Forever Amber

By Patricia (Patty) Campbell

Santos retired from the Navy and returns home to his family - which includes Amber’s family. It’s awkward. They hadn’t spoken since he’d joined the Navy and she’d gone to Northwestern then remained in Chicago. She was the only girl he’d ever loved.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Melange Books, LLC
• Release date: Dec 14, 2021
• ISBN: 9781955784504

Patricia (Patty) Campbell

I wrote my first novel at the age of six. It was titled “The Mouse,” and was two pages long—including illustrations! My mother saved that first edition and every now and then, I take it out and smile over it.When my beloved husband of many years suddenly died, I’d come home after a long day of work and write. Writing allowed me to pour out all my sadness. Then, the more I wrote, the more I realized I would go on. I would be happy, I had a lot of living to do, and love stories to tell.I’m published now in Romance novels and an anthology of short stories. But my first two manuscripts still reside on a CD somewhere in my house. I can’t bear to erase them because they’re mine, they’re loved, and like a crazy relative one hides in the attic, they reside in a quiet, safe place.

Book preview

Chapter One

Spring Grove, California

Santos McPherson reached for the doorbell, then hesitated. All the lights were on in his parents’ house. Music and laughter drifted from the backyard patio. Whose birthday did he miss?

This was his childhood home. He could open the door and walk in, but he didn’t. He rang the doorbell instead. He took a breath and raised his eyes skyward hoping Amber wasn’t here.

A young woman’s voice called, Coming! The door flew open, and there stood his fourteen-year-old sister, Maureen. Her welcoming smile turned into a look of shock. She shrieked, Santos! and flung herself into his arms, clinging to his neck like a spider monkey. Mama! Daddy! Ric! Come quick. Santos is home! She planted several kisses on his face and clamped her legs around his waist.

Santos put his arms under her bottom and laughed. Sorry you’re not glad to see me. He set her down.

Maureen made a face. You big jerk! Why didn’t you tell us you were coming? She doubled up her fist as if to slug him, but wrapped her arms about him and pressed her face into his chest. She was the image of Mama. You’ve been gone almost two years. Don’t ever do that again!

He hugged her hard. I won’t, Mo. I’m home to stay.

Meu amado! Meu amado! His beautiful Brazilian mom, Graciella, reverted back to Portuguese in moments of excitement. She ran to him, her arms outstretched. The love in her eyes nearly knocked the wind out of him. She placed her hands on his cheeks.

Mama. He squeezed his eyes shut against threatening tears. I missed you, Mama. He drew her tall, slender dancer’s body tight against his.

He blinked them open to see his dad rushing forward. Oh, my God. Santos, son, it’s so good to have you home. Maureen and his mother stepped back, and he drew the man who’d adopted him when he’d married his widowed mother, into a fierce hug.

You got your E6 rate, I see. Nice going. He laughed. You outrank me now.

Santos laughed and shook his head. I’ll never outrank you, Dad. Not around here anyway.

Hey, bro. His brother Ric punched him in the arm and flashed a wide grin. Seventeen-year-old Ricardo had grown a foot. He had Cluny McPherson written all over him and was nearly as tall as their dad. But had a way to go to reach Santos’s six-foot-five.

Santos remembered when he used to carry this young man around on his shoulders. They’d been inseparable since Ric was an infant. He hoped that not too much time had passed in the teenager’s life for them to rekindle some of that closeness.

He studied their faces. So, whose birthday did I miss? Or is there another reason for the party going on here?

Cluny crossed his arms. Think back twenty years.

It hit him like a shock wave. Oh, wow. It’s your anniversary. How could I forget? I was there in that weird little Las Vegas chapel.

You were my best man. Cluny’s smile was huge. He still looked like that handsome thirty something retired Marine who’d captured his mother’s heart and become the father Santos had longed for.

That’s right, and Queen was Mom’s four-legged maid of honor. I’ve had happy memories of Las Vegas ever since that whirlwind trip. He glanced around the house as they made their way to the backyard and patio and then stopped abruptly. Is…?

Graciella shook her head. Amber isn’t here, but her parents and brothers and sisters are. They’ll be so glad to see you. Come. She took his hand and led him through the wide French doors out onto the patio.

Of course, the entire Dempsey family would be here whatever the occasion. Amber’s father, Dwayne Dempsey, and Cluny McPherson had grown up together in Wyoming, had gone to UW together and then into the Marines. The Dempseys and McPhersons were like one large extended family. Santos felt an involuntary squeeze in his chest as he thought of the single Dempsey who wasn’t here tonight. She must still be in Illinois.

