A Soldier's Return ; The Daddy Makeover

by RaeAnne Thayne

  “Looks like he’s on his way. Do you have everything you need to sleep over? Pajamas, a change of clothes, your emergency phone, some snacks, coloring paper and pens, your American Girl doll?”

  “Yep. Got it all.” Skye gave her gap-toothed grin, and Melissa’s heart gave another sharp tug. She loved this kind, funny, creative little person with all her heart.

  Her daughter was growing up. What would the future hold for this sweet, openhearted child?

  “Why don’t you practice your reading with me for a few more minutes while we wait?”

  “Okay.” Skye picked up the book she was reading about a feisty girl who resembled her greatly. They were both laughing at the girl’s antics when the doorbell rang.

  “That’s him!” Skye exclaimed. She dropped the book and raced to the door eagerly.

  It was, indeed, her father. Cody walked in with his exotically beautiful bride silently following along.

  “Great place.” Cody gave an admiring look around the big Victorian, with its high ceilings, transom windows and extensive woodwork. “I remember this from when that old biddy Abigail What’s-Her-Name lived here. She never liked me.”

  “It’s been a good apartment for us. The other tenants are wonderful and the landlords have been more than accommodating. It has worked out really well while I continue trying to save up enough for our own place.”

  “When you’re serious about looking, make sure you let me help you. Who knows? I might even discount my commission.”

  She dug her nails into her palms and forced a smile, when what she really wanted to do was roll her eyes and remind him that if he were more dependable with child support, she could have bought a house when she first came back to town.

  “Wow. Thanks. You might want to get your real estate license before you go around making that kind of generous offer.”

  “Working on it. Working on it. You ready, Skye-ster?”

  “Yep.” She threw her arms around Melissa’s waist. “Bye, Mommy. Love you.”

  “Bye, sweetie.”

  “I’ll bring her back tomorrow afternoon. Not sure what time. I was thinking we could maybe hit a baseball game in the afternoon.”

  No problem. She had nothing else to do but sit around and simply wait for him to drop off their child whenever he felt like it.

  “Sounds like fun,” she said, forcing another smile. “When you figure out your plans, I would appreciate a text or call so I know roughly when to expect you.”

  “You got it. Thanks, Missy.”

  He picked up Skye’s suitcase and the booster seat she claimed she didn’t need anymore but legally did because she was small for her age. At least Cody didn’t argue about that as he led the way back to his flashy convertible. The booster seat barely fit in the minuscule back seat.

  She stood on the sidewalk, watching as he helped Skye buckle in, opened the door for his new wife, then climbed in himself.

  As Cody backed out of the driveway, Melissa whispered a prayer that her baby girl would be okay, then headed into her empty apartment.

  Her remaining chores went quickly, especially without Skye to distract her with hugs and stories and eager attempts to help.

  At loose ends, she couldn’t seem to focus on her own book or on the television series she was working her way through on Netflix. If only her mother were in town, they could go for a long lunch somewhere, something they never seemed to have time to do.

  She needed physical activity but couldn’t summon the energy required for a run. After dithering for a few more moments, she finally decided to take a walk to deliver one of the loaves of banana nut bread she and Skye had made earlier that morning to her friends Will and Julia Garrett.

  On impulse, she texted Rosa at work, asking if she was still around and, if so, could Melissa borrow Fiona for a walk.

  Rosa immediately texted back a big YES with four exclamation points. Then she added, Both of us would thank you for that.

  She smiled a little through her glum mood, grateful all over again that her wanderings had led her back here to this beautiful house and new friends.

  She had a key to Rosa’s apartment, and Fiona jumped around excitedly when Melissa reached for her leash by the door.

  “I’m taking a treat to the neighbors,” she informed the dog. “You can only come along if you promise to behave yourself. They’ve got that handsome Labrador who is nothing but trouble.”

  Fiona shook her head as if she disagreed, which made Melissa truly smile for the first time since she had watched a red convertible drive down the road.

  As she and Fiona walked down the stairs, she momentarily thought about inviting Sonia along, then remembered the second-floor tenant was out of town on one of the mysterious trips she took.

  Every few months, an anonymous-looking car-service limousine would pick her up and Sonia would slip inside carrying a suitcase, then would return again by another limousine three or four days later.

  Rosa had once asked her where she went, but Sonia, as usual, gave vague answers. She had offered some excuse about having to go away on a family matter, then had quickly changed the subject.

  Considering she claimed she had no family, that excuse made no sense, but neither she nor Rosa had wanted to interrogate her about it.

  The April afternoon was sunny and lovely, perfect for walking, with a sweet-smelling breeze dancing through the Brambleberry House gardens and the sound of waves in the distance.

  She wanted to enjoy it and was annoyed with herself that she couldn’t seem to shake this blue mood.

  Unfortunately, when she and Fiona walked the three blocks to Julia and Will’s beautifully restored home, nobody answered the door. She knocked several times but received no answer.

  Too bad. She should have called first to make sure they were home. She could always freeze the banana bread, she supposed, though it was never quite as good as when it was fresh out of the oven.

