CHAPTER 1

Danny stood at the rail, staring at the coastline barely visible in the distance, illuminated by the setting sun. It all seemed so normal - the swells hitting the hull of the destroyer, the scent of the cold salt water, the slight chill. For a moment he could almost believe that he was on the ferry to New London, ready to grab the train to Hartford. His parents had never failed to meet him there for the final drive home to Cornwall, no matter how late the train was running or how little notice he had given them of his arrival. Home. Funny how Cornwall had always seemed like home, even though he hadn't actually lived there for years. But when he thought about home, it wasn't a navy base that came to mind (any of the five different ones that he had been stationed at over the years), but instead the backwater town where he had grown up. He could picture it so clearly: his parents' rambling old colonial that was boiling in the summer and freezing in the winter, the scent of the candles that his mother matched to the season – floral aromas during the summer and then switching to cookies and pumpkins as the holidays grew near, and the stream of people that seemed to constantly flow through the house.

Danny had never questioned the unbroken presence as a child. The son of the local doctor and the high school principle, his parents known everyone, and everyone had known them. Both had grown up in Cornwall and, after moving away for college and, in his mother's case, medical school, they had returned to build their careers and their family. From his earliest memories, Danny's home had been a hub of activity, as people came to his parents for advice or for company. Later there had been friends his own age coming and going – his and Caro's – and eventually Chris's friends too. A familiar pain grew in his chest at the thought of Chris, and Danny took a deep breath to ease it. More than ten years apart in age, Chris had driven Danny crazy during his teen years. The pesky little brother that always seemed to be following him and his friends around, tormenting them with ridiculous questions and appearing at the most inopportune moments ("Danny and Sarah, up in a tree, KISSING…."). In the past few years though, Danny had begun spending more time with his brother, noticing Chris's sly sense of humor and keen observation of the world around him. Danny had finally begun enjoying spending time with his brother, regaling him and his friends with stories of life in the navy. Chris had even begun mentioning the possibility of enlisting himself – once he was done with college, of course. There had never been any question that the Green children were expected to finish at least a four year degree and so Chris had begun the same round of college visits that Danny had experienced at eighteen.

Danny knew how disappointed his parents had been when he elected to join the navy, rather than move on to graduate school. But they had hidden their disappointment (and fear), and had immersed themselves in learning about his new life. Danny smiled at the memory. That was his parents, supporting him in his chosen profession even though it was something that they – a healer, a teacher – could not understand. Their priority had been to love and support their children. And he had never questioned their dedication. Taking it for granted until it was gone. Just like he'd done with Caroline.

Danny stared into the growing darkness. Caroline – Caro. Only a year apart, they had been inseparable. He had started calling her Caro to annoy her, nobody else would have dared, but over time it had become an affectionate nickname between the two of them. Brilliant, independent and stubborn, Caro had always known exactly who she was. He had been both baffled and awed by her ability to make a decision in an instant and never second guess herself. Unlike Danny, Caro had decided on her career path as a nurse at the tender age of four and never wavered. While his parents had spent months touring colleges with him, trying to figure out what school "felt right" (how ridiculous that seemed now), Caro had applied to only one. She had never questioned that she would be accepted. And yet, despite their differences, she had been his best friend. He forced her out of her studious, reserved shell, and she amused him with her wit and biting commentary. Caro had always understood him in a way that he, in retrospect, had not understood her. Not that he had thought so at the time, but after months to ponder their last conversation, he now understood how much he had hurt her, too wrapped up in his own pain to see hers.

"How could you treat Rebecca that way?" Caro yelled as she stormed into the room where Danny had been lying, staring at the ceiling, for the last hour. "Ten years, Danny! You've been together for ten years! Doesn't that deserve something more than a 'it's me not you speech'?"

Danny didn't look at her, continuing to watch the planetarium on the ceiling. How old had he been when he and his father made it? Twelve maybe? He wondered why he'd never taken it down in the years since. "It's none of your business, Caro. This is between me and Rebecca."

