Page 4 of Light on Love
Stephen huffs before responding. “Come on, come with us!” Both brothers were older than her, but as the younger boy of the family, Stephen often acted the most youthful.
Laurel goes for a half-truth in response. “I actually might be traveling for work here soon.” She unlocks her door and adds, “but stay for dinner.”
Once inside, Laurel drops her keys in the tray by the door and turns to her brothers, “order something?” Her place is simple with nondescript grey walls and furniture that came with the townhouse when she rented it.
“Pizza?” Charlie asks as he saunters in. Stephen nods in agreement, pulling his phone out to order. The two of them sprawl out across her dark grey-blue couch in the living roomjust inside the door as she goes into her room to change out of her pantsuit.
“So, what’s this work trip about? Are they sending you to another base or something?” Stephen calls after her.
“I’m not really sure where I’d be, it’s for a profile I’m working on,” she shouts back, settling for another half-truth. Laurel sits on the edge of her bed and tries to steady herself as the nerves creep back in. She looks down at her shaking hands when Stephen yells in again.
“Mysterious. When are you going?”
She changes into her favorite oversized sweatshirt and matching cream-colored lounge shorts. Taking a deep breath, she walks back out to her brothers and perches on the armchair across from them. “Um, maybe tomorrow?” They sit up and look at her in unison.
“Maybe tomorrow? And you don’t even know where? Laurel, you make the family itineraries a week in advance for trips. How are you even going to pack like you do?” Charlie is looking at her dumbfounded.
She bites her lip;terrorists don’t wait for itineraries. Shrugging the thought away she plasters a smile on her face. “Work is work guys, we all prioritize it in this family. Besides, you tried to get me to take off to Georgia with you!”
“Yeah, but we didn’t actually expect you to agree and come with us. When do you know if you’re leaving? Is this like a zero dark thirty thing?”
“It would be decided in the morning.”By me, she adds to herself. “I’d leave end of day then.”
“I’ve got it. You’re actually a SEAL spinning up,” Stephen jokes.
“Our sister the operative!” Charlie joins in.
Laurel crosses her arms, biting back the urge to tell them what’s really happening. “You guys don’t think I could be one of those interrogators that goes to the war zones?”
Charlie studies her face for a moment, seeing right through her attempt at a hard exterior. “You’re not mom.” he offers genuinely. “You’re more than a pretty accessory. And if you want to go to a war zone, I have no doubt in you doing it.”
They are interrupted by the doorbell signaling dinner’s arrival. Laurel relaxes, thankful for the distraction.She’s talked about this with her brothers before, it’s not a new conversation. And if she’s being honest with herself, then she’d acknowledge that Charlie just pinpointed her real fear. It’s not that the guys on the base viewed her a certain way, but that everyone did. Including herself.
—
Ray enters Laurel’s office only minutes after her the next morning and she wonders if he had been waiting, watching for her to arrive. He takes a seat on a leather chair like he has done so many times before. This time though, Ray offers up no joke or eager smile. Instead, there is a question etched in his expression.
“What are you going to do?” He cuts straight to the point.
Laurel drums her fingers, seated at her desk, and looks out the window. She pauses for a moment and reflects on the rest of her night after her brothers left. She thinks of the way she wrote out her options and the possible outcomes, many of which could only be described as bleak. And after a sleepless night, she knew what she needed to do in the end.
Turning to Ray she answers his question. “I know how dangerous these men are. I knew how dangerous the one I interrogated was. I’m not panicking, but I’m also not naive. Iunderstand I should take the protection, make the call. If he’s willing to help, then I’ll go. But I’ll needyourhelp, because I will be doing what I need to get that permanent position.”
3
She presses her face towards the glass in awe, keeping a tight grip on the arm rest, as the helicopter pivots over and down into the valley. The mountains around her stood out as dark jagged walls against the sunset, and the fields below glowed in the golden light.Wow Wyoming,look at you showing off. Laurel had never been in a helicopter before, and her heart rate had threatened to beat out of her chest initially. But it was easier to manage the feelings of anxiety when this was the scene around her.
After Laurel gave Ray her answer, he had prepared her like Captain Ireland asked. Beside her was a bag full of files to analyze, notepads to collect her thoughts, and a new laptop with proper security measures to send her profile back East. He had also tried to prepare her for the man she was about to meet. Ray explained that Brett Hayes had just turned thirty years old when he left the SEALs two years ago, the youngest team lead in history. She had been taken aback when hearing his age, expecting someone closer to a captain’s age. He explained Brett had been thrust into the leadership position and rose to the challenge by being a textbook war fighter first, human second.He assured her, though, that it doesn’t make Brett a bad guy like Harrison had painted him.
She was jostled for a moment on the landing, the movement pulling her back out of her thoughts. She feels relief flood her as they settle on solid land once again. The two uniformed men accompanying her on the trip jump out and help her down before returning to the helicopter for her luggage.
Laurel stands in the knee-high grass and turns to take in the full scene. This is clearly not an established landing zone. She wonders if this is a part of Hayes Ranch or if she’s in the nearby town. Ray had called it Sterling Ridge, she recalls.
Moments later, a black pickup truck approaches over a nearby crest. The appearance of this truck hits her with another wave of worry. Did she really travel from Virginia to Wyoming to live with a strange man in the wilderness, even after he was described as ruthless and an emotionless super solider? She was still bothered too that she hadn’t been allowed to tell her family or friends where she was going or why, just that she had work related travel that could potentially last for a few months.
The truck was parked now, a man starting to approach. Despite herself, Laurel couldn’t help but notice that he wasabsurdlyhandsome. He was tall, so tall Laurel would barely come up to his shoulders, if that. And he looked strong. He was built like a man who worked a physically hard job, with muscles he used often.
In a black t-shirt, she was able to admire his fit arms as well as tanned skin, probably from hours out on this ranch. Laurel catches herself staring just as he does, his gaze darkening as their eyes meet.Those eyes.Laurel feels her lips part and her heart quicken. Handsome doesn’t even begin to do him justice. She swears that she sees his jaw flex before he breaks eye contact and turns to confer with the servicemen.