  She took a different way home, not realizing until she was almost to it that her route took her directly past Wendell Sanderson’s house. She wouldn’t have intentionally come this way, but apparently her subconscious had other ideas.

  A sharp bark greeted them, and Fiona immediately started wagging her tail and straining at the leash when she spotted Max just inside the garden gate...in the company of Wendell’s entirely too appealing son.

  She really should have taken another way. Oh, she hoped he didn’t think she was staking out the house in the hopes of seeing him.

  She couldn’t just walk on past, as much as she wanted to. Eli watched her approach, a screwdriver in his hand and an expression on his features she couldn’t decipher.

  “Hi,” he said.

  She gestured to the gate. He was installing some kind of locking mechanism, she realized. “This looks fun.”

  “Since my dad’s surgery, Max has decided he’s the canine version of Houdini. He’s learned how to open the latch and take off.”

  The dog looked inordinately proud of himself.

  “Oh, how sweet. I bet he’s letting himself out so he can go look for your dad!”

  “That is entirely possible. Or maybe he just doesn’t enjoy my company.”

  That is not possible, she wanted to say, but didn’t have the nerve.

  “How is your dad? When is he coming home?”

  “Not as early as he’d hoped. He’s been doing so well, we thought he might be cleared to come home tomorrow, but I guess yesterday he had a little tumble during physical therapy.”

  “Oh, no!”

  “He seems to be all right, but the doctor at the rehab center wants to keep him until at least Monday or Tuesday, to be safe.”

  “I’m sorry. That must be disheartening for both of you, especially if he thought he was going home sooner.”

  On impulse, she held out the loaf of banana brea
d. “Will you take this to him? Skye and I made it this morning for Julia Garrett and her family, but they’re not home. Your dad particularly enjoys our banana nut bread.”

  Eli looked astonished. “Thanks. That’s very kind of you, but are you sure you don’t want to save it and give it to your friend later?”

  “Banana bread is best when it’s fresh. When Skye gets home from Portland, we’ll make another batch.”

  “Portland. I forgot she was going with her dad. How are you holding up?”

  “Super,” she lied. “Except I couldn’t stand how quiet my house was, so I borrowed my neighbor’s dog and went for a walk so I wouldn’t have to be alone there.”

  He smiled a little at that and patted Fiona, who gazed up at him with adoration.

  She had been holding back her emotions all day, but the kindness in his eyes seemed to send them bubbling over. To her great and everlasting dismay she sniffled a little, a tear dripping down her cheek.

  “Hey now. It’s okay,” Eli said, looking slightly panicky. “She won’t be gone long.”

  “I know. She’ll be back tomorrow.”

  Melissa felt so stupid! It was only an overnight visit. Fiona licked at her hand and it was the absolute last straw. She sniffled again and before she knew it, Eli had set the loaf of banana nut bread on top of the gate and reached for her, pulling her against his hard muscles.

  “It’s okay,” he said again.

  “She’s never been away from me. Not one single night. She’s seven years old and she’s never slept somewhere she couldn’t call out to me. Her father has taken her before but only for a few hours at a time. He doesn’t know that she needs a night-light on and she has bad dreams if she eats too much sugar past eight, and when she wakes up, she does this sweet little stretchy thing.”

  “He’ll figure all that out. The important parts anyway.”

  She let out a sigh, wishing she could stay here the rest of the evening so he could help keep her nerves away. “I know. You’re right.”

  “Cody loves Skye, right? You said as much yesterday.”

  “He does. He doesn’t always do things the same as I would, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t love her.”

  “They will be fine. Skye strikes me as a clever girl. If there are any problems, she can always give you a call to come get her.”

  This was dangerous, being close to him like this. She couldn’t help remembering their kiss the day before, and the way she had flung her arms around his neck and surrendered to her overpowering attraction toward him.

  Holding him like this, being close to him and hearing his heartbeat against her cheek, was entirely too risky. It was making her think all kinds of wild thoughts. She was aware of a soft tenderness blooming to life inside her like the spring growth all around them. He was so kind, so concerned about her feelings. He made her feel like she mattered.

  How was she supposed to resist that?

  She had to. He was leaving again. He’d told her so himself. She couldn’t afford to lose her heart to a man destined to break it into a thousand pieces.

  Though it made her ache inside to do it, she forced herself to step away. “Thank you. I’m sorry you had to talk me down off the ledge.”

  “You’re welcome. Anytime.” He studied her. “You know what you need tonight? A distraction.”

  For one crazy second, her mind went into some completely inappropriate directions. She could come up with some pretty delicious ways to distract herself involving him, but she had a feeling that wasn’t what he was talking about. “What did you have in mind?”

  “Tiffany from work and her band are playing at The Haystacks tavern tonight. She gave me a flyer yesterday on her way out the door. I was thinking it would be nice to support her.”

  Melissa tried not to wince at the suggestion. She adored the young CNA for many reasons, but her musical ability wasn’t among them.

  “You haven’t heard her sing, have you?”

  “Is it that bad?”

  “Taste can be such a subjective thing.”

