Cheryl Wyatt - Soldiers Promise (Love Inspired Series)  

"S ure you wanna do this, Montgomery?" Fellow U.S. Air Force Pararescue Jumper Nolan Briggs asked above the engine hum.

"I'm sure." Joel shifted away from the window as the luxury jet broke through wispy Southern Illinois clouds on descent to the one place on earth he never wanted to see again.

Refuge. The irony made him snort.

Nolan leaned close enough for Joel to inhale toxic doses of mafia-strength garlic. "'Cause if you don't, we'll handle it."

Teammate Manny Pea joined Nolan in the passenger aisle. "Yeah. Nobody'll know if you don't make the jump, dude."

Joel fastened a gaze on his well-meaning friends and fellow PJs, and aimed a thumb at his sternum. "I'll know."

And so would that kid.

"It's gonna be tougher than you think," Nolan said.

Hardest mission of his life. Especially on a cold Friday in September. Joel laced his boot. "Nah. Piece of cake."

"Right. Like running a catering service with an Easy-Bake." Manny clicked the overhead bin open.

"No sweat." Joel tugged his chute pack from under the seat.

"Not a drop," Nolan agreed. "But the offer still stands."

"He asked for me. I can't let him down, guys." Joel retrained a determined gaze on the small town peeking up at him. Recognition of his old neighborhood clogged his throat. He clenched his jaw against a surge of unwanted emotion. He looked away from familiar landmarks. "I'll be fine."

As long as he steered clear of that house, and the uncle who'd destroyed his family, he'd be fine.

A chorus of unconvinced faces stared back at Joel when he looked up. A torrent of vulnerability rushed through him at their perception. He torqued his gaze out the window. True. They could do this without him and spare him the pain.

Except for one thing.

He tugged the letter out of his chest pocket. Unfolding it, he eyed the elementary attempt at cursive.

Joel folded the letter Dream Corps had forwarded to him. He crimped along the crease and came back with blue fingertips, probably from one of those messy erasable pens. He rubbed fingers on a hanky, but the ink didn't come off. Weird, since it had transferred from the paper with no trouble.

Ink imprinted his hand, but scribbled wishes stained his heart. Family. The very word stung. Joel couldn't help the little guy with one, but he could make the other a reality. No matter how hard the next hours proved to be, Joel's discomfort in coming back to the site of his most painful childhood memories would be a speck of dust compared to the earth of hurt this kid faced.

Joel pressed thumbs into the corners of his eyes and lifted his face. He swallowed, but his voice box didn't seem to want to loosen and let him speak.

"I appreciate you guys offering me an out, but" He met and held each man's respect-filled gaze, drawing courage from the admiration in each one. "I need to do this."

Grins erupted all around, revealing to Joel they wanted him to conquer this every bit as much as he did.

Nolan tossed Joel his goggles. "Don't tangle up on a power line before you hit the ground, Montgomery. It wouldn't bode well to fry your fanny in front of a load of little kids."

Joel smiled back at the grinning faces before refastening his gaze on strings of pinpoint runway lights rising to meet the Dream Corps aircraft. "All right, you platoon of goons. As soon as we hit tarmac, load the choppers while the pilot flies me back up into a holding pattern. I'll jump when you hover on the school lawn. Fastrope down when I flare my canopy. Let's go make this little guy's dream come true."

A chorus of "Hoorah!" shouts punctuated the end of his sentence, and a dozen fists shot up.

He'd parachute in, spend a few hours with the kid, then get away from Refuge for good. It would be as easy as that. What could possibly be simpler?

"What on earth is that?" Special needs teacher Amber Stanton grasped the desk and held her breath.

Her best friend and co-teacher, Celia Muez stared at Amber as if she'd morphed into a snail. "What?"

"You don't feel that?" Amber whispered.

Ebony eyes waxed blank and oblivious. "Feel what?"

Leave it to her zippy friend to be in the middle of a natural disaster and not know. Had Amber imagined it? No. The rumbling vibration beneath her feet strengthened. Ripples pulsed across the surface of the water in the small fishbowl on her desk. "Shh " Amber leaned in. "Listen." The windows gave a faint rattle. "That!" Amber clutched Celia's shoulder in a pinch grip.

"Cool it with the claws, will ya?" Celia peeled fingernails from her blouse. "It's only "

"I know. Let's get these kids outside."

"You know?" Now Celia looked properly stricken. "Who told?"

"Shh. I don't want the children frightened. Let's go."

Celia tugged Amber back. "Hold on. They all know except Bradley. If you keep yapping, you'll ruin the surp "

"Class " Amber moved from Celia's grasp. Why didn't Administration ring the bell? "Line up at the door please."

Celia yanked Amber hard back behind the desk. "Not yet!"

"Sit!" Celia waved the class down with choppy arm motions. Children sat, giggling as crayons jittered off slanted desks.

Amber's chest tightened. She turned a fierce gaze on Celia. "Obviously you have no idea how dangerous they can be."