Letters from Home(8)
Author: Bethanne Strasser

But there was hurt in Maria’s eyes. Something had happened that she wasn’t talking about, and Lena wished she hadn’t missed so much. She needed to be a better sister. “Good for you, Maria. There is nothing wrong with that.”

Maria roused, slowly opening her eyes and getting up. “Thanks, Lena.” Maria reached over to ruffle Lena’s hair and give her a hug. “Don’t worry so much. Besides, how could it be Zack? He only came home in June. You’ve been getting letters since January.”

Lena sighed. “There is that.” But hadn’t her heart kind of soared at the idea? Ugh. She needed her head examined!

“Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, Lena. Then the mystery will be over.” Cat also got up to leave. “You’ll do what’s right…you always have.”

In the quiet of her sisters’ exodus, Lena gathered the letters strewn over the bed and stuffed them into the shoebox then went through and ordered them—neat, orderly, business-like typed letters in one pile and handwritten, personal letters in another. She fingered one of the letters from Zack, lifted it to her nose, and took a deep breath. She picked one of the secret admirer letters and did the same.

Unfortunately, the answer wasn’t in her senses. They both smelled exactly the same, like paper that had been thrown into her backpack and left there for months at a time.

Chapter Nine

Lena woke up on Christmas Eve unbelievably revitalized. Finally, after a week, she didn’t have the post-deployment fatigue dragging her down. Maybe not completely back to normal, but better.

One more day.

Elena pulled the box from under her bed and ruffled through the letters, pulling a random envelope from the stack. August. With a guilty look over her shoulder, she opened it.

…btw, Mrs. Marts was caught in the backseat of Principal Morten’s station wagon last weekend. The entire town has blown up with the news, and the Principal is on suspension. Of course, no one talks about how the affair has been going on for years. Now that it’s out in the open, it will either die quickly or…you never know. Maybe they have something that will last. Haha. We’ll see.

She remembered how she couldn’t stop grinning after she received this letter. After a long night in the trauma unit, the letter had been a Godsend. She sighed. Another just-what-she-needed moment.

“Lena,” Mom called from downstairs. “You have to get to the post office before noon. Let’s go. These invitations have to go out today.”

Lena tucked the letter back into the envelope. “I’m up, I’m up,” she called.

Her mom’s New Year’s Eve party included the entire family, all thirty-seven aunts, uncles, cousins, and two second cousins—twice removed—or something like that. Then there were the close friends, the business associates, and even a few strangers…if her mother happened upon one or two in the week between Christmas and New Year’s.

After getting dressed, Lena ran down the stairs and took the pile from the hall table.

“I’m coming, too,” Cat called as she scrambled down the steps and grabbed her winter coat. She was out the door before Lena could respond.

The tall, tan brick building on the corner of Walnut and Jefferson stood before her like the ever-loving answer to all her frustrations that it was. Her letter writer had come here to send his little notes and longer letters. Mystery man vs. Zack.

“Don’t think about it, Lena,” Cat suggested as she held open the main door. Easier said than done. Maria’s question had left Lena reeling, and thinking, and then reeling again.

Zack was family, even if those boundaries were being compromised. She’d forced herself to remain practical and not text him, even though she’d have killed to send him one, just to see how he was doing. The urge made her feel like a school girl, like Cat, who had been texting her boyfriend constantly.

Cat took the pile of cards from her hand and stuffed them into the outgoing mail slot. She hooked an arm through Lena’s, and they started to leave, but out of the corner of her eye, Lena caught a glimpse of a man behind the counter. She slowed, crooking her head. “Hey.”

Mark Teller. “That’s the new guy,” Lena whispered to Cat, who immediately turned around to stare through the glass doors and into the customer service area.

Mark had acted as if he knew her that night at the Winter Carnival. But he was friends with Zack. She wasn’t completely unfamiliar with the a-friend-of-yours-is-a-friend-of-mine phenomenon. Maybe they’d talked about her a time or two. Still, she didn’t believe in coincidence.

