Men of Courage II by Lori Foster

him, touched him again, so gently. “Look at your head.”
    “That’d be a little hard for me to do.”
    And she smiled. “Look at what’s happened to you. You’re bleeding and you’re going to need stitches and…and…” Openly sobbing again, she clutched athim. “Oh, God, Hamilton. I’m so sorry. I love you. All of you.”
    Finally, he could breathe again.
    “Please,” she whispered against his neck, “can you forgive me?”
    “Yes.” He didn’t have any choice. He could never stay angry at her, not for anything. And then, with caution and a heavy heart, “Will you marry me?”
    “Yes,” she said, with an equal lack of hesitation, almost shouting that one, wonderful word. “Yes, yes, yes.”
    Ham heard the approach of a siren, not the tornado warning, but an emergency vehicle. Soon, they’d be rescued. He cupped her cheek, turned her face up to his.
    His blood had gotten in her hair, mixed with mud and leaves. Her nose was red with cold, her lips pale. “I’m not going to let you change your mind.”
    “I’m not going to stop loving you.”
    “I’m still in the air force.”
    She gave a small nod. “I know.”
    “It’s who I am, Liv.”
    “I know.” She touched his lips. “I’ve been so afraid of losing you that I’ve wasted precious time.”
    “Yes.” She needed to hear the truth. There could be no more misunderstandings.
    “I’m so sorry.”
    He kissed her. The sirens drew nearer, then suddenly ceased, leaving a hushed vibration in the air. “Those plans I told you about? I can be a permanent professor at the academy in Colorado Springs. We can’t live here, I’m sorry. But we wouldn’t have to keep moving.”
    Her lips parted. “But…wouldn’t that mean you’d have to give up the squadron commander position?”
    “For you, yes.”
    A firefighter yelled down from the bridge. “Hey! You two okay?”
    Ham turned and lifted one hand. “We’re fine.”
    “Stay put and don’t move. We’ll come to you.” The man moved away, shouting orders.
    Ham turned back to Liv. “So. Will you marry me, Liv Amery? You’d be a colonel’s wife, because the position comes with a promotion. And before you answer—”
    “Yes.”
    “You should know that I’ll be on active duty even longer—”
    “Yes.”
    “And it’ll take me two years to get my Ph.D. before we can move to the academy.”
    “Yes.”
    His heart lightened. “I’ll still get full pay and—”
    She pressed a hand to his mouth. “Yes, Ham. Yesto everything. Yes, no matter what you decide to do. Yes, because I love you. Yes, yes, yes.”
    That awesome emotion had him in its grip again. Then the firefighters were there, toting blankets and water and first-aid kits.
    As Ham rolled off Liv, the man closest to him said, “That’s a nasty gash you’ve got.”
    “I’m fine.”
    The firefighter gave him a dubious look. “Let me get a stretcher down here.”
    “No need. I can stand.”
    Frowning, the firefighter asked, “Are you sure?”
    Ham turned to Liv. “Tell me again.”
    She smiled, paying little mind to the man who wrapped her in a blanket and began cleaning the mud from her face, checking for wounds. “I love you, Lieutenant Colonel Hamilton Wulf.”
    Hamilton smiled. “Yeah, I can stand.” He pushed to his feet and offered Liv a hand.
    “Lieutenant Colonel?” the firefighter repeated. “I’m impressed.”
    Liv laughed, wrapping her arms around Ham. “Yep, me, too.”
    The firefighter grinned. “Sir, if you’ll come this way, we’ll have you both checked out in no time.”
    And minutes later, they were on their way to the hospital—and on their way to a very bright future.

EPILOGUE
    G IVEN THE DESTRUCTION caused by the tornado, the funeral for Liv’s father took place later than planned. Parts of Denton were devastated, and Hamilton and Liv pitched in with the cleanup and repair. Luckily, despite the crippling damage to structures, there were no lives lost.
    The sun brightened the clear blue