Tootsie came out of her bedroom when Luke stopped the motor home in the Dairy Queen parking lot. “Great timing and great nap. Let’s go eat burgers and nachos so we’ll have the strength to do some serious shopping this afternoon and tomorrow.”

“Not me,” Luke said. “I’m going to hole up in my hotel room and do some serious work.”

“Whoa, boy!” Tootsie pointed at him. “This trip ain’t over until we park this sumbitch in my yard. Until then you’re on vacation.”

“Okay, then I will rephrase.” Luke unbuckled his belt and got out of the seat. “I’m going to hole up in my hotel room and pick out what I need to set up shop in my new home. Can I have it all shipped to your address, Aunt Tootsie? And can I please live in the motor home until I get moved into Joanie’s house?”

“Of course you can, but I figured you’d be spending most of your nights at Diana’s house.” Tootsie opened the door and hit the button so the steps would lower.

“Not if Rebecca is home for a few days or weeks before her schooling begins,” Luke said. “She’ll need time with her mama.”

Diana would always remember that moment because it was the very second that she fell hopelessly in love with Luke Colbert.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

They’d shopped. They’d talked until after midnight, drunk far too much wine, and slept in that morning. Had Joanie been home in Sugar Run the two days before Brett arrived, she’d have been baking his favorite pie, cleaning the house, and making a WELCOME HOME sign for the front yard. Now it was twenty miles to Lawton, according to the last sign she’d seen, and she felt more like a new bride than a wife of twenty years.

“First time for everything.” Diana slid into the booth beside her.

“What?” Joanie kept her eyes on the countryside whipping by at seventy miles an hour.

“I can almost read your mind, even though I’ve never been in your shoes. Always before when he came home, you and Zoe would meet him at the door, right?”

Joanie turned to smile at Diana. “You have, too, been in my shoes.”

Carmen sat down on the other side of the booth. “Nope, she hasn’t, and neither have I.”

“You’ve both experienced the antsy feeling when the team came home from a mission or a deployment,” Joanie argued.

“Not like this,” Diana said. “Tell me if I’m right. When Brett came home, you had a few hours of family time before you had private moments all to yourself with him. Now things have changed. This is more like a honeymoon, even though the two of you’ve been married for more than two decades.”

“It’s scary,” Joanie answered. “What if we find that civilian life doesn’t work for us? We’ve been military so long that it’s who we are.”

Diana slung an arm around her shoulders. “You love him. He loves you. That’s what will make it work.”

“We’ve all got adjustments to make,” Carmen said. “But for the next couple of days, it’s okay not to even think of those things.”

Joanie sucked in a long breath and let it out slowly. “Thank you both.”

“I agree with them,” Luke said from the driver’s seat.

“So do I,” Tootsie said from the passenger seat. “When you walk into that hotel room, all your fears will be gone. And, honey, I’m speaking from experience.”

“You’ve all been a help. You want to come in and see Brett before you go on to the campground?” Joanie asked.

“Nope.” Diana shook her head. “We wouldn’t interfere in that moment for all the dirt in this great state of Texas.”

Joanie looked up in time to see a road sign saying that Lawton was only two miles away. I don’t ever have to cry myself to sleep at night or worry about a couple of soldiers in full dress uniform ringing my doorbell and telling me that he’s been killed in action. I get to spend the rest of my life with a husband and not just the memory of a hero.

“Lawton city limits,” Luke called out in a light tone. “Next stop is Joanie’s hotel. Please exit through the front doors, and watch your step.”

Carmen slid out of the booth so Joanie could get out. “We’ll see you at the graduation.”

The hotel was at the very next exit, according to the highway billboard. Luke slowed the motor home and made the turn to the right, and she could see the hotel sign.

“And I promise I won’t let them get into your Christmas bags.” Tootsie unfastened her seat belt and turned around in the seat. “When you’re ready for them, they’ll be right here in the motor home in my closet.”

Joanie stood and rolled her suitcase up to the kitchen area. She could hear her heart beat in her ears, and her hands were shaking. Brett had called that morning to tell her that he’d done all the paperwork and was waiting for her at the hotel.

Luke slowed down, made the turn into the truck parking lot, and got out of his seat. “Let me get the door for you.” He pushed the button to bring out the steps and then carried the suitcase out for her.

“It’s going to be strange without you right across the hall from me and Carmen,” Diana said.

“Don’t make me cry. I feel like this is the end of an era already.” Joanie hugged every one of them.

“Oh, stop it. We’ve still got a few weeks in Sugar Run. Get on out of here and have a good time with your husband.” Tootsie gave her a little shove toward the door.

“Thanks for everything, Luke,” she said as she left the motor home.

He gave her a quick hug. “Thank you for selling your house to me. Now go see your husband—he must be every bit as nervous as you are.”

“I hope not. Two of us this antsy wouldn’t be good.” She smiled up at him and then popped the handle of the suitcase up so she could roll it across the pavement. Luke went back inside, and she heard the engine start up again. When the motor home started to move, she turned and waved until it had made the turn back out onto the street.

As she approached the front doors, they opened automatically, and she headed straight for the elevator to take her to the second floor. She’d taken only a couple of steps when a movement to her right caught her eye, and she glanced that way. Brett stood there in civilian clothes with a big smile on his face. She let go of the suitcase and ran across the room. He wrapped his big, strong arms around her and hugged her for a full minute before he tipped up her chin and kissed her.