An odd tingling sensation started just below her heart. What if…?

What if Maria’s flippant remark was correct? What if Zack’s attention this week was more than just him scratching an itch, testing the waters? Her heart pounding and knees weak, Lena stopped on the steps. She gripped the rail with barely steady hands and pressed her lips together, fighting a grin, fighting a joy that might be unfounded.

“You okay? Looks like you have a panic attack coming on.”

Lena blew out a lungful of air and pressed her fingers against her eyes. “I know. I feel crazy. Those letters made me crazy. Then Zack made me fall in love with him.” She turned to her sister. “That guy in there is friends with Zack. He works at the Post Office.”

Cat lifted a brow.

“Cat! He knows who the letter writer is!”

But Cat didn’t drum up the same enthusiasm. Instead, she took Lena’s shoulders in her hands. “You have less than twenty-four hours to wait. You’re not going to go in there and ruin it, are you?”

Lena laughed. “Don’t you see?” Hope, planted on her first morning here, grew inside of her.

I think the connection you feel through the letters was already there…

“I have to call Zack.” She stood and pulled her phone from her back pocket. She called his number and got his voice mail.

“Text him.” Her sister egged her on.

“I will. I will. Gee, when did you get so bossy?”

Cat grinned. “I learned from the best.”

Lena snorted, her fingers moving over the screen.

NEED TO TALK. CAN YOU MEET ME AT THE GAZEBO?

“Let’s walk.”

Lena followed her little sister. “I asked him to meet me at the gazebo.”

“What?” Cat shook her head. “You’re crazy. That’s like sacred ground until after your rendezvous. You shouldn’t go there. It might be bad luck.”

Lena couldn’t help but laugh. “No.” The more she thought about her need to see Zack, the more sure she was— Zack was her mystery man.

SORRY, BABE. 4GOT TO TELL YOU. SPENDING DAY WITH DAD. WE DROVE TO SACRAMENTO FOR MASS. BE HOME MID-AFTERNOON.

YOU OKAY?

He was a good man—honest, compassionate, loyal—and out of town. Her heart plummeted, and she chewed on her lower lip, pouting.

FINE. JUST WANTED TO SEE YOU.

“What? What is it?” Cat stopped on the sidewalk and leaned against the parking meter.

“He took his dad to church.”

Cat started laughing. “You’re such a softy, Lena. I don’t know how you survive in the big, bad military world.”

Her phone buzzed again.

AFTER-HOURS BUSINESS CHRISTMAS PARTY 2NITE. WANNA GO?

Her hands were trembling. She forced a calm back into her senses by blowing out a breath and stretching the muscles of her neck.

SURE

She turned to Cat. “He asked me to the after-hours business affair tonight. I need a dress.”

“I know just the place.”

…

Zack straightened his tie in the mirror of the front hall. The doorbell rang. He checked his watch. Eighteen hundred hours. He didn’t have time for carolers or, heaven forbid, a door-to-door salesman. He yanked the door open and froze.

“Lena.”

He couldn’t have moved if he wanted to. She looked incredible. The soft, black dress hugged her like a second skin, draped over her well-toned shoulders, slim waist, and h*ps that promised heaven. The deep cut of the v-neck exposed smooth skin and made his entire body tense with need. With her hair twisted up at the back of her head, the black stones that hung from her neck and ears sparkled in the soft glow of the porch light. And she wore heels—holy moly…heels—at least three inches tall.

“Hello.” Her mellow voice drummed against his sensual haze.

He swallowed. “I could have picked you up.”

When she laughed, her head tilted back, exposing the line of her neck. Her eyes shone with good humor and a spark of something else, something challenging. She leaned in, her smile an invitation he would have no problem accepting. “I live four houses down.”

“But it would be proper.” Zack felt an undeniable need to loosen the tie around his neck. “Why don’t you come in? We don’t need to leave for another fifteen minutes.”

“Thanks.” She swept through the doorway, the scent of her wafting in and surrounding him. Good God, if he wasn’t careful they would never get out of this house. Not that he wanted to… Every day closer to the end of her leave was another strike against him.