He’d loved Amber Dempsey since the day her godfather, Cluny, had brought her to Malibu Beach to meet him and his mother. They were only about eight at the time and he’d fallen head over heels for the fearless tomboy who helped him overcome his fear of the surf. She’d screamed with laughter, clapping, and jumping with happiness for him when he finally mastered the belly board. He ran straight to MacFearsome and his mother to report his success. Amber dissolved into a puddle of giggles when he called Cluny Mr. MacFearsome.

He spotted Dwayne Dempsey, bent over the barbecue grill. He couldn’t recall how many times he’d witnessed this scene. Dwayne had somehow become the official chef at every cookout. Just then Dempsey looked up and saw him. Hey! Get your oversized butt over here, sailor!

Dempsey wiped his hands on the towel tied around his waist and opened his arms when Santos approached. They indulged in a hard, satisfying man-hug and finished with vigorous back pounding. God, it’s good to see you, son. You done with the Navy? Home for good?

This big man was a second father to him. Yes, sir. I’ll get my papers in a few weeks.

Dwayne crossed his muscled arms. "I think it’s time to knock off the sir business."

Santos had enormous respect for this man. Thanks, Gunny. He extended his toe and tapped the shiny, metal prosthesis on Gunny’s leg. New hardware. Impressive.

He grinned. Best the VA can buy.

Santos pointed across the yard. Are all those teenagers over there yours?

All except the two boys pestering my twin girls.

Santos chuckled. No worries. I’m sure they’re terrified of you. I would be.

Marla keeps harping on me to ease off, says they’ll never be able to get dates with nice young men if I keep it up.

You gonna ease off?

Hell, no. Not till they’re at least your age.

I’ll be twenty-eight in September. Good luck with that one. He patted Dwayne’s shoulder. Guess I better go say hello.

Yeah. Take your two-hundred-fifty pounds of muscle and throw the fear of god into those two for me, will ya?

Santos shook his head. Not without your wife’s permission. I’m no fool.

Hey, hold up, sailor. Dwayne leaned in close. When are you going to mount that white charger and go drag my daughter back from Chicago?

Santos had no response. Did he want to open up that old wound? He pressed his lips together and shoved his hands in his pockets.

Amber Dempsey hunched her shoulders, her face half hidden by a knitted scarf wrapped around her neck and face. With gloved hands, she clutched the front of her calf-length down coat snug against her chest. Without the down coat and fleece-lined boots she wouldn’t be able to trudge down Michigan Avenue in today’s freezing wind and lake-effect snow. Lord! She couldn’t see more than several feet ahead. She thought she’d freeze this morning waiting for the L, and she had it to look forward to again at the end of her day.

Days like this made her appreciate growing up in southern California. It wasn’t the weather that enticed her to come to Illinois. It was the rich fellowship she’d been awarded in pursuit of her forensic accounting degree. She had a great job now, one she enjoyed going to every day, but there was something missing, make that someone missing from her life.

One of the twins, Kathleen, had called last night to tell her the family had been to the McPherson’s anniversary party on Saturday night and that He, was home from the Navy. Kath didn’t have to say Santos, because there’d ever only been one he in Amber’s life.

Oh. She swallowed. That’s nice. I know Uncle Cluny is looking forward to having him join the business. The business being Veterans Plumbing. Cluny had built it up from scratch into a prosperous contracting firm, and he employed veterans exclusively, both men and women. She couldn’t recall how many times Santos had bragged about going to work with his dad on a weekend, learning the art of repairing a leak or fixing a toilet. At the time, she thought it was icky, but later understood it was all about Cluny and Santos working together as father and son.

You’ll like this, sis. He whispered to Syl and me that Daddy had asked him to come and try to scare off our boyfriends. Do you believe it?

Amber smiled. Sounds like something Daddy would do. She pictured Santos the last time she’d seen him, before their break-up. He’d always been gentle as a lamb, but he was a large, imposing man. Half black from his Navy SEAL father, the man who’d been killed in Iraq before he was born, and half Brazilian from his tall and willowy mother.

She and Santos had seemed an unlikely couple when children. Her hair light brown and sun-streaked, his dark brown and curly. Her eyes a soft amber-brown and his like hot fudge. The shy, skinny, brown boy, and the daring, freckled, little girl running up and down the beach and playing in the surf. The love they shared from the day they met had made her believe in destiny.

When they were teens, she’d placed her hands on his bare chest and shoulders and marveled at his strength. She always bold, he tentative and shy. It was she who took the lead, initiating sex for the first time. They were sixteen. She was ready. Santos sighed with knee-trembling gratitude. Always chivalrous and protective of her. He was her Mr. Darcy and Jamie Fraser, all rolled up in one.

It was she who’d shattered his heart. He’d assumed she’d wait for him to complete his initial Navy enlistment and then marry him. In fact, he asked her to marry him when they were in high school, then again in college. That fateful day he’d made splendid love to her and asked her again as they lay on the sunlight dappled blanket in their secret wooded place. She’d laughingly quoted her grandmother, Why buy the cow when you’re getting all the milk free?

