Home at last. But more importantly than that, inside the cosy suburban house was his beautiful, young fiancée, Nikki. He had told Nikki that he had to work through the holidays so he could surprise her. It had near killed him not to tell her he was coming home, but now that he was here and anticipating the look of excitement on her face when she saw him, he was glad he had waited. Shutting off the car, he grabbed the large bouquet of red roses from the passenger side of the car and stepped out onto the snow-covered ground. It was a few days before Christmas and he had an entire week off before he had to be back at work. His next assignment would take him back to Sierra Leone; which was not his favorite place to be, not by a long shot. But, he'd deal with that problem when the time came around. He vowed to himself nothing was going to ruin this week for him and Nikki. Nothing. Stepping up to the front door, Grant rang the bell and waited, hoping Nikki would be the one to answer. She was always so enthusiastic to see him, throwing her arms around him and planting frenzied kisses over his lips, face and neck.
