Second Chance Pass (Virgin River #5)(30)

He was leaning against a stall when he heard a sound. He turned around and saw that the tack room door was ajar. His first thought was that the general might be up, so he pushed open the door. There, seated on the bench, elbows on his knees and head down, was Tom. His jacket was tossed over the bench beside him and his shirtsleeves were rolled up. “Hey,” Paul said.

Tom lifted his head. His expression was troubled. “Hey,” he said.

“You been out all night?” Paul asked.

“I was out late, yeah. Then at Brenda’s. I got home a couple of hours ago.”

“Have fun?”

Tom shuddered. It was unmistakable. “Yeah,” he said in a breath. “Yeah.”

“What’s the matter, bud?” Paul asked.

“Nothing,” he said. “Just thinking.”

“Yeah? Maybe if you think a little louder, I can help.”

Tom studied him for a long moment. “I sincerely doubt it, Paul.”

“Try me. I’m older. Maybe I’ve been down this road.”

“If you have and you’re still single at thirty-six, I really don’t want your advice,” he said glumly.

“Whoa,” Paul said. “What the hell’s this? Thinking about marriage at eighteen?”

“Nah. Not quite that. It’s just that…Brenda, man. Jesus, I love that girl. I didn’t think I could love a person this much.”

“Doesn’t sound exactly like a bad thing so far. Unless she doesn’t feel the same way…”

“Whew,” Tom said. His cheeks got a little pink and he shook his head. “She feels the same way. Whew.”

“So. You crossed that line, did you?”

“Whew,” he said again. He stood up, turned around and ran sweaty palms down his pants. When he turned back to Paul he said. “It should come with a warning, you know?”

Paul put a foot up on the bench and forced himself to take a leisurely sip of his steaming coffee, trying to get mentally ready for just anything. He hoped to God he and Tommy didn’t share the same problem. “Oh, yeah?”

“Can I talk about this? Does it make me a real jerk to talk about this? Because I was always taught men don’t talk about the women they…My dad always said a real man never talks about private things that happen with his girl.”

“It won’t go any further. We’re a long way from the locker room, Tom. I think I can be trusted.”

“It’s just that…Well, damn. She took her sweet time, you know? And I was real patient, even when I thought I was going out of my mind. But I just wouldn’t have felt right if she wasn’t sure. We had all the ground rules in place—double protection, we did a lot of talking first, were totally sure how we felt about each other. I promised I would be totally faithful to her, only her, unless she changed her mind, but I’m not changing mine. And she said the same thing to me. We love each other, Paul.”

“Yeah?”

“I figured it would take a little time, you know. Getting used to. I figured it would go real slow, maybe be a little clumsy. At first.”

“Yeah?” Paul asked, wondering what the hell this kid was getting at.

He ducked his head, then made eye contact. “It wasn’t.”

“Wasn’t what?”

“It didn’t take any time at all. It isn’t clumsy. It’s freaking incredible. She’s freaking incredible.”

Paul shook his head in confusion. “Is there a problem in here somewhere?”

“I’m leaving pretty soon,” he said. “Right after graduation I go to basic, then West Point. For years.” Then he hung his head.

“Aah,” Paul said. So, the boy had tapped the honey pot and found it sweeter than life. He wanted that to be a part of every day for the rest of his life. And West Point was going to lock him up for four years—you couldn’t live away from the academy, couldn’t graduate if you got married. “You won’t be gone forever,” Paul said.

“It’s going to seem like it.”

“I bet it will. But if she feels the same way you do, you have something very nice to look forward to. When the time’s right.” Paul took a sip of coffee. “Hey, man, even if you didn’t have West Point, eighteen’s just too young to do the forever thing.”

“Does it ever happen? Do people like me and Brenda fall in love as kids and stay together?”

“Happens more than you might think,” he said with a shrug. “My buddy Zeke, firefighter from Fresno? Married his high school sweetheart and so far they have four kids. They managed to do that even with being separated by the Marine Corps for at least two years. Phillips and Stephens were married pretty young—have nice little families. And they’re still so crazy about their women, it’s almost ridiculous. You’d think they just met them.”

“I never expected this,” Tom said. “I didn’t expect it to be so natural, so awesome. Makes me feel like I can’t live without her. Makes me feel sick to my stomach to even think about her ever being with another guy. I can’t imagine ever being with another girl. It just has me torn up inside.”

Paul chuckled in spite of himself. “Tommy,” he said, putting a strong hand on his shoulder. “You’re talking about the thing that makes the bucks lock horns, makes bulls tear down barn doors to get to the cow. Men go into battle for less. Makes you think you’d risk anything, give up anything, lay awake at night in a cold sweat…”