Instead of laughing with her, he’d pulled away, his handsome face infused with a brick-red blush. She realized her mistake. Santos, honey, I’m joking. You know I love you.

Do I? He stood and pulled on his t-shirt and jeans. I gotta get home. The folks want me to spend as much time with them as possible before I ship out.

But we…

He turned his back on her and zipped up his pants. Get dressed. I’ll drop you off on my way home. He grabbed the picnic basket and sped up the path to the trees where’d he’d parked his pickup in the shade.

Reacting angrily to his sudden coldness, she shouted at his retreating back. Stop, damn you! When she got to the truck, she threw the blanket in the truck bed, climbed in the passenger side, and slammed the door. They rode in silence for the full half-hour it took before he pulled up in front of her parents’ house. She tugged the door handle and turned to face him. We need a break. Maybe I’ll see you when you get discharged, sailor boy.

He didn’t answer, just threw the truck in gear and tore away down the street.

How many times had she re-lived that awful scene?

She didn’t notice she’d passed her office building until she’d gone a half block beyond it in the freezing wind.

Chapter Two

Chicago, Illinois. Same Day.

Amber turned her back to the bitter, cold wind and retreated to her building. She loved her work. Her work was her salvation. Once she got started, she was lost in a world of numbers. Numbers that slowly and inevitably revealed what she was looking for.

A shadow fell over her desk. Ms. Dempsey?

Startled, she looked up. The night maintenance manager stood at her elbow. Yes, Hal?

It’s after six. If you’re planning on going home tonight, you better head for the L. If you miss the six-forty, you’ll have to wait until ten. The kindly man tapped his watch.

After six? What? Where has the day gone? Amber scrambled to her feet. Marked the spot on the page with a clip and shoved the file into a locked cabinet. She’d lost track of time. When had everyone left? It wasn’t the first time she’d done this and probably wouldn’t be the last.

We got a nice sleet storm going on out there. Bundle up good. It’s real nasty. He retrieved the wastebaskets from each desk, dumping the contents into a burn-bag as he went along.

The second she stepped out of the building into the driving snow and sleet, pushing her scarf up to cover her face, she wondered why she didn’t go back to California. There were plenty of good jobs out there in her specialty.

She was a coward, that’s why. As long as she stayed in the mid-west she’d never have to face Santos and the consequences of their bitter breakup. For all she knew, he was completely past her and moving on. He’d probably had too many women to count in the past several years. Why wouldn’t he? A man like him. A man she’d hurt and carelessly thrown away.

And for what? Her degree? Her job? She would still have accomplished all of that if they’d married. His long deployments would have given her all the time she needed to get the advanced degree and her dream job.

No! She would stop the second-guessing. She’d made the right decision. She’d had goals, and her goals were just as important as his. Darn it! He could have at least made some attempt to see her before he shipped out. Why had it been up to her to patch things up?

Now he was back home in California for good. Back where he’d said he would be content to spend the rest of his life. Preparing to work with his dad in their business, close to family and old childhood friends. No doubt planning to join both their fathers coaching kids in park league baseball in the summer.

The bitter truth hit her. By staying away from home, Amber had deprived herself of the closeness of family. Daddy and Marla, the woman she’d insisted she wanted for her mother. She’d nagged her hard-working single dad endlessly about getting her a new mom, from the time she was four until she met Marla and decided, at the ripe old age of six, that Marla was the woman who fit the bill perfectly. Fortunately, Dwayne Dempsey felt the same. They’d married, had a brother for her, then twin sisters, and then another brother. She loved all of them desperately.

She trudged into her small apartment in the lopsided old building in Evanston. The first thing she did after turning on the lights was turn up the heat. The place was like a walk-in refrigerator. She shouldn’t have set the radiators on low when she left this morning. She’d have to dress like a polar bear waiting for the place to warm up. Ugh. She really hated the winter weather here. It seemed strange that the last few winters hadn’t seemed to bother her. Why now?

Fumbling at the groaning kitchen faucet, she filled the teapot and set it on the stove. A cup of tea would warm her up while she waited for the chill to leave the three small rooms. The message light on her phone blinked merrily away on the half-wall dividing the living room from the kitchen. Three messages. Gloves still on she tapped it, quickly deleting the first message from Clayton Gibson, a local guy who wouldn’t give up on asking for another date. The second message was a wrong number, and the third was from Marla.

She called back, a small smile on her face when Dwayne answered. Hi, Daddy. I’m returning Mom’s call. Is she available? She laughed. Of course, I want to talk to you, but she’s the one who left the message. What’s up?

