by Amy Vastine
CHAPTER THREE
“You’re in Phoenix?” Brig Collier, Caleb’s former team leader, paused a moment before asking, “Why?”
“I grew up here,” Caleb said. “That is, whenever my uncle wasn’t traveling on the professional golf circuit and dragging me with him.”
On the other end of the line, Brig sighed. “Thought you were coming to see us. Molly’s already planned the holiday menu with all your favorites.”
“I was headed for Virginia, but I decided to drop in on Jacoby then Morris.” The two men had left their black-ops unit some time before Brig.
“I hear Jacoby’s got two kids with another on the way,” Brig said.
“He’s still looking for a job. Unemployed. And Morris is drinking,” Caleb replied.
“Sorry to hear that. It’s a big problem.” Caleb heard the worry in Brig’s tone. “Henderson, get your behind down here for Thanksgiving—”
“I’m already kind of obligated here,” he said, “to an old friend. Friends.
I really want to see you guys and I will, soon, but…”
“I know it’s not easy,” Brig said.
Caleb tensed. He’d told Brig about the decision he was trying to make. Stay with the team. Or quit, like the others. Deliberately, he misunderstood.
“Yeah, I’ve known these people for a long time and they’re not military so it’s different. But Daisy—one of the friends—wants me to stick around.”
“I meant it’s not easy making the choice. Coming back.”
True, but Caleb didn’t want to get into a gritty discussion—another reason he’d postponed the trip to Virginia. If Brig didn’t see through him, Molly certainly would. And then there was Laila.
Caleb had saved every email Brig had sent about his daughter—she was nearly two now. He’d had some crazy idea that as long as he got news from the States of his little lady’s first tooth, her first solid food, he wouldn’t end up like Sean Denton. Laila had been his link to the real, and better, world. His good luck charm.
“I’m doing fine,” he said at last.
Brig gave up. “You want to talk to Laila?”
“She talks?” The last time he’d actually seen her, she was a newborn in a crib.
“Oops, lost your chance,” Brig said, a grin in his voice. “She just whizzed past chasing the dog.”
Caleb knew Brig had meant to disarm him, so to speak. Daisy had tried to do the same thing earlier with the turkey farm.
“Text me some new pictures,” he said.
“Will do.” Brig took a deep breath. “You know, Molly’s pregnant. This’ll be our first baby together.”
“Yeah? That’s great,” he said, but a pang of envy stopped him from saying anything else.
“I could use a hand here. How’d you like to help me train new warriors?”
“I’ll think about it.” No, he wouldn’t. If he did decide to leave the team, he wouldn’t want any reminders.
“You don’t come, I’ll come after you,” Brig said. “I’ve never left a man behind.” After a brief pause, he added, “Daisy? Now I get it. She single?”
“In a way,” he said, remembering how she’d cried in his arms about Bryan. “But it’s not like that.”
Brig laughed. “Henderson, it’s always like that.”
* * *
On Wednesday morning Daisy kicked into high gear. After cleaning house while Caleb slept—at least, he hadn’t shown up for coffee yet—she made her grocery list. And, oh, they had to pick up the now-dressed turkey at the farm. As Daisy double checked her list, Caleb came into the kitchen.
And her heart skipped a beat.
She tried to focus on her list, but his image was imprinted on her mind. Sleepy eyes and tousled hair. He looked good enough to…love? Even after yesterday, when she’d cried in the car and he’d kissed her, she wasn’t going there.
“Good morning. How does a trip to the store sound?”
“Like torture.” He poured his coffee. “I’ll hold down the fort,” he said. “Got a few calls to make. Other stuff, too.”
“Really.”
“Well, no. But I’m not a fan of supermarkets—or turkeys.”
“Too bad,” Daisy murmured. There was no way she’d leave him at home. Caleb needed to be around people. Several ex-soldiers at the center were the same. Whether he liked it or not, she would keep trying to get him to open up, hopefully without his knowing it. “I need your help carrying that monster bird. And the rest won’t take long. You can let me know what you’d like for dinner tomorrow. Everyone gets a choice.”
