrate some cold hard barrier around her. “Sweetheart, what’s wrong?”

His hand rested on her back just as Hannah said, “Don’t touch her, it causes her pain.”

“What do you mean?” he demanded.

“When you touch her back or shoulder, she starts shaking. Like that,” Hannah told him as Cally started shaking from the pain of his touch.

Savannah added, “She’s bleeding, but we don’t know from where or how bad it is.”

Dakota was closer now as he said, “Cally, look at me.” She tried to sit up, but she heard a crack and another wave of pain and froze. “She can’t move without pain. What happened?”

“We don’t know, but when we find out, we will take action,” Mr. Damarion confirmed.

“Cally, I’m going to take you out of here. It’s going to hurt, but I promise I’ll be as gentle as I can,” Dakota said softly, just before she felt one of his big strong arms on her back and the other under her knees.

The movements caused so much pain, she couldn’t hold the scream back as he pulled her close to his chest. As her body shifted, the pain in her leg, arm, and ribs screamed and protested. She felt the extreme pain as her damaged side rubbed against his chest. When he stood up, the pain was so extreme that she was hit with a hard and fast blackness; as she was enveloped in its relief, she heard Hannah’s fading voice. “Oh my goodness!”

She felt the movement of the car, but the pain was still too crippling to move. She moaned as she tried to open her eyes with no luck.

“Stay still, Cally, we’re almost there,” Dakota said, trying to calm her.

She needs to see if she could move. “Cally, love, don’t move. We’re going to the hospital. It’ll be all right, I promise.”

She felt the car slow to a soft stop, and then Dakota said, “I need to get her to the hospital.”

A man asked, “Do you have her I.D.?”

“Here,” Dakota snapped.

“I’ll call ahead and let them know you’re coming,” the man said as they started moving again.

When the car stopped, she heard Dakota get out and yell, “We need a gurney!” Then she heard the door open next to her, and he was there. “Sweetheart, this is going to hurt, but I promise it’ll be better soon.”

The pain caused the blackness to come again, and she happily went into oblivion; anything was better than the pain.

The next thing she heard was a woman saying, “She’s stable. The morphine seems to be helping. Because of the extent of her injuries, we will be doing a full body C.A.T. scan. There’s a lot of damage on her left side, and we’re concerned that there’s internal bleeding and possible spinal damage. It’s always hard to tell with head traumas.”

She felt him sit on the bed on her right side and she slowly reached for him. He took her hand asking, “What happened to you?”

The pain was easing, and she managed a very weak, “I love you.”

“I love you too.” She felt him kiss her head. “You’re going to be all right. The best doctors are here, and they’ll take care of you.”

“We need to take her now,” a voice said coldly.

She felt the bed move and heard a woman say, “It’s a shame this happened. They called the M.P.s, but we need to get scans before they will come over.”

Another woman answered, “We have programs to prevent this. How could she have fallen through the cracks?”

“I don’t know, but we’ll know how bad it is once we get this done, and I’ll be more than happy to see that rat hat thrown in the brig,” the first woman answered.

“She’s so young. How could someone do this? And what was he doing marrying a child? She’s fifteen for goodness sake!”

“How could her parents let this happen?”

“It doesn’t matter. We’ve got her now. She’ll be all right. Let’s move her on three.”

For the longest time, all Cally could hear was the loud humming. This room was darker, and when the bright light wasn’t on her face, she tried to open her eyes. Her left eye was swollen shut, but she could see the shapes forming from the other eye. The room seemed to be big, but it felt so small and the bed was so hard and cold, it made her hurt all over.

Almost as fast, the room was completely dark, and then the lights came on. She could see the machine near her feet, and the bed was moving. Then she heard a woman say, “She’s waking up.”

A face came over her, and it was a little blurry as the woman tried to reassure her. “You’re safe now. No one will hurt you again.”

The other voice said, “We have to move you. This will hurt a little.”

She felt the hard bed disappear, and with it, the pain; and then almost as fast, the hard bed was there again, and she winced with the sharp pains that ran from her back through to every other part of her.

She tried to focus on the ceiling as they went down the hall. The women were both quiet. And then she was in a room with a lot of machines. Almost as fast, she heard Dakota question, “How is she?”

The woman said curtly, “A doctor will be in soon to let you know.”

She felt Dakota sit on the bed on her right side. She worked on focusing on him. It took a while, but she could see him and she smiled. As long as he was here, she was safe, but when he left again… She felt the tears as much as she felt the pain of him leaving.

Dakota was very worried. “Something’s wrong.”

The woman was there, checking things. “Everything looks fine.”

“She’s crying. She has to be in pain,” he insisted.

The woman looked down at her. “She’s been given enough painkillers. The doctor doesn’t want her sedated until we know the extent of her injuries.”

She reached for Dakota, and he caught her hand in his, and she squeezed to let him know she was all right. “It’s okay,” she managed in a weak pathetic voice.

“It’s not okay. This should never have happened. If I would have been there more…” He was blaming himself for this.

“Shhh, it’s okay, you didn’t know,” she managed hoarsely.

“I should have. The signs were there. I just didn’t look hard enough.” His eyes said that he had figured it out. “How many times has this happened?”

She couldn’t let him beat himself up over this. “It doesn’t matter. I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not. You’re in the hospital with broken bones, a concussion, and heaven only knows what else. This isn’t fine, this isn’t okay, this is way past okay. Cally, why didn’t you talk to me? Why did you lie?” he begged.

She closed her eyes to find some way to explain it, but she couldn’t. She had lied over and over and over, but it wasn’t to hurt him; it was to protect him. She wanted him to be happy, and he wouldn’t have been if he would have known the truth.

“Private Hunter, your wife is in serious condition. Her left fibula and tibia have been fractured. Her left ulna and radius have spiral fractures. The left clavicle has a hairline fracture. She has fractures on three ribs. There’s some minor internal bleeding. But she doesn’t have a spinal injury, and other than the concussion, her cranial scan was good. She was lucky this time.”

Dakota turned, and she saw his mouth drop. “What is this?”

“While she was very lucky this time, we can’t ignore everything we found,” the doctor said sternly.

Dakota looked down at her, pleading, “What did you find?”

“She has a skull fracture that is about a month old. Four of her ribs are showing remodeling that is less than three weeks old, and her right humerus was fractured a month ago. It’s clear this isn’t the first time she’s been severely beaten.”