Thunder Storms (#1 - Semper Fi Series)

Part VIII

 “I then went to Advanced training in Maryland, and became a Medic. I was stationed in Washington after that, and that’s where I met Jaden.” Her visage changed to one of sweet remembrance. Adam wiped the tears spilling on her cheeks. She continued. “He was a soldier’s soldier. I laugh when people say “The Best of the Best,” but he really was a great soldier, and a great guy. He was all about waiting for marriage, even after I told him what happened, and he didn’t even want to do more than hold my hand and kiss my cheek. He was sweet. We did kiss, but never went further. I was afraid to because of my experience with Ben. Jaden was a gentleman through and through.

We went up to Mt. Rainier to celebrate our one year anniversary. We enjoyed a fantastic dinner. I remember what we were each wearing, what we ordered, the wine, everything. That night, he asked me to marry him,” she said with a serene but sad smile. “I couldn’t wait to say yes. I was so happy, after having been hurt so badly by the first man I ever gave my heart to, I was finally ready to love again. He was a dream. No, he was heaven sent. That night I made the best mistake of my life.” She stopped, stood up, went to the kitchen and drank a glass of water to swallow her tears at the bittersweet memory.

She continued her tale upon returning from the kitchen. “He treated me like a queen, and loved me the way it should have been. He was slow, tender, and patient. I don’t regret loving him that night, because, in my mind, we were getting married, and I was already his. It seemed right. Anyway, the next morning, we went on a walk and planned our life together. I was going to finish my time in service, and then we’d go wherever the Army sent us. We wanted kids. He wanted eight, I wanted two.  So we compromised and decided on four. We wanted two boys and two girls. We even named them.

“Here’s the part I hate talking about: Ben showed up. How he even knew about us, I don’t know. But, he did. He had followed us, and stalked us, and even knew we’d made love.” She took a shattered breath, and tried hard not to cry. “He said he’d been there the whole time. He knew about everything. He accused Jaden of taking me away from him. We’d been over for more than three years. I tried to reason with him. I explained that I had moved on. After the way he treated me, I was not ever going to be near or with him again as long as I lived. Some of the things he called me, and said about the four days he’d kept me, were cruel and vicious. When Jaden realized who he was, I had to fight him to keep him from wringing Ben’s neck. Ben said that I would never belong to anyone but him, and before we knew what was happening, he pulled his shotgun out and shot him right in the chest. I screamed, and someone must’ve heard me, because suddenly people were everywhere. He, however, had disappeared. He vanished into thin air. When the police arrived, I gave them his name, and they found him hiding in the woods on the mountain. He was tried, but they had no other witnesses but me, so the trial was considered a mistrial for lack of evidence.”

Adam looked at her with a question in his eyes then asked it. “So, he wasn’t acquitted like the news said?”

“No, he wasn’t. I have tried to get as far away from him as possible. He finds me every single time.”

“Renee, I am telling you this now. I will do everything, EVERYTHING, in my power to help you bring him to justice. We’ll make it happen.”

“Adam, he’s almost above the law. He manages to get away every time. I don’t know how, but he does. The best thing for me to do is leave, before he finds out about you. I don’t want you to meet the same kind of ill-fated end that Jaden did. I care too much to let that happen to you. You’ve become someone very special to me, and I would rather live my life wondering what could have been than have you killed. I can’t have that kind of guilt. I still blame myself for Jaden’s death. Ben is the embodiment of evil. He needs to be in jail for the rest of his life, but I don’t see that happening.”