  “In other words, you hate it.”

  “I don’t hate it, exactly. Her band’s style is what you might call an acquired taste.”

  “Well, hers isn’t supposed to be the only band. According to the flyer, there are two other bands playing after hers. Who knows, we might get lucky and one might even be tolerable. What do you say?”

  Why was he asking her? Because he felt sorry for her? Was he only being kind, or did he also dislike being alone on a Saturday night?

  Did his reasons really matter? She didn’t want to stay at home by herself watching television and feeling sorry for herself. He was offering a perfect distraction. If she didn’t go, she would be alone all evening, without even Fiona for company, since Rosa was leaving town.

  “I suppose it would mean a lot to Tiffany if we both came out to listen to her.”

  “There you go. A night on the town, plus supporting a coworker. You can’t lose.”

  She wouldn’t go that far. There was always the chance she would end up letting down her guard too much and inadvertently reveal the big crush she had on her boss.

  She would simply have to be careful that didn’t happen. The benefits of getting out of the house offset the small risk that she might make a fool of herself.

  “What time?”

  “Does eight work?”

  “Yes. It’s a d—” She caught herself before she said a word that rhymed with eight. This was not at date. They were simply two coworkers going out on the town to support someone else who worked with them.

  “Deal. It’s a deal,” she improvised quickly. “Eight works for me.”

  “Perfect. I’ll pick you up then.”

  “Great. Meantime, I hope your dad enjoys the banana nut bread. If you’re lucky, he might even share some with you.”

  “I’ll keep my fingers crossed.”

  She smiled, grabbed Fiona’s leash and headed back toward Brambleberry House, feeling much better about the world than she had a few moments earlier.

  Chapter Seven

  As he drove up to the big, sprawling Victorian house where Melissa lived with her daughter, Eli was aware of a vague sense of danger.

  He knew it was ridiculous. He had been in war zones, for heaven’s sake, in countless hair-raising circumstances. He had operated on people with bullets flying, had jumped out of helicopters into uncertain territory, had tried to provide medical care in villages where he knew armed hostiles were hiding out.

  Yeah, those things had been terrifying. Melissa Blake Fielding posed an entirely different sort of threat.

  The woman got to him. She always had. He’d had a thing for her all those years ago when he was in high school, and apparently the intervening years had done nothing to work it out of his system.

  This wasn’t a date, despite the flowers on the seat next to him. They were friends and coworkers, he reminded himself. He had no intention of making things more complicated with her.

  Sure, he liked her. The pretty cheerleader she had been in school had grown into a woman of strength and substance, someone who showed compassion and kindness to everyone.

  She hadn’t kissed him out of kindness. His abdominal muscles tightened at the memory of her sweet response the day before and the eagerness of her mouth against his. She had been as into the kiss as he was. He knew he hadn’t misread the signs.

  That didn’t change the fact that he never should have let things go as far as they had.

  Melissa had become an indispensable part of his father’s practice. His father had told him how very much he relied on her. Eli had no business coming into town for a few weeks and messing with the status quo simply because he wanted something.

  This wasn’t a date, and he needed to remember that he wasn’t the kind of man she needed. He couldn’t be that man. She
needed someone focused on home and family, not somebody who was simply marking time until he could go back and finish the job he had left undone overseas.

  He found deep satisfaction working for the Army Medical Corps. He was helping other people and making a difference in the world, in whatever small way he could. Since Justine and Miri had died in that market square, however, his responsibilities had taken on vital urgency. Justine had been a dedicated physician, passionate about providing care to the desperate and helpless. He felt driven to continue her work.

  Her life had held purpose and direction. Her death—and Miri’s—had been meaningless, the result of a cruel, fruitless act of violence. He was the trained military officer, and he should have picked up on the signs of unrest they had seen when they entered that village. He should never have let her go to the market that day. Instead, he had ignored his instincts and she had died as a result.

  Because of him, she would no longer be able to help anyone, and he felt a sacred obligation to continue his own work in her memory. What else could he do?

  He wasn’t free to let himself fall for Melissa, no matter how attracted he was to her. It wouldn’t be fair to either of them.

  He wasn’t in love with her. They’d only kissed once, for heaven’s sake. She was his coworker and his friend.

  He was half-tempted to throw the flowers his father had insisted he bring into the garbage can over there, but that would be wasteful. Friends could bring friends flowers. That didn’t mean this was a date.

  With that reminder firmly in his head, he walked up the porch steps of Brambleberry House and rang the doorbell just as another woman trotted down the steps carrying a backpack, with Fiona the Irish setter on her leash.

  The woman was pretty, with warm brown eyes and wavy dark hair. She stopped and smiled at him, eyes widening a little when she spotted the flowers. He tried not to flush but had a feeling he wasn’t very successful.

  “Hello. You must be Dr. Sanderson’s son. Eli, right? The army doctor.”

  What had she heard about him? And from whom? Had Melissa mentioned his name? He sighed, annoyed with himself. This wasn’t junior high. It didn’t matter if Melissa had mentioned him to her friend or not.