Just Once by Karen Kingsbury

Author:Karen Kingsbury
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Atria Books
Published: 2023-11-14T00:00:00+00:00

SPRING 1942 13

Irvel fell against the closed door and tried to catch her breath. What had just happened? Her sides heaved and she shook her head. She had almost lost complete control of herself. While Sam was four thousand miles away across the ocean, she was here dancing the night away with Hank. God help her.

It wasn’t right, and Irvel felt terrible. So what if she was technically single? She needed to put time between Sam and Hank. But she also felt wonderful. More wonderful than she had ever felt in all the days she had dated Sam. Dear God, what sort of woman am I? She heard no answer in the still of her parents’ house. Sam was good and kind and if she had stayed with him, he would have loved her and cared for her all their days.

But now she could see clearly… she was fully and completely in love with Hank.

So, Irvel did what she could. She spent every chance possible with Hank, grading papers, eating lunch together, and of course walking to and from school. After the spring dance, Irvel found herself walking more slowly with Hank, wanting to stretch their time together. They had a few months left at most.

If only they’d had a little longer. Because a night like the Spring Formal was once in a lifetime for Hank and her. She was leaving soon—a spy for the military. She would give her all to the job despite the reality—some spies never made it home. Which was why everything about these days with Hank felt final.

It was a spring that would not come again. Not ever.

She only wished that while they were still here together in Bloomington, while they were still walking side by side each morning and afternoon to teach the students, she could tell Hank the truth about her training with the Office of Strategic Services.

The government hadn’t made the name formal yet, but she and Ruth would be part of the newly formed OSS. They had learned that at one of their nighttime training sessions, just like Sergeant Maynard had told her. Most of the members were being recruited from the enlisted troops. But the plan was to bring in some four thousand women, and to fill those positions, the federal government and military had spread into cities and states looking for just the right candidates.

Over the weekend, Irvel had dinner with Hank’s family and the group played cards and listened to the radio. Everything they heard, Irvel already knew. And so much more. She and Ruth and the other five girls in their training group were being briefed on information no one knew.

The details were terrible, but Irvel, of course, kept them to herself. She didn’t dare speak a word to Hank or his parents. If she was going to be a spy for the military, she would follow the rules. To speak about any of it, they’d been told, could get them killed.

When she left that night, Hank walked her home.

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