Always a Marine 21 - Lest Old Marines Be Forgot Read Online Free PDF

make her smile again.
    “It was thirty years ago, and most days I accept it and I’ve dealt with my grief. But New Year’s Day is the hardest.” She gave him a watery smile. “Good God, I’m such a soppy mess. You poor man, you sign up—”
    “Enough. I am rather delighted with sharing this evening with you.” The statement came out hard and firm. “Finish telling me the story.”
    There was more. He knew it.
    “Bossy.” Humor appeared beneath the soul-deep sadness and the flash of a smile donkey-kicked him.
    “Marine,” he replied.
    Surprise flickered across her face. The news seemed to startle her, but her smile softened. “Really?”
    “Yes.” No artifice, no ambush. She’d loved a Marine and he wouldn’t let any misunderstanding about him sneak up on her. “Lieutenant Colonel, retired.” And for the first time, that didn’t feel so bittersweet nor as lost as he had when he’d first signed his papers.
    She studied him and nodded. “I see it. I noticed it from the hallway when you stood and the way you hold yourself. That’s great. Congratulations.”
    “Hmm, thank you.” Though not a man given to impulse, he lifted her hand and brushed a kiss to her knuckles. “Now stop trying to distract me from the story and finish. You were engaged thirty years ago and he died in service to his country. What does that have to do with your date tonight? And why have you not let yourself be involved since then?”
    Because she hadn’t—he didn’t need her to tell him that. It screamed from every part of her.
    “There you go being bossy again,” she said, but he heard only affection, not annoyance in the words. “While I may not have been on that many dates in the last thirty years, even I know that talking about my fiancé is not flirtatious behavior.”
    Chuckling, he picked up another piece of shrimp cocktail and fed it to her. The ease with which she accepted the offering pleased the hell out of him. “No, I simply respect loyalty, honor, and devotion. No flirting required.”
    She chewed the shrimp thoughtfully and washed it down with wine, rather than water that time. “I’ve always had a tough time on New Year’s. Amelia, Steve’s sister, is still my best friend. She’s done everything over the years to encourage me to get back out there. Fixed me up, arranged dinners, but no one ever really interested me. Then we get to this time of year and I can’t help but remember it. And on New Year’s, at midnight….”
    The catch in her throat had him easing his chair over to sit next to her, shoulder to shoulder. “At midnight, what happens?”
    “I panic. My heart races, I can’t catch my breath, and in the last couple of years, I’ve passed out. Amelia found me the first time. She called 911, thinking I’d had a heart attack.” Her mouth twisted into a rueful grin. “I promised her it wouldn’t happen again—and then it did. Last year was the last straw—according to Amelia. She was right. It was a wake up call and the doctor told me that on the anniversary of his death, I’d get this rush of adrenaline. My pressure rose, my chest hurt, I had trouble breathing, and then I passed out. I always spent New Year’s alone, and until I went to a therapist about it, I hadn’t realized just how much I isolated myself. Every year made it worse. So, I got some help…and oh, Lord, this is embarrassing….”
    Yet the strength with which she spoke, the gradual easing of the stiffness in her shoulders and the tears said much more. “I think it’s beautiful. You still care enough about him to mourn him thirty years later. No man could ask for more, but I don’t think he’d like it.” He didn’t have to know Steve, but based on what she’d said, Tom couldn’t imagine the young Marine would never have wanted this for a woman he cared about. “You had an issue, you faced it. Tonight is about being somewhere else and not in that moment.”
    “Guilty.” She blew out a breath. “Amelia wants