Backlash Read online

  “Let’s see.” Jim grinned across the table. “I believe the first time I met Kel was when he was politely trying to tell me I didn’t have the proper security clearances to be in his office.”

  “What?” Marilyn forgot about her awkwardness, now fascinated.

  “I always thought it took a lot of guts for someone to tell a senator to get lost, especially when that senator has a personal stake in what you’re doing,” Jim told her.

  “A personal stake?” Marilyn repeated.

  “I don’t know if you remember when Amy was taken hostage in Abolstan.”

  “How could I not remember? It was all over the news.” Marilyn nodded. “That must have been incredibly difficult for your family.”

  “It was an awful time, but so much good came from it,” Katherine told her. When she noticed the confused look on Marilyn’s face, she added, “If the Saint Squad hadn’t gone in to rescue the hostages, Amy never would have met Brent.”

  “I never thought of it that way.” Marilyn spoke softly, her heart aching now. She looked at these two relative strangers, these kind people who had taken her into their home, and wondered if they knew that they had just told her more about her husband’s past assignments in one conversation than he had in five years of marriage. Never once had Kel mentioned going to Abolstan or that he had led the efforts to rescue the hostages. Although the food in front of her had lost its appeal, she forced herself to take another bite.

  “Of course, Jim wasn’t terribly fond of Brent in the beginning,” Katherine said with humor in her voice.

  “Really?” Marilyn asked.

  “You can’t blame me,” Jim said, feigning insult. “This boy shows up and basically wages war on me to steal my little girl away.”

  “Right, honey.” Katherine grinned. “In other words, he wasn’t ready to let his little girl go.”

  “Especially to someone like Brent.”

  “You mean someone who was a SEAL?”

  “You’re married to one.” Jim nodded. “You can understand the reservations I had.”

  Marilyn nodded. She did know. She just didn’t know until after she had Kel’s ring on her finger. “What changed your mind?”

  “When I saw how happy they were together, it was hard to object,” Jim told her. “Still, when I first met the Saint Squad, I was treated like I was an intruder. Especially by your husband.”

  “Kel definitely takes the ‘need to know’ factor seriously.”

  Jim nodded. “In his line of work, he has to.”

  Katherine gave a casual shrug as she changed the subject to more practical matters. “I forgot to tell you earlier that I put a few things in the guest bathroom when Jim said he was bringing you home with him. Nothing fancy, just a nightshirt, a toothbrush, that sort of thing.”

  “Thank you.”

  “I know you probably want to go visit Kel at the hospital in the morning, but I thought afterward I could drive you to your house and help you pack anything else you need.”

  “You don’t have to do that.” Marilyn looked up at her, stunned. “That’s a three-hour drive each way.”

  “I don’t mind,” Katherine insisted. “It will give me something to do tomorrow. Besides, I wanted to go visit Kel in the hospital anyway.”

  Marilyn shook her head in amazement. “Are you both always like this?”

  Now Jim looked at her, confused. “Like what?”

  “This,” Marilyn motioned to the food in front of her with one hand and waved the other in the direction of the guest room. “Taking people in that you don’t even know, helping them when they don’t even know what help they need yet.”

  Katherine and Jim looked at each other for a moment. Then both of them grinned and nodded. Katherine let out a little laugh. “I guess you could say this isn’t the first time we’ve been fortunate enough to help someone out.”

  “It’s all her doing.” Jim laughed. “To hear my brothers talk, I was a big bully growing up.”

  “He’s still a bully,” Katherine said, lowering her voice as though sharing a government secret. “But I’ve trained him to use that particular skill for good now instead of evil.”

  “I like to call it ‘positive persuasion.’”

  Marilyn couldn’t help but laugh. “Whatever you call it, thank you for letting me stay here.”

  “We really are happy to have you,” Katherine insisted. She turned toward the living room when they all heard the front door open and then close with a thud. Footsteps followed, and a moment later Amy stepped into the kitchen.

  “Did you save me some?” Amy asked, her bright blue eyes sparkling with mischief.

  “You’re really home!” Katherine jumped up out of her seat and hugged her daughter, her daughter who, at six feet tall, was a good four inches taller than her mother.

  Amy was passed from her mother to her father, and Marilyn enviously watched the warmth of the embrace between Amy and Jim. When Jim released her, Amy turned and looked at her. “Hi, Marilyn. I didn’t know you were here.”

  “Your parents offered to let me stay here while Kel’s at Bethesda. I hope you don’t mind.”

  “Why would I mind?” Amy brushed her comment aside as she turned and opened a kitchen cabinet to retrieve a plate. “It’s great to have you here. Maybe you can keep my mother occupied while I’m working this week.”

  “Actually, she just offered to drive me down to Virginia Beach tomorrow to pick up a few things.”

  “That’s great.” Amy nodded her approval. “Hey, if you’re going down there anyway, any chance you can pick up some clothes from my place, too? I didn’t exactly pack the right wardrobe for CIA headquarters.”

  “Sure, honey,” Katherine agreed. “Just give me a list of what you want, or you’ll have to deal with what I pick out.”

