A Soldier's Secret Read online

  Her cell phone chirped. She glanced at the number. Crap. She needed time to digest what he’d said. Time to think of a way to gracefully not take him up on his offer. On the fourth ring, she answered.

  “Yes, Mac. What is it?”

  “I forgot to tell you something. Something you need to know.”

  She sighed. “I’m driving. I don’t talk and drive.”

  “This will only take a few seconds. I promise.”

  “Okay, what?”

  “Well, first you need to know that I will be forever grateful and in your debt if you can just do this one thing for me.”

  She jammed her foot on the accelerator.

  “And second, you need to know that it’s only until all the legalities are worked out. It would be a business deal.”

  The wind whipped her hair into her face, but she couldn’t flick it back and still keep one hand on the wheel. “Hold on a minute.” She put down the phone, grabbed her navy-and-gold SAR ball cap from the passenger seat, settled it on her head and picked up the cell again.

  “You’re actually, really, truly serious about this.”

  “Dead serious.”

  “But—”

  “I have to do this, Natalia. If it isn’t you, then it will be someone else. But with you, it’s perfect. You know me. You can answer any questions someone might throw at you. We’re together all the time, so no one would have any idea if we have or haven’t been romantically involved.”

  She released the pressure on the gas as she came to the speed limit sign just outside Spirit Creek. “Everyone in town knows we aren’t involved.”

  “Wrong. In this town, no one ever really knows what other people are doing.”

  Slowing down even more, she turned the corner, past Thompson’s Hardware Store and onto Main Street.

  “The thing is, I trust you, Natalia. I can’t trust a stranger and I don’t have a clue how anyone else might treat a child. Someone else would probably want all kinds of benefits or maybe get all serious, and it would just be so much easier if you’d agree to help me.”

  Mac trusted her. He’d be forever in her debt—and she’d be the world’s worst ungrateful, first-class bitch if she didn’t help him. “Let’s talk later, okay?”

  “Okay. Why don’t you meet me at the Blue Moon when you’re done with dinner?”

  “It will be late.”

  “The Moon closes at 1:00 a.m., kiddo.”

  She stopped at her friend Serena’s café at the end of the street. “Okay. Fine.”

  Natalia’s head was still spinning with questions when she exited her car in the parking area in front of “The Bean,” which was housed in the lower level of an old Victorian home facing Main Street. Serena had painted the exterior lavender, with white gingerbread trim.

  If that wasn’t shocking enough for some of the staid townsfolk, Serena had then paid their artist friend Tori to create a mural of the solar system, interspersed with the red mountains of Sedona, on the side of the house that faced the connecting street. The mural pinpointed the mystical vortex sites located in the area’s red rock canyons, and because the house sat on a corner, everyone driving into town could see it.

  To say that not all the locals approved was like saying the Grand Canyon was kinda pretty. You never knew what Serena was going to do next, and that was exactly what Natalia needed right now to take her mind off Mac…and his kid.

  If she went along with Mac’s far-fetched idea, it would change everything between them. It could even affect her plans for buying the Mountain Air operation.

  Just as Natalia started for the café, Serena came out and skipped down the steps, her hundred-watt grin ten feet wide and her curly strawberry-blond hair blowing in the breeze. She seemed to have a permanent smile on her face now that the love of her life had returned. She held up a bottle of wine and Natalia gave her a thumbs-up.

  Natalia got back in the car and Serena went to the passenger side, slid into the seat and immediately pulled out a CD and stuck it into the slot. “Something to get us in the party mood,” she said.

  Also Sprach Zarathustra blasted from the speakers. Natalia pulled back to look at her. “Geez. What have you been smoking?”

  Serena raised her left hand.

  It took a moment to register. “Oh…oh, wow!” Natalia said, examining the sparkly diamond.

  Her friend beamed.

  “It’s…beautiful. I had no idea.” Serena and Cole had been living together for two and a half years and it seemed to be working well that way.

