The Newcomer (Thunder Point #2)(93)

She’d been in her office for thirty minutes when her phone rang. She should have looked at the caller ID. She innocently answered, “Dupre.” And then she just listened to the voice on the other end of the line. Orders were being cut, she’d receive them in a few days—and she was going to Miami. She was slated to move in August, but she had two weeks to either accept the transfer or resign her commission. If she planned to accept the new assignment the chances were excellent that she’d be offered a promotion within a few months of her arrival in Florida.

That’s what service meant—you go where you’re needed, when you’re needed. And she was needed in Florida.

Sarah hung up the phone and sat, stunned, for a few minutes. She needed to talk to Buzz. She went to his office, tapped on the door, went inside as he looked up. She closed the door but she didn’t sit down. “I just got my orders,” she said.

He turned away from his computer screen. “Was it what I heard?”

She nodded. “Miami.”

“What are you going to do?”

She shook her head. “I guess I’m going to talk to Landon....”

“What about your guy? Cooper. Have you talked to him?”

And say what? she asked herself. Goodbye? “I haven’t told anyone. I wanted to wait until I knew for sure. First, I’m going to talk to Landon. What do you say to a sixteen-year-old kid who is looking at being king of the world in his senior year? You know the story, Buzz. What do I say?”

“I don’t know,” Buzz said. “I have a sixteen-year-old kid and he thinks I can pick money off the tree out back. So does his mother, for that matter. I’ve had to do the hard, unpopular things and it has cost me. I don’t know what else I could’ve done, but the price was high.”

She looked down. He’d probably paid the ultimate price for the less than stable lifestyle and she knew why he was here, why she was here. He loved the Coast Guard; he believed in their mission just as she did. In every branch of military service there was instability and risk, it took its toll on relationships.

“Need a couple of days off?” Buzz asked her.

She shook her head. “I’m fine. I’ll get back to work. I think better when I’m busy.”

“If I can do anything...”

“Thanks,” she said. “If I think of anything, I’ll let you know.”

For the next couple of days she tried not to let on that her brain was about to explode, trying to decide how to do what she had to do. Landon didn’t really notice—he had his new job on the beach, which he loved, and Eve, who he loved even more. Cooper noticed; he asked if there was another evaluation coming up and she said, “We’re facing some transfers and the whole station is going to have to adjust and figure out how to fill some gaps. But I’ll figure it out, don’t worry.”

Just when she was about to sit down and spill her guts to Cooper they learned that Austin and Spencer were coming for another visit. The toy hauler was ready for guests once again and Sarah knew she’d have to put off talking to Landon and Cooper just a few days longer.

* * *

The activity around the RV led to every person from the road to the beach asking what was going on.

“Spencer and Austin are coming for a visit, now that they’re both on summer vacation,” Cooper said. And he said it over and over again. “Kind of last-minute, but it’s a good thing. Austin loves being on the water and it saves me a trip to Texas to visit him.”

Late Friday afternoon when the deck and bar were full of beachcombers and neighbors and folks from neighboring towns out for a summer evening, the back door burst open and little freckle-faced Austin stood grinning in the doorway. “Hey, Cooper! I’m here!”

Cooper’s face lit up and he laughed, coming around the bar. “So you are,” he said. “Nothing like an entrance!” He put out his arms and Austin leaped into them.

“Can we go out on the bay for a while?”

“You’ve been here less than a minute. And I’m a little busy here. Does your dad feel like taking you out?”

“He wants to unload and unpack,” Austin said with a pout. “And eat something. But I want to go out on the bay!”

Sarah leaned on the bar. “Hey, Austin,” she called. And to Cooper she said, “I can cover this if you want to go ahead. Landon will help me and Rawley is still here.”

“You sure?” he asked.

“I’m sure.”

Cooper put Austin on his feet. “Fifteen minutes. I’ll run you around the bay on the Jet Ski. Get your suit on.”

“Yay!” He wiggled out of Cooper’s arms and headed for the toy hauler.

Cooper had never longed for children, but he wasn’t opposed to the idea. He figured he might have one or two someday, which was one of the reasons the idea of marriage hadn’t spooked him. But he had no idea one skinny, goofy, freckled little kid could bring him so much happiness. Five minutes later he had Austin in a life vest and on the back of the Jet Ski. When he’d bought this thing, it was in his head that he’d be loading a variety of beautiful bikini-clad young women behind him, holding on to him, but not one of them could have given him as much pleasure as this kid. His kid.

A half hour later he had Austin off the bay, sitting at a table on the deck, devouring a pizza. Spencer was having a beer, his feet up on the railing.