  “I’ll give you a list,” Amy insisted a little too quickly. She sat next to Marilyn and leaned closer. “She still thinks that brown is my best color.”

  “Oh, stop that. I just like that one suit you bought last fall.”

  “I’m just teasing, Mom.” Amy reached for the bowl of mashed potatoes and scooped some onto her plate. She then turned to Marilyn once more. “How is Kel holding up?”

  One shoulder lifted as Marilyn answered the best she could. “Okay, I guess.”

  “I know it’s got to be killing him being tied to a hospital bed, especially knowing that the rest of the squad is still out in the field.”

  “I’m sure it is,” Marilyn managed. She took a quick sip of water and then looked over at Katherine. “I’m a bit tired. I think I’m going to turn in if that’s okay with you.”

  “Of course.” Katherine’s voice was kind and sympathetic. “Please make yourself at home, and let us know if you need anything.”

  “Thanks.” Marilyn nodded. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

  * * *

  Marilyn sat down at the desk and turned on the laptop. Even though her body was exhausted, her mind was on overdrive. She knew she should probably check her e-mail or at the very least call her mom with the latest news about Kel, but instead she found the word-processing program and opened it up.

  And she started to write.

  She could feel the tension draining as she poured her emotions into the characters she knew so well. She wrote of a woman who was confident and self-assured, a woman who knew what she wanted and wasn’t afraid to fight to make her dreams come true. She wrote of the man she loved so much, a man who always seemed to be putting everything else in his life before her.

  Tonight Marilyn didn’t have the luxury of looking back on the hundreds of pages she had written before, but that gave her a different kind of comfort. Perhaps her characters could have a new beginning, a new chance to find the path to happiness.

  4

  Kel was dreaming. He knew he was dreaming, but he couldn’t wake up. His father and stepmother were standing in front of him, each of them holding hands with the little girl with bouncing curls and serious brown eyes
.

  “It was good to have you home, son,” his father was saying.

  His stepmother smiled in agreement. She had come into their lives seven years before, almost a decade after his mother had died from cancer, and Kel loved her with all his heart. Her voice was a little teary when she spoke. “Don’t stay away so long this time. Before you know it, college will be over, and you’ll be away at sea for who knows how long.”

  Even though he knew it wasn’t real, Kel could hear himself responding as he crouched in front of the little girl. “I’m going to have to come back more often if Maggie doesn’t stop growing so fast. I hardly recognized her when I got here.”

  “You did, too.” Maggie smiled at him with her four-year-old innocence and dimples in her cheeks. She let go of her parents’ hands and wrapped her arms around her big brother. Kel could smell the baby shampoo in her hair from her bath that morning, and he could feel the incredible softness of her skin. Mostly, he could feel that unconditional love Maggie gave him, even though he had been away at college for half of her life.

  “Don’t grow up too fast,” Kel told her just as he had the last time he had seen her. Then he was boarding the train, even though his mind was screaming for him to stop, to go back and give them all one last hug, to at least take one last look.

  Then the train jerked forward, and Kel turned to look back, only now they weren’t there. All he could see was the rubble. He knew what the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building had looked like before April 19, 1995, before the day of the Oklahoma City bombing. He also knew what was beneath the rubble after the blast went off. Or rather, he knew who had been buried beneath the rubble.

  He couldn’t look anymore. He tried to turn his head, tried to turn off the images that had been haunting him for the past fifteen years. A hand grabbed his arm, and he knew it was the police officer coming to tell him the news. Then suddenly he heard a woman’s voice, and the trance was broken.

  “Commander?” the nurse repeated. “Are you okay?”

  Kel’s eyes opened, and he squinted under the bright hospital lights. Slowly, he nodded and let his eyes close for a moment longer. He took in a breath and then a second one before nodding once more. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

  “The doctor wanted me to tell you that he’s scheduled some tests for this morning.”

  Still somewhat dazed, Kel nodded and managed to say, “I’ll be here.”

  * * *

  Marilyn turned the corner to the kitchen and stopped suddenly. In front of her was Katherine Whitmore standing at the kitchen counter, a fresh batch of blueberry muffins on a cooling tray in front of her and her husband’s arms wrapped around her waist. Marilyn simply stared, not wanting to intrude.

  At only seven in the morning, she hadn’t expected to find anyone up yet, but from the looks of the kitchen, Katherine had been up for some time.

  She listened to the humor in Katherine’s voice as she spoke to her husband. “If you think you’re taking this whole batch to your office, you have another thing coming.”

  Jim kissed his wife’s neck. “But my staff loves me when I bring something from home. You can make another batch.”

  “And I can make something for your staff tomorrow if you really want me to, but you aren’t taking these muffins,” Katherine insisted, turning in his arms to reach up and kiss him.

  Marilyn started at the sound of Amy’s voice behind her. “They always make me a bit jealous when I’m here.”

  “What?”

  “You know, being able to get up each morning and spend a few minutes together.” Amy shrugged a shoulder. “I always thought I would have that when I grew up, but I never dreamed I’d end up married to a SEAL.”

  Marilyn nodded in agreement, some of the nerves in her stomach loosening. “I know what you mean.”

