they tripped an improvised explosive device—or IED. He’d managed to save two of them. After a month in a military hospital, where he was awarded a purple heart and another medal for bravery, Xavier was promoted to the rank of major, followed by several weeks in a rehabilitation facility that led to his medical discharge.
There were days when the pain in his leg had been so intense it made walking difficult. But he managed to work through the discomfort in order to maintain a relatively normal lifestyle. He’d gone from wheelchair to walker and eventually to walking with a cane. It had been more than two months since he’d used the cane he’d stored in the trunk of his car. Although he knew it would be some time before he’d be able to jog or run laps around a track, his orthopedist had assured him that there would come a time when he’d forget that rods, pins and screws had replaced his shattered bones.
Xavier walked out of the classroom and into the office he shared with two other history instructors, unlocked the drawer to his desk and retrieved his cell phone. He had two voice mail messages: one from his mother and another from his sister. He listened to his voice mail, smiling when he heard Paulette Eaton’s message:
“Thanks so much for the incredible box of goodies. I shared them with Roberta who couldn’t stop talking about them. She’d asked me whether I’d made them, and I couldn’t lie. But I didn’t tell her where I’d gotten them from, which truly made my day. Call me when you get a free moment. Love you.”
Xavier shook his head as he scrolled through the directory for his sister’s number. He wanted to tell his mother to give up her pointless undeclared war with her sister-in-law. The sooner Denise made their mother a grandmother, the better.
He hit the speed dial for New Visions Childcare, identifying himself and requesting to be connected with Denise Eaton. Her voice came through the earpiece less than sixty seconds later.
“What’s up, brother love?”
A rich chuckle greeted her response. “I think it’s Rhett who’s brother love.”
“Now, don’t tell me you’re not seeing anyone?” asked the director of the D.C.-based childcare center.
Xavier sobered. “I’m not seeing anyone. Does that satisfy your curiosity?”
“For now,” Denise quipped. “What I can’t understand, Xavier, is that you’ve been involved with some really nice women.”
“Nice doesn’t translate into special, Denise.”
“How special is special?”
“I can’t explain it. But I’ll know when I meet her.”
“Does she exist?”
He smiled even though his sister couldn’t see his expression. “Of course she exists.”
“Yeah, right,” Denise drawled. “I want to thank you for the wonderful birthday gift. It was delivered minutes before this morning’s staff meeting, so I shared them with everyone. Preston and Chandra invited me and Rhett to hang out with them for a couple of days, so I want to order something from Sweet Persuasions and have it delivered directly to them.”
“That shouldn’t be a problem,” he told his sister.
“Will they deliver to the Brandywine Valley?”
“I suppose they will. It may be a little remote compared to Philly, but it is on the map.” His cousin Chandra had married award-winning playwright P.J. Tucker, who owned a condo in Philadelphia’s Rittenhouse Square and a farmhouse in the historic Brandywine Valley.
“Can you please go to the shop and check it out for me, Xavier?”
“You have the telephone number. Why don’t you call?”
“I’ve been calling, but all I get is a busy signal.”
He smothered a groan. “When do you need to know?”
“Like yesterday. We’re leaving tonight, and plan to stay through Wednesday.”
His plans included going home and unwinding. “Give me the Brandywine address and telephone number.” Reaching for a pen, he wrote it down, repeating it to make doubly sure.
“I’ll send you a check if you order—”
“Don’t worry about sending me anything,” Xavier said, interrupting her.
“But I want—”
“I don’t want to discuss it, Denise. Save your money. Remember, you’re the one planning a wedding.”
“Have you forgotten your future brother-in-law is a multimillionaire?”
“And have you forgotten that it’s the bride’s family that usually pays for the wedding? So if you mention money to me again, I’m going to hang up on you.”
“Damn, brother. There’s no need to get hostile.”
Xavier ignored her. “What do you want me to order?”
“I’d like a brownie-fudge cheesecake and a pound of chocolate-and-peanut-butter pretzels. I found out from Preston that Chandra has been craving chocolate and cheesecake.”
“No comment.” He knew any reference to food and a woman’s weight was certain to set off an argument, so he made it a habit to remain silent on the subject. Chandra, who was due to deliver her first child a month after the wedding, had been chosen matron of honor. “I’m going to hang up because I want to go home and change before going into town. I’ll call you later.”
“Thank you, Xavier. You’re the best brother a girl could have.”
“Is it because I’m the only brother you have?”
“That, too,” she said, laughing.
He ended the call, and put his cell phone into the leather case along with his laptop and lesson plans. Going downtown to order and ship pastries wasn’t how he’d planned to begin his weekend. He managed to stave off his curiosity about the journals Charlotte Burke had given him until later. Once he sat down to read them, he didn’t want any interruptions. He planned to read the entries and also take notes. As a student of American military history, he would know if details of the battles were accurate or not. But first he had to stop by Sweet Persuasions and place another order for his sister. There wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for Denise. Memories of her crying whenever he returned to school after spending the weekends with his family had remained with him for hours. It had been impossible to explain to a toddler that her older brother wasn’t deserting her, and that he would return home the following weekend to play with her.
It wasn’t until Denise enrolled in school herself that she understood what her brother did when he went away to school. The guilt had bothered him for years. Ever since then he was helpless upon seeing a woman cry. It was the reason he’d remained friends with some of his former girlfriends. If they called to ask whether he would escort them to a social event he always agreed. That’s what friends were for.
Returning to Charleston meant starting over for Xavier. It wasn’t about looking for a woman as much as it was discovering who he was. For years he’d been a cadet, a first and then
