Match Made in Virginia [s. reid]

prologue

PROLOGUE
"THIS IS A JOKE. RIGHT?"
( PAST AND PRESENT )

—9 YEARS AGO, 2004—

A BLONDE, BLUE EYED six year old sat on the couch in the living of the apartment Natalie Dolan had rented out a year or so ago, the child's eyes glued to the TV as Barney sang a song. A Capri-Sun leaned against the arm rest beside her and a plate with a PB&J sat in her lap, mostly eaten, only about one fourth left, plus the crust. Her hair was a mess from having been running around outside at the park earlier, but she didn't care and because they weren't going out anywhere later that day, her mother wasn't worried about the messy blonde locks either. Holly Dolan smiled happily as she took another bite of her sandwich, and swung her legs off of the edge of the couch, humming along with Barney and his friends as they danced across the screen.

In the kitchen stood another blonde, a young woman with light hair and brown eyes; her hair was less messy, and was pulled back into a simple braid. Worry etched on her features as the twenty one year old leaned against the cold tile of the counter. Life wasn't easy being a mom. With her boyfriend and the father of her daughter gone a lot because of the fact he was enlisted in the army, it was tough. They weren't together as much as she would like. It was somewhat easier than what it used to be, because she had Holly as a teenager, and taking care of a baby while getting through high school was exceptionally hard. Both financially, emotionally, and somewhat mentally. She got through it, though, so she knew she could get through her fiancé being gone just a few more hours as he went to the store, because he wasn't in Afghanistan; he was home.

The problem was, he said he would be back by the time she and Holly got back from the park.

Natalie bit at her bottom lip and pressed the call button one more time. She pressed the phone to her ear and listened to the ringing. Mere seconds later, it went to voice mail.

Another problem: Ben never failed to answer his phone when he was back in the States, unless he was sick, or it died. He wasn't sick and he had made sure his phone was on at least at 90% before leaving.

With a heavy sigh, Natalie closed the flip phone and set it down, trying to push the worries thoughts away as she stood there and ate a bite of her own peanut butter and jelly sandwich. She then took a sip of her sprite and poked her head out of the kitchen to look at Holly, who was finishing off her Capri-Sun as he feet kicked to the beat of the music on the show. A find smile formed on Natalie's features as she stared for a few seconds longer before backing up again and finishing her sandwich. She was about to reach for her phone and try calling Ben again when there was a knock at the door, causing her to look up and walk over to answer. Holly watched for a second but her attention was grabbed by Barney once again.

It was either Ben at the door, arms too full to open the door, or someone else. She really hoped it was Ben.

It wasn't.

Kathrine Bentley, the older sister of Ben and a good friend of Natalie's stood there. Her red hair was pulled into a bun and her blue eyes were wide with happiness at seeing the blonde. "Hi, Nat," she greeted.

Natalie smiled and opened the door wider, the two hugging for a second before Kathrine walked all the way in, Natalie shutting the door behind her. "Hey, Kathrine, what're you doing here?"

"I came to visit, is all, and to make sure you didn't need anything," she explained. Kathrine just lived a few streets over in an apartment of her own, and because of that, she always asked if they little family needed things or any help of any sort.