  “I guess it just proves you can’t choose who you fall in love with.” Amy gave Marilyn’s arm a squeeze before moving past her and raising her voice. “Good morning.”

  Jim and Katherine turned to face Amy and Marilyn, both of them looking completely at ease, even though they still had their arms wrapped around one another. “Good morning,” they replied in unison. Jim gave Katherine another quick kiss before releasing her and reaching for a muffin.

  Katherine grinned over at him before shifting her attention back to Amy and Marilyn. “You should probably grab one while you can. He’s determined to sneak these out of the house for his staff.”

  “I don’t sneak,” Jim countered. “I just wait until you aren’t looking.”

  Katherine’s laughter rang out. “Yes, I see how that sounds so much better.”

  “They smell great, Mom.” Amy reached for one of the plates that was sitting on the counter, handed it to Marilyn, and then grabbed a paper towel for herself.

  “Thanks,” Marilyn said, waiting for Amy to serve herself before setting a muffin on her plate.

  Katherine grabbed one, too, and looked over at Marilyn. “What time did you want to head over to the hospital?”

  “Whenever you’re ready,” Marilyn told her. She had considered insisting on letting the navy get her back to Virginia Beach, but the more she thought about it this morning, the more she realized how tortuous that would be. Even though she didn’t know Katherine very well, surely driving with her for three hours would be better than being escorted by a couple of men she had never met.

  “We can leave right after breakfast if you want.”

  Amy put some butter on her muffin and then spoke to her mom. “I put the list of things I need and my house key in your purse, Mom.”

  “You’re leaving already?” Katherine looked at her daughter suspiciously.

  “I have a lot of work to do today,” Amy said simply. “Don’t hold dinner for me tonight. I’m not sure how late I’ll be.”

  Jim looked over at her and said, “Subway?”

  “Yeah.” Amy nodded and quickly left the room.

  Marilyn looked at Jim quizzically, but he turned his attention back to his breakfast. A minute later he stood up. “I’d better get going.” He leaned down and kissed Katherine good-bye. “Give me a call when you get down to Virginia Beach.”

  “You mean, leave you a message when I get there.”

  Jim grinned. “Same thing.”

  Katherine nodded. “Have a good day.”

  Marilyn finished her own breakfast, still a little confused by the Whitmore’s family dynamics. She couldn’t say she had a lot to compare it to since her own father, a policeman, had died in the line of duty when she was only five years old. As long as she could remember, it had been just her and her mom. At least it had been that way until she had finished her associate’s degree at the community college and finally dared to move into her own apartment in Baltimore.

  She sometimes wondered if the reason she and Kel had clicked when they first met was the understanding of what it was like to lose someone close to them. Even though she had only been a child when her father was killed, Marilyn could still remember the smell of his shaving cream when he would let her sit in the bathroom and watch him get ready for work. He had been her hero, looking so invincible in his uniform.

  Although Kel didn’t speak of his family often, she knew that he still struggled with the incredible loss the day of the Oklahoma City bombing. He had told her once how relieved he had been when he’d heard the initial reports that day that the children in the day care facility were all okay. That tidbit of information had given him hope, hope that at least one member of his family had survived. But as the day went on, the truth had come out. The children in the day care weren’t okay after all.

  The horror of innocent children dying in such a horrendous way put an ache in her heart even now, and Kel still struggled to talk about his little sister’s death. His parents’ deaths were equally difficult, but she found that he could sometimes tell her about what they were like when they were still alive. Little Maggie he couldn’t talk about at all.

  When Katherine pushed back from the table,
Marilyn brought herself back to the present. She picked up her plate and asked, “Can I help you clean up before we go?”

  “That would be great.” Katherine smiled. “Thank you.”

  With a little nod, Marilyn pulled open the dishwasher and wondered if maybe her fictional characters might want to live in a house like this one.

  5

  “What kind of books does Kel like to read?” Heather Addison asked as she approached the bookshelf.

  Marilyn looked at her longtime friend and tried to push aside a wave of embarrassment. “I’m not sure.”

  Heather’s eyebrows lifted over expressive brown eyes. “You aren’t sure?”

  Marilyn shook her head and began loading a canvas bag with books. She hoped Kel would like something out of the eclectic collection she was bringing him. “You know what it’s been like. I hardly ever see my husband, and when I do, we don’t exactly talk about books.”

  “I guess that’s true.” Heather nodded sympathetically. “It’s pretty sad that it takes Kel getting shot for you to have time to spend together.”

  “I know.” Marilyn thought of her visit that morning, fully aware that Kel was already getting bored with hospital life. “The worst part is that I keep hoping that he won’t be able to go back to the teams. Then I feel guilty for thinking that way.”

  Heather turned toward her, sympathy showing on her face. “I’m sure he knows that you only want to spend more time with him.”

  “Maybe.” Marilyn shrugged. She considered what life would be like if Kel didn’t fully recover and couldn’t imagine it. Kel’s interests were varied, but most included actively doing something—running, swimming, hiking, camping. Doing anything outside made him happy. Inside activities that appealed to him were extremely limited.

  Heather reached out and gave Marilyn’s arm a friendly squeeze. “Trust me. Everything will work out.”