Part 2 - The Angel

The Angel

“I can’t believe you know Tony’s dad,” Sarah said later that evening as they were on the way to the hospital to see Chris. The Army personnel at the scene of the accident had done just as they’d promised, and had escorted her onto the post. Sienna learned they were in some sort of platoon together, and she got the sense that they didn’t want to talk about it, but if she had to guess, she’d say they were Special Forces. They just seemed to have that vibe about them.

She’d also noticed the rings on all their fingers.

She’d seen the jealous look Chris had given them and had wanted to reassure him that she wasn’t attracted to the men at all, but she also hadn’t wanted to embarrass him. When she saw Chris again, she could tell him the men all seemed to be married…happily so, if their discussions about their wives were any indication.

She’d followed the men’s vehicles through the gates and to a building in the middle of the busy Army post. They’d escorted her inside and introduced her to the commander of her daughter’s unit. He knew who Tony was, as apparently he was an excellent soldier and had made a positive impression on many of the officers in the unit. He’d had both Tony and her daughter escorted to his office.

Sienna had been overjoyed at seeing her daughter again. FaceTime and emails just weren’t the same as seeing your flesh and blood in person. Sienna was happy to see for herself that her daughter was safe and sound. Then she’d welcomed Tony home and told the young man everything that had happened to his dad and what she knew about his medical condition.

Now they were all in Sienna’s rental car on the way across the Army post to the medical center.

“It’s crazy that you both live in Nashville,” Tony said. He was a very polite young man who Sienna had liked from the start. He was about the same age as Sarah, but apparently they didn’t really know each other. Even though they’d been deployed together, Tony was infantry and Sarah was a cook, so they didn’t run in the same circles while overseas.

“I know, right?” Sienna said. “I thought he was kidding at first. What are the odds that we met down here in Texas, both from Nashville, and with kids in the same unit?”

“It’s pretty odd. Maybe it’s your Christmas miracle,” Tony joked.

“That’s exactly what I said!” Sienna laughed.

Then Tony sobered and asked, “You’re sure he’s okay?”

Sienna nodded and tried to reassure the young man. “I’m sure. He hit his head on the driver’s side window, but I think that’s the extent of his injuries. He was very lucky.”

“I don’t understand why he was driving such a small vehicle,” Tony mused. “He never rents anything smaller than a full-size car or SUV.”

Sienna shrugged. “I don’t know, I’m sure he’ll tell you when we get to the hospital, but from what I understand, that car saved his life. The side curtain air bags really cushioned him. It could’ve been a lot worse.”

“Thank you for being there for him,” Tony told her.

Sienna pulled into a parking spot at the medical center and turned to Tony. “From the little I know of your dad, I have a feeling he would’ve been just fine even if I wasn’t there. He really wasn’t hurt all that badly.”

“But you said he was trapped,” Tony insisted.

Sarah was watching the conversation with interest.

“He was,” Sienna confirmed.

“He’s claustrophobic. He doesn’t like to admit it, but from what he’s told me over the last few months while I was deployed, it’s getting worse, not better.”

“I’m not sure anyone would want to admit something about themselves that could be seen as a weakness,” Sienna said. “As a soldier, I’m sure you’ve seen others who were wounded and who are struggling to deal with the things they’ve done and seen while deployed. This is no different. Just because your father is having a hard time coming to terms with the riot at the prison doesn’t mean he isn’t strong or brave. The fact that the first thing he told me was he’s claustrophobic makes me respect him more, not less. It’s not manly or tough to hide what you’re feeling. Remember that.”

Tony stared at her for a beat, then his lips twitched. “Yes, ma’am.”

Sienna shook her head. “Sorry. As someone who has seen my share of therapists because of what I’ve seen and done, I tend to be passionate about the subject. Come on, let’s go inside and see if we can’t find your dad. I know he’s probably anxious to see you.”

The three headed inside the hospital and were directed to Chris’s floor. They went down a long hall and Tony pushed open the door to a room, but Sienna paused before following him inside.

Sarah turned just inside the room and asked, “Mom? Are you coming?”

For a split second, Sienna wondered what she was doing. She and Sarah should be headed to the nearest Chinese restaurant, as was their Christmas Eve custom. She should’ve dropped Tony off and been on her way.

Why was she excited to see Chris again? It wasn’t as if they were actually dating. They were strangers. She’d been first on the scene of an accident more times than she could count.

