One in a Million (Book 3 in the Four of Us Trilogy)

12 | Too Close

I was thinking if you were lonely

Maybe we could leave here and no one would know.

-Matchbox 20, Back 2 Good

Fort Leonard Wood - Missouri

Miles

Boot camp was getting to be more and more routine every day. That's not to say it wasn't hard; I went to bed every night completely exhausted and drained. But I really felt like I was where I was meant to be – that this was the career I was born for. I was thinking about all this I lay in bed on Saturday afternoon for a rare moment of rest.

"Hey Miles, mail call," Dale said, tossing a bundle of letters onto my bed.

"Thanks, man," I said, sitting up and grabbing the bundle. There were letters from Ma and Pops and Luke, but I tossed those to the side when I saw Rachel's half-print/half-cursive lettering.

I ripped open the envelope, and when I unfolded the paper, the scent of her peach perfume drifted to my nose. I held the paper to my face and smiled when I realized she had actually sprayed it on the paper. Before I read the letter, I lifted the photo off the top of the paper and my eyes filled with tears. It was a photo of us on the beach after I proposed – I was holding her in the air, our foreheads pressed together. I lay the photo on the bedside table that Dale and I shared, and began to read the letter:

Miles,

Hi baby! I hope you're having a good morning, day, night... whenever you're reading this letter. I just wanted to send you a photo of us for your locker or wherever you want to put it.

I miss you so much I can hardly stand it, but Jessica is keeping me company at home, and Brittany and I have been hanging out a lot since we are in the same group for the counseling program. She's got her eye on this new guy that transferred from Denver, so she's wearing me out with that.

I haven't talked to Brooke in a couple days – I know she and Luke are really busy with renovating. I told Luke to write you a letter. I hope he listened.

I'll let you go now, babe. I just wanted to write you and tell you I love you. And I'm so proud of you.

See you in 8 weeks.

Love,

Rachel

I grinned and folded the letter back into the envelope and pushed it under the mattress. I picked up the other letters and lay back in bed to read them, happy to hear news from home.

Panama City Beach, Florida

Luke

Ever since Brooke told me she was pregnant, I had been treating her like she was made of glass. I know I was probably getting on her nerves, but I barely let her out of my sight, didn't let her lift anything, and waited on her hand and foot.

"Luke," she said, grinning. "I'm only a few weeks pregnant. You can relax."

"I know, but I want to make sure you're okay... and that the baby is okay," I said, putting my hand on her stomach and kissing her cheek.

"You're sweet, babe. But you know I have to get to work, right?" she said, drinking what was left of her orange juice.

"Hrmph," I grunted. "Fine. But I'll just be in the office with Dad going over some numbers for this quarter. Text me if you need anything at all."