Free Ever After by Karen Kingsbury

arms on the same metal railing and turned her head so she could see him. “Now you work on other training and, you know, learning how to run the base, that sort of thing, right?”
    He chuckled and — intentionally or not — slid his right arm over so that it was touching hers. “I have one more tour, if that’s what you’re asking.”
    Fear tightened her airways, and she stared out at the farthest bit of ocean she could find. No, he wasn’t going back to Iraq, that couldn’t be what he’d said. “But … but you already did the dangerous stuff, right?”
    “They’re looking for guys to go twice.” He stood a little straighter. There was no worry or concern in his voice. “I can’t very well lead guys if I’m not willing to make sacrifices myself.”
    His answer was exactly what she would’ve expected him to say. “So you’ll be back on the front lines?”
    “Probably.” He smiled at her and nudged her arm with his. “But that’s where the people are, Emily. It’s what makes me sure we’re supposed to be there. Besides, God’s got my back. I felt Him with me every minute last time I was there.”
    She had the sudden urge to run. What point was there in getting to know this wonderful guy beside her if he was going to leave for another year in Iraq, if nothing about his future was even a little bit sure? But before those feelings could take root, she stopped herself.
    God knew the plans He had for Justin, same as He knew the plans He had for her. Neither of them was guaranteed their next breath. So why borrow worry from tomorrow? She breathed out and felt herself relax. “When, Justin?” She didn’t move her arm, didn’t break the connection between them. “When do you go?”
    “End of September.” He smiled and eased his fingers between hers. “Come on. Let’s find some dinner.”
    They walked slower than before, and with her hand tucked in his, Emily had to keep telling herself she really was here, he really was beside her, walking with her hand in hand along the edge of Seattle’s Puget Sound. And no, she wasn’t floating ten feet off the ground, no matter how she felt.
    For the rest of the evening, they avoided talk of his return to Iraq. Instead they found a restaurant and were seated near a window that overlooked the water. He took the spot across from her and told her about his younger sister.
    “She’s eighteen now, four years younger than I am.” He unfolded his napkin across his lap, clearly at ease in the upscale dining room. “The whole family has a list of stories about her.”
    “Like what?”
    He grinned. “Like the time she bought a new cell phone. She was all excited because it had a speed dial feature for up to thirty phone numbers.” He planted his elbows on the table and rested his chin on his fist, his eyes on Emily. “So we’re at dinner that night and she’s going on about which numbers she’s programmed in, and how one of them is 9-1-1.” He changed his voice to sound like a ditzy girl. “ ‘That way, if I have an emergency, I can just dial star-two-seven instead. Or was it star-two-eight?’ ” Justin’s laugh was full of warmth and affection. “The rest of us rolled. Only my sister would think it could save time to dial star-two-seven instead of 9-1-1.”
    They ordered salmon and vegetables and a couple of lattes. When the waiter left, Justin asked her about her parents. “I know they were apart for a long time, but I don’t know the whole story.”
    So she told him, told him how they’d been so in love, and how the things her mother had written about her father could still make any of the three of them teary eyed. She told him about the struggle of her mother’s pregnancy, and how none of her grandparents had supported the young couple.
    “The amazing thing is that I found them.” She folded her hands in her lap and searched his face. “It was my dream, my daily prayer that God would bring them back to me and to each other.” She took a sip