A Weldon Family Christmas: A Southern Steam Novella (Weldon Brothers) by Jennifer Saints Read Free Book Online Page B

amazing.  I can’t get John—or his kiss—out of my head.”
    “That is probably why Craig’s comments made you so mad because he demeaned your man John.”
    About to deny it, Emma shut her mouth.  Though she would have been upset over anyone disregarding the troops in Vietnam, she had to admit that she was especially incensed on John’s behalf.  It wasn’t rational but it was real.
    Maggie sat up, grinning from ear to ear.  “See, I’m right.  Emma Rollins, you’re in love.”
    Emma gasped.  “I’m attracted to John, but that’s all.”
     “It’s a lot more than that.”
    “Well, I’m worried about him and I have empathy for his pain.  But I feel that way about all of the soldiers we meet.”
    Maggie pointed to the letter Emma had started to write.  “You’ve written him every night.”
    “I had to tell him about us getting our job back.  Then about meeting his friend in the hospital.  And tonight…well…I just…he needs somebody.”
    “We all do.  Every man you’ve met since we got here does.  But John’s the first one you’ve written more than just a short note to.  It’s funny how our hearts choose our mates even before our minds can comprehend the idea of it.”
    “Mate?”  Emma sputtered.  “Now I know you’ve lost your mind.  I don’t even know the man.  How could I love him?”
    “The heart knows only love, not logic, especially in times like these.”
    Emma rolled her eyes.  “Just because my country is at war, it doesn’t give me an excuse to abandon reason and common sense.  Act in haste and live a lifetime of regret.”
    Maggie frowned.  “You don’t think when facing life or death one’s spirit and heart can connect instantly to another’s?  I do.  When you strip your souls bare of all pretense and expose your raw emotions to each other, the usual rules and barriers that keep people apart disappear.  You made the first step at the party, and he barreled through any sense of propriety the next day.
    “He did do that.”
     Maggie stood looking too smug for Emma’s peace of mind.  “We’d better hurry and dress.”
    “I’m not going to dinner.”
    “Yes we are.  The only way to fix the wrong in Washington is to go there.”
    “Maggie Shay!  How could you even suggest I’d do that?”
    “Not you, Em.  Me.  When we get done with our Donut Dolly service in June, I’m going to Washington.  Somebody has to keep those men in line.”
    Emma shook her head then smiled, really looking forward to introducing Maggie to Craig.  Mr. Mason had no idea what he’d just set in motion.  Maggie Shay had a mission, and Emma had no doubt her friend could turn Washington upside down.

    Present Day
    J ohn was so cold that he was sure death had come and taken all the warmth from his body.  He was in a dark prison and couldn’t move as if he was back in that tiny cage in the jungle waiting for his turn to be tortured to death.  Surely not.
    He’d escaped that hell, hadn’t he?
    His life, meeting and marrying Emma, hadn’t been a dream.  It had all been real.  He hadn’t just imagined it all.  Then why couldn’t he move?  Why did he feel as if he were buried underground?
    Emma! His spirit cried for the woman who had saved him and filled his life and his heart with love.

    Vietnam
December 1971
    “W eldon, a pack of letters came for you.  Fancy handwriting and sweet-smelling, too.   Ooo-wee, the LT’s got himself a honey.”
    A round of comments flowed from the men gathered in the tented mess hall as they paired him up with every woman from Minnie Pearl to Raquel Welch.
    “Ha, ha,” John muttered.  “My cow died last night so I don’t need your bull, Be-Esser.  I’m not falling for your joke.”  The man’s name was Besser, but he spewed so much BS all the time that everyone called him Be-Esser.
    Besser shrugged.  “Your loss, LT.  Just don’t say I didn’t tell you.”
    John scowled.  Had Besser said a letter, he might have