Navy Woman. Debbie Macomber

able to catch her XO.

      The one time she did manage to pass him, he scooted past her seconds later, leaving her to eat his dust. Frustrated, Catherine decided she might not be able to outrun him, but by heaven she’d outlast him. He was fast, but she’d easily outdistance him.

      She continued her killing pace until she was sure she’d gone six miles or farther. Her lungs ached, and her calf muscles strenuously protested the abuse. Yet she continued, more determined than ever not to surrender her pride to this disagreeable commander. If she was hurting, then so was he.

      She would rather keel over from exhaustion than quit now! It was more than a matter of pride.

      Soon fat raindrops fell from the darkening sky and splashed against the dry, gritty surface. Still Catherine and the commander ran. What few runners remained quickly dropped out until it was the two of them alone against the forces of nature. Against each other, in a silent battle of wills.

      They didn’t speak. Not once. Catherine ran until she thought she was going to be sick, yet she dared not stop. Night fell like a curtain of black satin around the grounds. Catherine barely managed to see her own feet, let alone the distant silhouette of the commander. Soon he disappeared from her range of view entirely. It wasn’t until she heard his footsteps coming up behind her that she realized he’d been able to come all the way around to lap her. He slowed his pace until his steps matched her own without breaking his stride.

      “How much longer are we going to keep this up, Fredrickson?” he demanded.

      Damn, he didn’t even sound out of breath, Catherine noted.

      “I don’t know,” she returned, sounding very much as though she should have yielded several miles back.

      “You’re tiring.”

      How kind of him to tell her so. “You are, too,” she insisted.

      “I have to admit you’re a hell of a runner.”

      “A compliment, Commander?”

      She sensed his smile. It made absolutely no sense the way her heart reacted knowing that. It was as if she’d been blessed by an unexpected second wind. By some odd twist of fate, she’d actually managed to amuse ol’ stone face.

      “Don’t let it go to your head.”

      “No chance of that,” she quipped, wondering if she’d heard a hint of amusement in his tone. “I don’t suppose you happened to notice it’s raining.” Although she attempted to make light of it, she was drenched to the bone.

      “Is that what all this wet stuff is?”

      “I’ll tell you what,” she said between breaths, “I’ll stop running if you do. We’ll call it a draw.”

      “Agreed.” Royce slowed his pace to a trot, and Catherine reluctantly did the same, not sure even now that she could trust him. After several steps, she stopped and leaned over, bracing her hands on her knees while she struggled to capture her breath.

      The rain continued to pound down with a vengeance. While they were jogging, it was a simple enough matter to ignore the downpour. Now it wasn’t so easy. Her hair, which had once been neatly secured at her nape, was plastered to her cheeks like wet strings. A small river of rainwater was navigating over her neck and down to the small of her back.

      “Go home, Fredrickson,” Royce said after a moment.

      Catherine bristled. “Is that an order?”

      He paused. “No.”

      He started to walk away from her, then unexpectedly turned back. “Before you leave, satisfy a curiosity. You requested a transfer from San Diego several years back. Why?”

      Catherine knew it was all part of her personnel file, but his question caught her off guard. Her response was quick, light-hearted, almost flippant. “Who wouldn’t want to live in Hawaii?”

      “That wasn’t the reason you wanted out of San Diego.” His voice was deceptively unconcerned, as if he knew far more than he was letting on. “You wanted that transfer and you didn’t care if you got Hawaii or Iran.”

      “There were personal reasons,” she admitted reluctantly. Catherine couldn’t understand why he’d chosen to ask her these questions now. The man continued to baffle her.

      “Tell me the truth.”

      Catherine tensed, disliking his casual tone. Nor was she pleased with the way he implied she was lying. By mentally counting to ten, she willed herself to remain calm.

      “That is the truth. I’ve always wanted to live in Hawaii.”

      “My guess is that a man was involved.”

      Catherine’s stomach knotted. She didn’t often think about Aaron. For the past three years she’d done a superb job of pretending they’d never met. Leave it to Royce Nyland to harass her battered heart with memories of her former fiancé. All right, that was a bit strong. He wasn’t exactly tormenting her, and her heart wasn’t all that scarred.

      “What makes you think my request had anything to do with a man?” she asked, making light of his comment. She increased her strides, wanting to get this interrogation over with as soon as possible.

      “Because it generally is.”

      That wasn’t the least bit true, but Catherine wasn’t going to stand in the rain and argue with him.

      “A change of scenery appealed to me at the time.” She needed to get away from San Diego for fear she’d run into Aaron. She wouldn’t have been able to bear seeing him again. At least that was what she told herself. Over time, she wasn’t nearly convinced that was true. She’d fallen head over heels in love with him much too quickly. Then she’d flown out as a defense attorney for trials aboard the Nimitz and returned several weeks later to learn Aaron hadn’t exactly been holding his breath waiting for her.

      The first minute she was back, Catherine had rushed to her fiancé’s apartment to find him lying on the sofa with the young blond divorcée who lived next door. Aaron had scrambled off the davenport in a rush to explain while the red-faced divorcée hastily rebuttoned her blouse. It had all been innocent fun, Aaron claimed. Hell, how was he supposed to amuse himself while she was away for weeks on end? He advised Catherine to be a sport since he and the blonde had only indulged in a little entertainment.

      In thinking back over the episode, Catherine was surprised by how completely emotionless she’d remained. The solitary diamond on her finger suddenly weighted down her hand. That much she remembered with ease. She’d stared down on it and then wordlessly slipped it from her finger and returned it to Aaron. For several moments he was paralyzed with shock. Then he’d followed her to the parking lot and pleaded with her to be more understanding. If it offended her so much, he’d make sure it didn’t happen again. There was no need to overreact this way. None whatsoever.

      In retrospect Catherine had come to realize that her pride had taken far more of a beating than her heart. She was almost relieved to have Aaron out of her life, only she hadn’t realized that until much later.

      “Catherine?”

      Royce’s deep, masculine voice pulled her back into the present. To the best of her knowledge it was the first time he’d ever used her name. Until then it had been Lieutenant Commander or Fredrickson, but never Catherine. This, too, had a curious effect upon her heart.

      “There was a man involved,” she announced stiffly, “but that was several years ago now. You needn’t worry my former engagement will affect my work for you. Now or in the future.”

      “I’m pleased to hear it.”

      “Good night, Commander.” They crested the hill where Catherine’s bright red GEO Storm was waiting for her.

      “Good night.”

      Trotting, Catherine was halfway down the hill when Royce stopped her.

      “Catherine.”