The Perfect Union

  A Total-E-Bound Publication

  www.total-e-bound.com

  The Perfect Union

  ISBN # 978-0-85715-136-0

  ©Copyright Trina Lane 2010

  Cover Art by Lyn Taylor ©Copyright May 2010

  Edited by Michele Paulin

  Total-E-Bound Publishing

  This is a work of fiction. All characters, places and events are from the author’s imagination and should not be confused with fact. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, events or places is purely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form, whether by printing, photocopying, scanning or otherwise without the written permission of the publisher, Total-E-Bound Publishing.

  Applications should be addressed in the first instance, in writing, to Total-E-Bound Publishing. Unauthorised or restricted acts in relation to this publication may result in civil proceedings and/or criminal prosecution.

  The author and illustrator have asserted their respective rights under the Copyright Designs and Patents Acts 1988 (as amended) to be identified as the author of this book and illustrator of the artwork.

  Published in 2010 by Total-E-Bound Publishing, Think Tank, Ruston Way

  , Lincoln, LN6 7FL, United Kingdom

  .

  Warning: This book contains sexually explicit content which is only suitable for mature readers. This story has been rated Total-e-melting.

  THE PERFECT UNION

  Trina Lane

  Dedication

  To everyone who celebrates the magical land of Shannon & To Mary Ellen this fantasy’s for you.

  Trademarks Acknowledgement

  The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction:

  iPhone: Apple Inc. Corp.

  Finding Nemo: Walt Disney Pictures

  Xbox 360: Microsoft Corporation

  Depo-Provera: Pharmacia & Upjohn Company Corporation

  HotWheels: Mattel, Inc. Corporation

  Devil Went Down to Georgia: Charlie Daniels Band

  Stay the Night: Benjamin Orr

  Guinness: Arthur Guinness Son & Company Limited

  Cheerios: General Mills, Inc.

  Spiderman: Marvel Comics

  Band-Aid: Johnson & Johnson Corporation

  Prologue

  November 2006

  Calleigh Wells was so glad the sun came out from behind the clouds as she walked down the street. Boston had been in a dreadfully rainy pattern over the past week. It had been cold but not enough to turn to snow. She lifted her head to the sky to soak up the burgeoning rays. Now, the temperature was low, but at least, the sun was shining.

  She opened the door to Bean Town, her favourite coffee place, and stepped inside. The warm air from the heat flowed over her cheeks that tingled from the crisp air. There were four people ahead of her in line as she tried to decide if she wanted her standby hazelnut latte or if she wanted to be adventurous and try the caramel macchiato.

  She felt a vibration against her side and opened her purse to see an incoming call on her iPhone. She didn’t recognise the number, but it was a long distance area code.

  “Hello?”

  “Is this Mrs. Wells?”

  “May I ask who’s calling?” She moved forward a step, glancing to the board and decided to be adventurous on another day. The hazelnut sounded good right then.

  “This is Sergeant Cooper. I’m trying to locate Calleigh Wells, wife of Sergeant Kevin Wells.”

  “Oh God. No.” Her heart stuttered, and she couldn’t breathe. There was only one reason someone from the Armed Forces would be calling her.

  “Mrs. Wells, I regret to inform you that your husband had been injured in the line of duty. He is being transferred to Ramstein Air Force base in Germany.”

  She blindly reached out to keep herself from falling down. When she looked up, she had hold of the man’s shirt in front of her. He turned around with a questioning look, but it immediately changed to concern.

  “What happened? Is Kevin okay? What—”

  “I’m not at liberty to discuss the event. If you wish, I’ll put you in contact with his unit liaison. They will be able to make arrangements for you to fly to Germany. Do you have a pen and paper handy?”

  “No…wait…please.” She looked at the two men standing side by side in front of her. “Do you have a pen and paper I can borrow?”

  The man with black hair held out a pen while the man with auburn hair grabbed a napkin off the counter beside them. Taking the items, she put the phone back up to her ear. “Okay, I’m ready.” She wrote down the information and ended the call.

  She couldn’t seem to move. Her feet were cemented to the floor. She looked around aimlessly, but nothing was in focus. The colours blurred, and her vision swam. She felt herself being guided over to the side and found herself sitting in one of the chairs scattered around the room.

  The dark haired man knelt down in front of her. “Are you okay?” He looked up at his auburn-haired friend who had pulled the chair out and was resting his hands on her shoulders. Taking her cold hands between his, the first man rubbed. “Miss? Do we need to get you help?”

  His deep voice cut through the haze in her mind. She looked down into a pair of bright sapphire blue eyes. “I need to go home.”

  “Okay. Did you drive here?”

  She shook her head no. She tried to dial the number to her house, but her hands shook too badly. She held out her phone to the man in front of her. “Can you call? I can’t get it to work. My mom can come get me. She has my babies.”

  He took the phone from her shaking hands, and handed it to his friend. “Tell you what? Why don’t we make things easier on your mom? Conor and I will take you home. I’m Rick.” He stopped the woman’s head from shaking back and forth by putting a hand to her cheek. “We are completely safe. I promise you. You can talk to your mom the entire way there if you want.” He helped her to stand and turned her around so she could see Conor behind her.

