Waiting for You
This month, I’m featuring the Sparks in Texas series. The first story, Sparks Fly, is a free read. The second book, Waiting for You, has Chas retiring from the Marines after being deployed to the Middle East. Sydney Sparks is there, waiting for him, but the romantic homecoming is overshadowed by Chas’ attempts to come to grips with PTSD.
Sparks in Texas, book 2
How do you protect the woman you love…when the greatest danger is sleeping in her bed?
Sydney Sparks can’t remember a time when Chas wasn’t part of her life—from childhood playmates, to high-school sweethearts, to long-distance friends. Now, after twelve long years, Chas is leaving the Marines and coming home. Sydney’s thrilled to have him back on American soil, safe and sound, even if his return is doing funny things to her heart.
The second he stepped off the plane and locked gazes with Sydney, Chas refused to waste a minute more on their “just friends” status quo. Together again, it feels as if they were never apart, the love they’d shared as innocent teens now vastly more intense as adults—with a sexual hunger to match.
However, despite his newfound happiness, Chas can’t seem to shake the memories of his tours in the Middle East, of the firefights, the killing…the deaths of his friends. When the flashbacks grow stronger, Chas struggles to hide his increasing lack of control, terrified of losing everything he’d just regained—including Sydney.
Excerpt:
“What about Chas?”
Sydney didn’t pretend to misunderstand the question. Chas wasn’t at her house, but that didn’t mean he didn’t want to be. “He wants me. Said he wants to pick up where we left off in high school.”
Jeannette put her spoon down and walked over to Sydney. “Seriously? I mean, I figured as much after all those kisses he was giving you last night, but wow. That’s really cool.”
Sydney bit her lower lip. “You think so?”
“You two were great together, Syd. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard someone wonder where you and Chas would be if he hadn’t joined the Marines.”
“But he did join. And he was gone for a long time.”
“He’s back now.”
Sydney sighed. “He hasn’t called.”
“So what?” Jeannette asked. “Call him.”
“I don’t know how I’m supposed to respond to any of this. Am I supposed to just jump right back in with both feet?”
“You never stopped loving him, so why should it be hard? Take what he’s offering and run with it. If you’d stop overanalyzing and thinking it to death, you’d see it’s exactly what you want. What you’ve been waiting for since high school.”
“I didn’t wait.” Even as Sydney spoke the same words she’d said to Chas the previous evening, she knew for a fact that was exactly what she’d done.
Dammit.
Jeannette didn’t bother to answer. Instead she just laughed, the sound saying it all.
Sydney’s back went up. “Nettie.”
Jeannette raised her hand. “Don’t waste your breath. You’ve spent most of your adult life waiting for Chas to come home to you. He’s here now. Don’t blow it.”
Sydney didn’t know how to respond to that. Simply because it was true. She had always been in love with him, was still in love with Chas.
Maybe that was why this was so difficult. She’d been in love with him before and he’d broken her heart. She thought she’d forgiven him for that. Hell, she’d even managed to justify his reasons, tell herself he was right to walk away. However, there was a small part inside that was still hurt. Still afraid.
He wasn’t the same boy he’d been when he left. They’d spent more time apart than together. Jeannette had said it herself. Sydney had been alone her entire adult life, clearly clinging to the man Chas had been when he’d left. And while shades of that boy were still there, this Chas was different.
She wasn’t the same person either. While she hadn’t seen as much of the world as he had, she’d lost a lot of her young, starry-eyed take on life in general. She was older, more serious, maybe less fun. What if he didn’t like the woman she’d become?
What if they tried again only to discover the spark wasn’t there anymore? Did she really want to set herself up for all that hurt again?
Twelve years had passed. Chas had grown harder—and not just in a physical sense. There was an edge to him she didn’t recognize or understand. He’d seen more than his share of fighting during his stint in the Middle East. He’d watched two friends die in a firefight, one of them bleeding to death in his arms. While Chas hadn’t shared many of the details with her, he hadn’t been the same since. Obviously a traumatic event like that would change a person.
When Sydney failed to respond, Jeannette picked up Sydney’s cell and handed it to her. “Call him, Syd.”
Frustration hit hard. “And say what, Nettie? Hey Chas. What’s up? Want to get together tonight for dinner or to fuck like rabbits or to get married?”
“I’d be up for any of those.”
Sydney whirled at the sound of Chas’ voice in the doorway.
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