CHAPTER23
~ MILLIE ~
It’s still lunchtime, so it’s busier than when Dax usually shows up for his afternoon piece of pie.
And I’m almost grateful for it. I have an excuse to make this short. It’s busy enough right now, crowded enough, that I think I’ll be able to push through my afternoon without falling into a big puddle of tears.
Or not, I think as I hear those chimes jingle and watch Dax come through that door for the last time.
Harriet says a few words to him as I go to the kitchen to retrieve a piece of pie. But Bo already has Dax’s order ready, a little different this time around.
He carries it out himself—ten to-go pies.
“For your battalion,” he says to Dax as he sets them down on the counter.
Dax chuckles. “Thanks, Bo, you’ve just made me the most popular guy in the Regiment.”
Bo shakes his hand. “Take care of yourself.” Then Bo surprises me, his usual relaxed posture straightening as he gives Dax a salute. “Rangers lead the way!”
Dax returns Bo’s salute. “Hoo-ah.”
“Hoo-ah,” Bo echoes simply in reply and then returns to the kitchen.
And that’s when my first tear falls.Dammit. I’ve held it together so well until now.
“Take as long as you like,” Harriet assures me, despite the midday crowd, as Dax and I head to the door.
And when he holds the door open for me, despite juggling a stack of ten pie boxes, I realize this is the last time he’ll hold a door for me.
And when I walk through it, I realize that when I return, he won’t be in my life anymore.
And Iwillworry about him.
What would today look like if I had just told him I loved him before he turned the tables and told me that he didn’t want me waiting home for him?
There would have been tears. But there would have been hope.
I touch the envelope in my back pocket to make sure it’s still there as I walk with him to his car. Because thereishope. Not as much as I’d like, but just enough. I’ve made sure of that.
He loads ten pies into the passenger seat with a laugh. “My CO’s going to make the battalion get up extra early for PT this week after eating all of these.”
I force a smile past my pain. “Well, if youdon’tfinish them, they freeze pretty well.”
“Really? Had I known that, I’d have been buying more all this time.”
I cock my head, curious. “Do you really like pie that much, Dax?”
He takes both my hands and pulls me close. “No, Millie. I actually started getting sick of it by early August. But it was a good excuse to see more of you.”
And there goes tear #2.
Hold it together, Millie.
He brushes it away. “This summer flew by.”
“Too fast,” I agree. “I’m—I’m sorry I didn’t take more time off this weekend. If I had known you were going…”
“It’s okay. I actually feel a little better now that I know why you weren’t too anxious to do much together yesterday. I thought you were getting bored with me the same way I’m now bored of pie.”