Always and Forever by Lindsay McKenna

Author:Lindsay McKenna [McKenna, Lindsay]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781459291225
Publisher: HQN Books
Published: 1990-06-28T16:00:00+00:00

“How much longer?” Gale asked in a whisper, the question breaking the strained silence. She stood at the window of her base-housing home and stared out at the rainy morning. It was nearly 1000, and still no word from the Pentagon. In the distance, she could hear a bomber taking off, the jet engines creating man-made thunder that reverberated through the overcast sky. Her fingers tightened against the kitchen sink.

“We’ll hear soon,” Kyle said, sitting at the table. There was a deathly waiting stillness in her home since he’d arrived from the B.O.Q. two hours ago. The tension in Gale’s body was apparent.

Slowly, she turned around. Kyle was dressed in a long-sleeved blue-plaid shirt that made his eyes look even darker. Although he was sprawled out on the chair, nursing his third cup of coffee, his long legs stretched out beneath the cherry table, he didn’t look relaxed. Searching his composed features, she asked, “Do you think it means bad news if it’s taking this long, Kyle?”

He sighed. “They were bringing fifteen bodies back along with twelve POWs. I’m sure they’re not releasing any word to the families of the survivors or the dead until they’re absolutely sure of identification of everyone,” he muttered. “That can take time. They don’t want any mistakes.”

Gale bowed her head and wrapped her arms around herself because she was cold and shaking inside. “That makes sense.” Gale forced a smile, fighting valiantly to look less worried. “They said if Mike was alive, they’d be calling me....”

Gale and Kyle both knew that if Mike was dead, two Air Force officers would come to her house and give her the news in person. It was lousy duty telling the wife and children of a serviceman that he was dead.

The urge to get up, to go over and hold Gale was excruciating, but Kyle fought it. So far, she’d rallied and held her own—until now. “We’ve got the tree in your front room,” he said quietly. He tried hard to keep his tone light, but found it nearly impossible.

She lifted her head. “Does that guarantee a phone call instead of those guys coming to my door?”

“That’s a roger.”

Turning to the sink, Gale began washing breakfast dishes. Kyle had eaten enough for two men; she hadn’t been able to eat at all. The warm, soapy water took away some of the coldness that had been with her since she’d awakened that morning. There was such fear and anxiety pressing in on her, she couldn’t shake it—not even with Kyle’s caring presence.

Needing something—anything—to do, Kyle got up, collecting the garbage and putting it into a sack. Why the hell were those bastards waiting so long to call her? Why couldn’t they let her know the instant the plane had landed if Mike was alive? Was he ill, badly injured? In the hospital? Dammit, they ought to be telling Gale instead of letting her twist in the wind like this!

Needing to calm his rage over the military officials’ insensitive handling of the situation, Kyle took the garbage out to the cans that sat alongside the garage.

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