Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

Sunshine’s doctor allowed her to go home the next day. She had thought that Mary would be the one to take her home, but Nando had met them at the door driving Alana’s SUV and took over the job. Mary gave him a wink, so Sunshine knew that her auntie had conspired with Nando.

“You betrayed me.”

Mary shook her head and leaned down. “Take some advice from your auntie. Let the man take care of you.”

She frowned harder and barely resisted the urge to cross her arms over her chest like a five-year-old in a full pout.

“Call me if you need anything,” Mary said.

“No worries,” Nando said. “I’m off the rest of the week.”

Mary bent once more and kissed her cheek. Then Sunshine watched as her auntie walked away abandoning her. Nando stepped up as the medical tech leaned down to push the footrest up out of her way. She rose from the chair, but Nando took hold of her arm, giving her support. Sunshine snarled at him, but he just smiled, which irritated her even more.

She took his arm and let him help her up into the SUV. The attendant took the wheelchair back into the hospital. Nando hurried around the front of the SUV, then climbed up in.

They said nothing as they drove away. The music played but silence between them stretched out, and it got more and more awkward as they drove past the guard gate and down to the light.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” he said. “But there is no need to thank me. I should have been there.”

She sighed. “You didn’t know because I didn’t call. It was still light out and, other than that one day, I hadn’t seen him.”

Richard had been arrested and charged with assault. She would have to go to the trial if he didn’t plead guilty. Everything had been caught on camera though, thanks to the security of the small shopping center where her shop was located. Hopefully, he was refused bail, so he wouldn’t bother her at least for awhile.

The light turned green and he turned onto H201.

“Your brother seems like a nice guy.”

Judson had talked to her the night before, along with her father. She wasn’t ready to deal with her father, not today, but she did like her brother. “Yeah. He’s really tall.”

He chuckled. “Yeah he is. Did he show you a picture of your sister?”

She nodded, then winced as pain radiated from her injury. She only had two stitches, but it still hurt like hell. The doctor had given her a prescription for pain meds.

“We need to stop by Longs Drugs.”

“Yes, I know.”

“The one in Haleiwa.”

He nodded as he merged onto H1. They drove in silence for a few minutes, but it wasn’t like before. Now, the tension was lessened. She knew they still had a lot to talk about but, at the moment, she was exhausted. The nurses had kept waking her up all night, but they told her she looked good and could finally sleep. With the stress of the incident, plus not sleeping, just getting into the SUV wore her out.

“Rest, Sunshine, I’ll take care of you.”

She looked at him. He was right. He would always be there for her, no matter what. This man was nothing like her father. She might not know her father that well, but she knew he wasn’t even half the man that Nando was. It was one of the reasons she loved him.

With that warm thought, she settled back in her seat and fell asleep.

Nando parked in her driveway behind Sunshine’s little beetle. Mary had said she and her family would make sure that everything was taken care of. She’d also said she would fill Sunshine’s refrigerator with food. He looked over at Sunshine. He’d hated waking her up to go into the pharmacy, but he couldn’t pick up her meds himself. Once she had been back in the SUV, she had fallen asleep before he pulled out of the parking lot.

The fact that he could have lost her, just like that, hammered home what he had been telling Marco. He knew he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. The fact that he had known her for such a short period of time didn’t matter. He couldn’t imagine life without her at this point. It wasn’t that he just loved her, because he did, but it was the corny adage that she completed him. That with her by his side, he knew he could do anything.

He pushed aside those thoughts and slipped out of the vehicle. He hurried to unlock the door, then return to the SUV. Nando opened the door as quietly as he could, unhooked her seatbelt and picked her up to carry her into the house. Once inside, he took her to her bedroom and gently laid her on the bed. He wanted to slip into bed beside her but didn’t want to wake her up. She hadn’t had much rest the night before.

He stopped at the door and looked back at her. He couldn’t believe he might have lost her if it hadn’t been for her brother. Then he left her alone, closing the door a little. After getting some water, he settled down on the couch. Before he could get comfortable, she came walking down the hall.

“What are you doing? And how did I get into the house?”

He smiled and rose from the couch. “I wanted to let you rest.”

“Well, I’m not. I’m standing here because I reached for you and you were gone.”

Then, in a completely un-Sunshine-like reaction, she started crying. And not just a little bit, but big sobs.

“Hey,” he said pulling her into his arms. “It’s okay. He won’t be able to get you now.”

She said something, but because she was crying and had her face buried against his chest, he had no idea what it was. He couldn’t stand to hear her cry. He rocked them back and forth for a few moments, letting her cry even though every sob tore at his heart.

When she stopped crying so hard, he asked, “What did you say before?”

Sunshine lifted her head. Her face and nose were red, and her eyes were filled with unshed tears.

“I said I wasn’t scared. Not of that.”

“Then what?”

“That you weren’t there. And it hit home that you might not be there some day. You could get called away and I wouldn’t have you here with me.”

“Hey, I’m not going anywhere,” he said, cupping her face. “I’m right here.”

“You don’t understand,” she said as a fresh wave of tears spilled from her eyes. “I thought I wouldn’t want to be with you because you could leave. That you might just decide the military is more important than us.”

“Nothing is more important to me than you.”

“But…I’m making a mess of this.”

“No, you aren’t.”

She sighed and stepped back. He let her go and waited.

“I like to pretend that I am a free spirit.”

“You are.”

“To an extent, but I am my mother’s daughter. She was the best of moms, until she wasn’t. Toward the end, she ranted about how unfair life was, how everything was a burden.”

“Not you.”

She shook her head. “No. She never called me a burden. She just didn’t like men, for good reason, and particularly military men.”

He nodded, not wanting to interrupt her but wanting to show he supported her.

“I avoided them. For a long time. Not easy on an island where there are five or six bases and tons of young military guys. I used her comments to refuse dates. Until you.”

“Thank God for that.”

She smiled, then it faded. “Now I realize that I was using my mother’s opinions to protect myself. That I am a coward.”

“The hell you say.”

She laughed. It was watery, but she laughed.

“I do say. I laid there in the hospital bed and realized that I could have been killed and that I might never get to tell you that I love you. That I don’t care what happens later on, only that I want to be with you.”

His heart squeezed tight. “I love you too. And I wanted to tell you something.” He took her hand. “I’ve been thinking about getting out.”

“But I don’t want you to do that.”

“Why?”

“I don’t want you to give up the career you love.”

“Hey, I won’t. But I am not sure it’s for me.”

She frowned. “What are you talking about? You have a bunch of medals and stuff.”

He couldn’t stop the bubble of laughter. The weight that had held him down was now lifted. She loved him and that was all that mattered.

“I did well, but it wasn’t until I started working budget that I realized what I wanted to do. I don’t want to go back to my regular career field. Or, I’m not sure I want to at least.”

“You’re not quitting because of me.”

“I’m not,” he said, stepping forward and taking her hands in his. “I don’t know if I will get out, and a lot of it will depend on what is going on in the world. But, right now, I plan on serving my time for the move I just made—three years—then I am going to get out. Maybe get my MBA, or work as a civilian. It’s what I really want to do. And I want to be here with you. That is, if you will have me.”

She gave him that thousand-watt smile. “I will definitely have you, any which way.”

He laughed and slipped his arm over her shoulders. “Come on. You need to sleep, I need sleep as well.”

“But shouldn’t we seal the deal?” she asked.

He laughed. “Nap, then you can seduce me.”

She let him lead her back into the bedroom. They both got under the covers and snuggled. She laid her head on his shoulder, her hand over his heart.