Chapter 481
[ 518 words ]
Chapter 481:
Caroline watched the organized chaos, the feeling of loss in her chest growing with every passing second. She couldn’t stop herself. She reached out and touched the sleeve of his uninjured side, her fingers curling lightly into the fabric instead of trying to take his damaged hand.
“Do I really have to stay here?” she asked, her voice small, almost a whisper. “Can’t I just come with you?”
It was the same question she’d been asking herself all night, the one she knew was impossible. But she had to ask it one last time.
Jarrod stopped walking. He turned to face her, his expression uncharacteristically gentle. For one brief second, his gaze dropped to her face as if he wanted to touch her, but the brace across his right arm and the splinted fingers of his left hand made the impulse impossible. Instead, he stepped closer, lowering his voice until it felt almost like a caress.
“You’re a fool, Caroline,” he said, his voice soft. “Of course you can’t come with me. Not right now.”
The emphasis he placed on the last two words was subtle, but it was there. A flicker of confusion crossed her face.
He saw it and seemed to make a decision. “But you will. Soon.”
He did not take her hand. He couldn’t. Instead, he angled his body toward the line of parked vehicles, and she followed him away from the main thoroughfare to the relative privacy beside a Humvee.
“Caroline,” he said, his tone shifting, becoming serious and direct. “Have you ever thought about your long-term career path?”
The question was so out of left field, so completely unexpected, that she could only stare at him. “Of course I have,” she finally managed. “To become a fully registered nurse. Work in a good hospital.”
𝘞𝖾𝗲𝘬𝘭y 𝘳el𝗲𝗮𝗌𝗲ѕ o𝘯 𝗀а𝘭ո𝘰𝗏е𝗅𝘴.сo𝗺
He shook his head, a gesture of absolute negation. “That’s not for you. And it’s not for me.”
He continued, his words coming out in a logical, irrefutable sequence. “You’re skilled, you’re calm under fire, you’re a natural leader. Your talents would be wasted in a civilian hospital. And more importantly, I will not tolerate us living in different cities, subject to the whims of my deployment schedule.”
He paused, letting his words sink in before delivering the final, stunning blow. “The Army Medical Corps has a special recruitment initiative next month, for personnel with prior field experience. I took the liberty of requesting the packet and flagging your name for eligibility review yesterday. Nothing binding. Nothing submitted under your signature. But the door is open.”
The world tilted on its axis. She felt the blood drain from her face. She opened her mouth, but no sound came out.
“You… you what?” she finally whispered, her voice trembling. “You started the process for me to join the army?”
He nodded, his expression unyielding, as if he were discussing a simple logistical matter. “Yes. As a combat medic or a military nurse. You’ll be under my command structure. Within my sphere of protection. We can be stationed at the same bases. We will never have to do this again.” He gestured vaguely at the chaotic scene of departure around them.
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