Page 32 of Protecting Maggie
“It’s a beautiful night,” Maggie said as he pulled out of the parking lot. Her head was tilted back and she was looking out the side window. “It was weird going so long without seeing stars. Or the moon.”
Making a split-second decision, Preacher turned his car toward the naval base.
“Where are we going?” Maggie asked.
“You have your ID on you, right?” he asked without answering her question.
“Of course.”
“Good. Get it out. Please.”
She did as he asked and was silent the rest of the way to the base. They went through the gates, and Preacher showed both his military ID and Maggie’s driver’s licenseto the guard. Once they were waved through, she asked again. “Shawn? Where are we going?”
Except this time she sounded nervous, which he hated.
“There’s a spot I want to show you. I swear you’re safe with me. I have nothing nefarious planned. I just think you’ll love this place as much as I do. I sometimes come here when we get home after an especially gnarly mission.”
It didn’t take long to get to the stretch of beach he had in mind. Preacher parked on the side of the road; there wasn’t even a real parking lot. He shut off the engine and by the time he’d walked around the car, Maggie was waiting for him. He held out his hand, relieved and thrilled when she took it.
He followed an almost nonexistent trail through some bushes and tall grasses to the small strip of sand. This wasn’t a good swimming beach, which was why it wasn’t well known or popular. There were a lot of jagged rocks along the shore and the waves broke over them almost nonstop. It was actually kind of loud on the sand, but that had never bothered Preacher.
He stopped and turned to Maggie. “Sit with me?”
She nodded, and they both sat on the soft sand. Preacher wished he’d thought to bring along a blanket or something, but it was too late, and the trip had been too spontaneous for that. But Maggie didn’t seem to mind.
“It’s beautiful. I love the sound of the waves hitting the rocks.”
“Look up,” Preacher told her.
He smiled as a small gasp left her lips. “Oh my,” she whispered.
Preacher didn’t need to look up to know what she was seeing. The stars out here, away from a lot of the light pollution from the city, were amazing. They seemed to go on forever.
Instead of looking at the stars, he kept his gaze on Maggie. Her mouth was open in awe and he would swear as he watched, he saw her muscles relax. This was why he wanted to bring her here.
“It’s…wow. It makes me feel so small,” she whispered.
“Yeah. Coming here reminds me that I’m just a tiny little cog in this thing called life.”
Her gaze moved to him. “That sounds like song lyrics.”
He chuckled. “I don’t know about that. All I know is that hearing the water and seeing the stars…it settles me.”
“Yeah,” Maggie agreed, looking back up at the sky.
After a moment, Preacher tugged at her hand, the one she hadn’t pulled out of his grip. He urged her to lie back. It would be easier on her neck muscles. She went willingly.
They lay there on the sand, staring up at the sky for several minutes without a word.
“Thank you,” Maggie said after a while. “I needed this.”
“You’re welcome.” They were both going to have sand in their hair, he’d be exhausted at PT tomorrow, but it was worth it. At least in his eyes.
“You know what the worst thing about being in prison was?” she said after another few minutes had gone by.
He could think of a lot of things that would suck about being locked away. But instead, he asked, “What?”
“Knowing he was outhere. Free. Living his life. Knowing people were looking up to him. Thinking he was this great guy. That makes me petty as hell, but I can’t help it. I thought the same thing once. But then I started to see him for who he really was. I was distancing myself from him. Was going to break up with him. But I waited too long.” She sighed.
