Commander
Rick McConnell and Colonel Elijah Masters have been secret lovers for years.
They nurtured their very private relationship with planned vacations and
leaves, always meeting somewhere different—always escaping off the grid. It
worked for them—career officers with a desire to serve their country and a
passion for each other. The repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell provides them with
the tremendous opportunity to come out to their friends and loved ones—Rick
wants to seize the day, but Eli isn’t so certain. His hesitation leads to a
fight, an ultimatum, and a breakup. Rather than confront their issues, Eli
takes a foreign assignment.
A year’s
separation changes both of them. The last person Eli expects to see when he
steps off the plane is Rick, but the physician wants another chance with the
only man he’s ever loved and he has a plan. Will bitterness,
recriminations, and loss keep them apart or can these two officers rediscover
the faith and loyalty that bound them for so long?
Excerpt:
“You’re
late.” Eli greeted him with a dry smile. The man looked better than the day
before, if that were possible.
“Sorry,
surgery ran longer than I expected.” He took the chair next to him rather than
the one opposite. “A beer please.” The waiter took his order and left them
alone. The best part of the restaurant were the availability of private
party rooms where diners could enjoy their meal and not have to share their
table with a family of strangers.
“I
figured.” Eli gestured to the sushi. “They just delivered it. Your favorites.”
The
gesture struck him with its kindness and compassion. Eli didn’t have a favorite
kind of sushi, he didn’t particularly care for it. Rick knew he only ate it
when they were together because Rick enjoyed it. “Thanks.”
Unwrapping
his chopsticks, he tucked into the Philadelphia rolls with their salmon,
cucumber and cream cheese. He’d spent nearly ten hours in the operating room. A
light day by his usual standards, but he hadn’t had time to eat since breakfast
that morning.
“What
happened?” The quiet question drew him back to the moment.
“Just a
long day.” The waiter brought his beer and they both ordered. Steak and shrimp
for Eli. Chicken and fish for Rick. Fried rice for Eli, while Rick chose white.
They both wanted extra veggies and Eli added an order of shrimp tempura for
himself.
So many
little differences, from food choices to the teams they liked. Rick loved the
Mets while Eli was a dyed in the wool Yankees fan. He exhaled a humorless
laugh and looked sideways at the Marine. “Red meat, fried rice, and fried
food—you going for the early heart attack?”
“My first
real red meat in a year and the last time I saw fried food it was a McDonald’s
drive thru on the way to the airport. I think I’ll survive. Besides I lived on
rations more often than I care to count—if that doesn’t kill you this sure as
hell won’t.” Eli saluted him with the beer. “What happened in surgery?”
The man
possessed homing radar. He always knew what bothered him. Weird how he was an
open book while Eli remained a mystery unless he chose to share. “Lost a
patient. Complications.” Acid churned in his stomach. “Kid didn’t report some
medication he’d been on. Too many bleeders, not enough blood. It happens.”
“Sorry.”
No platitudes, no coaxing comfort, just a plain and simple word that
encompassed so much more.
“Me, too.
Anyway, how’s Christina?”
“She’s
good. Recovering. Kid’s cute—well—not really, he’s ugly as sin, but then most
babies have that smooshed look, so I figure he’ll grow out of it. Healthy.” Eli
rubbed the back of his neck. It looked like he wanted to say more, but their
chef arrived and along with Eli’s tempura. They ate in silence and watched the
food preparation show.
“You have
your new orders yet?” Small talk gave them both an out.
Eli shook
his head. “Marine Barracks next Monday. Fitness assessment, and debrief.
Probably get them while I’m there.”
“You
apply for anything?” With his rank and credentials, he could open a lot of
doors.
Shaking
his head, Eli speared a piece of meat onto his fork. “I thought about it, but I
don’t want a desk job. Colonel Spears asked me to consider a teaching position
either at Parris Island or OCR at Quantico.”
A
position at either base would keep Eli in country—Quantico would keep him in
the region. Rick swallowed back the urge to give him any advice. “Nice.”
“Maybe.
What about you? Running your department yet?”
“No.”
Rick shook his head. “I didn’t want to play those politics. I like my patients.
I like training interns and I like having something of a life outside the
hospital. Department Chief doesn’t give me much time for any of that. I am
going to Amman in a few weeks, but it’s a three week clinic to train some of
the locals at the hospital.”
“Huh.”
The bland grunt didn’t reveal as much as the tightness flexing Eli’s jaw. He
didn’t like it.
“I like
keeping my hand in and they need a cardio thoracic specialist. Too many of
their cases have to leave the country, they’ve got some good candidates signed
up for the training and the top two will return here for another six months of
training that I’ll supervise.”
“You ever
think we’d be teachers?” Eli finished all the meat on his plate. He didn’t like
mixing his foods. He ate methodically, one dish after the other.
“Not as a
life goal, no. But it makes sense. See one, do one, teach one. Learned that in
medical school.” The educational method described most of his internship,
fellowship and his current residency. He could have his pick of civilian
hospitals, but preferred his military service. Two years as a medic to a
forward unit during the initial incursions into Afghanistan taught him more
than all his years at a hospital combined.
“Christina
tried to set me up with another date.”
The
unexpected bit of news sent a shock through Rick. He chewed a piece of chicken
thoroughly as he tried to digest the information. He could handle this. “Yeah?
Anyone I know?”
“One of
her girlfriends from college—thrice married. Apparently she thinks my prospects
are limited and wants to fix me up with my first divorce.” If Eli tried
to be funny, the humor was lost on him.
“She
doesn’t know.” The revelation stunned him. Rick’s family knew about him, his
mother was more comfortable with the information than his father, but both
accepted it. Eli’s family didn’t?
“Nope.”
Why
hasn’t he told them? The thought burned through him, igniting a dozen other questions.
He clamped a lid on it. In a decade together, Eli never indicated his sexual
preference was a secret from his family. Was that the problem? He chewed that
thought over and over, eating to try and cover his silence.
Two beers
and half the meal later, Rick turned sideways in the chair. Bit by bit
Eli relaxed while they ate. Maybe it was the company, the day’s loss or
the alcohol—or some combination of the three, but wanted their cards on the
table. He wanted Eli back. “I miss you Eli. I want us back. What do we need to
do make that happen?”
A MARINE AFFAIR
Always a Marine #13
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A national best selling author, Heather Long lives in Texas with her family and their menagerie of animals. In addition to military romance, Heather writes a wide variety of romance from paranormal historical western romance to contemporary romance and romantic suspense. She loves characters and the stories they have to tell.
As a child, Heather skipped picture books and enjoyed the Harlequin romance novels by Penny Jordan and Nora Roberts that her grandmother read to her. Heather believes that laughter is as important to life as breathing and that the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus are very real. In the meanwhile, she is hard at work on her next novel.
Website: http://www.heatherlong.net
Email: heather@heatherlong.net
Twitter: @HVLong
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