  “Miss. I think I got the number ye wanted,” Conor said, holding out the phone.

  She took the phone from the tall man. Her vision was still blurring and all she could decipher were images of red hair and blue-green eyes. She noticed that he had some kind of soft lyrical accent. “Thank you.”

  Putting the phone up to her ear she heard her mom’s voice.

  “Mom?” she interrupted. “They called. Kevin’s hurt.” Tears started slipping down her cheeks. “I’m at Bean Town… No, I walked…These two men said they’ll drive me home.” She listened for another minute then held out the phone to the man with the black hair and blue eyes. “She wants to talk to you.”

  Rick took the phone from her hand. “Hello? Yes, ma’am. My name is Richard Connor. My friend and I were here at the shop when your daughter got the call. We’ll be happy to bring her home. She’s in no condition to be out on the streets by herself right now. I assure you we mean her no harm. Can you give me an address?” He listened then continued, “Okay we should have her there in about twenty-five minutes.” He ended the call and gave back the phone.

  Conor walked around to stand next to Rick. “Can ye tell us yer name, miss?”

  “It’s Calleigh. Calleigh Wells.”

  “Calleigh, I’m Rick Connor and this is Conor McGuire. Let’s get you home to your family.” He escorted her to the door Conor held open for them.

  They walked half a block down and stopped in front of a dark sedan of some kind. The auburn-haired man opened the front passenger and assisted her into the seat. She sat in silence as the door was secured, habitually reaching for the seatbelt. She thought they seemed nice, and she was desperate enough to trust t
wo strangers.

  Rick looked over the top of the car at his best friend. “What in the hell just happened?”

  Conor shrugged. “It doesn’t sound good. I think somethin’ might have happened te her husband or brah’der or somebody. Feck man, she said she had babies at home. I hope to hell ‘tis not her husband.”

  “Yeah, me, too. Let’s get out of here. The mother said she lives in Mission Hill.”

  The two men climbed into the car. She sat silently for several minutes before realising it was pretty rude not to talk to her two rescuers. She could worry in a little bit. The sergeant on the phone said injured not dead. Kevin wasn’t dead. It would all be okay. She figured her mom must have given the men directions to the house because they seemed to know where to go.

  What are their names again? Rich? Rick? And the other one is Connor? Wait I heard the name Connor twice I’m sure of it. So who’s who?

  She turned to face the man driving, the one with black hair. “Excuse me, but maybe I didn’t hear you right. You’re both named Connor?” She swivelled around as the auburn haired one in the backseat laughed.

  “That is going to plague us ‘til our deaths, man. His last name is Connor. With two ‘n’s, my first name is Conor with one. It’s how we met. We were on the soccer team at B.C. First day of practice, coach called out ‘Connor’, and we both answered at the same time. We’ve been friends ever since.”

  “I went to B.C. too. Class of 2003.”

  “We graduated in 2000,” Rick said. “So you said you have children at home?”

  She smiled at the thought of her precious little babies. “Yes, I have twin boys. They’re two months old.” She figured she owed these two some explanation of her erratic behaviour. “Their father, my husband, is in Iraq. Army Reserves. The phone call was from a sergeant informing me that my husband’s been injured, but that was all he could tell me. I sure he’s fine…right? I mean if it was serious they would tell me or send someone or something wouldn’t they?”

  Rick watched the beautiful woman next to him. She was looking at him like he had all the answers, and damn, if he wished he didn’t. Her honey-blonde hair was pulled back in a ponytail and fringe fell over her forehead to end right above her eyebrows. She had bright brown eyes that looked like gemstones under black sooty lashes. She was a tiny thing, too, probably just over five feet. The pain and uncertainty in her eyes made all his protective instincts kick in.

  “I don’t know what military protocol is, but it stands to reason that if things were dire they would do something other than call you on a cell phone.”

  He looked at Conor in the rear-view mirror to see if he knew but saw the man shrug. Conor’s dad had been Air Force, stationed in England, before retiring. He wanted to keep Calleigh’s hopes alive and distract her mind for right now. “What are your little boys’ names?”

  “Michael and Brandon. I guess the good thing is that if Kevin is coming home he’ll be able to meet the boys. He was deployed eight months ago, so he’s only seen them in pictures and over the internet.” She smiled “They look so much like him. Both have his green eyes and his mouth, but so far they have my blonde hair.”

  “They sound like dathuil ógánach. I love little kids. Always wanted brothers an’ sisters, but not te be.”

  “Conor, those words, they were beautiful sounding, but I don’t understand. What did you say?”

  “I said they sound like handsome youth. ‘Tis Irish Gaelic. I grew up in Ireland.”

  “I noticed your accent earlier but couldn’t quite place it.”

  Rick laughed. “That‘s because Con’s a real mutt. Born in Ireland and lived with his Mom then spent summers in England with his Dad. He transferred to the States when he started college, so he’s picked up a little American in the past few years. Most people only understand half of what he’s talking about. If you get lost, just smile and nod. I do it all the time.”

