Home of Her Heart (Hearts of the War Book 2)

by Shanna Hatfield

  Aware of her emotional struggle, Klayne backed toward the stairs. “I’ll go check on Ryatt. Do you need anything?”

  She sucked in a breath. “No, Klayne. I’m fine. I want to finish this, then I’ll head off to bed.”

  By the time he made it upstairs, Ryatt was in his room, buttoning his pajama top. “Ready for bed, Ry?”

  “Yep. I’ll tell it to the world, but I’m plumb tuckered out,” the boy said and climbed into his bed. Just as quickly, he climbed back out and dropped to his knees beside it, hands clasped together beneath his chin.

  From past evenings, Klayne knew this part of the bedtime routine. He took a seat on the edge of Ryatt’s mattresses and listened as the boy said his prayers.

  “Thank you, Lord, for Grandpa, and Aunt Dee, for Butch and Duffy and the others who help with our work. Thanks for Amy and her parents for making good things to eat at the bakery and for giving me extra cookies. Thank you for Petey and his family, even Princess Alice. Thank you for Moose, he’s the best dog in the world, and our wonderful horses. And thank you for Klayne, for sending him here to love me and Aunt Dee. We need someone good like him to love us and keep us safe. Please help Aunt Dee to like him all the time and not be mad or sad anymore. Amen.”

  Klayne’s throat threatened to close with emotions. He swallowed hard and smiled at the youngster as Ryatt scrambled back into his bed and slid between the sheets. With practice, Klayne was learning the bedtime rituals of a normal childhood. He tugged up the covers and tucked them around Ryatt. When the boy begged for a story, he told him about one of the escapades he and Billy got into, although he changed their names and used it as a lesson about why young boys should listen to their elders and not run off on their own.

  At the end of the story, Ryatt sat up and threw his arms around Klayne, tightly squeezing him. “Thanks for coming to find me, Klayne. I’m sorry I ran away and scared Aunt Dee. I didn’t mean to be bad.”

  “We know that, Ryatt. Just don’t do anything like that again.” Klayne cupped the back of the boy’s head with one hand and his stubborn little chin with the other. “I’ll always be here for you, Ry. Don’t ever forget that. If you need something, even if it’s just to talk about a problem, you can come to me anytime.”

  Ryatt pulled back and grinned. “Petey’s right, you’re a real good egg, Klayne.”

  He tweaked the boy’s nose before Ryatt settled back beneath the covers. “I’m glad I’m not a rotten egg,” Klayne teased, rising from the bed. “They smell terrible and taste even worse.” He made a funny face that caused the boy to laugh. Klayne ran a hand over Ryatt’s wild hair. “I love you, Ryatt. Your aunt and I both do.”

  “Love you, too, Klayne. G’night.” Ryatt shut sleepy eyes as Klayne turned off the lamp and then closed the door so only a sliver of yellow glowed inside from the light in the hall.

  Klayne went into the bathroom and readied for bed. On his way downstairs to get a drink of water, the sound of sobs drew him to Delaney’s room.

  Conflicted, he stood outside her door. What if she pushed him away again? What if his presence only increased her distress? What if she needed him?

  Unable to leave her alone, he tapped once and opened her door. She was in bed, resting on her side with a soggy handkerchief in one hand and the sheet clenched in her other.

  “What’s wrong, Delaney?” he asked, crossing the room in a few long strides. “Are you hurt? Did something happen?” With effort, he knelt by her bed and took her clenched fist in his, bringing the back of her hand to his lips.

  “I’m fine, Klayne. I’m just…” She gulped a deep breath, then another. “If something had happened to Ryatt today, I would have died. I can’t lose him. It would be like losing Mac and Carol all over again, only worse.”

  “I know, honey. I know.” Klayne brushed the hair away from her face, much as he’d done for Ryatt earlier. “We found him and everything is fine now. Everything will be okay.”

  “No, it won’t!” Delaney looked at him with fear in her eyes. “How can anything ever be right again when I’ve been so awful to you? You must think I hate you, but I don’t. I’m just scared… scared of losing you, too.”

