Free So Close to You (So Close to You - Trilogy) by Rachel Carter

not a spy,” I gasp, though I guess I shouldn’t be so shocked. In school we read about the four Nazi spies who landed on the beach in Amagansett in 1942. They were carrying explosives and American money and caught the train to New York City before they could be apprehended. Thankfully one of them confessed before they carried out their mission—to destroy key military factories on the East Coast. The remaining spies were executed.
    Remembering the real spies sends a cold shiver down my spine. I can’t forget that this is wartime. People are afraid, spies could be anywhere, and I’m a stranger with no proof of my identity who just popped up on a military base wearing bizarre clothes and missing my shoes. I should be grateful they didn’t shoot me on sight.
    “Of course Lucas told Dean that’s a crazy theory. He said you were really upset when he found you, and does that sound like how a spy would act? And Dean said ‘Maybe that’s her cover,’ and then Lucas got mad and stormed out.”
    I smile, surprised but grateful that Lucas defended me.
    “Which is odd, because they never fight. They’ve always been great friends, even though Dean outranks Lucas. He’s a first lieutenant, you know, and Lucas is a sergeant. They met at the base and now Lucas is always around Dean’s house and our house, too. He comes over for dinner at least once a week.” She leans forward again. “So why were you out there all alone in the woods?”
    I try to process everything she’s just said. It’s 1944, World War II is happening right now , and I’m talking to my seventeen-year-old great-great-aunt. Somewhere out there, my great-grandfather, Dean, is still alive, and my grandfather is only a little boy.
    I press my hand to my forehead.
    First I need to come up with a story.
    As if on cue, the door opens again to Dr. Bentley.
    “I was just finding out all about Lydia, Daddy!” Mary jumps up from the bed. For the first time I notice that she’s wearing a nurse’s uniform: a gray, button-down shirtwaist dress with a red cross stitched on the sleeve.
    “No doubt she found out more about you, my dear. Our Mary could talk an ear off a chicken.”
    “That doesn’t even make sense.” Mary flips her hair to the side and it floats around her shoulders. It looks soft and romantic, even with her short and tightly curled bangs.
    Dr. Bentley chuckles under his breath before sitting in the chair near the bed. “How are you feeling, Lydia?”
    “Better.”
    “Are you ready to talk now?”
    A vague story starts to form in my mind. I press my hands together on top of the blanket as I frantically think of the details.
    “Yes, I think so.”
    “What’s your full name?” Dr. Bentley pulls a fountain pen from his pocket and picks my chart up from a small table near the bed.
    “It’s Lydia Ben—net. Lydia Bennet.”
    Mary squeals. “Like in Pride & Prejudice ! That’s my favorite book.”
    Why didn’t I put that together first?
    “Yes, my parents loved Pride & Prejudice .” I shift from side to side, already uncomfortable with the conversation.
    “How did you end up in Camp Hero?” Dr. Bentley’s voice is kind, but I know I need to have a good answer before they all start to think I’m a spy.
    I stare down at my hands. I really don’t like to lie. As a journalist, it’s my job to report the truth. I guess it’s time to put aside those convictions.
    I get a sudden flash of Wes in the woods, saying there were things he couldn’t tell me. Maybe I’m starting to realize what he meant.
    “My mom died,” I hear myself say. “My dad was killed last year fighting in the Pacific and it was just the two of us.”
    Mary makes a small squeaking noise, and she grabs my hand, squeezing it tight.
    “We were living in New York City … but she caught a fever and died.” The lies tumble out of me. “I couldn’t pay the bills and I was evicted from our apartment. I had nowhere to go, but then I found the name of a distant relative