say that to get into you, Brenda. I think you know I’m not the kind of guy who wants to screw around. This means something to me. I love you a lot.”
“I want to be your girl,” she said. “I love being your girl.”
“Maybe someday, when we’re older, when we’ve finished school, maybe it’ll be more than that…”
“Maybe I’d like that.” She smiled. “I was going to save this for a surprise—but what the heck. I’ve been applying for scholarships and university admissions. I’m applying mostly in New York.”
“Near the Academy?”
“Uh-huh. I don’t want to be away from you, Tom. Not any more than I have to.”
“Brenda,” he said, pulling her close. “That’s such good news.” He slipped his hand down and put his fingers on her. “Were you timing it?”
“No, why?”
“I think enough time has passed…”
“Good,” she said. “That’s good. Ooh, that’s very, very good.”
The general, Vanni and the baby returned home on Sunday night. Tom had washed all his linens, cleaned the house, taken care of the horses and was doing homework when they arrived. Vanni appeared to be extremely tired and irritated, so he went straight to her and took Mattie out of her arms. “Was it fun?” he asked.
“Depends on your definition of fun,” she said, walking down the hall to her bedroom.
Tom followed her. “What’s up?”
“I asked Carol if she’d invite Paul—I haven’t seen him since the baby was born. And she said sure, but she also invited another guy. She was fixing me up. It was very uncomfortable. I didn’t really get a chance to talk to Paul.”
“What kind of guy?” he asked, holding the baby against him.
“A nice guy. Under any other circumstances, I would’ve enjoyed meeting him. A doctor. A pediatrician from Grants Pass.”
Tom laughed. “Well, I guess if you’d just fall for him, you could marry a guy who’s really somebody, move to Grants Pass, be close to Granny and make her look good.”
A stricken look came over Vanni’s face. “God, that’s it! She’s trying to hook me up with a local guy—to get us under her thumb again! But then—” She stopped for a minute, thinking. “Why doesn’t she try to hook me up with Paul?”
“Paul is a construction worker. He was an enlisted Marine. Vanni—this new guy is a doctor! Besides.” He shrugged. “Paul wouldn’t put up with Carol’s shit. I know him. He wouldn’t. Not for long, anyway.”
Carol had never approved of the fact that her son hadn’t finished his degree and spent his career in the fighting Marines; she was pretty snobby about things like money, credentials, prestige. She had always intimated that Vanni’s decision to be a flight attendant, even though she had a degree, was copping out. She had always asked Vanni what she planned to do next.
“You know Carol,” Tom laughed. “The sooner she can get you fixed up to her satisfaction, the less she has to worry you’ll fall for someone who makes his home in Florida. She always covers her bases. She’s on top of everything.” He put the baby in the crib. “How’d he do on the trip?”
“Great. He’s a good little traveler.”
“How’s my man Paul?”
“Good. I keep begging him to come back here, but he won’t commit. Hey, how was your weekend?”
He ducked his head. “Nice,” he said. “We watched a movie.”
“You seem pretty relaxed,” she said, smiling.
“I’m not telling you anything,” he said.
“That’s okay, buddy. But everything around here was all right while we were gone?”
“Yeah.” He left her bedroom. Then he stuck his head back into the doorway and said, “Know what I said about wishing I’d had a big brother? I take it back.” Then he disappeared.
Three
Less than a week after visiting Grants Pass, Vanessa opened the front door of her father’s house to find Cameron Michaels standing on the stoop. “Well, hey,” she said, surprised.
“Hey,” he said, showing her that sexy, dimpled grin. “I decided to have a look at this little town, see what all the fuss is about.”
“No kidding? You should’ve called. We could have made some plans together.”
“Is it too late for that? Because all I was going to do is drive around the area. Maybe drop into that bar you and Paul were raving about. If you’re not too busy…”
“Kind of far to come for just a look around…”
He shrugged. “I have a couple of days off in a row, which I pay for by being on call all weekend, and I thought, what the heck? It’s worth a shot. It was a very last minute idea.”
She lifted one brow and folded her arms over her chest. “You didn’t have any trouble finding the house.”
He had the grace to laugh a little and avert his eyes, caught. “Carol,” he said.
“Look, you should understand something. I respect my mother-in-law, but she can be a little pushy and—”
He put a hand on her arm to stop her. “Hey, Vanni—I asked her. And I didn’t call on purpose. I didn’t want to give you time to think of an excuse. I thought if I popped in unannounced, you might just cave in. Spend a couple of hours with me. You can punish me for bad manners later.”
She smiled at him. “I look forward to it.”
“So, do you have a little time?” he asked.
“It’s not as though I’m busy, but I have a baby who still nurses a lot.”
He tilted his head and grinned. “I’m pretty comfortable around babies.”
“Yeah. You would be, huh. Well, come on in.”
He stepped inside and looked around. “Wow,” he said. “What a great place. From the outside it looks like just an ordinary house.”
“My dad had the inside completely gutted and remodeled while he was serving his last tour in the Army. Last summer he and my brother Tommy came out and I joined them in the fall.” She walked into the great room and found her boots sitting by the chair. She sat down to pull them on while Cameron went to the window and looked out at the stable, corral and pasture. “Do you ride?” she asked.
“I did years ago. I haven’t been on a horse since I was a teenager.”
“Do you like horses?”
“I