  “We decided neither of us is getting any younger, and we want to have children, so…” She shrugged, palms up. A loud crescendo punctuated her gesture.

  Natalia managed a smile, and as she reached to turn down the sound, a strange awareness washed over her. A feeling not unlike the one she’d felt when her dog Misty had died—as if a giant hole had opened inside her, one she knew would always be there.

  But, good Lord, she shouldn’t be feeling that now. Serena was her best friend. Natalia should be over the moon about her happiness. “Yeah. That makes sense,” she said, then started the engine, put the car in gear and backed out.

  Geez. She was happy for Serena, even if it meant things would change. They’d changed when their friend Tori got married, and it was inevitable it would happen when Serena did. Things always changed.

  That was life, and no one knew it better than Natalia.

  “Actually, we’ve already started trying,” Serena continued. “They say the longer you wait, the harder it will be to get pregnant, and I’m beginning to believe that’s true.”

  Natalia grinned. “So, are you waiting until you get pregnant to get married, or will you wait until after you have the kid? That seems to be the popular thing these days.”

  She laughed. “No decisions on dates, but we are making plans. I’d like an outdoor ceremony and a reception somewhere fun, but Cole wants to elope, maybe go to Las Vegas.” She laughed. “I don’t know why anyone would do that. It’s so unromantic.”

  “He’s a guy,” Natalia said. “They see what they want and go for it.”

  “Well, testosterone isn’t going to win this one.”

  Natalia juiced the accelerator and they shot out of the drive and down Main Street, their hair blowing straight out behind them like flags in a strong wind. Serena laughed and held on to the door handle.

  As they careened around the mini switchbacks toward Tori’s house, a rush of adrenaline pumped through Natalia’s veins, the same rush she got when she flew a rescue. She felt alive. In the moment.

  An hour and a half later, they’d finished dinner at Tori’s hillside Santa Fe–style home and had opened the second bottle of wine. But Tori seemed to be the only one drinking it. Serena, who usually imbibed the most, had been sipping the same half glass all night. Natalia had only one glass of wine with dinner, since she was driving, and because she never knew when she might get an emergency call. She and Mac worked two days on and two days off in twelve-hour shifts, but emergencies happened. She grabbed a Coke and they all went out to the patio to sit in front of the southwestern-style kiva fireplace.

  While her friends chatted, Natalia marveled at how happy both seemed. Considering what each had gone through to find that happiness, it was even more marvelous that life had turned out so wonderfully for them. So what was her problem? Why wasn’t she feeling the love?

  “All righty then,” Tori said, looking in Natalia’s direction. “That leaves all the single guys in Spirit Creek for you, Natalia.”

  “Which isn’t much,” Serena added. “You may have to expand the geography a bit. Maybe you should join one of those online dating services.”

  Natalia snorted and tossed her hair back. “Maybe not!”

  “Hey, just sayin’. You never know—”

  “No. I do know—from Ginny Gentry. She tried several times and got nothing but lots of coffee in a lot of different places.” Natalia took a sip of Coke. “Besides…” she straightened in her seat �
��…I might be getting married, too.”

  Serena looked at her as if she’d grown horns. Tori’s eyes widened like dinner plates. Natalia felt stunned herself. Where the hell had that come from?

  Tori, who’d been sitting on a bamboo futon with yellow cushions, flew over and sat on the end of the orange-cushioned chaise longue. Her two golden retrievers, Bruno and Cleo, followed.

  Natalia pulled up her legs and wrapped her arms around her knees to make more room. “No. I mean… I’m not. Not really,” she murmured. “But I have been asked.”

  Her friends exchanged glances, then gazed at her.

  “Actually, I shouldn’t have said anything.”

  “Uh-uh, uh-uh.” Serena came over and wagged a finger in Natalia’s face. “You don’t get off that easy.”

  Right. “Okay, but it’s really nothing. And it’s an incredibly dumb idea. Actually, it’s Mac’s idea and it’s…it’s just dumb.”

  “Mac?” Tori asked. “Our Mac? David MacAllister, the confirmed bachelor? The guy who said he’ll never be taken alive?”