Why was Chris King so different?

Before she had time to grab Sarah and make an escape, she heard Chris’s happy shout of greeting upon seeing his son. And that was that. Hearing his low, rumbly voice made her feet automatically move forward, as if they had a mind of their own.

Closing the door behind her, Sienna smiled at the scene in front of her. Tony sat on the side of the bed and was embracing his father. Man and son had no problem showing affection for one another. Sienna liked that. The genuine emotion coming from both men was easy to see and feel in the room.

When they were done greeting each other, Chris’s eyes met Sienna’s. “Hey,” he said with a broad smile. “You came back.”

“So I did,” Sienna said, knowing she was blushing once more, but not able to control it. She felt as if she were fifteen again every time she was around him. She wouldn’t have blushed, but the look in his eyes told her that he was just as interested in her as she was in him.

She managed to sit down and have a normal conversation with the others in the room, but Sienna was more than aware of the way Chris kept sneaking looks at her, just as she did at him. The tension between them was so thick, she couldn’t believe Sarah and Tony didn’t comment on it.

After the tenth time being reassured his dad really was all right and the doctor was only keeping him overnight as a precaution because of a slight concussion, Tony finally stood up. “If you’re really all right, dad, I’m going to head out. Some of the single guys from the unit are getting together for an impromptu Christmas/welcome-home party.” Tony turned to Sarah. “Wanna come?”

Sarah looked at her mom. “Oh, well…we were going to find a Chinese restaurant and have dinner…”

Sienna shook her head at her daughter. “It’s fine. Go on. Have fun. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“Are you sure?”

Sienna’s eyes flicked to Chris, and when she saw that he was staring at her with a look so intense, she immediately flushed. “I’m sure,” she said absently, holding eye contact with Chris.

Their connection was severed when Tony leaned over to hug his dad once more. Sienna stood to hug her daughter. Once their children were gone, Sienna immediately felt awkward.

But Chris held out his hand, palm up, and said, “Come here.”

Chris held his breath as he wanted for the beautiful woman to take hold of his hand. He waited what seemed like hours, but in reality was only seconds. He saw her take a deep breath, then take the few steps needed to bring herself to his side.

The second her fingers closed around his, Chris relaxed. He pulled on her hand until she was standing right next to the mattress. He tugged once more and she sat in the spot that his son had occupied a minute ago. “Thank you for coming with Tony,” he told her, wanting to get this part over with before moving on to more interesting topics. “I know he’s in his twenties, but he’s still my little boy, and I hated that he’d hear about my accident from someone else.”

“The commander did a good job in making sure he knew you were fine before I gave him any details,” Sienna told him.

Chris loved the sound of her voice. It was low and even, and it made him relax now, just as it had when they were inside the wrecked car earlier. “And thank you for coming up to my room with him.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Are you hungry?” he asked.

“I could eat,” she responded.

“Chinese?” he asked with a smile.

She returned the grin. “It’s tradition. I’m not the best cook, and one Christmas Eve I worked a twelve-hour shift before I got home and there wasn’t much to eat. So I made going out a big game with Sarah. It became a tradition after that. But…”

“But?” he asked when she paused.

“I have a confession,” Sienna said seriously.

“Yes?”

“I don’t like Chinese food,” she whispered. “It was the only restaurant open that Christmas Eve all those years ago.”

Chris smiled. Then he laughed. When she giggled in response, he laughed even harder. Before he knew it, they were both guffawing and holding their stomachs from laughing so hard. When they’d both calmed down, he said, “I’d love to be able to cook you a fabulous Christmas Eve dinner, but I’m afraid that’s impossible this year.”

“Rain check,” Sienna said with a shy smile.

Chris felt his heart swell. He had no idea if they’d still be talking in a year, but he sure hoped so. “How about if you order something to go, then we can eat here together. The doctors said I don’t have any restrictions on my diet. They really are just keeping me here as a precaution. I’ll be discharged in the morning as long as I don’t have any pain overnight.”

“Sounds good. How do you feel about hamburgers?”

“Whataburger?” Chris asked.

“We’re in Texas…what else?” Sienna quipped.

Chris knew he was still holding her hand, but she didn’t move to pull it away from him.

After a beat, she asked, “What are we doing?”

“Getting to know each other,” Chris said immediately.

