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  Her eyebrows lifted. “Oh? And how did that go?”

  “Better than I expected. She’s coming to the reception. I hope that’s okay.”

  “Of course it is. What prompted that?”

  “Good question.”

  She folded her hands together. “Are you wanting to get back together with her?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe.”

  “Has anything changed with your feelings for her?”

  He gave her a half-shrug. “I don’t know. I’m older now. Maybe I’ll appreciate her more.”

  “If I remember correctly, appreciation wasn’t the issue.”

  With a groan, he leaned his head into his hand. “I know. When I saw her, I thought of all the time we’d been together and it seems like such a waste to throw it away. Being with Trisha wasn’t so bad.”

  She leaned forward, her voice insistent. “Listen to yourself. That doesn’t sound like a man in love. You can’t base a marriage on appreciation. You need love and passion.”

  “You and Dad don’t have that.”

  Pausing, she sat up. “Love changes as it matures. But if you don’t have that passion and burning love when you’re first together, what’s it going to fade into over time?”

  “Did you have that with Dad?” He never remembered his parents being affectionate.

  “The question is, do you have it with Trisha? I don’t think so. Not like Megan and Dan have together.”

  “What if I never find someone? Maybe there is no perfect someone for me. Maybe my expectations are too high. ”

  Shaking her head, she grabbed his hand. “I promise you’ll find someone and you’ll wonder how you ever lived without her.”

  Could she be right? Why the sudden desire for a meaningful relationship? Maybe this was his way of replacing the gaping hole that James and Megan were leaving in his heart.

  “There’s something else. What is it?”

  He took a deep breath. “Megan told me tonight that she doesn’t want me to reenlist.”

  “What do you want?”

  “I…” He wasn’t sure of anything anymore. “This medal has screwed with her head. She’s convinced herself that something bad’s going to happen to me.”

  “And do you believe her?”

  “There’s always a risk of something bad happening.”

  “So why mention it? You have to be giving it some consideration if you brought it up. Is part of it James?”

  He shook his head. Why was he even talking about this? Quitting wasn’t an option. “I’m just worried about Megan. She needs to be focused on her wedding, but she’s terrified for me. You should have seen her earlier. You know she’s scared or she wouldn’t have asked me to quit.”

  “Davenports aren’t quitters,” Colonel Davenport bellowed. He filled the doorway to the kitchen, but his presence was suffocating.

  Will’s shoulders pulled back into attention stance, thanks to years of expectation. “No, sir, we’re not. I have no intention of quitting. I merely told Mom about Megan’s fears.”

  The Colonel’s eyebrows lowered with his scowl.

  He knew his father too well. Knowing that Megan had asked him to quit wouldn’t go unresolved. His father wouldn’t let it rest until he’d said his piece. Unfortunately, the next time the Colonel would see her was right before her wedding, not the ideal time for a confrontation, not that it would stop him. Will inwardly groaned. He should have been more careful with his father in the house, but the damage was done. Refusing to let the Colonel ruin his sister’s wedding day, Will slipped into the offensive. “I was the one who mentioned quitting, not Megan.”

  Will’s mom sat upright.

  “You plan to quit the Marines?”

  “No, Colonel. I just told you I had no intention of—”

  “Enough.” His father’s face hardened, his eyes cold and assessing. Will recognized the face only too well, and even after all these years it still filled him with fear and dread. “I have not spent the last twenty-eight years grooming and prodding you to watch you throw it all away. Things get a little rough over there and you want to throw it all away.” He shook his head with a sneer. “I always wondered if you really had it in you. I guess I have my answer.”

  Will bolted from his seat, clenching his fists at his sides. Years of pent-up frustration found its way to the surface. “I’ve worked my ass off my entire life to live up to your expectations. I’m a goddamned good soldier and you know it. Hell, the Marines know it. Why can’t you admit it?”

  His father’s steely eyes pierced his. “I read the report that gained you your accommodation.”

