By Request Collection April-June 2016. Оливия Гейтс

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ she watched as he stowed her duffel bag in the back of the Humvee. Charity sat in the backseat and her tail thumped happily as Kate reached over to rub her head. “I am going to miss you,” she said, stroking the dog’s ears.

      Chase grunted as he climbed into the front seat beside Kate. “I can’t believe I’m jealous of that mutt.”

      “I’m going to miss you, too,” she said, letting her gaze travel over his face, memorizing his features.

      He turned toward her in his seat. “I’ll call you as often as I can, but I don’t want you to worry if several weeks go by without hearing from me.”

      She took a deep breath and laced her fingers with his. “I know you’ll be careful.”

      “You bet.”

      Too soon, they arrived at the terminal. Kate’s flight wasn’t due to depart for another three hours, but passengers were required to arrive early. Even at this hour, the lobby was filled with soldiers waiting to catch a flight, and military duffel bags and gear littered the floor. As they made their way through the lobby to the check-in line, Kate grabbed his sleeve and pulled him to a stop.

      “Look,” she breathed, staring at one of the flat-screen televisions mounted on the wall.

      Chase followed her gaze and felt his stomach drop. There, on national television, was a video of Tenley Miles locked in a passionate embrace with a uniformed soldier backstage at the Kandahar concert. The crawl line across the bottom of the screen read, Beyond the Call of Duty?

      Kate turned to him. “Chase, I need to see Tenley. She’s not going to know how to handle this. She needs me to do damage control!”

      “Kate,” he said warningly.

      “I have to do this,” she insisted. “Just last week she was ripping the military apart, and now she’s caught kissing some soldier? You and I know the truth, but the media is going to have a field day, never mind the embarrassment this will cause for the Army!”

      She knew the instant he realized she was right. “Fine,” he bit out. “Let’s go. But just for the record, I’m all for letting her handle this one on her own.”

      They drove over to the tent where the performers were sleeping, but Tenley was already awake and sitting outside at a picnic table, sharing a cup of coffee with Doug. Kate had to admit that the two made an attractive couple.

      “I’ll tell her,” Kate said to Chase as she grabbed the door handle.

      Chase put his hands in the air. “Absolutely. You’ll get no argument from me on that.”

      Kate didn’t miss the way Tenley stiffened when she saw her.

      “Tenley, I need to talk to you,” Kate said without preamble, sitting down next to her sister. “I just saw a video clip of you and—and Doug on television. You were caught on camera kissing backstage. The media is going to have a field day with this, but I think I have a way that we could explain it and make the public sympathize with you.”

      Tenley’s face had gone pale, but now she reached over and covered Doug’s hand with her own, smiling in a way that Kate had never seen before.

      “Kate,” she said gently, “you’re not my publicist anymore. This isn’t your problem to handle.”

      “But you’re still my sister.” Kate frowned. “And whatever you might think of me, I know how to work the media. I can fix this, Tenley.”

      “Nothing needs to be fixed,” Tenley insisted. “I don’t care if the whole world knows I was kissing Doug backstage. I love him. I’m going to be honest and tell the press that Doug and I met and fell in love in Las Vegas last month. There’s a reason I came to Afghanistan, Kate. I didn’t plan for this to happen, but now that we’ve found each other again, I’m not letting go.” She gave Kate a sympathetic look. “Don’t worry. I know what I’m doing. And even if this backfires on me, I’m a big girl. I can accept the consequences, Kate.”

      Kate stared at her sister, barely able to believe what she was hearing. “Are you serious?”

      Tenley leaned forward and gave her a hug. “I’m completely serious.” Reaching out, she took Kate’s hand between her own. “I know you’re upset that I fired you, but I can’t let you put your life on hold for me any longer.”

      Kate shook her head. “I haven’t put my life on hold, Tens.”

      “Yes, you have. You think I don’t know what you’ve given up for me? Everything. You left college to take care of me. I know you had dreams of starting your own web-design business, and instead you’ve given that up to take care of me. I love you, but I want to make my own choices, even if they’re not always the right ones. I’m giving you back your life, Kate.” Her gaze flicked to Chase, standing by the Humvee. “Don’t waste it.”

      Kate returned her hug, watching Chase over her sister’s shoulder. He had his cell phone pressed to his ear, oblivious to the momentous event that was unfolding at the picnic table.

      She dragged her gaze away. “I’m proud of you, Tens, I really am,” she said.

      Tenley pulled away and looked at Kate. “I want you to stop worrying about me. I’ll be fine.” Reaching over, she grasped Doug’s fingers. “I have Doug now.”

      Kate drew in a deep breath, realizing this was a new beginning for both of them. “Okay,” she said, forcing a smile. “But you know how to reach me if you need me. If you’re sure … I have a plane to catch.”

      For just an instant, an expression of doubt and regret flashed across Tenley’s features. Then she looked at Doug and seemed to draw strength from his smile.

      “Have a safe flight,” she said to Kate, and hugged her again.

      Reluctantly, Kate rose and walked back toward the Humvee. Chase was still talking on his cell phone. As she watched, he snapped it shut and Kate couldn’t help but notice a new determination in his stride as he returned to the vehicle.

      He slid into the driver’s seat and turned the key. “Everything go okay?”

      “Surprisingly, yes. I mean, Tenley isn’t at all concerned about the publicity, and she seems to actually have a plan.”

      “That’s a good thing, right?”

      “Yes, I think it is. Who was that on the phone? It seemed like a pretty intense conversation.”

      Chase thrust the vehicle into Drive and they bounced along the uneven roads of the base, back toward the flight line. “The stand-down order for Special Ops has been lifted. By this time tomorrow, my team and I will be back in the field.”

      Kate stared at him and her heart seemed to skip a beat at the thought of him in danger. “So if you’re returning to duty, who will travel with Tenley and the rest of the performers?”

      Chase glanced over at her. “You have nothing to worry about, Kate. She’ll be well taken care of.”

      She nodded. “I know. I guess some things are just harder to let go of.”

      His СКАЧАТЬ