she’s deathly afraid of buses, so I want to be sure that she won’t have to travel in one, not even from the flight line to where she’ll be staying.”
“Okay,” he said quietly. “Can I ask why?”
“Her parents were killed in a bus crash when she was just six years old. Tenley was trapped in the wreckage with them for several hours before rescue crews could free her.”
“Jesus,” he breathed. “Poor kid.”
Kate gave him a grateful look. “She claims not to remember anything about the crash, but some nights she has terrible nightmares.”
Chase nodded. “The USO would normally transport all the entertainers in a troop bus, but I can arrange for a private vehicle to pick her up at the terminal. Anything else?”
“Just that I need to stay with her, in her sleeping quarters.”
“Because of the nightmares?”
Kate nodded. “Something like that.”
“Shouldn’t be a problem.”
Kate glanced at him, surprised at how easily he accepted Tenley’s needs and agreed to accommodate them. In another place and time, Chase Rawlins was exactly the kind of man that she would have given anything to be with, even for just one night.
They walked in silence toward the tent where Kate would sleep, but she could almost hear the gears turning in his head.
“You’ve been great,” she finally said, breaking the silence. “About everything. And I can’t tell you how much it means to me. I had a lot of anxiety, not knowing what to expect, but so far you’ve managed to alleviate all my fears.”
They reached her tent and he turned to face her. “I hope so,” he said quietly. “I don’t want you to be afraid of anything while you’re here. That’s why you have me.”
His words caused her imagination to surge, and suddenly she wanted to know what it would be like to have him—to really have him. For one night, or for as many nights as she might be here. But she also knew she lacked the courage required to make any kind of move on him. He didn’t wear a wedding band, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t already committed to someone else. So she just nodded, acknowledging the small promise he was able to give her.
“I do have a question, though,” he said, watching her closely. “I’m pretty good at reading people, and there’s something I just can’t figure out.”
“What’s that?”
“I don’t know anything about Tenley Miles, but I do know that your devotion to her seems to go beyond that of other entertainers and their publicists.” He paused. “Am I wrong?”
Few people knew that Kate and Tenley were even related, never mind sisters. They didn’t share the same last name, nor did they look at all alike, so no one made the connection and it wasn’t something they publicized. Kate had no problem with anyone knowing about their relationship, but much of Tenley’s popularity stemmed from the fact that she was the orphaned child of two famous entertainers. The fact that she’d been left alone in the world yet still managed to overcome her personal tragedy to fulfill her musical destiny was like a fairytale. If people knew that she’d actually had an adult sister who had dropped everything in order to be at her side and raise her, that fairytale would lose some of its luster. So when Tenley had first shown signs of being musically gifted, Kate had decided to present herself as Tenley’s publicist, rather than her sister.
“No,” she said, looking at Chase. “You’re not wrong. Tenley is my sister. Well, my half sister, actually. If I’m a little overprotective, it’s because she’s been through so much.”
His face registered his surprise, but he quickly schooled his features. “That makes sense. So did you also lose a parent in that bus crash?”
Kate nodded. “My mother. But I was eighteen at that point, and accustomed to being on my own. Her death hit Tenley a lot harder.”
Chase looked at her for a long moment, and Kate wondered what he was thinking. Finally, he stepped back.
“Well, she’s lucky to have you,” he said. “You look beat, so I’m going to let you turn in.”
“Okay,” she said, nodding. “Thanks again. For everything.” Kate turned toward the tent and then looked back at him. “So I’ll see you in the morning?”
“If not sooner,” he said, and closed one eye in a conspiratorial wink.
Kate knew her mouth opened, but before she could ask what he meant, he turned and walked away. Slowly, she entered the tent and got ready for bed. His words echoed in her head, and she knew she’d never sleep.
KATE WAS AWAKENED BY someone shaking her shoulder. She tried to bury herself deeper in her covers, but there was no escaping.
“Time to wake up, Kate.”
The masculine voice shocked her into action and she sat up, heart pounding. Disoriented, Kate blinked at the hard-eyed soldier who stood over her, holding a flashlight directed at the ground. The indirect light was sufficient for her to make out Chase Rawlins’s features. For a moment, she had no idea where she was, or why she was sleeping in a tent. Then everything came rushing back, and her gaze snapped to the entrance.
“What time is it?”
“Oh-dot-dark.” His low voice was laced with amusement.
Kate could see it was still pitch black outside. “Why are you here?”
“Didn’t you promise to call your sister?”
Kate stared up at Chase, bewildered. Looking around her, she could just make out the shapeless lumps of the other women asleep on their cots. “Yes,” she whispered fiercely. “At six o’clock, not the middle of the night.”
“I’m sorry to tell you that on the East Coast of the United States, it’s almost six o’clock in the evening. They’re eight and a half hours behind us. If you still want to make that call, you’d better hustle.”
With a groan, Kate realized she hadn’t considered the extreme time difference. She was half tempted to change her mind about calling Tenley, but in her mind’s eye she saw her sister waiting to hear from her. If she didn’t place the call, Tenley would be frantic. She’d think the worst and put herself through hell. Kate couldn’t do that to her.
She scrubbed her hands over her face. “Okay, fine. Give me ten minutes.”
“You’ve got five. I’ll wait for you outside.”
She watched the bobbing light of his flashlight as he crossed the tent and disappeared through the flap, and decided she would need to speak to someone about tightening up the security on the sleeping quarters.
Pushing back the sleeping bag, she swung her legs to the floor, shivering in the predawn chill. Her eyes felt gritty and every muscle in her body ached with exhaustion. Fumbling on the floor beneath her cot, she found her shoes and pulled them on, not bothering to change into street clothes. Her flannel lounge pants and long-sleeve top were adequate, and would enable her to jump right back into bed after she’d talked with Tenley.
Despite her exhaustion, she’d been right about not being able to fall asleep after Chase had left her. Her biggest surprise had come when she’d unzipped her duffel bag and discovered a jar of licorice inside. It was the same jar from Chase’s housing unit, and she realized he must have stashed it in her bag after she’d made that first failed telephone call to Tenley. She found the gesture oddly touching.
She’d lain awake thinking about him. Now she understood what he’d meant when he’d said he would see her sooner than the morning, but at the time her imagination