Hannah's List (Blossom Street #7)(79)

"But--"

"Would you please stop talking so I can kiss you?"

She smiled, and before she could say anything else, I lowered my mouth to hers.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

M onday afternoon Leanne's cell phone rang while she was on her lunch break. After a bowl of chicken soup in the hospital cafeteria, she'd gone for a walk. The last week of June was cool and a little blustery; according to the calendar summer had begun the previous week, but it didn't really arrive in the Pacific Northwest until the latter part of July. Still, she needed the exercise, so she'd brought a heavy sweater to wear outside.

She'd made her way from the hospital and strolled through the shopping complex at Pacific Place. She didn't need anything, nor could she afford much, but browsing through the stores gave her a chance to think.

She hadn't heard from Michael Everett in a couple of weeks and realized the attraction just wasn't there. Thankfully, they both recognized it.

When her phone rang, Leanne fumbled in her purse to retrieve it. She didn't take the time to check her small display screen, afraid the caller might hang up.

"Hello," she said breathlessly.

"Leanne, this is Muriel. I apologize for disturbing you." Her mother-in-law didn't sound like herself. Her voice quavered as if she'd been crying.

"I'm glad you phoned," Leanne assured her as she con

tinued walking.

"How are you?"

Leanne left the shopping complex and stood on the street,

where telephone reception was better. "Okay, and you?" Muriel didn't respond.

"Is everything all right?" Leanne asked during the

awkward pause that followed.

Muriel still didn't answer and Leanne wondered if the

call had been disconnected. "Muriel? Are you there?" "Yes, I'm here."

"Is it Brian?" Her father-in-law was in good health as far

as Leanne knew, but she hadn't seen him in nearly two years. "No," Muriel said in the same odd tone she'd used earlier. "Is...is it..."

It suddenly came to her that Muriel would phone in the

middle of a workday only if something had happened to

Mark. She clenched her cell phone more tightly. The street

noise made it almost impossible to hear.

"We...got some news this afternoon--about Mark--

and I thought you'd want to know," she said in a leaden

voice.

Leanne's legs felt weak. Fortunately, there was a bus stop nearby; she staggered toward the bench and

slumped onto it.

"Tell me," Leanne pleaded.

"McPherson, the company that employs Mark, contacted us an hour ago. Mark did warn us before he left that

there'd be risks, but...but we assumed, the way everyone

does, I suppose, that he'd be safe inside the army compound. It should be safe there, don't you think?" "Yes, of course." Why in heaven's name was Muriel dragging this out? Tell me! It was all Leanne could do not to

scream at her.

Some of the expression had returned to Muriel's voice.

"Mark knew several of the military men in Afghanistan

from when he was in the service. One of them is a helicopter pilot. About the same age as Mark, married and a

father. I believe Mark told us he has two little girls. I don't

recall how old they are. Then again, Mark might not have

said. I don't remember now."

Leanne's hand flew to her mouth and she closed her eyes. "His name was Alan," Muriel said. Her voice shook. " Wa s ? Alan's dead?"

"Yes."

Leanne swallowed painfully. "Alan...wasn't alone, was

he?"

"No..."

The grip she had on her cell phone threatened to crush

it. "Was...Mark with him?"

Muriel's answer came in the form of a sob. "Yes!" Leanne could hardly breathe. Her mother-in-law was crying. Finally, when she couldn't bear it any longer, Leanne blurted out the question. "Is he dead? Just tell me if Mark's

dead."

"We don't know.... Apparently, Mark went out with

Alan and another mechanic because Alan was having

engine problems and Mark couldn't figure out what was

wrong. He thought if he heard the engine in flight, he'd

know where to look--only, when they left the compound,

they came under immediate fire and went down.

Then...when the second chopper got to the one Mark and

Alan were in, they found Alan had died in the crash." "And Mark?" she asked. "What about Mark?" "He wasn't there. Neither was the other man." "Mark was captured?" That scenario was truly terrifying.

Leanne was well aware of what might happen once the

enemy got hold of him. The evening news had been filled

with nightmarish accounts of beheadings and brutal

beatings. The fact that these men and women weren't

military, were just contract workers, didn't seem to matter. "We don't know what's going on," Muriel told her again.

"The company's promised us they're doing everything in

their power to rescue Mark."

"He should never have been in that helicopter in the first