Mary and Lucas join me at the end of the next song, laughing and fanning themselves. Mick and Susie come to grab a drink, and Lucas entertains us with stories about growing up on the farm. I drink another glass of punch.
Mick puts down his cup and grabs Mary, pulling her onto the dance floor. They start to jitterbug, their legs kicking up in unison, their arms bouncing and swaying.
“They’re so good!” I say to no one in particular.
“Yeah, and they know it.” Susie laughs. “I need to go get my man.” She cuts in on the couple, pulling Mick close. Mary is snatched up by another boy, and they start dancing, her skirt flying up around her makeup-covered legs.
I see Jinx in the crowd, dark hair bouncing as she flies across the floor. The music changes again, and the song is slow. I’m starting to feel the effects of the rum punch; the lights are hazy inside their glass jars, the couples spin and spin, blending together. I don’t even flinch when I feel Lucas close his hand over mine. I think he’s leading me to join our friends on the dance floor, but instead he pulls me away toward the other side of the lawn.
He stops near the edge of the trees, where a single lantern hangs on a branch above our heads.
I look up at him. “What is it?”
“I think we should talk.” He taps his finger against his pant leg in a nervous gesture.
“Okay.” My voice is slow. “About what?”
“I know we haven’t known each other for very long.” He pauses. It’s dark, but I think he might be blushing. “I’ve been thinking about you lately. A lot.”
My mouth falls open. “What?”
“I wanted to ask you tonight.” He still won’t look me full in the face. “To go with me to the dance.”
“Lucas—” I try to cut him off, but he plows ahead.
“But then you were sick and I … lost my nerve.” He shrugs, one corner of his mouth lifting into a lopsided smile. “I feel like I know you, Lydia. Like we have this connection I can’t explain. Maybe it’s because we both lost someone we love. I don’t know. I just feel different about you, and I have since we first met on the base.”
Guilt blossoms inside of me. Guilt from my lie. Guilt about Mary. Even guilt over Wes, though I still don’t know how he feels about me. “Lucas, there’s a lot you don’t know....”
“I’m willing to learn. I want to know you, Lydia.” His face is so open and trusting. I turn my head away quickly and then close my eyes as the world realigns.
“So I guess that’s all I wanted to say.” He glances down, shy again. “That I want to know you. If you’ll let me.”
I look over at the dance floor, where Mary rests against her new partner, and I feel my heart sink. “Lucas, I can’t …”
He shakes his head. “Don’t say anything right now. Just dance with me. Please.”
“I—”
“Please, Lydia.”
He looks so fragile in that moment that I nod reluctantly and let him pull me onto the dance floor. Another slow song is starting, and the singer’s smooth voice pours thickly over the trumpets, low and mournful. Lucas draws me into his arms.
My body is rigid against his, but he doesn’t notice. I can’t stop thinking about what he just said. He and Mary are meant to be together. If I never came to the past, they’d probably be falling in love right now. Am I screwing up their destinies just by being here?
“Can I cut in?”
Lucas suddenly pulls away and my head jerks up.
It’s Wes.
“What are you doing here?” I breathe the words as I smile at him. His black hair gleams in the soft candlelight; an army-issued shirt is snug over his shoulders. He meets my eyes. He has that uncertain look about him again, and I find myself stepping toward him automatically.
“Do you know him?” Lucas asks. His voice is strange, stripped of its usual warmth.
“This is Wes. I mean, Private Wesley Smith.” I glance between the two of them. Wes is taller than Lucas, and leaner. His face is sharper too, his features more defined. Lucas, though older than us, suddenly seems younger.
Lucas drops my arms. “What division are you with, GI?”
Wes doesn’t look away from me as he answers. “I’m with the Seventy-seventh Infantry Division, sir.”
Lucas crosses his arms. “The Seventy-seventh is in the Pacific right now, Private. They shipped out from Hero in March.”
Wes finally turns to Lucas. “I was injured while training in Hawaii and sent back to Hero not long after. Lydia and I met in the hospital the other night. Sir.”
“Wes, this is Lucas Clarke,” I cut in.
“Sergeant Clarke,” Lucas interjects, one eyebrow raised.
Wes stands straighter, saluting Lucas with his right hand tight to his forehead.
“At ease,” Lucas drawls. He seems to savor the words.
“Lydia.” Wes holds out his hand, and I immediately take it. He pulls me close, and I sink into him. Lucas stares at us for a moment, then turns and walks off the dance floor.
Wes draws my entire body to him and I forget all about Lucas. We’re closer than we ever have been, so close that I can feel him take a long breath. I place one hand near his neck, almost touching his bare skin. He pulls my other hand between our bodies and holds it pressed to both our chests. We spin in a lazy circle. The candles above me seem to move closer together, tiny flickering bursts that blend into one long stream of light.
“What are you doing here?” I ask again.
“I—” He pauses, and for a second I think he won’t answer
