Steele Promises

Wasted Life

Chapter 10

 

July 20, 2011 Baltimore, MD

“So this is where you’ll be moving,” Jaxon said motioning to the house. “It has four bedrooms and three bathrooms. I figured you would want the master suite. I’ll take the other room with the private bathroom. Right next to the master, there’s a small room that I think will be perfect for a nursery. Come on I’ll show you.” He got out of the car and came around to help her out. She was like a zombie, she went through the motions, but that was all. She didn’t smile and she didn’t laugh. He’d expected things to be awkward after their kiss, but he was lucky if she even realized he was in the room let alone if she remembered the kiss. He didn’t know the Chey that Preston had known, but he wished he had something to compare her with.

The house in front of them was huge. The front yard itself could fit two of the houses that Chey had been living in. The nearest house was around the bend, but she knew that she didn’t have to travel too far for civilization. They’d passed a shopping center a while back. The house was white with a black trim and had a large bay window in the front. He helped her up the three steps to the porch; on the far side were four patio chairs and a table in the middle.

“Come on I’ll show you around,” he said opening the door. They stood in the foyer and he closed the door behind them. Chey stood looking around the foyer to her left she saw a room with a couch and a coffee table. To the other side she could see an open kitchen with large appliances. They all looked brand new. “I had the kitchen redone in record time; the old appliances were out of date. Just ahead is the mud room and that leads out to the back yard. I’m having a club house built for the little one. I figured since there wasn’t a park nearby she could play here. Come on upstairs and I’ll show you the bedrooms. There’s a basement it has a game room in it, my parents were trying to think of the best way to get me to live here, so it’s been fully furnished since they bought it. I just made a few changes here and there.” He said escorting her up the stairs. The upstairs stretched to the left and the right and he pulled her to the right.

“Here’s the first bathroom,” he said motioning to the first closed door. “I’m thinking about having two more added, one on the first floor and one in the basement to avoid people having to come up the stairs.” He came to the end of the hallway and opened the door. “And this is the master suite. I hope you like it, I changed it around a bit…well I had some of the other guys wives come by and change it around for you.” He swung open the door and she gasped. The room was beautiful with a huge redwood canopy bed with sheer fabric flowing down the sides. “I had the book shelves added in,” he said motioning to the left. She noticed the two dark redwood night tables the carpet under her feet was plush and she imagined it was soft. The windows let in a soft muted sunlight. “Damn, you don’t like it. I can have…”

“No, I love it.” She said. “It’s beautiful, all of this is beautiful.” Jaxon smiled at her.

“Let me show you the room I was thinking of for the baby.” He pulled her out of the bedroom and to the next door down. He opened it and she froze, it was already decorated beautifully in hues of yellow, green and tiny touches of pink. The crib was already sitting against the wall closest to her room and beside it a changing table all of it a matching redwood. A rocking chair sat beside the window that looked out over the back yard. Tears started streaming down her face. “Damn…I didn’t do this to make you cry.”

“No, it’s good. I mean I love it, I’m just being…I was going to do this for Preston. Surprise him with a finished nursery; I was heading out to get paint when you showed up.”

“Isn’t it usually the man that surprises the woman with a finished nursery?” Jaxon asked a little puzzled. Chey smiled, and couldn’t help but laugh.

“I know, but I hoped that it would mean just as much to Preston as it would…it does to me. Thank you Jaxon for all of this, it’s beautiful.” Jaxon smiled and wrapped her in a hug.

“You’re welcome, and I know Preston would have loved it even if he should have been the one to do the nursery for you.” He said backing up from her; he’d been touching her a lot lately. He couldn’t help it, she was so soft and her warmth was inviting.

“He never really had the time,” she said. “He was always being shipped out, but he loved his job. I mean he loved saving lives.”

          “You never asked him not to go? Weren’t you afraid that this would happen?”

“Of course I was afraid, but how do you tell your best friend to stop doing the thing he loves? He could have just as easily walked out of our front door and gotten hit by a car, but that would have been a wasted life. He died doing something he thought was important and that’s all that matters.” He looked at her as though he was first seeing her. She really deserved better than what she had. He tried again not to be mad at Preston for putting himself in danger knowing that he had her waiting at home. They’d always taken the most dangerous parts in the missions because they didn’t have any ties back home. Sure Jaxon had his parents, but that was about it and Preston hadn’t had anyone until Chey. Preston could have been home safe now if he’d just told them about Chey. They all take extra care of the married guys, even more care of the fathers. Not to say that they hadn’t lost team members with families, but they took extra precautions for them.

“Look, let’s head back to the house and pack up the rest of your things. You can move in tomorrow. If there’s something missing here we can go shopping for it. When is your next doctor’s appointment?” he asked ushering her toward the stairs.

“Next week,” she said. “I’ve still got to call and find out what’s going on with the benefits.” Jaxon grimaced behind her back. He still hadn’t told her that the benefits wouldn’t be coming through and he was stalling for as long as he could. Once the doctor’s bills start coming in, he would have no choice but to tell her something, unless he could hide them and pay them without her knowledge.