What more could he do?

Lena had moved into the living room. “It’s so different.” She waved a hand at the room. “Yet it’s the same, too. You’ve only been here since June, right?”

He nodded slowly, detecting an edge to her questioning. A fishing trip? “That’s right. Last year, when my dad’s health started deteriorating, we both decided he should move over to the assisted living on Luther Street.”

“Wow, nice arrangements. Not cheap.”

“Yeah, well. One day at a time, right? Anyway, the house was empty until I finished my commitment and came home.”

Nerves wracked his stomach. Why was she here? What made her come to his house? They’d arranged for him to pick her up. But it was more than the nerves wreaking havoc on his body. He wanted her even more today than he had a week ago, more than he had as a randy teenager. “Can I get you something to drink?”

“Glass of wine?” She suggested, and his heart fell.

“Oh, actually, I—” He rubbed a hand over his mouth to cover his laugh. What an idiot. He should have wine and flowers and all the things women loved. “Uhm…Beer?”

“Sure.” She followed him to the kitchen. “You seem nervous.”

The beer from the fridge was cold, and he wanted to take the damn thing and roll it over his forehead. “Not nervous, just…you look beautiful, by the way. And tomorrow’s Christmas. You’ve got that thing in the morning.”

“I saw your friend today.” She changed the subject, throwing him for a loop.

“Friend?”

“Mark?” She took a pull from the beer he handed her. “I was dropping a pile of cards at the Post Office.”

“Oh.” Oh. Zack cleared his throat. “How’s he doing?”

“He’s fine, I guess. I never did get a chance to talk to him. He was busy, you know, working.”

The way she spoke was enough to break him, as if she knew. But she couldn’t… Mark wouldn’t have told her he’d been writing the letters. There had to be a Federal law against that or something.

“Anyway,” she went on with a smile. “It made me think of the letters again. Think about who had written them. Someone who knows me quite well. I was always surprised by the insight in those letters, the true depth of this man’s compassion for what I was going through. He seemed to know exactly what I needed.”

Zack circled the table and approached her. He was not going to give up his surprise so close to the end of the game. He didn’t care how silly it seemed now. She wasn’t going to force his hand.

Lena took a step back, but she came up short against the counter top. “Oops.”

Zack stopped and wrapped his hands around her small waist. He felt the soft flesh under his hands and ached. “Been a crazy week, hasn’t it?”

“Mmm,” she murmured, gazing into his eyes with an openness about to bring him to his knees. “Thank you, by the way.”

He frowned. “For what?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know yet.” Then she leaned in, pressing her lips softly to his. Her arms circled him, warming him with her embrace. He let her lead, and she took him down the road of no return, coaxing his mouth open with the wet glide of her tongue.

He drew her closer with trembling hands. Every perfect curve molded against him. His hands explored her rib cage, and he found the underside of her br**sts with his thumbs. He softened his touch, caressing her as the kiss went deeper and deeper. The taste of her drove him on until he had to break free in order to breathe.

“Lena,” he whispered, tracing small kisses over her lips, her cheek, and down her neck. The need for her grew, every muscle tensed with the passion of her touch. He lifted her and set her on the counter at her back.

With the last thread of sanity, he held tightly to the edge of the counter and stepped back—taking the space he needed. He was already out of breath, already so far gone. He looked into her eyes and saw the same frantic desire mirrored there.

She placed her hands gently against his skin and ran cool, competent fingers over his forearms, the touch sending shivers through him.

“I never needed anyone like I need you,” he admitted.

“How did this happen?”

He laughed. “Is it so bad that we want each other?”

Slowly, she shook her head. “No. I never thought I had a chance with you, Zack. I—”

“What?”

“Did you write those letters?”

He shrugged, pulled the pins from her hair, and his breath caught in his throat as it spilled over his hands and covered her shoulders. He drove his hands through the thick, silky length. “I could tell you, but—”

“Then you’d have to kill me?”