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

by Shanna Hatfield

  Delaney’s love definitely changed everything.

  Klayne awakened with a start, uncertain what had drawn him from his slumber. For a minute, he thought he was back in China, fleeing the Japanese, but he opened his eyes and took in the shadowy shapes of the furniture in the bedroom at Sage Hills Ranch.

  He reached out and felt Delaney’s arm, assured she was there with him. When he first returned to the ranch, he thought it odd how Ryatt clung to her, needed to be close to her. Now, though, he understood perfectly what the boy had sought. Something about being near Delaney brought him comfort and soothed his spirit.

  Quietly rolling onto his back, Klayne listened to the silence around him. All seemed fine, then he heard it again, a soft moan. He sat up and leaned over his wife, listening as she moaned again. Subconsciously, her hands gripped the sides of her stomach.

  Afraid to wake her, but worried about her distress, he remained watchful until she relaxed and rolled onto her side, returning to serene slumber.

  Unsettled, Klayne couldn’t go back to sleep. He would have gotten up and gone downstairs, but he couldn’t bear to leave Delaney. Instead, he settled himself behind her, angling his body around hers as though he could shield her from whatever disturbed her sleep.

  Jumbled thoughts coursed through his head, thinking of his past, his future, his hopes and dreams. Finally, his eyes closed and he slept. When he awoke, he was alone in the bed. Rather than jump right up and start his day, he allowed himself to linger a minute, inhaling the scent of Delaney on the pillow beneath his cheek.

  Never, in his wildest dreams, would he have imagined life being as good and sweet as it had been the last few weeks. The moments when he held Delaney in his arms made time stand still. Peace, unlike anything he’d ever known, filled him, and love surrounded him. Her love gave him purpose and made him feel like a brand new man, one who could accomplish anything as long as she was beside him.

  With one more deep breath of her fragrance, he rolled out of bed and began his day. Later that morning, Delaney asked if he’d drive to Walla Walla to pick up several supplies there, then fill a grocery list in Pendleton.

  “Butch needs some things, too. It would be such a help if you could go, Klayne. Do you mind?” Delaney asked, smiling at him as she scrubbed the stove until it shone.

  He had no idea what they could possibly need from Walla Walla, but would do as she asked. “Is there anything special you want from town? Anything not on the list?” he asked, slipping on a jacket and pulling the new cowboy hat Delaney had given him last week down on his head. He’d owned a battered hat years ago, but he’d worn it until it was beyond redemption.

  She looked at him over her shoulder as she rinsed out a rag in the sink. “I’d love a 3 Musketeers candy bar, if you happen to come across one. Oh, and if you think about it, you might drop by the school and pick up Ry on your way home. I think he’d be pleased if you did.”

  “Those are simple requests to fill, my darling wife.” Klayne give her a loud smack on her cheek then gently swatted her bottom. “I’ll be back before supper.”

  The warm smile she gave him almost made him turn back around to give her a real kiss, but he instead grinned and left.

  The trip to Walla Walla was uneventful. He wondered why Delaney had sent him there. He thought most of the things he picked up on her list could have been purchased in Pendleton. Besides, the trip used an unnecessary portion of their tightly rationed gasoline and wore on the tire rubber.

  Regardless, he enjoyed driving past the rolling fields, now barren of wheat, and humming along to the radio.

  He purchased a hamburger and Coca-Cola for his lunch, browsed through a few shops, exploring the town, then headed to Pendleton. A few minutes before school released for the day, he parked out front, waiting for Ryatt.

  Children spilled out the doors, laughing, running, some yelling. A few stopped to play in the orange and gold leaves scattered across the ground while others raced toward home in the crisp October air.

  He opened the pickup door and waved as Ryatt ran out with the Hill boy. The two of them raced over to Klayne.

  “Hey, boys. How was school?” he asked, settling a hand on Ryatt’s shoulder.

  “It was fun, Klayne. We had a spelling bee today and Grady got first place,” Ryatt said, grinning at his friend.

  “That’s great, Grady. Congratulations.” Klayne nodded to the boy.

