Star of His Heart - Brenda Jackson [31]
“Trent was living in Chicago, and you were living in Austin. Weren’t you concerned about where the two of you would be staying?” Netherland couldn’t help but ask. To her that would have made a monumental difference in whether or not things would have worked out.
Brenna smiled. “No, not really. I travel around a lot with my job, so technically I can live anywhere, which in a way is exactly what we’ll be doing. Trent has a number of business interests in Chicago, Jacksonville, Florida, and Atlanta. He even takes periodic cruises on his ship to make sure things are running smoothly. When I’m not traveling on business, I plan to travel with him. I love traveling and now I look forward to doing so with my husband. I’ll make whatever sacrifices I need to make to be with him.” Her smile widened. “It will be worth it.”
“I agree with Brenna,” Caitlin Madaris piped in as she walked around the kitchen, returning things to their proper places. She smiled when she turned and looked at the women sitting at her kitchen table. “When I first met Dex I was only twenty-one, and had just finished college and was looking forward to going back to school in the fall to work on my master’s degree. He was thirty-two, and on his way to spend two years at work in the oil fields of Australia. But when I fell for him, I fell so hard it didn’t matter to me where he was headed. I had decided to give up everything to go wherever he went. I loved him just that much.”
Netherland took another sip of her wine, thinking that evidently her mother had felt the same way about her father. During the thirty-five years her father was in the army, her mother had traveled wherever he went and not once had Netherland heard her complain. She couldn’t help but wonder how her mother had handled it during the times her father was away, sometimes as long as six months at a time. Her father, now retired from the military, had moved his wife to his birthplace, Columbus, Ohio, and they were living the easy life of retirees.
“More fruit punch, Netherland?” Syneda asked, bringing Netherland out of her thoughts.
“No, I’ve had enough. In fact I think I’ll call it a night. I want to go home and get to bed early so I can attend early-morning service at church tomorrow.”
Syneda nodded. “I hope you don’t feel I was getting all into your business earlier tonight when we had our little talk.”
Netherland shook her head. “No. I enjoyed our conversation. It gives me a lot to think about. A whole lot.”
The eleven o’clock news was just coming on by the time Netherland got into bed. She had called the restaurant to make sure things were going okay. Since it was Saturday night, Sisters didn’t close until two in the morning.
She had just turned the television off when her doorbell rang. As she was putting on her robe, her pulse increased at the thought it might be Ashton. Had he decided to use the door instead of entering her home as he had done the night before, like a thief in the night? She still couldn’t figure out how he had gotten past the alarm system. The technician she had called to check it that day had indicated it was working fine.
Netherland smiled after looking through her peephole. She snatched her door open immediately.
“Rome!”
She immediately went into her brother’s outstretched arms. It had been almost a year since she had seen him last. His last deployment for the marines had taken him to Iran. “When did you get back to the States? You weren’t expected home until the summer. Do Mom and Dad know you’re back?”
Rome Kalloren smiled at his sister as he continued to hold her. “Yeah, the folks know I’m back. I just spent a week with them. Now it’s your turn to put up with me for a while.”
Netherland looked up at her brother, smiling. Because of his size and height he looked older than she did, when in fact he was a year younger. He stood tall and was proudly wearing his Marine Corps uniform. “I’d gladly put up with you anytime. We have so much to catch