  Will’s breath stuck in his chest.

  “They gave you far too much credit for the success of the mission. You hesitated too long before leading the assault and as a result, key insurgents got away.”

  “Michael.” Will’s mother’s voice shook with anger. “Don’t do this.”

  His father pointed a finger at him. “I’ve told you since you were in diapers that you have to be stronger and faster and smarter to succeed in this world. You can’t settle for mediocre.”

  His mother stood. “Michael! You of all people know they don’t just hand out Medals of Achievement! You don’t even have one.”

  The Colonel’s turned red and his hand balled into a fist. Will took a step toward his mother, afraid that his father would hit her.

  The Colonel took several deep breaths, then glared at Will. “There will be no more talking of quitting. Got it?”

  Will swallowed his rising nausea. “Yes, sir.”

  Without another word, his father left the room.

  Will fought for control of his warring emotions. He’d been stupid, realizing he’d hoped to hear the words he’d wanted to hear his entire life. I’m proud of you. Megan had been right, only Will was too stupid to see it. It was never going to happen.

  His mother placed a hand on his arm. “Will…”

  He shrugged her off. “Mom. Don’t.”

  “I’m sure he didn’t…” She couldn’t smooth this away.

  His life was a fraud and the realization made his skin crawl. “He did. He meant every word.”

  “He’s tired. He’ll think differently tomorrow.”

  Will lifted an eyebrow with a smirk. “You think?”

  “Don’t you use that sarcastic tone with me, William Marcus. You can use it with anyone else you want, but not with me.”

  Grabbing his jacket from the back of a chair, Will stomped toward the door.

  “Where are you going?”

  “Out.”

  Chapter Four

  Will drove for an hour until he finally calmed down, but wasn’t ready to go home yet. Instead, he found an all-night diner and sat at the counter, watching a twenty-four-hour news channel on an old TV hanging on the wall.

  He was past being angry with his father and had moved on to heaping the blame on himself. He’d spent years trying to live up to his father’s expectations, living to hear his father’s praise. Which had been doled out so sparingly that Will wondered why he’d even tried.

  If he were honest with himself, he realized he’d always known how his father really felt. He’d just choose to ignore it. Megan was right. Hell, James’s snide comments proved he knew it too. Why was he the last to see it?

  The waitress took his order, looking him over with a hungry look in her eyes. Will kept his answers short but polite. He knew women found him attractive, and sometimes he wished he could be more like James. But he wanted more than that, or did he? The foundation of his life quaked beneath him. Was everything he wanted a sham? Either way, he had little chance of finding a meaningful relationship in godforsaken Iraq. If he let himself stop trying to please his father, that left the door open for him to leave the Marines. What the hell would he do if he left? Did he even want to? Anxiety knotted in his stomach.

  “The world’s in a hell of a mess, huh?”

  Will pulled himself from his musings and blinked. “What?”
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br />   The man sitting on the stool next to him pointed to a scene of destruction on the television. “Did you hear about the freak storm in central Missouri? A thunderstorm came out of nowhere and formed a tornado that destroyed half a town.”

  “No kidding.” Will glanced up at the television. “When did that happen?”

  “Tonight. Around ten.” The man paused and looked into Will’s eyes. “The world can’t keep going on like this. Someone’s going to have to save it.”

  Will snorted and resisted the urge to sniff the guy for alcohol. “You think someone is going to save the world from freak storms?”

  The man smiled. “Stranger things will happen.”

  That was an odd way of putting it. The guy had to be some kind of religious nut, but he had good taste. He wore expensive clothes and his dark brown hair was neatly trimmed. At least he wasn’t some homeless, crazy person seeking refuge from the cold. Something about his grin looked familiar.

  The waitress returned with Will’s plate and refilled his coffee, taking the cup and letting her fingers linger on his hand.

  The man leaned his elbow on the counter. “I’ll take a coffee too.”