  “Thanks, Mr. Campbell.” Grady looked from Klayne to the pickup behind him. “Whatcha doing today?”

  Klayne smiled at the boy. “Butch and my wife both needed supplies. We thought Ryatt might like to skip riding the bus today.”

  “Boy, would I. That bus is the most everlastingly horrid thing on wheels,” Ryatt said, shaking his head. “I’ll tell it to the world, but roller skates on a washboard would have to be a smoother ride.”

  “You don’t say.” Klayne bit back a grin and motioned to the pickup. “Would you like a ride home, Grady?”

  “Yes, sir!” Grady said, following Ry as the two boys scrambled into the pickup.

  Klayne slid behind the wheel and drove them both to the bakery where the boys enjoyed milk and cookies, served by Amy.

  “How’s Dee?” Amy asked. She boxed up a dozen cookies and a coffee cake for him to take home.

  “Very well, although she’s cleaned the house from top to bottom and back again. I’m worried she might overdo, but I can’t convince her to sit and rest.”

  Amy scoffed. “I’d wish you luck with that, but it’s impossible to get her to sit still.”

  “I’ve noticed,” Klayne said, paying Amy for the baked goods and the boys’ after school snack. “The blanket you made for the baby is pretty. Ryatt and Delaney are convinced it will be a girl.”

  “And you have any doubt in your mind that Delaney won’t get what she wants?” Amy asked, handing him the bakery box full of sweets.

  “No, ma’am, I do not.” He grinned. “I’m living proof of that.”

  Amy laughed and waved as Klayne left with the boys. He took Grady home then circled back to the heart of town where he and Ryatt went to the grocers and filled the shopping list. The store had a good selection of candy, partly because so many of the soldiers stationed at Pendleton Airfield were in town. He allowed Ryatt to choose three varieties, then added a 3 Musketeers bar to his pile of purchases.

  “Klayne?” Ryatt asked as they loaded the groceries in the back of the pickup.

  “What is it, Ry?” he opened the pickup door for the boy to climb in, but he just stood staring up at him.

  “Do you think we could find something for Aunt Dee? Something pretty? I heard her tell you yesterday she couldn’t even win a beauty contest against a deformed rhino. I think she needs something to cheer her up.”

  Klayne patted Ryatt on the shoulder and nudged him away from the pickup then shut the door. “That’s a great idea, son. Let’s go see what we can find.”

  An hour later, they climbed in the pickup, pleased with their purchases, and headed home.

  “What do you think Butch will make for supper tonight?” Klayne asked. It was an odd arrangement, to eat nearly all their meals at the bunkhouse, but Delaney didn’t enjoy cooking, at least not often, and Butch did. The old cowboy did a fair job at it too, turning out hearty meals that Klayne appreciated.

  “Maybe he’ll make baked noodles with cheese again.” Ryatt licked his lips in anticipation, making Klayne laugh.

  “I don’t know, you about ate yourself sick on them the last time,” the man teased the boy.

  Ryatt scowled at Klayne, then broke into a grin. “But they’re so good, Klayne. Why, I betcha my life no one makes baked noodles better’n Butch.”

  “They are good, Ry.” Klayne would have reached over and ruffled the boy’s hair, but a strange car parked in front of the house made him wonder who’d come to visit.

  As they stepped out of the pickup, the sound of a woman’s scream from an open upstairs window made Klayne vault down the walk, a
cross the porch steps and slam inside the house in a blink.

  Before he could clamor up the stairs, Dill hurried as fast as his crutches would carry him into the entry from the front room. “It’s okay, Klayne. Doc Nash is with her.”

  Klayne’s eyes pivoted from the top of the stairs to his father-in-law. “What’s wrong with her?”

  Dill chuckled and rolled his eyes. “In case you haven’t noticed or somehow have forgotten, she’s having a baby.”

  Stunned, Klayne gaped at the old rancher. “But it’s not due until November. I thought she meant closer to Thanksgiving.”

  Much to his dismay, Dill laughed again. “Son, babies have a way of arriving when they’re ready, and apparently, this one was ready today. I realize you might not know much about babies and such, but they do take nine months to arrive. Even you should be able to do the math from when you married my girl.”

