I was just over visiting Shannon and she posted her Brava entry (which should have finalled IMO, it was very good), so I thought I would follow suit and post mine.

Mine also did not final. However, having read all those that did, it is clear mine did not fit what they were looking for. Although my book does have a reunion and I think the scene I submitted makes that clear, it is not that scene, nor are both the hero and heroine in the scene. It was just a very powerful scene I had written at the time, that I thought suited the contest.

Return to Me by MG Braden

Kaity woke to a weight against her hip. Ryan? She sat straight up, heard something crash.

Meow

Confused, Kaity couldn’t figure out where she was for a moment. She blinked as the cat took off across her legs, and was able to make out Charli’s bed in the glow of a nightlight, see her daughter lying, undisturbed. Feeling around to find what she had knocked over, she touched the hard edge of a picture frame. Without looking, she knew what it was. The picture of Ryan and Charli, taken on the day he had come home from, what was supposed to be, his last mission. She had snapped the photo just as he swung Charli up into his arms, his whole face alight with the joy of holding her. Charli had gone from a baby to a little girl in the time he had been gone.

Kaity stretched. Her whole body ached. She must have been tired, because she’d fallen asleep on the floor beside Charli’s bed. It was nice to hear her daughter’s rhythmic breathing beside her—nice to hear anyone at all breathing beside her. She stood up, stretched again, then bent down to tuck Charli in a little more tightly, giving her a kiss on the forehead.

Kaity went downstairs to turn off all the lights and make sure everything was locked up tight, before heading up to her own bedroom. When she reached the top of the stairs she paused and turned to look down at the front door. Sighing, she crept back down and flipped a switch to turn on the outside light. C’mon Kaity give it up. He’s gone.

Fingers still on the light switch, she laid her forehead against the coolness of the door. She closed her eyes and remembered.

“Kaity?” The voice came through a phone line filled with static.

“I’m so sorry. The brass will be contacting you. I wanted to beat them to the punch. I…” The static was back and the rest of what Billy said was lost. But, it didn’t matter anyway. Kaity had heard way more than she ever wanted to.

She pushed away from the door, straightened her shoulders and walked up to her room. Even though it had been four months since that phone call, since so many calls with the same information, she left the light on. It was October. The holidays were coming soon. She needed to have hope. That’s all she had. All she could give to Charli.

Kaity stretched out on the King-size bed. Bought because Ryan was so tall. They had talked about filling it with kids, that’s why they wanted the space. Lots of little monkeys jumping on the bed. But Ryan’s missions had kept him away a lot. There was only one little monkey. And now, there was no Ryan. No Ryan, no more monkeys. She laughed, but it wasn’t in amusement.

“You’re losing it now Kaity,” she said, reaching out to clutch Ryan’s pillow.

She hadn’t washed the case. His scent was almost gone now, but she hadn’t washed it since he left. That was her ritual. She always left his pillowcase unwashed until he got home. Her tears soaked the pillow, but she didn’t care.