SEAL's Rescue by Sharon Hamilton

Author:Sharon Hamilton [Hamilton, Sharon]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Romance, Military, Fiction, SEALs
Publisher: Frog Haven Press
Published: 2019-06-10T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter 5

Flowers covered the grave site. Stephanie had never seen so many. The somber crowd of mostly older people—friends of Ryan’s parents and parents of their friends growing up. Many of the kids they’d gone to high school with were scattered all over the world, so she recognized only a few.

She stood up front, next to Mr. and Mrs. Rosen. She missed her mom and dad. The vacant spot next to her was filled instead by Patrick’s hulking presence. Though she didn’t look at him, he slipped his hand in hers like they used to do in grammar school. Their fingers didn’t entwine like they did when Ryan always took her hand, but her palm pressed against his, and she could feel the pulse of the underside of his wrist as their forearms touched.

On the other side of the coffin stood several uniformed SEALs, presumably all friends of Ryan’s. They were different heights and sizes, but all wore identical black wraparound sunglasses, spoke little, didn’t smile, and had square, sober jawlines.

After the opening hymn, they were instructed to be seated. During the short sermon, she thought about Ryan and the things she would miss the most about him—the little mischievous smile he got when he was going to do something she didn’t expect. The flowers he liked to bring her on the spur of the moment. How he loved puppies and always stopped to pet them, no matter where they were or how late they were going to be. How he loved the children and how they loved him when he stopped by the preschool to pick her up for lunch. She remembered the tenderhearted letters he’d written her from places she had no desire to ever see.

The words of the pastor droned on in the background as she said her private farewell to the man she thought she’d spend the rest of her life with. She was relieved that her tears, at least for now, seemed to be under control.

She examined the SEALs, this time more carefully. One by one, she was acknowledged with a slight nod of the head, something probably no one else in the crowd would recognize. She sucked in air, bracing herself for an outburst of tears, until Patrick squeezed her hand. She wondered how many of these gatherings Ryan had attended. How many other fiancées and wives had to sit and listen to the final words delivered about a life not yet fully begun. She and Ryan had never talked about this, about death or what could happen to a man on the Teams. Like it was bad luck to do so.

At first, Stephanie thought Patrick had dropped her hand because he somehow felt self-conscious that they were showing affection for one another in front of these SEALs. But then she saw the clergyman nod in Patrick’s direction. He stood then, perhaps the tallest person in the crowd, his black jacket hanging from his straight shoulders when he turned and faced Ryan’s coffin in front of him.

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