Patricia Potter - A Soldier's Journey

“No, but I had a late lunch with Eve Manning and there’s enough food in the fridge to feed an army.”

A light seemed to go on in his eyes. “Ah, now I understand,” he said.

“Understand what?”

“Why you’re here. Eve is behind this.”

“I like to pay my own way.”

“I get that, too,” he said as they went down the few steps to the ground. They reached his pickup and she wondered whether everyone in Covenant Falls drove a truck. The Bucket was definitely going to be out of place.

She opened the passenger door before he could reach it and climbed inside. Joseph hopped in and squeezed next to her, then she took the bound newspapers in her lap.

It was warm outside and it seemed to get warmer when Nate stepped inside. The sleeves of his blue shirt were rolled up, displaying bronze muscles. She hadn’t noticed that much this morning. She’d been tired and anxious to get inside and settled, at least as much as she could in a cabin that didn’t belong to her. She had worried every mile of her drive that some loud noise or headlight would send her back to Afghanistan and off the road.

But now she was running on adrenaline. The lunch with Eve Manning had given her something she very much needed: an immediate goal. She liked Bill Evans and thought he could be a friend. Maybe Nate, too, although she wanted absolutely nothing outside a casual friendship.

She leaned against the seat.

“What exactly does Eve want you to do?” Nate asked.

“A brochure about the town’s history,” she said.

Nate didn’t say anything, but then silences seemed to be a part of him.

A minute later they were in front of the cabin. He turned off the engine. “If you want to know the history, you should talk to Al Monroe.”

“Eve mentioned something about him, but Bill indicated he might be difficult.”

“He might. He might not,” Nate said. “But it’s worth a try.”

“Could you ask him?”

“I think you should do it yourself,” he said. “He respects strength and directness. And even if not, I’m the last person to ask him.”

“Why?”

“As far as he’s concerned, I’ve been wrong on every side of an issue in Covenant Falls.”

“That’s intriguing.” She waited for him to continue, but he didn’t. Instead, he stepped down and went around to her side of the pickup and opened the door. He reached for the book, but she shook her head.

“I can take it from here,” she said.

His gaze met hers in the internal light of the pickup. His eyes were predominantly a golden brown but with shades of gray and green mixing with it. What was striking, though, was not the color. It was something she couldn’t define. It wasn’t kindness, but more of an empathy. She resented the hell out of sympathy, or pity or its like, but this was neither. I’ve been there. I know what you’re going through. I respect it.

She suddenly realized she was still sitting in the seat, holding the book as if it were a lifeline. Joseph barked as if to jar her into moving. She handed the bulky volume down to Nate. He took it, and she stepped out and followed him to the cabin. “I can take it now,” she said, but as she took it from him once they were inside, her bad hand failed her and the heavy volume started to fall. He caught it.

“Where would you like it?” he asked as if nothing at all had happened.

“The table, I think,” she said, biting her tongue in mortification.

He placed it down on the table, then he turned to her. “Think about contacting Al Monroe,” he said. “I think he would like you.”

“Why?”

“Because I think you have a hell of a lot of grit, and he respects that.” She was too stunned to reply. Grit? Not recently.

“Listen,” he said. “I don’t know what the hell happened to you out there, but here you are, in a strange town, standing up tall and ready to take on a challenge because you’re not giving up.”

“But I was giving up,” she admitted honestly.

“Was doesn’t matter. Now is what matters. Just know we all have your back. Okay?”

He was willing her to believe it. She took a deep breath. “Okay,” she said.

He just nodded. “Call if you need anything, or just want to talk. You’ll be coming to the vet meeting Monday night?”

“You said they play poker?”

“Yeah. We’ve been known to do that.”

“You betcha, then.” False bravado, but it just popped out. She was as surprised as he looked.

He simply nodded, his eyes hooded. “Welcome to Covenant Falls,” he said as he headed for the door.

* * *

NATE’S THOUGHTS WERE in turmoil as he drove away from the cabin. He had not meant to say what he had said, nor do more than leave her at the door. The look on Andy’s face when she’d nearly dropped the heavy, bulky book had changed his mind.

She looked so fragile and yet she had the strength to plunge through whatever pain she had. She’d traveled to a strange place with a determination to reclaim her life. She had apparently grabbed at whatever Eve had offered.

Be careful! Women, particularly pretty ones with wide eyes and sad stories, were poison for him. It had taken him five years to claw back from the hell Maggie had put him through. The last thing he needed was any kind of involvement with a woman.

He would keep his distance. He had given her a challenge by mentioning Al Monroe. He suspected she couldn’t ignore it if she was the fighter he thought lurked within her. He’d done his part. He turned on the highway. He had other stops today.

CHAPTER SIX

ANDY WOKE TO sunlight streaming through the bedroom window. She felt a furry body next to her. It was the first full night’s sleep she’d had in months. No demons. No blood. Just a soft snoring.

Joseph opened one eye and peered at her, as if asking whether he could stay. She remembered her resolve three weeks ago. She wasn’t going to get too emotionally invested in the dog. It was a sound decision. It had lasted until the first nightmare, when he’d woken her, crawled up on the bed and let her cling to him.

Bright blue eyes regarded her solemnly now, and she couldn’t help but rub his ears. So much for not getting invested.

She looked at the clock on the stand next to her bed. Nearly seven. She rarely, if ever, slept that late, but then yesterday had been a very long day. She had gone nearly twenty-four hours without more than a nap yesterday morning.

Even after arriving back at the cabin, she’d looked through more of the papers.

One item had jumped out at her. The mention of a camel ordinance being defeated...

For a few hours she hadn’t thought of Jared, of her friends, of the hand that didn’t work very well.

She stretched out in the bed and thought about the day ahead of her.

Saturday. She was committed to dinner tonight. She wasn’t sure whether she was ready for it, but Eve Manning was a force of nature.

She rubbed Joseph’s fur, and he rewarded her with a sneak-attack kiss. As a nurse who had never had a dog before, she was appalled. But then, she reasoned, a lot of people apparently had canine companions and stayed healthy.

Joseph hadn’t attempted such an overt show of affection before. She apparently had passed the Joseph test.

“Time to get up,” she said. She was hungry. Appetite was something else that had been missing. She was actually hungry now. Dr. Payne would be proud. She might send him a text.

She went into the bathroom. The shower was great. She stayed there for a long time, washing her hair, then just reveling in the hot water. It was almost symbolic. Washing away some of the anger and hopelessness that had smothered her.

She stepped out. Joseph stood and wagged his tail. “Want to go out?” she asked.