Declan got a good scouting report from the Giants. He’s been invited to the next spring training game here at Dodger Stadium. In fact, the whole family is invited. They want to talk to him about his plans. Mom wants you to come home to go to the game with us.

Conflicting emotions warred in her. This was great news for her brother, but she had no doubt the McPherson clan, including Santos, would also be in attendance. Dec must be thrilled, Daddy. When is it?

Not for another month. Mom will email you or call with the exact date. We really want you to come, honey. You’ve been away too long. Except for those two short days at Thanksgiving, we haven’t seen enough of you.

I’d really like to come. When I know the date, I’ll check my calendar at work and try to schedule a few days off.

She cleared her throat. Um, Dad, I thought you were adamant about Dec getting his bachelor’s before considering going out for pro ball. Have you changed your mind about that?

No, but he’ll be twenty-one in a couple of months. He’ll have finished his junior year by then, and it’s his decision. I hope he makes the right one.

She thought about that for a couple of seconds. Which one will be the right one?

He chuckled. That’s the thing about decisions, isn’t it?

Amber picked up the double meaning in his statement, but she chose to ignore it. Hmm, you’ve got a point. The teapot shrieked. She jumped and dropped the phone. After scrambling to chase it across the linoleum floor, she grabbed it and put it to her ear. Daddy? Hang on a second. She lifted the pot off the electric burner and set it down with a thud, then put her hand on her pounding heart.

Alarmed, Dwayne yelled into her ear, What was that? Your smoke-alarm? Are you all right? Talk to me Amber.

Chill out, Dad. It was my teapot. I forgot I’d put it on. Everything is good here.

Hi, honey. It was Marla, her mom, on the phone now. I swear that man is such a worrier, it’s a wonder he doesn’t blow an artery. Dad grumbled in the background. Mom said, She’s fine, Dempsey. Let me talk to her for a minute.

She could hear his response, You Danahers are a bossy clan.

Amber smiled. Her parents had called each other by their last names for as long as she could remember. God, she missed them so much. Mom? Kath told me Santos is back. Do you think he’s going to stay? Join Uncle Cluny at the business? Cluny wasn’t really her uncle. He was her godfather. Cluny helped Dwayne raise her when her mother had abandoned them while Amber was just an infant.

Yes, he is. He always planned to join Cluny. Santos is family, honey. You can’t avoid him forever.

I know, Mom. It’s just so awkward. Not a word has passed between us for years. Against her better judgement, she asked, How does he look? She clenched her jaw and rolled her eyes, wishing the words hadn’t been spoken. I mean…

He looks wonderful. He’s put on about twenty or thirty pounds of muscle. That came in very handy when he was in Shore Patrol. He’s more mature, but still the same Santos we’ve always known and loved. He has a couple of tattoos on his arms. Most young service men these days have them, it seems.

Tattoos? That was something she hadn’t expected.

Yes, one is the U.S. Navy anchor. You know, the one. The other one is just above the edge of his sleeve on his shoulder. You can only see the edge of it. I asked Graciella if she’d seen it.

Has she? Why was she asking all these questions? It wasn’t her business. They broke up so long ago.

Yes. He was pulling on a T-shirt just as she was passing him in the hallway coming from the shower. He hadn’t intended for her to see it. She was embarrassed and pretended she hadn’t noticed.

Well, what the heck is it? A naked lady or something? Amber couldn’t imagine Santos would ever get a tattoo like that, but he was a different person now.

Oh, good grapes, no! You know he’d never do that. Her mom laughed and relayed the story to Dwayne, her hand not muffling her voice much. Her dad responded with something like It’s his body and he could put anything on it he wanted, and Mom told him to go find something to do and quit eavesdropping. Then Mom let out a small squeak, followed by a smack. She could picture what just happened. Even though they’d been married more than twenty years, they teased and touched like newlyweds.

What a family. How she wished she’d been there to witness it, and then proceed to plead with them to quit embarrassing their children. It was the family joke.

Look, Mom. I just got home from work and I’m still thawing out. I’ve got to have a cup of hot tea and take a warm shower. Frost is forming on my lashes. Thanks for the call to let me know Dec’s good news. When you know the exact date, you’re all going call me and I’ll try to get some time off. I have some vacation days coming.

Okay, you warm up, honey. Visit soon. Promise?

I promise, Mom. Amber disconnected the call and swallowed a sob.

---

Spring Grove, next evening.

Santos doubled with laughter at the punch line. He gave his old high school friend a playful shove. You got me, Sam. That was a good one.

You’re a man with a filthy mind. Sam set his pool cue on the rack. Here come the ladies. Alison, my fiancée, and her girlfriend, Brenda. I’ve never met her, but she looks hot. Sam nudged him. "Put a smile on your ugly mug and act like