The Calling by Ashley Lynn Willis

Author:Ashley Lynn Willis
Language: eng
Format: mobi
ISBN: 9781466464759
Publisher: CreateSpace
Published: 2011-10-28T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

Justin sat on his bed and slipped the diamond ring on his pinky, the white gold cool against his skin. The half-carat solitaire wasn’t exactly up to bling standards, but the stone had come from his mother’s wedding ring, and he’d decided it deserved a happy ending. Plus, it warmed his heart that Mandy would wear something that signified his parents’ love—they had loved each other, once upon a time.

He wiped the ring on his T-shirt until it glistened in the lamp light. The setting was new—a platinum band with blue sapphires, the color of Mandy’s eyes, on either side of the marquis. It had cost him a month’s salary, but she was worth every penny.

Justin smiled, imagining her reaction when she opened the black velvet box. This evening, the wait would be over because, on the beach, where they’d spent their first night together, he was going to ensure she’d be his forever.

His smile disappeared behind a cloud of doubt. What if she said no? He’d tried to make his intentions obvious since they’d begun dating. She had to know it was coming. If she didn’t… well, he’d cross that bridge when he got there. For now, he’d just assume her answer would be yes, and that the ring belonged to her.

A light tapping sounded on the window, like fingernails restlessly pelting a tune on a desk—rain. He groaned and tilted his head toward the ceiling, his gaze locking on an old water stain left by a tropical storm a few years ago. It seemed the weather was going to sink his beach plans. He’d have to think of somewhere else romantic to propose, but at least he had all day to brainstorm a new location, as long as a nasty storm didn’t drag him into work. He’d been so preoccupied with his proposal, he’d forgotten to check the forecast.

A few hours later, he got the call he’d been dreading.

“We need you at the station,” Dale said. “A tropical storm’s bearing down on the Gulf, and we’re getting distress calls right and left. We can’t keep up.”

“I’ll be there in ten.” He hung up and mentally prepared himself for a busy night.

By the next day, when the storm intensified, he knew he was in for a long weekend at the base. “I’m on call all weekend,” he told Mandy over the phone.

She sighed deeply. “I’ll pick up an extra shift to keep from missing you too much.”

“We can go to dinner Monday night.” Hopefully, the storm would have passed by then, and he could stick to his original plan of a proposing on the beach.

“I look forward to it. Be careful,” she said, her voice too tense for his liking.

“Always.” He hung up, hating that she was worried about him.

Suddenly, the hairs at the nape of his neck stood at attention. A cold dread filled his chest. Only one other time had he felt that sense of foreboding—the night his sister had died.

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