By Request Collection April-June 2016. Оливия Гейтс
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He lowered his head and covered her mouth with his own, and Kate sighed in happy submission.
WHEN CHASE FINALLY walked Kate back to her own housing unit, it was almost 3:00 a.m. The roads were dark, and Chase used a small flashlight to illuminate their way. They didn’t pass anyone, and when they reached the door to her unit, Chase took her in his arms and kissed her. After a long moment, he raised his head and gave her a rueful smile.
“I don’t want to let you go, but you need to get some sleep. I’ll come get you both for breakfast in about five hours, okay?”
Kate nodded, pressing her fingers against her lips as if she could still feel him there. She let herself quietly into her room and undressed without turning on the light. On the lower bunk next to hers, she could just make out the shapeless lump of her sister, sleeping soundly. Easing herself into her own cot, she winced as the springs made a loud squeaking sound. But Tenley didn’t move or make a noise, so Kate lay down and pulled the blankets over her shoulder.
She lay on her side for a long time, thinking about her time with Chase. She had no regrets. In fact, she couldn’t remember when she’d last felt so happy. They hadn’t talked about what would happen when she returned to the States, but Kate knew they could keep their relationship alive. Tennessee wasn’t so far from North Carolina that they couldn’t make it work.
Rolling onto her back, she looked over at Tenley’s bed. She was brimming with so much inner excitement that she knew sleep would be an impossibility, and she wanted to share it with someone.
“Tenley!” she whispered. “Wake up.” There was no sound from the other bunk, so she leaned over and shook the mattress. “Tenley!”
When there was still no response, Kate frowned and flipped on the small light. She stared in dismay at Tenley’s empty bed. What she had thought was her sister was just the rumpled blankets and Tenley’s backpack. Leaping out of her own bed, she quickly checked the top bunks, which were also empty. Her first panicked thought was that Tenley had been abducted. She recalled the young soldier who had jumped onto the stage. Had he somehow found out where Tenley slept? Checking the small side table, she found Chase’s beeper exactly where she had left it earlier. Picking it up, she prepared to press the button when the doorknob of the housing unit opened, and Tenley entered.
“Oh, my God,” she said, sagging in relief. “Where were you? I’ve been frantic!”
Tenley avoided her gaze. “Nowhere. I mean, I went to the bathroom.”
“By yourself? I thought we talked about this. You aren’t supposed to go anywhere without an escort.”
Tenley gave Kate a helpless look. “Well, it wasn’t like you were around to go with me. Where were you, anyway? And don’t tell me the bathroom, because then I’d know you were lying.”
“It doesn’t matter where I was,” Kate hedged. “You should have used the beeper like we agreed.”
“I’m sorry,” her sister said, sounding sincere. “I was tired and I really had to pee and I guess I forgot.”
Kate drew in a deep breath and struggled for patience. “Okay. The important thing is that you’re safe. Get some sleep.”
She didn’t miss how Tenley avoided her eyes as she sat on the edge of the bunk and kicked her shoes off. But as Kate waited for her sister to climb under the covers, Tenley flipped her hair back, inadvertently revealing a purplish bruise on her neck. Kate’s fingers paused on the light switch.
“What the hell is that on your neck?”
Tenley at least had the grace to look embarrassed, and put a hand to the spot in an attempt to cover it. “It’s nothing,” she mumbled. “I’ve had it for a while.”
“You have, my ass,” Kate said, and reached over to pull Tenley’s hair aside and inspect what was clearly a very large, very recent hickey. “How did you get this?”
“Stop it,” Tenley said, pushing her hand away. “It’s nothing.”
“You didn’t go to the bathroom,” Kate accused. “You were with someone, and I want to know who it was.”
“Yeah, right,” Tenley retorted with uncharacteristic bitterness. “Like I’m going to tell you. Why don’t we just share all our secrets? You can start by telling me who you were with tonight, as if I couldn’t guess.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about your watchdog, Major Rawlins. The guy can’t keep his eyes off you, and anyone can see he couldn’t wait to get you alone. So I’m guessing that he succeeded, and that’s where you’ve been all night. So leave me alone, okay?”
Kate felt herself go warm beneath Tenley’s knowing regard. “The difference is that I’m an adult, Tenley, and I’ve at least had a chance to get to know Major Rawlins. You’ve been here for less than twenty-four hours and you’ve already hooked up with some stranger!”
Tenley climbed into her bunk and deliberately turned her back to Kate. “I don’t want to talk to you about it,” she said over her shoulder.
Kate tried one more time. “Tenley, you’re a beautiful girl, but your status as a celebrity singer makes you a target. What do you really know about this guy?”
“I said,” Tenley bit out, “that I don’t want to talk about it.”
Kate sighed, feeling more frustrated and confused than she had in a long time. She was losing Tenley, she could feel it. As she turned out the light and laid down, she recalled all the times Tenley had turned to her for advice. She’d been such a sweet, adorable little girl and Kate had loved looking after her. When had her baby sister become so grown up? When had she become capable of sneaking around behind her back?
Kate thought it had all started in Las Vegas, when Tenley had run off and gotten married to that soldier, Corporal Doug Armstrong. Believing him to be a gold-digger, Kate had moved quickly to have the marriage annulled. Then she’d made a few phone calls and had registered a complaint with his commanding officer. Within twenty-four hours, he had been shipped overseas.
Looking back, Kate knew she could have handled the entire situation differently, but she’d felt an enormous sense of responsibility toward Tenley. She couldn’t let her sister ruin her life by getting married so young, and to a boy she barely knew. Thank goodness she’d been able to keep it a secret from the press, and even if Tenley’s attitude had changed toward her, she had no regrets about what she’d done.
Curling on her side, she acknowledged that a chapter in her life was coming to an end. She would hang on to Tenley for as long as she could, but she knew, eventually, she would need to let her go. She only hoped she could.
THROUGHOUT THE NEXT DAY, Tenley made a point of avoiding Kate. She smiled and laughed at all the right times, and responded to her questions, but she made sure that Kate never had an opportunity to get her alone.
She and her band had performed two flawless sets, and the crowd had loved her. Afterwards, she posed, lighthearted and happy, for photos with the soldiers. She flirted with them and answered questions, and seemed genuinely interested in their comments. Over the course of the afternoon, she autographed dozens of glossy photos of herself without complaint. In fact, she smiled so brightly that Kate thought her face might split.
Music echoed across the base as each band took its turn entertaining the troops to thunderous applause and cheers. On the perimeter of the parade field, the food lines to the grills were hundreds of soldiers deep. Overhead, Kate noted several helicopters patrolling the skies, ensuring nothing happened to disrupt the festivities.
“She’s doing a great job,” Chase observed quietly as they watched Tenley pose with a