Chapter 329
[ 542 words ]
Chapter 329:
A flicker of something, not quite humor, but a pained, weary irony, touched Caroline’s lips. The smile was a fragile thing that never reached her grief-stricken eyes. The image of the base’s most formidable commander, a man of terrifying intensity, being reduced to a subject of such mundane gossip felt absurd. But underneath the absurdity, she felt a pang of something akin to empathy. It spoke of a profound isolation, a long stretch of solitude that now, in the shadow of Elena’s photograph, felt less like a choice and more like a vigil.
Evelyn stared at her, intrigued. “I didn’t realize the base’s most formidable commander had a lighter side.”
Caroline shook her head, her eyes softening as she thought of him. “He’s… actually incredibly gentle with me.”
She admitted, “He’s bossy and overbearing, yes, but I’ve never felt safer than when I’m in his arms.”
Evelyn’s jaw dropped slightly. She processed this impossible data, trying to reconcile the intimidating Colonel of base legend with this description.
She leaned forward, lowering her voice. “We were all just so surprised. High-ranking officers sometimes keep their personal lives strictly separate for operational security. Some even wondered if it was a classified arrangement.”
Caroline looked down at her bare left hand. She realized she didn’t have her ring on because of the hospital protocol and the chaos of the last few days.
S𝘩𝗮rе у𝗼𝘂𝗋 𝘁h𝘰𝘂𝘨𝗁𝘵𝘀 o𝗇 𝗀а𝗅ո𝗼𝘷𝖾𝗹𝘴.𝖼𝘰𝗺
She looked back up, meeting Evelyn’s eyes with absolute, unwavering certainty.
“There’s no cover story,” she stated firmly. “We’re legally, officially married in the eyes of the law.”
The absolute conviction in Caroline’s voice left no room for doubt or misinterpretation.
Evelyn leaned back on her stool, letting out a long, slow whistle of pure astonishment.
“The entire command structure is going to lose their minds when they realize this is real,” she muttered, shaking her head.
Caroline felt a sudden surge of pride and possessiveness, a warmth spreading through her chest. She held the only leash to the base’s monster.
Evelyn smiled genuinely. “Well, in that case, you must be the bravest woman on the eastern seaboard.”
The shared secret and the candid conversation instantly forged a bond of trust between the two women.
Evelyn stood up as a pager buzzed on her hip, signaling the end of her break.
“You’re welcome to hide out in the medical bay anytime you need a break from all the testosterone,” she offered.
Caroline thanked her warmly, feeling a profound sense of relief at having found a normal female friend in this fortress of men.
Evelyn opened the exam room door, signaling to K. C. Bell that the patient was ready to be escorted back.
As Caroline stepped out of the exam room, Evelyn grabbed her arm gently, pulling her back for one last whisper.
The doctor’s eyes danced with mischief as she revealed the biggest, most classified rumor on the base.
“Before you showed up,” Evelyn whispered conspiratorially, “half the base was convinced the Colonel was completely asexual.”
She leaned in closer. “The other half had a running betting pool that he was secretly gay and in love with his sniper.”
Evelyn explained that in the five years she’d been stationed here, Jarrod had never looked at a female contractor, nurse, or soldier for more than a single, dismissive second.
Caroline’s eyes widened, processing the sheer magnitude of his absolute celibacy before her.
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