“This is crazy,” she said more to herself than to him.

“The only crazy thing would be ignoring this intense connection we seem to have,” Chris said, taking a risk. “I like you Sienna. A lot. I have no idea what will happen in the future, but for now, I just want to enjoy your company and get to know more about you. What kind of music you like, what your favorite color is, and maybe more about the previous forty-some-odd years that you’ve lived.”

She chuckled, but didn’t respond.

“You feel it, right?” Chris asked, suddenly afraid that he was the only one feeling the intense connection between them.

“I feel it. But it’s scaring the hell out of me,” Sienna admitted.

“I’m a man in a hospital bed with a concussion, what’s there to be scared of?” Chris asked with a smile.

At that, she sat up straight and nodded. “You’re right.”

“Of course I am.”

Sienna rolled her eyes. “I’m going to go find a Whataburger and hope it’s open. I’ll be back.”

She stood, but Chris didn’t let go of her hand.

He stared up at her, and then nodded. Brushing his thumb across the back of her hand, he finally dropped it. “Hurry back. Drive safe. Watch out for rogue pickup trucks. I hear they can be dangerous.”

She smiled at his quip and nodded. Picking up her purse, she headed out of the room and looked back when she was at the door. Licking her lips, she said, quietly, “I’ll be back soon.”

“Okay.”

Chris closed his eyes when she was gone and took a deep breath. He didn’t know what it was about Sienna, but he hadn’t looked forward to anything in a long time as much as he did her return.

Sienna glanced at her watch and was surprised to see it was almost midnight. The night nurse had been in a few times to check on Chris, but was satisfied that he was doing fine. She’d told Sienna that visiting hours ended at ten, but since it was Christmas Eve, she’d look the other way if she happened to stay longer than that.

They’d eaten their hamburgers and had been talking nonstop ever since. Chris was extremely easy to talk to. She felt as if she’d known him for years, rather than less than a day.

“What time is it?” Chris asked.

“Almost midnight.”

“Will you grab my backpack for me?”

Sienna blinked at the surprising request. She was sitting on a chair next to his bed, leaning her elbows on the mattress. He’d been lying on his side and they’d formed a sort of intimate bubble over the last few hours.

Doing as he asked, Sienna stood and grabbed his backpack where it sat next to the wall. She handed it to him and watched as he rifled through it. She was curious, but kept quiet. After a moment, he pulled something out, and then leaned over to put the bag on the floor next to the bed. He reached out a hand once more, and automatically, Sienna reached for it.

He encouraged her to sit on the edge of the mattress and gazed up at her with a look so intense, it made Sienna catch her breath.

“Christmas has never been my favorite holiday. Most years I was by myself as Tony was with his mom. The years I did have him, I constantly worried about whether he was comparing the holiday at my house, to the one he usually had with his mom.” He shrugged self-consciously. “I put so much pressure on myself to make everything perfect for my son, I never really thought about the meaning of the holiday. That it was a time to be thankful for what you had and to give to others. When Tony graduated from high school, I volunteered to work most holidays, simply because it was less lonely. When I was caught in the middle of that riot, I thought I was done for. That the cops would find my beaten and broken body in that cell and that would be that.”

Sienna made a noise of protest in the back of her throat, and Chris reached up and brushed a lock of hair behind her ear.

“You already know that I’ve been struggling with claustrophobia. I’ve been kicking around the idea of retiring and finding something else to do. When I was stuck inside that car, the first thought that went through my head, was ‘not again.’ But then I heard the voice of an angel. You, Sienna. You were there. Forcing me to keep it together.”

“Chris,” she protested, but he put a finger on her lips to shush her. Her lips tingled where his finger touched, and Sienna wanted to open her mouth and take his finger inside, but she tried to concentrate on what he was saying instead.

“Tony gave me this for Christmas when he was ten. He said it was a good luck charm and it would lead me to find my own angel. I’ve carried it with me every day since.” He picked up her hand and placed something in her palm.

Sienna looked down to see a small rock in her hand. A crude angel was painted on the surface, the paint peeling off, but the cute brown-haired angel was recognizable all the same.

“Merry Christmas,” he said softly, and wrapped her fingers around the small stone.

The meaning of his words sank in and she gasped, her eyes flicking up to meet his. “I can’t take this.”