  Klayne felt heat sear up his neck as he glared at Dill. “When did she go into labor?”

  Dill shifted on his crutches and glanced out the door to where Butch and Duffy were trying to keep Ryatt from running inside. “Sometime during the night. She didn’t want to worry you. That’s why she sent you off on errands all day.”

  Klayne frowned. “I knew there wasn’t any purpose to the trip to Walla Walla. I should have stayed here.”

  “Women are funny, mysterious creatures, Klayne, and when they head into labor…” Dill shook his head. “I can’t make head or tails out of anything Sis has done today, and I won’t even try. Doc has been here about an hour. Last time he came downstairs, he said it wouldn’t be long.”

  Another anguished, pain-filled sound drifted down from upstairs. Klayne turned to rush up the steps, but a yell from Ryatt drew his attention to the boy. He broke away from the two cowboys outside and rushed into the house.

  Klayne grabbed him before he could run upstairs, but Ryatt fought against him like a wild thing, desperate to get to Delaney.

  Finally, Klayne carried him outside and sat down on the top porch step, holding the youngster against his chest while Ryatt bucked and squirmed to be set free.

  “Ryatt! Listen to me! I promised you I’d take care of you and your aunt and I will. She’s having the baby. That’s all. I want you to calm down and pay attention to what I say.”

  To his credit, the boy’s movements slowed then stilled and he looked up at Klayne.

  “That’s better.” Klayne set him on his knee and braced a hand against Ryatt’s back. “Bringing a baby into the world is a big, hard, painful thing. Your aunt will do just fine, but she might need to holler a time or two getting the job done. I don’t want you to be scared. The doctor is here, and I’m here, and your grandpa is here. We’re all gonna make sure she’s safe, and you, too. Okay?”

  Ryatt nodded then hugged Klayne. “Don’t let her die, Uncle Klayne. Please?”

  “I won’t, Ry. Now, can you keep your grandpa company while I check on your aunt Dee?”

  The boy nodded again.

  Klayne set him on his feet and together they walked inside the house. Ryatt stood by his grandfather and watched with wary eyes as Klayne made his way up the steps. The door to Delaney’s old bedroom was closed, so Klayne turned the knob and pushed it open.

  Delaney strained against a contraction, hands clenched around the iron spindles of the headboard.

  The doctor cast him a quick glance then turned his attention back to delivering the baby.

  “You shouldn’t be here.” Delaney panted, giving Klayne a pain-dazed look of disapproval.

  “There’s no other place I should be, Delaney,” Klayne said. He discarded his jacket and hat on the way to the bed. He stood beside it and wiped the sweat from her brow then tensed as her body tightened and another contraction rolled over her.

  “You’re doing fine, Dee,” the doctor assured her. “When you feel the need to push, do it.” Nik glanced up at Klayne and subtly tipped his head toward Delaney.

  Klayne pried her fingers loose from the headboard and moved behind her. He supported her back against his chest and placed his hands so she could grip them. “Why did you send me away?”

  “I figured you’d fuss over me and drive me nuts long before this baby decided to get down to the business of entering the world,” Delaney said before another pain seized her. She swallowed back a scream and clenched Klayne’s hands, nearly crushing his fingers.

  “Push, Dee. Give it a good push,” Nik encouraged.

  Delaney pushed then rested against Klayne, limp and exhausted. If he could have traded places with her, he would have. He’d have done anything to spare her pain.

  She leaned her head against his shoulder and looked up at him. “This is all your fault, you know,” she said, offering him a weak smile.

  He kissed her nose and grinned. “Not entirely.”

  The doctor chuckled. “Perhaps I need to give you both a lesson in the birds and bees.”

  Just as Delaney was about to offer a comment, another pain made her grip Klayne’s hands so tightly he thought she might break all his fingers.

  With a triumphant shout from her, the baby arrived.

  “It’s a little princess!” Nik announced.

  “A girl, a precious baby girl,” Klayne said, awed by the sight of his daughter as the doctor held her. From his position behind Delaney, he could see dark hair and a tiny hand waving in the air. Unable to breathe until the baby released a gusty cry, Klayne drew in a relieved gulp.