  “You aren’t going to lose me, Delaney. I’m right here.” Klayne stood with effort, suppressing a groan, then sat on the bed. Cautiously, he reached out and drew Delaney against his chest, enfolding her in his arms. He placed her hand over his heart. “Feel that? Feel my heart beat strong and steady? Each beat is just for you. When I wanted to give up, when I thought death would be easier than the pain I had to endure, I focused on my memories of you. I fought my way back here because I couldn’t bear the thought of never seeing you again, never hearing your laughter, or tasting your kisses. The one thing that kept me hanging on was the hope of coming home to you. I love you, Delaney, with all my heart.”

  “I don’t deserve your love or your grace, Klayne,” she said in a voice choppy with emotion. “I’m sorry I’ve been so hurtful to you, so horrible and cruel and spiteful and...”

  He silenced her with a quick kiss. “I know, Delaney. Don’t give it another thought.” Doctor Nash had sworn to keep his secret, but Klayne had gone to visit him one day just to find out what Delaney’s pregnancy entailed. The man assured him many women experienced emotions very similar to Delaney’s, especially toward the end of their pregnancy. Klayne had worried about it plenty, but tried not to show it. The doctor’s assertion that she didn’t really loathe him made him feel marginally better and gave him the reassurance he needed to wait patiently for her to open her heart to him again.

  The sheet fluttered as the baby kicked, drawing Klayne’s interest. Desperate to feel it, he gingerly lowered his hand until it rested on Delaney’s stomach.

  “Don’t touch me, Klayne. Please?” she begged, flinching at his touch.

  “Why?” he asked. His hand rested lightly on her stomach, waiting for the baby to kick again.

  “Because I’m so hideous and ugly,” Delaney whispered and ducked her head in shame. “The wife you left behind is far different than the one you returned to. I’m sure you hated coming home to an angry bloated hippo.”

  “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen,” Klayne said in a husky voice, kissing her cheek, then the exposed skin on her shoulder. “There is nothing about this wonderful little life growing inside you that is hideous or ugly, wife. She’s a reminder of how much I love you. How much you once loved me.”

  Tears glistened in her eyes. “I still love you, Klayne, with all my heart. It’s just that… I’m…”

  He raised both eyebrows, waiting for her to continue. Self-consciously, she tried to pull his hand away from her stomach, but he left it on the curve of her belly and splayed out his fingers. As a reward for his efforts, the baby kicked and he felt the tiny jolt. Amazed, he stared at Delaney with such a look of wonder, she smiled.

  Resigned to sharing the baby and her body with her husband, she lifted his fingers in hers. “Move your hand over here. This is where she likes to kick when I’m trying to go to sleep.” Delaney guided his hand over to her left side and held it in place with her hand over the top of his. The baby kicked two more times and once he was sure he felt a fist pressing against Delaney’s flesh.

  Deliberate in his movements, he tugged up the hem of her nightgown until he could see her skin in the light shining in the open door from the hallway. Delaney yanked at the fabric of her gown and grasped for the sheet, but he refused to allow her to hide from him. He pushed the nightgown up higher, flicked the sheet away, then bent down and kissed her belly. Gently, his big hand stroked over the mound created by the baby. “Why do you think it’s a girl?” he asked.

  Delaney smirked, the same smile that had tantalized him when he’d first met her. “Because you deserve to have a daughter just like me.”

  “Heaven help us both,” Klayne teased, skimming a kiss across her lips although his hand continued to rub over her skin, exploring the contours of his wife. She felt nothing, yet ever
ything, like he remembered.

  She laughed and settled against him. “Stay with me tonight, Klayne. Please? I don’t want to be alone anymore.”

  “You’ll never have to be alone again,” he assured her, moving so he rested next to her, taking her in his arms. “Just don’t push me away again. My heart can’t take it.”

  Delaney snuggled into his solid chest. “No more, soldier boy. Your place is right here, beside me.”