“Yes, you can. Please. I need you to have it. I need to make sure you’re safe out there.”

The rock seemed to burn a hole in her hand. She’d never been given anything so special before. “I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything,” he reassured her. “This feels so right. Like it’s meant to be. You’re my angel, Sienna. My Christmas angel.” After a moment, he wrapped his hand around the back of her neck.

Goose bumps rose on her arms as the calluses on his hand brushed across her sensitive nape.

Chris didn’t move, didn’t pull her toward him. Didn’t pressure her for anything. Simply stared up at her, every emotion easy to read in his eyes and face.

He wanted her. He truly believed she’d been sent to help him out in his time of need. On Christmas Eve at that.

Why shouldn’t she be his angel? Maybe she was sent to be at that exact intersection when he’d needed her. What were the odds that their kids would be in the same Army unit? Or that they lived in the same city?

Throwing caution to the wind, and deciding she was going to go after what she wanted for once in her life, Sienna leaned forward, closing the distance between them. She felt Chris’s fingers tighten on the back of her neck and saw his small smile seconds before her lips landed on his.

Sienna had kissed and been kissed many times in her life. Some were good, others not so much. But the Christmas kiss she shared with Chris was more intense, more spine-tingling, more…meaningful than anything she’d ever experienced before.

She closed her eyes and gave herself up to the feelings coursing through her body. She desired him, but she could taste the sweet promise in his lips.

He held her to him firmly, but not so tight that she didn’t know he’d let go immediately if she pulled back. Their tongues teased each other for a beat before he slanted his head, taking her deeper. Sienna made a guttural noise at the back her throat and put a hand on his chest to help keep her balance.

How long they made out, she didn’t know, but when he finally pulled back, she whimpered in protest.

When she opened her eyes, she expected to see Chris smiling, or at least looking amused at how pathetic she sounded. But instead when she looked into his gaze, all she saw was tenderness.

“Merry Christmas, Sienna,” he said softly.

“Merry Christmas, Chris.”

“I still want to take you out for New Year’s,” he told her.

Sienna could only nod.

Then he licked his lips, and his eyes flicked to her mouth before coming back to meet hers. “I wouldn’t change anything about this day. Not one second.”

Swallowing hard, Sienna nodded.

“You should go. I’m sure you’re tired, and I know you have plans with Sarah tomorrow.”

Sienna nodded again.

Chris smiled. “Maybe one more kiss before you go though?”

Liking that he was asking, and not simply taking what he wanted, Sienna leaned forward again.

Twenty minutes later, his number programmed into her phone, and hers in his, Sienna stood in the doorway. Christmas music was softly playing from somewhere down the hall, but otherwise everything was quiet. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” Sienna told Chris. They’d made out until Chris had pulled away with a groan. She knew she needed to get to her hotel, but the last thing she wanted to do was leave.

“Yes, you will,” Chris said.

She could tell he was as reluctant for her to go as she was.

“Text me when you get to your hotel so I know you got there all right?” he asked. “I’ll worry if you don’t.”

“I will.” It felt good to be worried about. It had been a long time since someone had cared if she made it home or not.

She fingered Chris’s angel stone in her pocket.She didn’t know what she’d done in her life to be in the right place at the right time to meet Chris, but she thanked her lucky stars.

Smiling, Sienna backed the rest of the way out of the hospital room and turned to walk down the hallway, a huge smile on her face.

She had no idea what their future held, but she had a good feeling about it. About him. About them.

That night, she had a dream. She and Chris were sitting in a pair of rocking chairs, holding hands, watching the sun set over the ocean. Sarah and Tony were there with what she assumed were their spouses, and there were kids running around everywhere. Chris turned to her, and the look of love in his eyes was as clear and familiar to her as anything she’d ever seen.

“I love you, Mrs. King.”

“And I love you, Mr. King,” she returned.

Sienna woke up smiling and reached for the angel rock Chris had given her the night before. She clutched it in a fist and held it to her chest. “Thank you for sending him to me,” she whispered. “Merry Christmas.”

I hope you enjoyed this little Holiday story! If you’re at all curious about the “team of Army guys” who chased down the hit-and-run driver, check them out in my Delta Force Heroes series. The first book, Rescuing Rayne, is FREE. The series is more “contemporary” than “military” and I’d love if you gave it a chance.

May you have the “Best Christmas Ever” this year and every year!