  She glanced at him with irritation, making it obvious that she wasn’t done flirting. But her eyes widened and she stared at him for several seconds, her mouth gapping before she quickly walked away.

  What the hell had happened to her?

  The man laughed. “She’s got a thing for you.”

  Will shook his head. “Yeah, not interested.” He wished this guy would leave him the hell alone.

  “You will find her, but you have to be patient.”

  Will froze, his coffee cup in midair. “Find who?”

  “The woman you’re looking for.”

  Setting his cup down, Will spoke slowly, forcing himself to take slow, deep breaths. “Who says I’m looking for someone?”

  “Deny it if you like, but it’s true all the same.”

  Will tried to shrug off his discomfort. This guy didn’t know anything. He had to be drunk. Releasing a derisive laugh, Will shook his head. “Let me guess, you’re a psychic?”

  Amusement lit up the man’s eyes. “Not even close, but I know things. I know something else too.”

  This guy was entertaining and a distraction from Will’s problems, even if he was crazy. “Oh, yeah? What’s that?”

  “The final chapter began tonight. You felt it. We all did.”

  Will stiffened. “What are you talking about?”

  “Maybe it was an electrical jolt. Or a cold chill. Or a rush of heat. But later, if you ask, we will all admit we felt something.”

  He hated to give this man any validation, but he couldn’t ignore that he’d felt the strange chill earlier. Around ten. His hand shook, coffee sloshing out of the cup in his hand.

  The man shifted in his seat. “It’s still early, yet. I suspect it will be years before we see this come to fruition.”

  “See what?” Will forced out.

  The man laughed. “The end of the world as we know it.”

  Will snorted in disgust. This guy didn’t know shit and he was an idiot to let him get under his skin. “How many wacko preachers have predicted the end of the world? But the world just keeps spinning around the sun.” Will swung his index finger in a circle.

  The waitress returned with the man’s coffee, then quickly left. As though she were afraid of him.

  What the hell was up with that?

  Leaning back on his stool, the man studied Will. “You’ve turned out to be a damn fine man.”

  This was getting creepy. “Do I know you?” Maybe he was the father of one of his friends? He looked too young, but you could never tell. That would explain why he looked familiar.

  “No, but I’ve been around, and I see things. You’re a damn fine soldier too, Will. The Marine Corps is where you belong. For now.”

  Will involuntarily slid backward on his seat. “I didn’t tell you my name.”

  “Hear me out.” The man leaned forward, clasping his hands. “Your life is set on a very specific path, you just don’t know the significance yet. You’re destined for greatness, Will Davenport.”

  “Not if you ask my father.”

  “Your father is an imbecile.”

  Will might be angry with his dad, but he wouldn’t tolerate someone disrespecting him.

  The man held up his hands in surrender. “Forgive me, but your father has never seen what’s right in front of his face. I tend to overlook it due to the extenuating circumstances.”

  “Extenuating circumstances?”

  “Now isn’t the time to get into that.” He paused. “Just know you’re on the right course. Your destiny will find you.” The man stood and placed a twenty-dollar bill on the counter.

  Will’s eyebrows lifted in surprise. “What? That’s it? Aren’t you supposed to try to convert me?”

  “Nope, I’ll save that for later. Take care of yourself, Will. Until we meet again.” Without a backward glance, he left the diner.

  Until we meet again.

  There was no doubt in Will’s mind that he’d see him again.

  The shocking realization was that he didn’t question it.

  ***

  Reader’s Choice (The Chosen Short #3) coming August 1, 2012

  This is a prequel short story toCHOSEN (The Chosen #1)

  About the Author

  Denise Grover Swank lives in Lee’s Summit, Missouri. She has six children, three dogs, and an overactive imagination. She can be found dancing in her kitchen with her children, reading or writing her next book. You will rarely find her cleaning.

  You can find out more about Denise and her other books atwww.denisegroverswank.com or email her at [email protected]