Before Sunrise Read Free

she always noted. They remained clear blue. Then a grin
slowly crept over his mouth.
    “ Well, I’ll be damned, babe.
I’m proud of you.”
    Kennedy laughed. “You are?”
    “ Hell, yes! You’re standing
on your own.”
    “ And Phil?”
    “ Fuck him. I’m not jealous
of him. I know what you’re doing. You’re taking control of your
life.”
    “ I did. I wasn’t sure, and
with the baby—”
    “ Bullshit. Come here. Of
course you will attend. Come here,” he said, extending his hand.
She got up and went around the table to him. He put her on his lap.
“Do you know how proud your man is right now? Do you?”
    “ Yes.” She grinned. “But
slow down. I haven’t gotten accepted yet.”
    “ Gonna need me an attorney,
to keep me from killing every young punk who shows up on my
doorstep trying to get next to my baby girl.”
    “ You mean like you did when
you took me from my daddy?” she kidded.
    Liam bristled. “So you want to go
there?”
    “ I’m just kidding. Besides,
we don’t know if it’s a girl yet.”
    “ True, just hoping.” He
grinned, chewing down the last of his food.
    Kennedy laughed. She kissed him. “I was
afraid you’d be mad.”
    “ What?”
    “ Well, the baby and
everything. I know you worry. Besides, we just moved here, it means
I’ll have to commute to Chapel Hill.”
    “ I’m happy. We can have two
places. I’ll get you an apartment up there. Okay?”
    “ Two places? We can’t afford
that, Liam.”
    “ Actually, it’s perfect. You
can stay on campus maybe? Be a real college student.”
    Kennedy frowned. She’d suffered greatly when
he went off to school to get into the SEAL program. She’d commuted,
first to Tidewater Community College and then to Old Dominion.
William and Mary was too long a drive. She had no desire to be away
from him when he returned home after a deployment.
    “ Now we have a reason to
celebrate, some good news to replace the sad.”
    “ What?” Kennedy
frowned.
    “ I have to leave, babe. Me
and Eric got our orders. Deployment’s in two days.”
    “ Two days? That’s not enough
time!”
    “ Shhh.”
    “ No, Liam. Please. I need at
least a week to get ready.”
    “ Hey, it’s all right, Kay.
You know our rule.”
    He always liked to hear her say it. She shut
her eyes and tried to smile. “When I close my eyes on the day of
your return, you will be home...before sunrise,” she repeated. It
was from a short poem she’d written him and put in his bag on his
first deployment. He told her later that’s what had gotten him
through.
    “ That’s my girl. Now let’s
eat. Your man is starving.”
    Kennedy decided to make their own little
movie. She picked up his fork and began feeding him. Liam smirked
up at her. She couldn’t love him any more than she did.
     
     
    Kennedy woke alone. She kicked back the
covers and found her robe. The house had settled into a still
quietness, but she felt a draft and looked over to the patio door.
It was ajar. Her vision sharpened as she sought Liam through the
shadows. He sat out in the yard, his dog tags glistening in the
moonlight and on several empty bottles at his feet. He turned up
the neck of his beer and took down big gulps, making his Adam’s
apple bob in his throat.
    “ Liam?”
    “ Go back to bed,
Kay.”
    “ Everything all
right?”
    He just stared at her. She walked out into
the night and immediately regretted that she hadn’t put on her
slippers. “Come back inside. Let me hold you until you go to sleep.
Don’t drink, Liam.”
    “ I’m cool, Kay. Go back to
bed.”
    “ No.”
    Liam sighed. “Fine, come here.”
    Kennedy went to him. He set all four legs of
the deck chair back on the ground. She dropped into his lap.
“What’s wrong?”
    “ Look, I want you to send me
e-mails of the sonogram and any news from the doctors, I don’t care
what.”
    His eyes were bloodshot. She rubbed the side
of his face. “Okay.”
    “ Also I plan to ask Phil to
look in on you.”
    Kennedy froze.