  “I’ve always wondered what you two do up there in that helicopter all the time,” Serena said wickedly. She raised an eyebrow.

  “You can put those ideas to rest. It’s nothing like that. Mac needs to get married because he wants to gain custody of his son.”

  “Oh, well, then. That makes everything perfectly clear,” Serena said, standing again.

  Tori relocated in the chaise adjacent to Natalia, crossed her arms and eyed her friend with a laserlike intensity. She was as sophisticated as Serena was Bohemian, and everything about Tori screamed money, even her soft, controlled voice. “This would be a lot easier if you’d just spit it out rather than us trying to drag it out syllable by syllable.”

  “Yeah.” Natalia cringed, hating everything about Mac’s idea. And yet how could she say no? “It’s just that it’s so weird, and I don’t really know the whole story, except that he told me he has a son he didn’t know existed until a year ago, and…” Then she launched into it, telling her friends the rest of what Mac had told her.

  Natalia alternately stroked Bruno and Cleo, who’d climbed up next to her.

  “So, what are you going to do?” Tori asked. “Are you going to marry him?”

  As soon as Tori spoke, both dogs left Natalia’s side and wandered over to lie at their mistress’s feet.

  “Are you serious? Of course I’m not going to. It’s a stupid idea and anyone would see right through it.”

  “Oh, I don’t know about that. You two are always together,” Serena said. “You get along really well and lots of people think you have a thing going, anyway.”

  “What? Excuse me?”

  “You know how folks are in this town,” Tori said. “They always talk. You can’t pay any attention.”

  Natalia downed her soda. “Geez. I must be really out of the loop then, because I don’t know how people always talk. I’m never in on any of it. And I can’t imagine anyone would be talking about me and Mac.”

  Serena, who saw most of the townspeople when they came into the café, laughed. “Who hasn’t talked about you and Mac is more like it.”

  Natalia launched herself from her seat and threw her arms up. “God. Have I stumbled into an alternate universe? People are talking about me and Mac? Really? I don’t see how working together translates…”

  “It’s a small town. People need something to keep their lives interesting, and sometimes they exaggerate,” Tori said matter-of-factly.

  Natalia hadn’t grown up in Spirit Creek, like Serena. Or Tori, who’d spent all her childhood summers in the small town until she’d become a permanent resident eight years ago. Natalia’s history was more complicated, going from Croatia at six years old to New Paltz in upstate New York, to Boston for college and then the air force. Upon her discharge, she hadn’t had a clue where she was headed. All she knew was that she had to fly. She was born to fly.

  After her injury, she’d gone back to New Paltz to see her parents and make some decisions. She’d thought about getting a commercial pilot’s license, but then saw a program on search and rescue teams at the Grand Canyon. That was it. She’d known then and there what she was going to do.

  It was perfect. Had been perfect…until the flashbacks began.

  She glanced at her watch, got up and crossed to the outdoor bar. She wasn’t going to think about any of it. Everything was under control, flashbacks included. Her life was going along perfectly. She didn’t need distractions.

  “I’m wiped,” she said as she dropped her soda can in the recycle basket under the sink. “It’s been a long day.”

  “I’ll make some coffee,” Tori offered.

  “No. Don’t bother. I’m fine. I had only one glass of wine and that was hours ago.”

  Both women looked at her as if to ask what was really wrong.

  “I wasn’t worried about the wine,” Tori said as she came over and gave her a hug.

  Natalia had been friends with Serena and Tori for so long it was impossible to hide anything from either one. Coffee was the cover to get her to stay longer and talk it out.

  Hugging her friend back, she said, “I know. I’m just tired and anticipating another long day tomorrow. It’s that time of the year.” She forced a smile. “Really. Everything else is perfect.”

  Serena popped to her feet. “Okay. Let’s go then.”

  At the door, Natalia glanced at her watch. The Blue Moon was still open. The last thing she wanted to do was talk to Mac again, but he deserved an answer, even if it was to tell him she was the worst person in the world to pick for his temporary wife.