“Not in the military,” he said.
She studied him, frowning. “Hmm. And you’re good with that?”
“For now. I’m trying to decide if it’s time to leave. You have to be in good shape, but after thirty the reflexes start to go, and a lot of guys retire then. Problem is, that only creates another problem. What kind of job could I get, when the military’s all I know?” He hesitated. “Would I be able to fit in somewhere…”
“On the outside,” she said for him.
“Yeah.”
“That would certainly be safer,” she said, as if anything was.
“You have a point. Except I’d also be leaving my team—my friends—behind. Letting them down. How can I do that? They need all the protection they can get.” He paused, then told her about the team and Brig, about Laila and Sean. “He was younger than me, but I guess even he waited too long. He didn’t make it home.”
“That’s a shame.” Daisy’s tone ended the conversation. Bryan hadn’t stayed safe and if Caleb quit his team, she wouldn’t be either. There’d be no uniform in her way, but Caleb would still be a military man. She saw that everyday. She might follow him anywhere when what she should be doing was her job.
But he hadn’t made his decision yet, so Daisy forgot about the future for now and finally got Caleb moving. At the supermarket, he seemed to get into the holiday spirit at last.
Caleb studied a row of cans. “Whole berry or jellied?”
“I make my own sauce. We’ll get two bags of cranberries in Produce.”
He held up a can of pumpkin next. Daisy sighed.
“I know, I should have made my own pie filling, but I’ve been too busy at work. Now I don’t have time. Unless you’d like to prepare a real pumpkin—”
He raised his eyebrows. “Not me. I’m a mincemeat kind of guy.”
She grinned. “Teasing? This will take us twice as long if you don’t cooperate.”
But to her surprise, he grabbed a jar of mincemeat then glanced into their cart. “Looks like you’re going to feed a whole army.”
“Wouldn’t that be lovely?” Daisy re-checked her list then marched toward the produce department. “Caleb, the cranberries are all gone.” There wasn’t a bag in sight.
He jogged around a corner. “Over here. There’s a big display.”
Daisy sighed then picked out the best-looking packages, even though Caleb claimed they all looked the same. When Daisy pointed at one too high for her to reach, he stepped behind her and leaned in to cage her between his arms. Warmth shot through her and she was tempted to lean against him.
“Better get one more,” he said.
Standing even closer, he snagged three packages in one hand. He grinned.
“You really smiled,” she said.
“You make me smile.”
There he went again. If she wasn’t careful, Caleb would charm his way straight into her heart—whether he meant to or not. But, like Bryan, he still risked his life every day. She wouldn’t go through that again.
Daisy strode toward the checkout counters, leaving him to wheel the cart.
Back at the house, she’d no sooner put the food in the fridge than her cell phone rang. Daisy took the call then grabbed her purse and headed for the door.
“Trouble?”
“That was the center.” Her mouth tightened. “Sophie’s wandered off.”
* * *
Caleb went with her. The reha
b center wasn’t his favorite place, but he did like Sophie.
“Does this happen often?”
“More often than is good for her,” Daisy said, sighing.
“But she’s in a wheelchair.”
“Apparently she left it behind.”
The outer doors were always locked, but someone had disarmed the security system. No one at the facility seemed to know who’d done it. Or why.
That didn’t matter now. Caleb had a mission. He didn’t even have to think. And there were no bullets flying overhead. No one lying in wait. No casualties…unless something happened to Sophie.
A half-hour later a thorough search of the center had found nothing.
“Everybody outside,” he said. “We’ll use a grid pattern. I’ll take the woods.”
For Caleb, this was no challenge. As he crept deeper into the thickly wooded area behind the rehab center, listening for the slightest sound, he heard Sophie’s voice. She was talking to a bird in a tree.
“Who’s your friend,” he said, laying a light hand on her frail arm.
“A fledgling. He fell. I put him back on this branch.”
