The Soldier's Newfound Family

Without a word, Carter strode across the room and deposited it near the entryway. And then proceeded to do the same with the rest of the boxes.

As he set the last one down, Savannah didn’t miss his swift but thorough assessment of the cramped upstairs apartment she’d briefly shared with Rob after their wedding.

“Thank you.” Savannah glanced at her watch, hoping Carter would take the hint.

He did.

“I’ll only take up a few minutes of your time,” he said quietly. “It’s important.”

Savannah sighed. Maybe the best thing was to get this over with as quickly as possible and send Sergeant Wallace on his way.

“All right.” She motioned toward a chair and sent up a swift, silent prayer for strength as Carter sat down. The flimsy wood creaked under the weight of his solid frame, the floral slipcover an almost comical backdrop for a guy who looked as if he could bench press the sofa.

It didn’t matter that Carter Wallace wasn’t in full uniform. His faded, loose-fitting jeans and a gray T-shirt with the marine insignia that stretched across his muscular chest proved to be just as intimidating. He looked as if he were born to be a soldier.

Savannah perched on the edge of the sofa and waited. But now that he had her attention, Carter didn’t seem to know what to say.

“You mentioned that you knew Rob—” Savannah’s voice cracked as grief sliced at the threads of her composure. She’d barely begun to accept the fact that her husband had walked out on their marriage when a military chaplain had knocked at the door and informed her that Rob had been killed in a roadside bombing.

Carter nodded. “He was assigned to my unit. We worked together. He talked about you.”

Savannah’s fingers knotted together in her lap. “He did?”

Carter looked surprised by the question. “All the time.” He paused. “That’s why I’m here. A few days before Rob... He asked me to give you a message.”

Savannah heard a rushing sound in her ears. Spots began to dance in front of her eyes. “A message?”

This wasn’t what she’d expected. She’d assumed that Carter had sought her out because Rob had owed him money. After the funeral, she’d received calls from some of his former buddies, asking if she would “make good” on the loans they’d given him.

Each one a reminder of how gullible she’d been.

“He was a good man. A good friend.” Carter leaned forward. “And he...he loved you.”

Savannah felt the color drain from her face. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Carter frowned. “That’s the message that Rob asked me to deliver. He wanted me to tell you that he loved you.”

Savannah’s breath collected in her lungs, making it difficult to breathe.

“Sergeant Wallace, Rob left me.”

* * *

Carter stared at Savannah, more shaken by the words than he let on. Rob hadn’t mentioned that Savannah didn’t support his decision to become a soldier.

“To serve his country, yes,” he said carefully. “Rob thought he was doing the right thing, but he couldn’t wait to finish his tour and come home to you. It was all he talked about.”

Savannah vaulted from the chair and then swayed on her feet. For a split second, Carter was afraid she was going to pass out. Instinctively, he reached out to steady her but she spun away from him, one hand pressed protectively against her belly, the other one palm up, as if trying to keep him at a distance.

“Please. Just go.”

Carter sucked in a breath, the flash of pain in those green eyes landing with the force of a physical blow. It was obvious that Savannah was still grieving. He fumbled for the right words, something that had never come easily. Unlike Rob, who’d entertained everyone on base with his anecdotes.

“Savannah, I know this must be difficult. Have you talked to someone—”

“I didn’t mean that Rob left when he enlisted. I meant that he left me. A week after we were married,” she choked out. “He sent one letter when he finished basic training saying that he’d made a...mistake. After that, I never heard from him again.”

The words hit Carter broadside. “I don’t understand.”

“I think you do.” Savannah’s gaze didn’t waver. “You just don’t believe me.”

Carter opened his mouth, ready to argue, and then realized she was right. What Savannah had just told him clashed with the man that Carter knew. The one who’d been devoted to his wife.

Rob had bragged about their plans for the future. Buying a piece of land. Building a home. Raising a family.

Why would—

Carter’s heart plummeted to the soles of his boots, weighted down by a sudden, unwelcome suspicion. “The baby—”

Emerald sparks flashed in Savannah’s eyes. “Is Rob’s. But he...he never knew.”

“You didn’t tell him?” Carter regretted the question the moment Savannah started toward the door.

To see him out.

But Carter didn’t move. Wasn’t going to move until he got some answers. “Rob never mentioned that you were separated. In fact, all he talked about were the things the two of you were going to do when his tour ended.”

“Then he lied to you, too.”

Too?

The band around Carter’s forehead tightened. “Rob and I were friends. Why would he do that?”

He had looked up to Rob. Admired him.

Envied him.

Carter had dodged serious relationships for years, never going out with the same woman more than once or twice. Knowing how hard it had been on him and his siblings every time their father left on a mission trip, he was determined not to subject someone he cared about to a relationship marked by uncertainty and goodbyes. Something the wife of a soldier had to accept. But listening to Rob talk about Savannah had made him question his decision to remain single. Made him wonder what it would be like to have a woman like her in his life.

Now she was trying to convince him that it had all been a lie?

Savannah opened the door, which didn’t answer his question but guaranteed there wouldn’t be an opportunity to ask any more.

Carter didn’t know what—or who—to believe. Savannah? A woman he’d just met. Or Rob, the guy who’d laughed with him? Encouraged him to pray, even though every mile Carter had hiked through the rugged hills of Afghanistan had taken him that much farther from the faith he’d professed as a child?

The guy that Savannah claimed had abandoned her.

What he did know was that she wanted him to leave.