Free Corpsman and the Nerd by D.R. Grady

10
     
    KC turned and with a deep breath,
stooped and hugged Ryan for at least the tenth time. During the
time between now and when she received her orders, she had steadily
been nudging herself into her Navy Corpsman persona. She had a job
to do, and she’d do it. And she would leave with a smile. That
didn’t mean there weren’t a few tears in her heart. She was still
Ryan’s mom first and foremost.
    “ Mom,” he protested and
wriggled, but he allowed the hug, barely.
    “ Bye, sweetheart,” she
whispered. “Remember, I’m going to be gone for longer than two
sleeps.” She refused to think about the possibility of never
holding him again. So she squeezed just a little harder and
wondered if she could release her antsy son.
    “ An’ I’m staying with Max. I
know, Mom, you keep telling me,” he huffed and wriggled
harder.
    As soon as she set him free, he took
off, spying something nearby that obviously required his
attention.
    She turned to Max and contained her
welling emotions. Being Max, he simply opened his arms and she
lunged into them. His arms closed around her, tightly, securely,
and she wanted to stay there. There was safety here in his
arms.
    KC felt Max’s lips on her hair and
held on tighter, thankful he appeared to share her thoughts. She
swallowed when she heard her boarding call. He let her go, looking
down at her, his eyes as serious as she had ever seen
them.
    “ Good thing we finished
everything early.”
    She nodded. “I never suspected my
deployment would get moved ahead like this.” So fast, she couldn’t
seem to say goodbye.
    “ We had two weeks.” His
voice was gruff sounding.
    “ Fortunately. Just think,
your family packed and moved me, and we got all our business taken
care of in that amount of time.”
    “ Yeah.”
    “ I thought I’d have more
time than this,” she whispered.
    “ Me too. But this is what
happens. They apparently need you.”
    She nodded again, and thought of what
awaited her in Kuwait. The problem was she didn’t know.
    He raised his thumb and wiped away a
tear she hadn’t managed to keep from falling and smiled. “Go. Enjoy
the sand and heat, while we’re shoveling snow,” he joked, and she
appreciated his effort. Hearing that tone of voice helped to keep
the rest of her tears in check. She’d be okay once she got there.
Right now she was thinking of all she would miss, and that’s what
hurt.
    “ Right. I’ll miss all the
snow this year. That can’t be a bad thing,” she agreed and tried a
smile too. It didn’t fit very well.
    Max gave a long suffering sigh. “Ryan
and I’ll be working our tails off while you’ll be—”
    “ Roasting in the heat,
trying to avoid sand, and working my tail off,” she finished for
him.
    “ Right.” He sent her that
devastating grin again. “Enjoy.”
    “ Yeah, I’m sure.” There was
so much more she wanted to say. She still had to clear security so
she had to go. KC stared at these two precious males, hating that
she was leaving them. Ryan trailed up to stand beside Max and they
waved in unison as she hurried away.
    Even though he teased her, Max’s eyes
never lost their sadness. But he tried to make the best of the
situation, for her. So she could do no less.
    After she found her seat, KC bowed her
head and thanked whoever was responsible for Max Morrison’s
presence in her life.
    *****
    “ Max?” Ryan asked on their
way back to the car.
    “ Yes?” he answered, batting
down the urge to storm the plane, physically remove KC, and bring
her home with them. It wasn’t right that she was leaving. That
she’d be so far away from them.
    “ Whewe’s Mommy going again?”
The little guy bobbed along beside him, feinting left and right, as
though he were a superhero. Only a superhero could save K.C now.
Since Max’s powers hadn’t ever developed, much to his childhood
disappointment, Max knew it couldn’t be him. If KC even wanted
saved, which he doubted.
    “ She’s going to
Kuwait.”
    “