Merline Lovelace - Military Heroes Bundle - A Soldier's Homecoming / A Soldier's Redemption / Danger in the Desert / Strangers When We Meet / Grayson's Surrender / Taking Cover

He squeezed her. “We’ll take care of her, Connie, I swear. Nothing’s going to happen to her.”

All of sudden she couldn’t hold still. She pulled away and left the bed, throwing on her robe against the deepening chill and pacing.

“What could he want with her, Ethan? What could he possibly want with her after all this time?”

The words emerged as a cry from the abyss of fear inside her.

“I don’t know,” he said heavily. “I wish to God I did.”

Chapter 14

They picked up Sophie from Jody’s house around eight. Connie had the day off, because Gage always gave her weekends off to be with her daughter. It was one of the perks of being on a small force; personal needs could be taken into account.

Sophie looked at them sleepily from puffy eyes. Enid said the girls hadn’t fallen asleep until nearly six. But when Ethan suggested they go to Maude’s for breakfast, Sophie perked up. She liked steak and eggs, and didn’t get them often, usually because Connie needed to watch her budget.

A crowd filled Maude’s, as it usually did on Saturday mornings. Lots of folks came in from surrounding ranches to take care of business in town, and the City Diner usually topped the list of places to go. Still, they found a booth near the back, and Sophie surprised Connie by squeezing onto the bench beside Ethan, instead of sitting next to her.

One of those unexpected pangs hit Connie as she wondered how much Sophie missed having a father figure in her life. Probably a whole lot. And while Leo could never have been a decent one, not given his violent nature, that didn’t mean Sophie didn’t need a dad.

But dads didn’t grow on trees. She couldn’t just go out and pluck one from a branch somewhere and bring him home. Nor could she risk bringing home the wrong man.

There it was again, her fear of making another bad character judgment.

Somewhere in the midst of steak, eggs and English muffins with jam, the bomb dropped.

Sophie looked at her mother and asked, “Where’s my daddy?”

All of sudden Connie felt light-headed and faint. Her mind seemed to have flung itself somewhere far away, divorcing itself from her body, leaving her with tunnel vision. Distantly, she knew that Sophie was still staring at her, waiting.

Now she understood why Sophie had chosen to sit beside Ethan and not her. Her heart slammed, dragging her back to the table and out of complete shock.

“I’m not sure where your father is,” she said finally, hoping her voice sounded steadier to Sophie than it did to her.

“Why not?”

“Because I haven’t seen him in a long time.”

“Why?”

So that was the way it was going to be. Connie drew a long breath. “This isn’t a good place to discuss this, Sophie. Can you wait until we go home after breakfast?”

Sophie’s lower lip began to tighten, then relaxed. She looked down at her plate and shrugged. “Sure.”

Connie looked from her daughter to Ethan, feeling helpless, and saw sympathy in his gaze. He probably understood Sophie’s side of this better than hers. God!

Her appetite gone, Connie had to force herself to eat as if nothing was wrong. Maude’s ordinarily wonderful cooking tasted like sawdust and stuck in her throat.

When they got home, Sophie took Ethan’s hand as they walked into the house. A message if ever there was one. Then she sat at the kitchen table and simply looked at her mother.

Ethan started the coffeepot. “Should I go to another room?”

“No,” said Sophie and Connie simultaneously.

Ethan looked from one of them to the other, then shrugged and turned back to the coffeepot.

“Maybe you can help,” Connie said. “You’ve been in Sophie’s shoes.”

“Only if she wants my help.”

Sophie, meanwhile, had returned her attention to her mother. “Where’s my daddy?”

“I told you I don’t know. Why are you asking all of a sudden? You never wondered about it before.”

Sophie’s lower lip trembled. “Because last night at Jody’s we were playing a game with her mom and dad. All my friends have dads. All of them. But not me. Why not?”

“Some of your friends’ moms and dads are divorced,” Connie pointed out.

“But they know them! They visit them. Is my dad dead?”

Connie, her stomach knotting until it hurt, wished she could answer with a lie. For the very first time in her life, she wanted to out-and-out lie to Sophie. “No,” she said finally. “We’re divorced.”

“So why don’t I ever get to visit him? Other kids do.”

She’d already said she didn’t know where Leo was. Apparently that wasn’t going to suffice. She barely nodded when Ethan put a cup of coffee in front of her. His hand touched her shoulder, offering silent comfort.

“Mommy?”

Connie sighed, looking down at the table, seeking words that would satisfy without causing harm. She couldn’t seem to find any.

“Your father,” she said finally, “was bad to me.”

“Bad how?”

“Sophie...” But the girl’s stubborn expression said she wasn’t going to settle for that. When and how did a seven-year-old become so mature? “Okay,” Connie said carefully. “He hit me. A lot. I ran away.”

Sophie frowned. “That’s bad.”

“Yes, it was very bad. And when I knew you were coming, I realized I couldn’t stay there anymore. I didn’t want you to grow up that way.”

“But why couldn’t I see him?”

Connie stared at the child, aching, wondering how she could answer that, short of telling Sophie that her father had tried to kill her even before she was born. Sophie should never know that, should never feel that her father hadn’t wanted her, had resented her presence in Connie’s womb so much that he had kicked her there over and over. Only a miracle had prevented a miscarriage or damage to Sophie.

She couldn’t possibly share that with her daughter. On that score, her lips had to remain sealed unto death.

Ethan sat at the table, looking from daughter to mother. “Excuse my butting in, Connie, but the truth is always best. Sophie can handle more than you think.”

“But...” Even as she started to protest, Connie realized that he was right. Lies would only come between them later. But she could limit the truth for now. She had to.

“Okay,” she said finally, looking straight at Sophie. “I ran away from him because it wasn’t good for you. I went to a special home they have for women who have been hit by their husbands. A shelter.”

Sophie nodded, her sleep-puffy eyes wide and attentive.

“But after they helped me get set up in a different home, a place that was supposed to be secret, he followed me home from work one day. Even though the court ordered him to stay away from me. And he hit me so hard I had to go to the hospital.”

“I’m sorry, Mom.” Sophie’s lips were trembling.

“Is that enough, honey? Because the story is ugly.”

“That’s why we came here?”

“Yes. To hide even better.”

“What happened to him? Did he get in trouble for hurting you?”

Connie drew a deep breath, then let it go. “He went to jail.”

“For a long time?”

“Six years.”

Sophie nodded. “But...do you think he would hit me, too?”

“Honey, I wish I knew. I just can’t take the chance.”

Sophie nodded again. Then she said, “I’m tired. I’m going to bed.”

“Hug?”

Sophie came around the table and hugged her mother tight. Then, without a backward look, she disappeared up the stairs to her bedroom.

“God,” Connie breathed. She put her head down on the table and battled an overwhelming urge to cry. “Did you see?” she whispered. “Did you see the look in her eyes? Like something had died.”