  Conor kicked the back of his seat. He laid on the Irish brogue nice and thick, “Ye bloody arse. Stop acting de maggot. Total ballsch ye donna understan’ me.”

  Rick looked over at Calleigh and saw her first genuine smile. It lit up her entire face. He rolled his eyes. “See told you.”

  Seconds later, they pulled up in front of a quintessential Boston brick rowhouse. The stone base had wrought iron rails leading up the steps, and flower boxes graced the bow windows.

  “Wow. Very Nice.”

  “Yeah, we rent the first and second floors. I have a neighbour in the basement apartment. We got a deal on the place because the owners are army friends of Kevin, stationed overseas.” She turned so she could see both men. “Please come in. I’ll introduce you to my mom, and you can meet the boys if they’re awake.”

  Rick opened the door and walked around to get Calleigh’s, but Conor beat him to it. He looked up, and a woman in her early fifties was standing on the front steps. He guessed she was Calleigh’s mom, since they looked like carbon copies of each other. He tensed when he took a closer look at the woman’s face. There were tear tracks down her face. When they walked up the steps, the older woman pulled Calleigh into her arms and held tight.

  They all walked inside, but Calleigh stopped dead when a man in uniform stood from the sofa and turned to face her. His face was grim as he held his hat under his arm.

  “I’m very sorry, Mrs. Wells. I regret to inform you that your husband Sergeant Kevin Wells—”

  “I already received the call of his injury, Captain. What do I do now?”

  “Ma’am, there was a miscommunication. Your husband was not injured. He was killed in action.”

  Rick and Conor both caught Calleigh as she fell into a heap. Sobs echoed through the room. Her cries of denial ripped into Rick’s soul. His arm wrapped around her, holding her head to his chest. Conor’s wrapped around her waist as the heaving shudders racked her small body. They’d only known her for a short hour, but she’d already wormed her way into his heart. Her clear love of her husband and little boys was a testament to her character. He vowed then and there to protect this woman and her children from that day forward. Looking into Conor’s eyes, he knew the man felt the same.

  Chapter One

  September 2009

  Conor walked into Rick’s office and saw that he was on the phone. He settled himself into one of the padded leather chairs, turning the small box in his hand over and over. Inside was their present to Calleigh. Tonight, they would celebrate her twenty-seventh birthday. More importantly though, tonight they would begin their quest to make her theirs. It had been three years since the death of her husband. For the first two, they had lived up to their silent vows of that horrible day. They’d become good friends to Calleigh and her family.

  Helping her through the grief had been difficult, but they’d made a little family of their own with small traditions that helped move the days forward. His favourite was movie night. Every week, one of them would choose a movie, and after the boys were put to bed, they would pile on the living room sofa and watch with all the lights out and a huge bowl of buttery popcorn in their laps. Usually, Calleigh ended up with her head in one of their laps, sound asleep. He loved to stroke her silky hair or give her foot massages to soothe her after spending all day at her job at the hospital.

  Last week, they celebrated Mikey and Bran’s third birthday. The boys had gotten to choose the movie, and Finding Nemo had swum into the living room in full colour. They had been so excited when he and Rick had carried out a giant cake with all the characters from the movie printed on it.

  His head jerked up as Rick hung up the phone and he watched him walk over to sit in the chair opposite him.

  “Did you get it?” Rick asked.

  He held up the small box. Opening the lid, he showed him the necklace they had designed for Calleigh. It was a three-stoned pendant, a bastnäsite with blue sapphire and aquamarine gems on either side.

  Rick picked up the box and turned it from side to side, watching the light reflect off the coloured gemsto
nes. “Think she’ll see the significance?”

  “If she doesn’t, I’ll be happy te point it out te her.” Conor smiled.

  He looked at Rick and could tell the man was nervous about the taking this next step. Conor had initially questioned the decision but could no longer deny his feelings for Calleigh. Over the past year, the dependable friendship had turned into something much deeper. He wanted the woman, like no other. Every time he and Rick brought someone home, he saw the resemblance to the sexy siren who filled their thoughts and made their bodies burn.

  Whether they shared a woman or he picked up one on his own, she always had blonde hair and brown eyes but they never sparkled like Calleigh. At the end of the evening, he generally felt hollow, physically satisfied for the moment but never complete.

  “I know yer nervous about changing things between us, but I canny fight it any longer. She’s been casually talking about getting back out there more and more. I willna do this without ye, but I love her. Ye love her. We both adore those little boys, like they’re our own. It’s time we stop bringing home substitutes. It’s time we made her ours.”

  “I know, I know. I want her as bad as you do.” Rick ran his hand through his hair. “Fuck, every time in the last year we’ve had some nameless pickup between us, I’ve pictured her in our bed. I’ve even had to hold back crying out her name when I came a time or two.”

  Conor knew exactly what his best friend was talking about. He’d almost done the same, and more than once when their eyes had locked in that crucial moment, he’d known they’d both been thinking the same thing. He looked over at Rick’s desk as his phone rang again. Jumping up, the man went to answer the summons.