Bring Down the Stars (Beautiful Hearts Duet #1)(67)

“There, Dad,” he said. “You want responsible. Here’s responsible.”

No one moved as Connor went to the fridge for some orange juice. Autumn tried to meet his eye, and failed.

Mr. Drake reached across the table to snatch up the paper, scanned it, and then his hands dropped. “You joined the Army Reserves?”

I sucked in a breath as if I’d been punched in the gut.

Holy fucking shit, Connor…

Mrs. Drake’s hand flew to her throat. “You’re serious? The Army?”

“The Reserves?” Ma crowed. “Terrific. I was just telling Wes—”

Paul put a gentle hand on her arm and she fell silent.

“Is there something wrong with that?” Connor asked.

His mother stared, all of her poise and public persona falling away and leaving a scared mother in its wake. “The war in Afghanistan… And now Syria… Haven’t you been paying attention to the news? It’s all getting worse.”

“Then I’ll serve,” Connor said, his face hard, mouth set in a grim determination I’d never seen before. He drained his glass and set it down, then surveyed the awestruck faces around him. “What? Serving my country isn’t good enough?”

The senator started to speak, but Mr. Drake cut her off.

“No, it’s extremely responsible. A brave and an honorable thing to serve. It’s not what I envisioned for you, but the ROTC is there and you could become an officer—”

“I’m not going to be an officer. If I serve, I’ll be infantry. On the ground, front lines if I have to.”

Mrs. Drake’s face paled. “Front lines…”

Connor nodded. “Yep. I’m going to serve my two years, graduate college in the meanwhile, and if I’m called up to defend this country, I’ll go.”

“Very well,” Mr. Drake said. His fingers toyed with the edge of the paperwork Connor had dropped like a bomb onto the table. “Right. Very well.”

He pushed back his chair and left the room. Mrs. Drake stared after him, her mouth hung open. Slowly, her gaze went to Connor.

“Very well,” he repeated. He grabbed a slice of bacon and went out the door to the backyard. He kicked it shut behind him with his heel. Autumn stared for a second, then quickly followed.

“Excuse me, Miranda,” Mrs. Drake said, getting up. “Paul. I need to talk to Wes a moment. Alone.”

I pushed back my chair and followed her into the family room.

“Wes,” she said, her voice cracking open to reveal the fear beneath. “It’s so dangerous. He’s not cut out to be a soldier. He’s not cut out to…hold a gun. To fight…” She shook her head, her eyes wide in disbelief. “I don’t understand. Where did he get this idea?”

“From me,” I said over a hard rock in my throat. “He got it from me. I was working out how to pay for my last year of college. I was thinking about joining the Reserves.”

She clutched my arms. “Wes…”

“I’ll sign up. I’ll go with him. We’ll do it together, like we do everything together.”

“You will?” Hope was drowning in the tears of her eyes.

How could I not?

“I will. It’ll be fine.”

“You can watch over him? He doesn’t have a head for that kind of life.” She pressed her lips together. “God, is it too late? Can we go back to the recruiting office and tell them—?”

“It’s going to be okay,” I said. “One weekend a month.”

“But the war…”

“It’s going to be okay,” I said again.

I had nothing else to offer her. I couldn’t predict the future, nor could I tell her I was just as fucking scared for Connor as she was. The idea of my happy-go-lucky friend taking up arms, never mind taking aim at another human being, made me sick to my stomach.

“It’s not going to come to that,” I said out loud. “It’s going to be okay.”

Victoria rested her head against my chest. I held her awkwardly a moment, then she pulled away to compose herself.

“Thank you, Wes. I’m sorry, I had a moment of… It’s a mother’s greatest fear.”

“I know.”

She looked up at me. “We take care of each other. My family and yours.”

“Yeah,” I said. “We do.”

“You’ll take care of him, Wes. Won’t you?”

“I’ll do my best.”

She dabbed beneath her eyes with the heels of her hand, then straightened her skirt. “I’ll just go see about packing some leftovers for your mother.”

I joined Autumn and Connor outside. Connor sat on the back porch steps. Autumn stood a little ways away in the grass, her back to us.

“Is Mom freaking out?” Connor asked. His earlier bravado was gone now. His voice was dull and drained out.

“A little,” I said, my eyes on Autumn. “I told her I’d do it with you.”

Autumn whipped around. “You’ll what?”

Connor shook his head. “No. You don’t have to—”

“I put the damn idea in your head. And I need to pay for my last year at Amherst. I was probably going to sign up anyway. Seemed like my best bet. So, we’ll do it together.”