Caleb gently turned her around. “He’s okay, then. Let me take you…back. You can talk with Sunshine.”
Her gaze snapped up to meet his. She frowned.
“Who are you? You’re not my son.”
“I’m Caleb, remember?”
“I don’t know you.” Her voice grew agitated. “Go away!”
“I was here yesterday,” he began then stopped. Why hadn’t Daisy warned him? Caleb had seen more than one guy who’d suffered brain damage after getting hurt. In Sophie’s case, aging must be the cause.
Fortunately, her protest didn’t last. With an aggrieved sigh, she let him walk her back to the center. “Mission accomplished,” he told Daisy, who met them at the door.
“Thanks,” she said, a hand to her chest. “Sophie, I’ll see you to your room.”
“This isn’t my house.”
In a low, soothing voice Daisy talked to her, pointing out familiar people and Sophie’s favorite reading nook as they passed. Caleb followed them to her room but didn’t go in. Sophie wouldn’t want him there today.
He took a deep breath then turned back toward the reception area—and almost ran right into another wheelchair. He hadn’t heard its approach. The man sitting there gave him a bright, blank smile. Caleb started to sweat.
The guy had a blanket across his lap, which was pretty much where his body ended. He’d lost both legs. Caleb could almost hear the explosion.
“Hey, buddy.” He laid one hand on the guy’s shoulder as much to steady himself as to acknowledge his presence. Behind him, Caleb could see into the room across the hall, the sheets stretched tight on a bed, like in a barracks. A number of family pictures sat on the dresser. One was of the same man in uniform, a few years younger, his smile just as bright but a whole lot more focused.
In a flash, Caleb was back in the war.
He ran.
CHAPTER FOUR
Gunfire blazed. Mortars pounded—incoming!—then crashed all around. Men died where they fell. In the ruins of a hospital he watched Sean Denton’s eyes go blank. Over and over and over…
Caleb didn’t know how he’d gotten back to the casita. He sure didn’t know why he stayed.
At the store, he’d been so tempted to kiss Daisy when he should just get out of her way. Because even though he was half in love with her already, what did he have to offer? Their conversation about his team and Sean must have triggered the memories. That, and seeing the wounded Marine.
Caleb shook all over until his teeth rattled in his messed-up head.
The memories kept coming.
* * *
Daisy didn’t see Caleb for the rest of the day. At five o’clock, after she’d left Sophie watching a re-run of the Mary Tyler Moore show, she’d found him waiting out front in her car. He hadn’t said a word, but he didn’t have to. She’d seen him bolt after talking to Mark, a veteran whose room was across the hall from Sophie.
At home, Daisy got caught up in cooking for Thanksgiving. She wanted to go to the casita to check on him. But maybe she shouldn’t let her foolish attraction go any farther. Or her concern.
Still, once the cranberry relish was done, the sweet potato casserole prepared and the pumpkin pies baked, she couldn’t seem to sit still. The bad signs were piling up.
After crossing the courtyard, she knocked at the casita door.
“Caleb?” she called out.
He didn’t answer. Daisy took a breath then twisted the doorknob. The small living area was dark, but she could see Caleb slumped on the sofa, staring into space. Trembling. This was a serious setback. She’d have to tread lightly.
“You shouldn’t be alone,” she said. “Come to the house. I’ll even let you have a piece of pie tonight.”
“Mincemeat?” His too-soft tone held no humor.
“That’s really your favorite?”
He studied his hands. “My mom used to bake—before she and my dad decided to go off-the-grid in Oregon,” he said. “After that, my uncle and I ate Thanksgiving dinner in some restaurant or hotel.”
Daisy leaned down to catch his gaze. “This year you’ll have Thanksgiving here. A real extravaganza.” He’d finally started to crack, but he still had defenses to get through, which wouldn’t be easy. So Daisy changed tactics. It was time for the hard approach. “The man you saw at the center today has serious injuries to deal with, yes. But he’s trying, Caleb.”
“To do what?”
“Come back,” she murmured.
