Falling for Her Soldier by Ophelia London Read Free Book Online Page B

labor.” When his sister touched his arm, Charlie turned to her. “What about you? Any news of where you’re going?”
    “Nothing yet,” Charlie said. “Like I told you the other day, things are kind of up in the air with my next assignment.”
    “That’s odd for the Army, right?”
    Charlie nodded. “The rest of the unit is staying at the post for another year.” He rubbed his chin. “But a recent deployment left some…holes in the career field.” He paused, hoping he’d been tactful enough. He knew the details of his job sometimes scared his sister. “A lot of jobs are being moved around now, but I expect to hear any day. I’ve got two weeks of leave then if I’m PCS-ing, I’ll get another couple weeks to move. You know how these things go sometimes. There’s a lot of waiting and then it happens fast.”
    “Why do you have to go if the rest of the unit is staying?” Tess asked, sounding upset. “That’s so unfair.”
    He agreed, to a point. “It’s my job,” he said levelly. “Otherwise they’re a man short. That’s the unfair part.”
    She sat back, looking gloomy. “I wish you’d be here for the baby.”
    Of course, Charlie wished that too, but it was his job to go where he was needed. And despite everything, he loved his job. “I’ll talk to my Commander in Chief about it next time I’m at the White House,” he said, smiling at his not-so-little sister.
    Jack passed him a glass. “Now that you’ve got the Impala running, what’s occupying your time?”
    Charlie stopped chewing for a moment. “I’ve got a new project. Well, it’s sort of a project. I’m volunteering at the rec center.”
    “The Warrior Station?” Tess asked. “That’s kind of awesome. But, um, you’re volunteering? Why?”
    “They need the help,” he said, feeling a spark of indignity. “I’m available and isn’t it my civic duty to step up when called upon to assist…” He trailed off, noticing the unbelieving expressions in both Jack’s and Tess’s eyes. “There’s this woman.”
    “Ohhh,” the couple said in unison.
    “What’s she like?” Jack asked, putting down his fork. “Babealicious?”
    “Don’t be an ape, sweetheart,” Tess said, batting her eyelashes across the table at her husband.
    “We just met today,” Charlie said, running a hand over the top of his head, trying not to picture Ellie, because whenever he did, he knew it forced the goofiest smile onto his face. “Well, that’s not really true. We e-mailed for a while when I was last deployed.”
    “How did that happen?” Tess asked. “Some USO thing?”
    Charlie didn’t know how to explain without getting into the whole thing. Tess wasn’t privy to what had happened during his last mission. Neither were his parents. He was dealing with it the way he thought he should, the way he always handled stress: privately. No reason to have worried them back then, and even less reason now.
    From out of nowhere, Charlie’s heart started to race, pounding like cannon blasts against his ribs. It was as if he’d been zapped right back there…back to that Afghani mountainside. He could smell the fire from the explosion, taste the blood in his mouth, feel the fear and adrenaline pulsing through his veins. He pinched his eyes closed, forcing the scene away. Replacing it was the image of a computer screen and an open e-mail document.
    A message from Ellie Bell.
    Immediately, his pulse slowed, remembering the calmness that would wash over him whenever he would read one…or reread it for the tenth time.
    He wiped his palms on his jeans and took a breath. “No, it wasn’t through the USO,” he began, only after he knew his voice would sound normal. “She’s the sister of one of my good buddies in the unit. We started e-mailing. It was no big deal.”
    No big deal… Ha! He was such a liar.
    “But you met her today. She lives here, too?”
    Charlie thought for a moment. “I don’t know where she lives, exactly. Franklin, I