“I love you both.”
“We love you.”
Jax ended the call and looked at the clock, realizing it was going to be nine in the morning for Mary. Dialing, he listened to it ring and heard her sleepy voice as she answered.
“Hello?”
“Hey wife…” Jax whispered, his voice hoarse with emotion as he closed his eyes at the sound of her voice, recognizing it deep within his soul.
“Oh Jax! You called, oh thank goodness. I’m so happy to hear from you. How are you? What’s going on? How are you doing? I got your email and… actually, I’m really glad you called.”
“Is everything alright?” he smiled, loving the sound of her rushed words, knowing he’d surprised her.
“Very. I’m going to email you a link to a VA loan application, and I need you to fill out your part…”
“Oh really?” he chuckled. “Sounds good.”
“You aren’t curious, upset, or think this is weird?”
“Nope. I just want a big bed and some soft sheets – that’s my only request.”
“I think I can handle that,” Mary laughed easily.
“Then we are good. Gosh, I love hearing your voice.”
“Yours too.”
“I have about five minutes left on my calling card, but I promise to call again soon. I wanted to tell you that my parents might give you a call. I told them about you, and they really would like to meet you.”
“Oh wow,” Mary chuckled nervously.
“They are going to love you, probably show you a ton of baby photos, and embarrass me to death…” he admitted, smiling. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they called you today.”
“Did you look at the vacation calendar? Is this somewhere we could go together during your leave?”
Jax hesitated and closed his eyes.
“The next available leave is in five months,” he whispered. “I’m so sorry, Mary.”
“It’s fine,” she said easily. “It’s going to be perfectly fine, because that gives me time to find us a home and get that big bed set up for my sexy husband when he comes home…”
He couldn’t help the smile that touched his face, realizing she was indeed the best person in the world, and he was fortunate to have met her.
“I love you so much, Mary…” he breathed. “I don’t know what I would do without you in my life.”
“Good thing you’ll never find out,” she countered softly. “I am never letting you go. You are going to have to put up with me for a long time, and indulge in all my wifely fantasies of…”
“Done!” he interrupted, laughing.
“I was going to say ‘wifely fantasies of having a big garden, painting bedrooms, replacing ceiling fans, and other mundane household tasks…’ See, you married a woman who’s addicted to Pinterest and doing assorted craft projects to fix up the house.”
“Oh.”
This time it was Mary who was laughing at the disappointment obvious in his voice as he spoke the single word.
“I’m sure we can manage that, too…” she said softly, her voice exceedingly tender in his ear, making him shiver in delight as he tried to imagine what her smile looked like right now.
“We’ll definitely manage both – I promise.”