"That's crap and you know it. I'm your sister. She's my best friend. I was the one that asked her out for you the first time, remember? You've never even bought her a birthday present without running it by me first. Last I heard you were planning a trip to Niagara and talking about rings! And now suddenly you're dumping her? What the hell happened?" Caro paused and narrowed her eyes at him. "Did you do something stupid?"

Danny sat up, sighing. He wasn't ready for a debate with Caro. He was still too raw from the conversation with Rebecca. Of course Caro would assume that it was his fault. Everyone knew that Rebecca was crazy about him. That she was dedicated to their future. She would never do something "stupid." Hell, she probably would have forgiven him if he had cheated on her, as Caro was insinuating. "Nothing happened. She wants to get married – have kids. I'm not ready for any of that. I'm not sure that I'll ever be ready for that." He tripped over the words. It was the truth, but not the whole truth. How could he explain to Caro something that he didn't really understand himself? That it just didn't feel right?

"That's crap and you know it." Carol snapped. "Of course Rebecca wants to get married, but she'd understand if you wanted to wait. Now that she's done with school you could live together a while. Get used to each other again. Ease into the transition."

"And what if I don't want to? What if I don't want to be with her anymore?" The words spilling out before he could stop them. "Doesn't she deserve better than that? Don't I deserve better? We started dating at seventeen, Caro. I'm not the same person anymore. She's not the same person. We both need to move on."

But Caro pushed away the words as though she hadn't heard them. "You're scared, aren't you? She told me that she was hoping that you would leave the navy once this enlistment was up. Get a civilian job, come back to Connecticut, have a normal life. That scared the crap out of you, didn't it? Scared that you might not be the hero anymore? That you would no longer be the amazing Danny Green, off single-handedly fighting the evil dictators of the world!"

Danny stared at her, taken aback by her anger. He had thought Caro understood. It wasn't about being a hero. It was about building his own life, something apart from his family, something away from this town. About being part of a team. It was even about helping people. Different than the way Caro helped people, of course, but his way of giving back. Still, the barb stung. As Caro had known that it would. "And what the hell is that supposed to mean? Who are you or Rebecca or anyone else to tell me how to live my life? Am I supposed to marry her just because you and Mom and Dad and everyone else in this crap town thinks I should?"

"Well someone needs to tell you what to do. Have you ever made one decision on your own? Even when we were kids you could never make up your mind. Isn't that why you joined the navy? To have someone else tell you what to do?" Caro held his gaze. "I bet Frankie is behind this. He's always had it out for Rebecca."

"Frankie had nothing to do with this." Danny snapped back, even though they both knew it wasn't true. "This is me, Caro. This is what I want. And nothing you say is going to change my mind."

Her anger suddenly disappearing, Caro dashed a hand across her cheek to knock away a tear. "You didn't even tell me, Danny. I didn't find out until I called Rebecca to make plans for tonight. She assumed I knew, and was pissed that I didn't warn her. I had to find out from Dad what she was talking about."

And suddenly he understood. This wasn't just about him and Rebecca. This was about him and Caro, his sister, his best friend, his sounding board. "Caro…" The silence stretched as he tried to find the words to say. But the moment was lost.

Yanking open the door, Caro paused for a moment to look back. "You are an idiot, Daniel Joshua Green. Go back to the navy, your ship. Go play war hero. But someday you are going to look back at today and regret it with every fiber of your being."

Danny's hand bit into the rail. Caro had been right, as usual. Not in the way she had meant it, of course, but she had still been right. It had been the last time that he spoke to her. Hurt and angry, he'd left that evening to return to Norfolk, arriving just in time to join Frankie and Smith for a last minute trip to the Bahamas. He'd talked to his parents and Christopher in the next few months, but he and Caro had maintained an icy silence. And he regretted that more than anything else in his life.

"I thought you might be here." Kara's calm voice broke through his thoughts….