Caleb blinked. “That what you think I should do? A week ago, I was still over there, trying to stay alive. Sure, that Marine reminded me—”
Daisy’s patience snapped. “You took one look then split. How do you think he felt? You think you’re the first person to pretend he doesn’t even exist? Because it’s just too hard to try? To make contact with your feelings? That breaks my heart, the same way Bryan did when he—”
“Not the same.”
She framed his face in her hands. She had lost Bryan, and she wouldn’t throw away the chance to help Caleb now. “He died in a fire, trying to rescue other people. He sacrificed his life just as your friends did—but is that what you want to remember about Sean and the others? Or would it be better, healthier certainly, to think of the good times you had and the little girl he left behind? That’s life, Caleb.”
He shook his head. “This from the same woman who told me she’d never care about another guy in uniform. How healthy is that?”
“Fine. Go right ahead,” she said. “Sit here and wallow in something you can’t change. I’ve seen it before. That story doesn’t have a happy ending.” She stepped back, heart pounding. She’d tried but failed. “Until you let out all these ugly feelings, whether or not you decide to stay with your team, you’ll never come back. You’ll still be there in uniform.”
She started toward the door. But Caleb’s voice stopped her.
“Sean was just one of the guys we lost, but he was a really great person. He’d do anything for you, anything for the woman he loved.” Caleb hunched over, both arms clasped around his head as if to press the memories back inside. “After the bomb went off in that hospital, what do you think his last words were?”
Daisy turned. “Tell me.”
“He asked a nurse about Laila. He cared more for her than for himself.”
“Oh, Caleb.”
She crossed the room then, gathering him in her arms. And at last he spoke about what he’d seen, what had drilled so deep into his mind, his memory, that he’d gotten lost inside himself.
Daisy talked, too, telling Caleb the words Bryan had said before the fire. We’re grownups now. We should buy a house. Have a baby.
They’d planned so much, had so little time.
“And you promised yourself you’d never take that risk again,” he said.
“To love someone? Too late,” she told
him, knowing that was true. “Were you saying that in my own way I haven’t come back, either?”
“Yeah. I guess I am,” he murmured.
He drew her close, or she drew him. She wasn’t sure which. When her lips touched his face, he didn’t try to stop the tears. Neither did she. And when they kissed, it was like a healing gift.
* * *
“Oh my gosh. The time!”
At dawn the panic in Daisy’s voice woke Caleb like a bugle call, his system instantly on high alert.
He checked his watch. “It’s just after six.”
Daisy bolted upright and scrambled to straighten her rumpled shirt. Her hair looked wild, tumbling around her face. They’d spent the night on the sofa, just holding each other. Without her in his arms, Caleb felt cold.
“I have to go. Jared and Kim must be in the house. What will they think?”
“Nothing happened, Daisy.” The notion that she might regret last night set his teeth on edge. She’d wakened him from a dreamless sleep. No nightmares for once.
She shot to her feet then headed for the door.
“The turkey has to go in,” she said. “Come help me.”
Slam. In a flash she was gone.
Caleb fell back against the sofa cushions and tried to focus. He hadn’t had a choice after all. He’d told her everything—she’d pulled it from him—and this morning he felt…oh yeah, at peace.
Fifteen minutes later, showered and shaved, he walked into the kitchen with a new mission in mind.
Daisy glanced over her shoulder. “Thank goodness. Jared’s flight was cancelled last night. Well, that’s not good. But he and Kim won’t be here until later today.”
She rummaged in the refrigerator and emerged with several lemons, an orange and some fresh herbs he couldn’t identify. “Get the turkey out of the fridge, please, so I can rinse it then stuff it with these.” She went to the sink and turned on the faucet.
Caleb soon learned that today—Thanksgiving dinner—was Daisy’s own war. Everything had to be perfectly timed, like a military campaign. And Caleb became her lieutenant.
The turkey had been in the oven for several hours when the front door burst open and Jared walked in with his wife.
“We’re here! Better late than never.”