Cinderella and the Major by VanRooy Cynthia

Author:VanRooy, Cynthia [VanRooy, Cynthia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Crownport Publishing
Published: 2017-03-20T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

Conn stepped into her apartment, removing his cap automatically, and laid it on the marble-topped table console. He scraped his hand through his hair, suddenly at a loss for why he was even there.

Harmony shut the door behind him and waved a hand toward the living room. He headed for the curvy, fussy-looking couch and dropped to it, propping the cane next to him. The couch was more comfortable than it looked.

A fat gray tabby cat that had been curled in a side chair stood and stretched, then leaped down and stalked toward him. It had just brushed itself against his leg before Harmony swooped the cat up and deposited it back in the chair.

“I don’t want her to get hair on your uniform.”

“I take it this is the famous Cookie. Doesn’t look like she suffered too much from getting her dinner late the evening of the auction.” His joking words were at odds with the shadow that darkened his eyes.

“No, she probably has enough stored fat to make it through a famine. I know I spoil her.”

Harmony sat down beside him, a concerned frown creasing her brow, and laid a hand on his thigh. “Enough about Cookie. Conn, what is it? Why are you here?”

He looked down at her hand, and she snatched it back, as though unsure what was appropriate. She continued to watch him, though, with that caring look in her eyes. He noted distractedly that she was wearing her glasses. “Where are your contacts?”

Surprise at his comment obviously threw her off for a moment, but she humored him. “I didn’t want to go to the trouble of putting them in. I planned to stay home all day working. Are you going to tell me what brought you here? And in uniform no less?”

How to explain? He had thought he was prepared. He knew his leg was never going to improve enough to put him back into fighting shape. He had accepted that, had even begun to plan for what he would do in civilian life. The board had just been a formality. But still . . .

“My medical board met today.” He avoided meeting her gaze, staring instead at an arrangement of china plates on the opposite wall above an ornate cabinet. “It ruled that I would be medically retired no later than a month from now.”

“That means you have to get out, right? Oh, Conn, I’m sorry.” Her hand was back, and it was obvious she did it without thought, seeking only to comfort. “Sam told me how much being a Marine meant to you.”

He flexed his jaw, attempting to get his expression under control.

He turned to her and tried for a smile, but knew he failed miserably. “I’ll still be a Marine. Haven’t you heard? Once a Marine, always a Marine.”

Her eyes searched his, and he suspected she saw too much, saw what he couldn’t even put into words. “Yes, but this is not the way you wanted it.”

Her words were not a question, but he answered anyway.

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