  On their way to the car, the crisp autumn air sent a chill down her spine. She pulled her neck scarf tighter, remembering the desperate look in Mac’s eyes when he’d told her about his son, and a wave of guilt washed over her. If she was in his shoes, she’d probably feel the same way.

  But she wasn’t. And couldn’t someone else do the job just as easily as her…or better?

  She liked kids, but that was the extent of it. Marriage and motherhood had never been on her radar. She had no practical experience whatsoever. Never even babysat for someone else’s kids.

  And God knew what kind of a role model she’d be. According to her parents, she was thoughtless, selfish and ungrateful. And if wanting to realize her dreams was selfish, then maybe she was. She liked her life, her career and her friends. She’d worked hard to own her own home, and once she owned Mountain Air, her life would be exactly as she’d dreamed it. What was wrong with that?

  What she didn’t understand was how, knowing her as well as he did, Mac could possibly think she was a good candidate for his scheme.

  She loved him like a brother. It would be impossible to pretend to be married to him.

  Impossible to fake being in love.

  She owed Mac. But just how much?

  CHAPTER THREE

  MAC LIFTED HIS CUE, sighted the ball, took his shot…and missed again.

  “What’s up with you tonight?” Cole asked, nudging him out of the way so Sam could take a turn.

  “Nothing. Just a little stiff neck.” He shook out his shoulders and tipped his head from side to side as if to get out the kinks.

  Mac watched Sam Sinclair work the table, tried to focus on the game instead of whether Natalia was going to show or not so they could settle things once and for all. He couldn’t get anything else working until she said yes.

  “Sam’s damned good,” Cole said.

  “He is. But not good enough.” Sam worked for Cole as a tour guide at the Purple Jeep Touring Company. He was nearly ten years younger than his pool buddies who were all in their mid-thirties, but in the short time Sam had been in Spirit Creek, he’d become one of the guys. Three years earlier, Sam had blown into Spirit Creek on an oven-hot summer day looking for a job.

  Cole St. Germaine had hired him at the Purple Jeep, and since then he’d become one of the best tour guides in northern Arizona and had been dub
bed Indiana Sam by half the town. The kid fit in with the locals like he’d been there forever. Mac had felt the same way when he’d first moved to the laid-back mountain community, and working with Natalia made it feel like he’d won the lottery.

  “Okay. But you keep eyeing that door like you expect a naked woman to waltz through any second now.”

  Sam, who’d just finished running three shots, lifted his head. “Hey, if there are naked women on-site, I’m done here.” He grabbed his beer from one of the bistro tables lined up against the wall. Rascal Flatts blasted in the background and the usual Friday night regulars crowded the bar.

  As Cole took his turn at the pool table, Sam came over to stand next to Mac. “You waiting for someone?”

  He shoved a hand through his hair, then tightened his grip on his cue. “I’m waiting…for the right moment to take you guys down.” He twirled the stick between his fingers like a baton and grinned.

  “Hah! Like I’m worried. You haven’t hit two in a row since we started.”

  “Well, keep watching, Indiana Jones. You might learn something about patience.” Mac stared at the table, trying to focus on the game. He didn’t think Natalia would blow him off, but he’d been wrong about her before.

  Just when he’d get to thinking he had her pegged, she’d do something completely out of character. She’d always been a bit of an enigma, keeping a part of herself tucked away somewhere.

  Mac felt a jab on his arm. “Your turn, old man,” Sam said, not letting up for a minute.

  He shrugged away, as if Sam were the enemy and he didn’t like being touched by him, then sauntered to the table and one by one dropped all but the final ball into the pockets. Ready to call his last shot, he glanced at Sam.

  “Don’t choke,” the younger man needled.

  Mac turned his baseball cap around, blew the excess chalk from the tip of his cue, then cleaned the green.

  “Pure luck,” Ed Torborg said as he clapped Sam on the shoulder. “We’ll take ’em down next time.”