  Leisurely, he caressed her, holding her tenderly in his arms. “I missed you so much, Laney. More than you’ll ever know. There were days when the only thing that pulled me through was thinking of seeing you again, of being with you like this.”

  “Oh, Klayne,” she whispered, tears stinging her eyes. “I missed you, too. In spite of what you might think, I love you so much.”

  “And I love you.” He cleared his throat then gazed at her indecisively.

  “What is it?” she asked, reading the questions on his face and concern in his eyes. “What’s wrong?”

  “I wrote something for you,” he said, as though he feared sharing it with her. “Something you might think is silly.”

  She moved her head so she could see him better. “What is it? A poem?”

  “Of sorts. You probably don’t remember, but the day we wed, we were walking down the street and I asked if you wanted to do something, go to the movies or a dance. You said there was nothing you wanted more than just to spend time with me.”

  “I remember,” Delaney whispered, flooded with memories of that day that seemed like a lifetime ago.

  Uncertain and somewhat shyly, he shared the words he’d written for her from his heart.

  It might rain or it might shine

  There may be clouds

  At any time…

  A blizzard might rage and blow

  The flowers may bloom

  But this I know…

  No matter what,

  No matter when,

  I’d leave it all behind

  Just to spend the day with you.

  “You wrote that, Klayne?” she asked, peering into his handsome, beloved face.

  “I wrote it for you, Delaney. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do just to spend time with you. When I wasn’t certain I’d survive, all I pleaded for was the chance to see you one more time, to spend just one more hour with you.”

  Tears trickled down her cheeks. “You don’t have to worry any more, Klayne. There’s no place I’d rather be than right here with you.”

  His thumbs brushed away her tears before his lips claimed hers in a kiss that left no doubt about the depths of his love and devotion.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  In the days following Ryatt’s disappearance from school, Klayne was happier than he’d ever been. Delaney moved her things into the guest room with him, since the bed was larger and the room had more space.

  Together, they went up to the attic and found two trunks full of baby clothes and blankets that had belonged to Mac and Delaney, along with a crib, cradle, highchair, and baby carriage.

  “This baby is going to have more stuff than she’ll ever be able to use,” Klayne said as he glued a loose spindle on the crib.

  “Perhaps, but babies in general seem to need quite a bit of stuff, as you put it,” Delaney said, as she ran a dust cloth over the furniture in the baby’s room for the fifth time.

  Klayne noticed she’d been spending a lot of time in the room, adjusting this and straightening that, as though the baby would care. It amused him to watch her fidget with the furnishings in the room. Fussing over little details seemed so at odds with her character, what he knew of her.

  For the first few months, the baby would sleep in the cradle he’d already repaired and polished to a high shine, but he wanted everything to be perfect for the little one’s arrival. As he replaced the lid on the glue and stepped back, Klayne glanced around the room, proud of how nice it looked. Delaney had done an excellent job creating a little haven for their baby.

  In fact, to him it seemed the ranch had become a haven for them all.

  Ryatt was doing well, both in school and at home. He’d made friends with a little boy named Grady Hill. Twice he’d gone to the Hill home after school to play and one Saturday, Grady came out to the ranch to spend the day.

  Dill maneuvered around with ease on his crutches and grew more jovial as his pain lessened.

  Klayne noticed his own strength and stamina improving each day. The clean air, wholesome food, and hard work on the ranch helped. However, he credited a large part of his drastic improvement to finally coming home to the place he belonged — in Delaney’s heart.

  He reached out to her and pulled her against his chest as they looked around the room. The pale yellow walls, the same color of freshly churned butter that matched the shade on the exterior of the house, appeared cheerful and welcoming. The cherry wood furniture gleamed and shone in the autumn sunlight streaming through windows covered by yellow gingham curtains sewn by Lina.

  Although the room could be used for a boy or a girl, something about it seemed feminine to Klayne. He couldn’t say what, exactly, other than Delaney was convinced she was having a girl. Ryatt continually referred to the baby as “she” or “my princess.” In truth, Klayne didn’t care if it was a boy or a girl. He just wanted it to be healthy.

