Matt's Family. Lynnette Kent
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remembering at the wrong time and putting them both through the frustration of backing off.
And Matt was right. They could have taken the risk. The “worst” that might happen would be a baby. With Erin and Jenny getting so grown-up and independent, Kristin ached for another tiny person to hold. And how wonderful it would be to introduce Matt to the joys of babyhood. He’d missed more than half of Erin’s childhood.
“I really would like to walk around,” he said. “But you don’t have to come. I won’t take too long.”
She glanced at dripping trees and sodden grass, thought about sitting alone in the car with just her fears to keep her company, then unbuckled her seat belt. “I think I’ll walk, too. What’s a little rain?”
His grin warmed her inside. “Nothing at all. Let’s go!”
They left the van near the visitors’ center, got maps and brochures and started walking.
Matt obviously didn’t need to read the brochures.
“This is the bloodiest land in the country. More than a hundred thousand men died here during four major battles of the Civil War.”
Kristin gazed at him through the steady drizzle while he recalled for her the details of the war. His eyes had a faraway look, as if he’d stepped back in time to witness the very scene he described. She’d never known he had such passion for military history. They’d never had a chance to talk about it.
They’d never talked about a lot of things.
Ending his account, he stood silent for a moment, then glanced at her sideways with an embarrassed grin. “You should stop me when I get carried away. I could talk about this stuff forever.”
“No, it’s okay.” Kristin put her hand on his arm. “I don’t think I paid enough attention in history class. Tell me more.”
Matt closed her fingers inside his. “Woman, you’re in trouble now.”
The rain stopped before lunch, though the day remained cloudy and damp. Matt refused to talk about the war after they ate. He insisted that Kristin explore each of the unique shops in the town’s central historic district instead, an offer she was quite willing to accept. They got back into the car late in the afternoon with presents for the girls and a pair of antique silver candlesticks for their dining-room table to mark their first year together.
As the engine turned over, Kristin eased off her sneakers and rubbed her tired feet. “Where to now?”
Matt just smiled. “That’s an anniversary surprise. You’ll find out.” Nothing she said convinced him to explain further. But in just under two hours, he stopped the van at the curb of a wide thoroughfare in downtown Washington, D.C.
“The Willard Hotel,” Kristin read on the front of the imposing building. “Wow.”
“When I planned the trip, I thought we deserved at least one night of real class. Considering last night spent in the car, I’m sure of it!”
The next sixty minutes flew by in a whirl of activity. Kristin showered, fixed her hair and changed into the nice dress Matt had told her to bring. At eight o’clock, he escorted her into the marbled and gilded dining room of the Willard Hotel. They ate an elaborate meal on starched tablecloths and bone china place settings, shared a wonderful bottle of champagne in cut-crystal flutes, and indulged in the lightest possible conversation. Tonight, no controversy would be allowed.
The room spun pleasantly around Kristin’s head as they left their table. “I’m glad we don’t have to drive a car to get home.”
“Just the elevator.” Matt steered her down the hallway. “I think I can handle that.”
The lights in their room were dim and the bed turned down, with chocolates resting on the pillows. Kristin slipped off her high-heeled shoes. “This is really wonderful, Matt. I’ve never stayed anywhere so elegant. Thank you.”
“My pleasure.” He switched on the radio, and soft music floated into the room. “Would you like to dance?”
Kristin simply held out her arms.
At some point during the dreamy dance, Matt eased the zipper of her dress down and slipped his hand over the skin of her shoulder blades. A little while later she pushed off his jacket and loosened his tie. Soon his shirt was gone. The light dusting of hair on his chest tickled her cheek. Kristin pressed a kiss on his warm skin, heard and felt his sharp intake of breath. Arms wrapped around his waist, hands flat on his back, she pressed more kisses over his firm pecs, the muscled arch of his ribs. When he drew her close again, she could feel his arousal pressing against her belly. A dark shudder swept through her and she lifted her face to his.
Matt accepted the invitation with a kiss that claimed everything she wanted to give. In another moment they were tumbling onto the bed.
As he drew her dress away, Kristin surfaced briefly. “Do we have to stop this time?”
Matt grinned and reached over her to open the drawer in the bedside chest. She heard a metallic rustle as he dropped something on the top. “Only when we collapse,” he promised. Then he came back to her and swept them both away.
EARLY THE NEXT AFTERNOON, Kristin leaned back against the broad trunk of a tree at the top of one of Arlington National Cemetery’s rolling hills. She was grateful for the shade—without cloud cover, the summer sun burned fiercely. “The only people buried here are soldiers?”
“And some family members, plus military nurses from the Spanish–American War to the present.” Matt stood with his feet planted wide and his hands in the pockets of his shorts, gazing toward the elegant facade of the Lee mansion, once home to the Confederate general himself.
“War costs so much.” Kristin murmured, taking in the panorama of rolling green hills striped with row after row of small white stones.
Matt came over to lean on the same tree. “Yeah, but sometimes it’s necessary.”
His words stirred her temper. “I would expect you to think so. You’re trained to believe in war.”
He rounded the trunk to stare at her, his eyebrows high with surprise. “I believe in protecting this country and the people who live here.”
“And how did your trip to Africa provide anyone in the U.S. with protection?” She shocked herself with the question, especially after yesterday’s confrontation.
Matt’s expression turned grim. He’d warned her to leave the subject of Africa alone. Maybe she should respect his privacy.
But those five years had changed them both so completely…. Kristin couldn’t just ignore what had happened. She wanted to know. “What did you actually accomplish?”
He opened his mouth and started to shake his head. She held up her hand. “I know you can’t give me specifics. I don’t have the right clearance.”
He squared his shoulders and his mouth hardened. “We completed our assignment. If we hadn’t, I wouldn’t have been captured.”
“Was that assignment worth five years of your life?” She was pushing them both toward an argument, yet she couldn’t seem to hold back.
Eyes narrowed, he held her gaze for a long moment, then turned away to look out across the Potomac River toward Washington. He didn’t say anything at all.
Kristin needed to know. “Well?”
Without turning to face her, he shrugged. “I don’t know. If I could have foreseen…” He didn’t finish.
“If you’d known you’d be captured, you wouldn’t have gone?”
He took a deep breath. “I had to go. That was my responsibility and my duty. But I would have been more…careful…with you.”
Kristin had to concentrate on his words to realize the full implications. And then she went cold. Even