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"He’s the Rock of Gibraltar, I know," Lindy answered softly, loving him so much her heart ached "Loyal and constant" She tried not to think about the huge aircraft carrier sailing out of Bre Rush thousands of hts of how empty her life would be after the Mitchell left

"What’s it like?" Lindy whispered, hardly aware the words had slipped from her mouth

Intuitively, it see "I don’t sleep for the first week No matter how many times Jeff leaves, it’s always the sa, my sto and worrying Finally I’m so exhausted my body takes over, and I’m able to sleep"

"Rush told est women he knows---The best kind of navy wife"

Susan’s countenance softened and her cheeks flushed to a fetching shade of rose pink She dipped her head a little and murmured, "Hoeet of him to say so"

"What does Jeff say about your sleeping probleed "He doesn’t know"

"But…"

"He has enough worries and responsibilities aboard the Mitchell withouthim with more As much as possible I send hi that arises as best I can while he’s gone"

"I’m afraid," Lindy ad; I… I can accept that But I worry about theht, it seemed, the neas filled with reports of violence in the troubled waters of the Middle East Before they’d left the apartunboats that had attempted to attack the US Naval forces that very afternoon Lindy hadn’the’d brush off her concern She wanted to be strong, wanted to be brave for both their sakes

Susan’s dark eyes clouded and her chin trembled just a little "After what happened to the Stark, we’re all concerned You aren’t alone But if any of us wives were to dwell on the danger, we’d soon be basket cases I try to put it out of ood at what he does and he’s part of the most advanced naval fleet in the world My security rests in the fact that he can take care of himself and his men Rush can, too"

"I haven’t told Rush how afraid I a

"I… love Rush" The words came out hoarse and broken She didn’t have the security Susan and the other navy wives had Rush had done nothing more than ask her to wait for hiirlfriend, his sweetheart "I don’t want to lose hiaze and rubbed her open hands down the front of her jeans, more fearful than ever over what the future could hold "I’ve only known hily"

"It was like that with Jeff and me We married within a month after we met, and he left for six months in the South Pacific almost immediately afterward Talk about worry!"

"But I thought that area was relatively peaceful"

Susan cast an affectionate look toward her husband "It wasn’t that I…I was more concerned about how attractive Jeff would find those lovely Polynesian girls"

"Oh" Lindy hadn’t thought of that

Susan blushed a little "I was pregnant at the ti completely miserable and about as sexy as a tuna casserole Naturally we didn’t knoins and I was desperately sick every ht of each day hen theand pray there’d be a letter from Jeff When one finally did arrive, Jeff wrote in detail, telling ed to see while on shore leave on a small island whose name I can’t even pronounce Topless dancers and the whole bit I was so upset I cried for days, convinced he didn’t love me anyain" She pressed her hands over her small breasts "In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not exactly richly endowed in that area"

"I’hed together in an easy ca time instead of just a few short hours

"Anyway, I didn’t write back Every ti at those other woot all theandit up on shore leave on so home about how randy he was"

"I don’t bla back I’m not sure I would have, either"

"Oh, Lindy," Susan said, pressing her hand on Lindy’s forear to do Jeff about went crazy He didn’t knohat had happened to ot theme to let hi into such a terrible state that he was convinced I’d lost the baby – we didn’t knoas babies then – or even that I ht have left him for another man When I finally wrote and told hione to a stupid topless show he ain"

"Was Jeff here when Ti their na out of their playpen prison Susan was busy putting the finishing touches on the relish plate, so Lindy lifted first one and then the other, balancing theed, briefly wondering how Susan coped with them twenty-four hours a day