  He shifted, allowing Delaney to sit up a little more so she could see the baby, too. “She’s beautiful, Laney. Just like her mother.”

  Delaney squeezed his hand, tenderly this time. “Doc, I think you better examine my husband. He obviously needs a pair of glasses.”

  “Oh, don’t be so ornery to the boy, Dee. Despite that scar on his eye, he sees very well, especially for one so smitten with his wife.” Nik grinned and laid the baby on Delaney’s chest.

  She and Klayne counted every toe then examined each perfect hand, fashioned with long, slender fingers. He marveled at the tiny little nails that looked almost unreal in their wondrous construction. These were hands meant to create beauty in a world that no longer seemed quite so harsh and ugly.

  While Delaney rested, the doctor showed Klayne how to give the baby a bath and instructed him in the proper way to hold one so little, supporting her head and back. When he’d managed to get a diaper pinned on and a soft kimono pulled over her head, he wrapped her in a blanket and carried her back to Delaney.

  “She’s the sweetest, most wonderful baby in the world,” Klayne whispered as he handed his daughter to his wife.

  “She is wonderful,” Delaney said, cuddling the baby close and brushing a feathery kiss across her forehead. “But she needs a name.” She looked up at Klayne with the beginnings of a playful spark in her engaging hazel eyes. “Please tell me you picked out something better than Ethel or Mathilda.”

  Klayne offered her a lopsided smile, unable to fathom how his heart could hold all the love bubbling up there for this woman and their child. “Hope. I’d like to name her Caroline Hope Campbell, if you don’t mind. I thought Caroline, for Mac’s wife, might be a good way to honor someone I know you loved. And Hope because that’s what this baby has given us all.”

  Delaney’s eyes brimmed with tears and she nodded. “You did good, soldier boy. Caroline Hope it is.” She kissed the baby’s forehead again. “Baby Hope, you have the most incredible daddy. I hope someday you marry a man just as wonderful as him.”

  Klayne looked at her like she was his most cherished treasure. Before he could say anything, though, Ryatt’s voice carried up the steps. “Is she here? Did our princess arrive?”

  Delaney smiled, the dimple deep in her cheek, while Klayne and the doctor chuckled.

  “How about I introduce our princess to the family?” Klayne asked, carefully taking the baby from Delaney. He kissed her temple then walked out the door.

  As he left the room, Delaney watched him go, considerin
g all that had happened since she met Klayne. She’d survived some of the hardest, darkest days of her life, but also some of the happiest and best. No matter how it had happened, she wouldn’t have traded a single minute, not when they’d brought her to this sweet, unforgettable moment. A moment filled with joy and so much love her heart ached with the fullness of it.

  Against all odds, her husband had returned to her, had claimed his rightful place in her heart and her life. She and Klayne had mended their fences, made plans for the future, and rested in the knowledge that no matter what might come, they’d face it together. They would celebrate their triumphs and work through their challenges because they loved one another with an abiding, lasting love.

  And because they had Hope.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  April 1943

  Delaney shifted Hope as she carried the baby out to the wheat field. Ryatt and Moose engaged in a game of tag beside them as they walked along a familiar path, worn from age.

  In spite of the devastation of the ongoing war, new life sprang up all around them as spring arrived at Sage Hills Ranch.

  Calves played on the far hill while foals bucked and jumped in the pasture by the barn. Grass that had been brown and crisp after the winter snows melted took on a lush, verdant green hue following warm days and spring rains. Tulips and daffodils balanced on slender stems, providing bursts of color in an ever-brightening landscape.

  Eager to breathe in the sweet scent of spring, Delaney strolled out into the field, admiring bearded heads of wheat that would grow full and golden by summer’s end. Ryatt and the dog followed in her footsteps to keep from tramping down any of the crop.

  Delaney stopped and closed her eyes, tipped back her head and let the land fill her senses. In spite of the challenges, life was so sweet and blessed. Far richer than she’d dared to dream.

  The baby wriggled and babbled in her arms. Delaney opened her eyes and smiled as Hope reached for a figure in the distance.