An Honest Kiss

Chapter 4

Rachel had first met Jack when she was fifteen and he was twenty-eight.  He had been so handsome in his dress uniform that she had fallen in love with him at first sight.  Her father had a habit taking young Doctors that showed promise under his wing and guiding their progress.  Colonel Edwards had been very taken with Jack from the word go, and Rachel could remember hearing him say that if he had had a son he would have wanted him to be like Jack.

He could not have been more proud when Jack made Major.

Surprisingly, Rachel was never jealous of Jack, she was as smitten with him as her father was.  He was simply the one, and she had never tried to hide it from either her father or Jack, but almost thirteen years was a big age difference, and eventually she realized, as she watched Jack bring different girlfriends to dinners and parties, that she was hoping in vain.

When it came time for her to go away to college she had been relieved, and had chosen a college on the other side of the country in hopes that the distance would make her heart less fond.  Her father had never shown disappointment at her choice to become a nurse even though she knew he had hoped she would follow his lead and become a Doctor, but Rachel had watched the hardship that her father's chosen profession had caused her mother, and she had decided that if she ever married and had a family that she would want to spend more time with them than being a Doctor would allow.

The five years that followed, while she was at school, were hard for her.  She missed her father who had been her best friend after her mother's death.  She would go home for as many visits as she could, but Jack had been sent overseas shortly after she had left, and he did back to back tours that kept him away for long periods of time.

She could still remember the first time she had seen him after her graduation and her return home.  It had been for her father's sixty-fifth birthday party.  She had changed a lot in the five years she had been away.  Twenty-three seemed a long way from eighteen.

Rachel had been sitting next to her father watching Jack in the mirror, so he hadn't noticed her. Taking her time to study him she realized that he had only grown more handsome and at thirty-five, he wore his experience well. He had a beautiful redhead on his arm, and she looked like the cat that had gotten the cream as she circulated through the room with him. She watched as Jack made a beeline for her father eager to wish him a happy birthday, and Rachel couldn't take her eyes off of him, he was dazzling. The redhead spotted her before he did, and her eyes narrowed as Rachel slowly stood.

She had taken great pains with her appearance.  The dress she was wearing was vintage 1940s chiffon in emerald green that matched her eyes.  It was strapless with a heart shaped bodice that made the most of her new curves and stopped just below the knee, and she had chosen a pair of killer high heels to accent her legs and make her taller.  Her thick chestnut hair had been pulled back into a chignon so that she could show off her long neck and small shoulders.

Her whole body was trembling as he approached and her heart was racing, the five years and long distance had not made her feelings change. 

"Jack," her father greeted him with a handshake as he rose from his seat.  "When did you get back?"

"This morning, and I couldn't miss this party."

Colonel Edwards had been in Washington D.C. forever, was highly regarded, and had very powerful contacts that had taken him years to cultivate, and to Rachel they were all just family friends because she had never thought of her father as the powerful man that he was.

"Look Rachel, Jack's back." Her father turned and motioned for her to join him.

Jack's head turned, noticing Rachel for the first time.  His eyes met hers then slowly traveled the length of her making her heart leap. She swore she saw something more than just friendship in his look, but she wasn't sure if it was wishful thinking or not.