Sara jumped, having completely lost track of everything but him. “Crap. Yeah, I’m sorry but I gotta run. Thanks for letting me know. I’d zoned out.”
“You’re welcome.” He smiled. “I have some things to take care of as well. But—I really enjoyed this. Maybe we can do it again soon.”
“I’d love that.” Sara nodded enthusiastically. She stood up and began gathering her things before realizing that she was giving Gabe a close-up view of the lower half of her body. Yikes. Another moment and she’d probably have had her backside plastered against her screen. “Oops, sorry. I have to go,” she added regretfully.
“Not a problem.” He chuckled. “I’ll text you later. Have a good afternoon, Sara.” He waved once, then ended the connection.
I miss him already. She could no longer deny that the quiet, confident man serving overseas had made a major dent on her heart.
Chapter Nine
Gabe stared in wonder at the big box sitting atop his desk when he returned from dinner. He recognized the flat-rate decals from the postal service, but he’d never received one with stickers and drawings on the outside of it. And after a day in 100-plus temperatures, where tempers were short and tensions were high, it was about the most welcome sight he could imagine.
He approached it cautiously and stared down at the return address label. It was from her—his Sara. The possessiveness of his train of thought should have had him freaking out, but he didn’t feel any panic. Rationally, he was aware that the woman in North Carolina whom he’d never met in person didn’t belong to him, but he gave himself a pass since you tended to live in your own type of world while you were deployed. Damn, I sound like one of the newbies here. Lovesick and irrational. Again, he let it go. Everyone was allowed to lose their shit at least once, weren’t they?
He felt a grin pulling at his lips as he stared at the package she’d sent him. He almost hated to open it since the cardboard was like artwork. He suspected that the drawings were done by her niece. Either that or Sara was strictly at the stick figure talent level, just as he was. There was what appeared to be a dog, a cat, a house, a butterfly, and the sun. There were also some Charlie Brown stickers similar to the ones she’d used on her Easter card envelope.
Grabbing a pair of box cutters, he carefully sliced through the tape, and the edges seemed to burst apart. When an individual package of Oreos popped out, he had to exert considerable control to keep from ripping it apart like a wild dog. As he sorted through all the items she’d included, he was beyond touched at how much thought and effort she’d put into the package. Not only had she bought what he’d mentioned, but she’d also added about a dozen other types of things as well. Many were in zippered baggies, he suspected to save space by removing them from bigger containers. How on earth Sara had guessed that socks were something he desperately wanted was beyond him. She listens. She listens to more than my words. There were bases with large stores, but the one here was pretty limited and didn’t carry a lot. There was also a small bag of toiletries and miscellaneous items such as eye drops, allergy cream, hand lotion, and Chapstick. He’d mentioned how tasteless the food was, so she’d included a couple of containers of various spices as well as hot sauce. Then an assortment of protein bars, trail mix, and even Rice Krispies Treats. He wasn’t in the market for a wife, but if she were here right now, he’d be damned tempted to drop to one knee and pop the question. This was quite possibly the nicest thing anyone had ever done for him. And her thoughtfulness and generosity were yet more reasons why he was so captivated by her.
Since their first FaceTime chat several weeks back, it had become almost a daily routine for them. Due to the time difference, sometimes it was brief, but even five minutes made his day. Their conversations flowed so easily. He found himself opening up as he never had with another person. Naturally, he knew a big part of it was the ability to relax, thanks to the distance between them. There was no awkward first date in a restaurant sitting inches apart. Or wondering if he should go in for the goodnight kiss or wait. Everything like that was taken out of the equation. And with it, he was able to simply enjoy the witty, beautiful woman with the sparkling green eyes, sexy Southern accent, and infectious laugh.
His troops had long since grown bored with teasing him about his improved mood, although they did jokingly send their thanks to Sara for making him less of an asshole. He’d have been offended if it weren’t basically true. He was a better person with her in the picture. Thinking of her had him picking up his phone to send her a text:
GABE: Hey, guess what I got? He took a quick picture of the package and attached it.
SARA: Yay! It finally got there. Do you like all the things I included? Since you wouldn’t give me any ideas other than Doritos and Oreos, I had to guess.
GABE: You did an amazing job. I didn’t want you to feel obligated to buy a ton of stuff. I’d have been happy with anything from you. But this . . . seriously, you made my day. Thank you so much.
SARA: My pleasure. You probably figured out that Kaylee helped me. She insisted on handling the decorating.
GABE: Sure, blame it on the kid. It’s OK that you can’t draw a straight line, sweetheart. I still like you.
SARA: Lol! That’s good, because I have absolutely no talent in that area. But . . . it wasn’t me. I did get a few weird looks at the post office, though. Probably because the dog on the back looks like it has a penis hanging out. I’m pretty sure that was meant to be a long, floppy ear instead . . .
Gabe flipped the box around searching for the drawing in question. Then he saw it and started laughing. It did indeed resemble a dick, remarkably so. He wondered how he’d missed it the first time.
GABE: Ha-ha, I found it! That kid is something else. She’s got a bright future ahead doing nudes if she decides to pursue an art degree.
He was awaiting her response when his door opened. He glanced up to see Jason standing there, frowning. It felt like déjà vu, and he had a sinking feeling there had been another accident.
GABE: Gotta run. Back when I can.
It was abrupt and he knew she’d be concerned, but it couldn’t be helped. As much as he loved talking to her, he was a soldier first, and could immediately switch into his role of major, which was an absolute necessity in moments like these. He knew she understood, but it reminded him once again why he’d never wanted to have someone at home who would worry about him, and vice versa. There was no pulling back now, though. Right or wrong, he was falling for her. He had no clue how what was happening between them would translate in the real world when he left Iraq, but he was more certain each day that he wanted to find out. As he was walking beside Jason to the front gate checkpoint, it hit him: I called her “sweetheart.” And that was the last thought that crossed his mind before all hell broke loose.