  He’d only had a little more than a month to adjust to the idea of becoming a father. The thought both frightened and thrilled him. He feared his lack of parents and unpleasant childhood might somehow affect his ability to be a good parent. Yet, he knew with unwavering certainty that he’d move heaven and earth to keep his family safe and make them feel loved.

  The very notion of having a family of his own was such a foreign, unexpected, thoroughly wonderful realization to him. He had a family, a real family. Delaney and the baby, Ryatt, Dill, and even Butch and Duffy were among those he included.

  It all started with a beautiful girl who captured his interest and his heart from his hiding place behind a half-dead Christmas tree.

  “I love you, Laney,” Klayne murmured into his wife’s hair as he continued to hold her. His hands rested on her stomach, anticipating the moment the baby might kick again. Since Delaney had invited him into her bed and back into her heart, he couldn’t get enough of touching her, being with her.

  She acted embarrassed every time he grazed his hands over her skin, muttering about looking like a water buffalo or an elephant. But he loved the feel of her, of her warm, smooth skin, the hardness of her stomach as it harbored the growing life within, the scent of her that he’d clung to in some of the darkest moments of his life. He loved this woman — his woman — with a ferocity, possessiveness, and indescribable tenderness he’d never imagined feeling, not for anyone.

  Delaney turned and looped her wrists behind his neck, smiling coyly at him. “I love you, soldier boy.” She leaned against him, pulling his head down for a kiss.

  Their lips had barely connected when the baby kicked so hard, Klayne grinned. “Are you sure this isn’t going to be a boy? With a kick like that, he could be a great football player.”

  “If I could raise my foot higher than an inch off the floor, I’d show you how well a girl can kick!” Delaney stepped back and wrapped her hands around his arm, leaning against his side. “I don’t really care if it is a boy or girl, but for some reason, Ryatt thinks he needs a princess of his own.”

  “Well, I’ve already got my princess, or maybe she’s a queen,” Klayne said, bending just enough to kiss Delaney’s temple. “I don’t care either, as long as the baby is in good health and happy.”

  Delaney sighed contentedly. “The room looks nice, doesn’t it?”

  “It does, honey. I’m proud of the work you’ve done to make a very special place to welcome our baby.”

  Another sigh rolled out of her. “I love hearing you say ‘our baby.’ For months, I had to think in terms of her being only mine, but I’d much rather share her with you.”

  Klayn
e hugged her close. “I’m glad you’re willing to share. The one thing you have not shared, though, is what you want to name this child of ours.”

  Delaney tipped back her head and looked at him. “I know I should have a long list of names I like, but I really haven’t come up with any that I’m particularly fond of. You want to take a stab at it?”

  Surprised she wanted him to think of names for the baby, Klayne nodded. “I’d be happy to. Hmm. How about Dillette if it’s a girl or Sassafras for a boy?” he teased.

  Delaney narrowed her gaze and lightly smacked his arm. “I take that back. You clearly aren’t capable of thinking of a proper name for this child.”

  She turned to leave the room, but Klayne lunged at her, playfully growling as he enfolded her in a hug from behind.

  The sound of her laughter winged straight to his heart. “You are even crazier than me, Klayne Campbell, and that is no small feat.”

  “I know, but you love me anyway.” He pressed a warm kiss to her neck and she wilted against him.

  “Klayne, I love you so much,” she whispered, turning in his arms and kissing him with such passion, he was momentarily caught off guard. Before he could take control of the kiss or deepen it, she pulled away and hurried down the hall.

  He let her go, needing a moment to gather his thoughts and composure. When he least expected it, Delaney would shower him with affection and pour out words of love that were like a balm to his weary soul. He still hadn’t grown accustomed to it.

  For a man who’d thought himself beyond the ability to be loved, beyond the need for it, each time she said “I love you,” the words and the emotion they carried fulfilled long ago abandoned dreams and sent his heart soaring.

  No one ever told him how the love of a good woman would completely alter not just his thoughts, but his entire life.