A Soldier's Journey

“It depends on whether we have a massive crime wave.”

He grinned and kissed her again. “Anything happen while I was gone?”

“The new resident of the cabin arrived.”

“Have you met her?”

“Today,” Eve said. “I like her.”

“You like everyone.”

“There’s a few exceptions.”

“Not very damn many. What is she like?”

“Quiet. Grieving. Do you know what happened...?”

“I didn’t ask and the shrink didn’t tell me. I got the impression, though, that whatever happened was pretty bad.”

She had to smile at his use of the word shrink. She knew who he meant, knew how much Josh respected Dr. Payne, but he would always be the shrink.

“She’s coming over for dinner tomorrow night,” Eve said. “I volunteered you to grill steaks. Clint will bring Stephanie. I’m debating about asking Nate.”

His face suddenly went serious. “He met her at the cabin, right?”

She nodded.

“Then, he’ll be a familiar face. Let’s ask him. Maybe he can drive her over.”

Eve stared at him. “You’re not thinking...?”

“Me? Hell, no,” he said. “You know the way I feel about interfering.”

She raised an eyebrow. “I seem to recall you nudging Clint and Steph together.”

“Your imagination. Now tell me more about Lieutenant Stuart.”

“She’s getting a fast indoctrination. She volunteered to write our history for the brochure. She’s going through the museum now.”

“Volunteered?”

Eve shrugged innocently. “She wanted to do something to pay for the cabin. We need a history written for your opening. It seemed...fortuitous, don’t you think?”

“Can she write?”

“I don’t know, but she said she keeps a journal and likes history. She really needed something to do. She’s lost, Josh. Really lost.”

Josh took her in his arms. “I love you, Eve Manning, you and that huge heart of yours.”

“Me, too,” Nick piped in.

Amos barked, and a chorus of sounds came from Nick’s four dogs.

CHAPTER FIVE (#ulink_a3f95ceb-162f-5f73-8dba-f01e54368e38)

ANDY SPENT THE rest of the afternoon looking through boxes at the community center.

Bill Evans had brought a chair inside the “museum” after she started glancing through some of scrapbooks, then he disappeared, apparently in pursuit of other volunteer duties.

Joseph lay beside her, his head resting on his paws, his tail wagging occasionally, apparently to remind her that he was there. She didn’t have to be reminded. In a few short weeks he’d become her lifeline. She had someone to feed and water and take for walks. She hadn’t realized how much she’d needed that.

She found twelve different newspapers that had apparently come and gone in the more than 150 years they documented. Some were little more than a single page. They were in chronological order but some years were missing. Still, it was like filing through snapshots of history.

The faded pages presented a glimpse of the town: the marriages, the births and the deaths. The marriage of a Nathan Rowland to Edna Redding caught her eye. The date on the newspaper was May 16, 1930. She counted back. He was probably Nate Rowland’s great-grandfather. The story was accompanied by a photo.

The Nate who had greeted her earlier in the day resembled the groom, except the latter sported a handsome mustache and looked uncomfortable in a black suit and white shirt with a stiff collar. The dark-haired bride was very pretty. Andy turned to another article. The country was deep in the Great Depression. There were rumors, denied, that the bank in the town would close. She suspected she would find out if it had.

Fascinated, she’d turned to the next issue when she heard footsteps behind her. She looked at her watch. Nearly six. She was amazed at how much time had passed.

“Hi, again” came a voice from behind her, and she whirled around. Nate Rowland stood in the doorway. “I hope I didn’t startle you,” he said. “You looked completely absorbed.”

“I was,” she said, feeling oddly as if she knew him better after reading the marriage announcement. “These...are fascinating.”

“You really think so?”

“Don’t you?”

He shrugged. “I grew up on this area’s history.” He knelt next to Joseph, who promptly turned on his back, baring his belly. Nate rubbed it as Joseph hummed with pleasure.

“He’s shameless,” Andy said. “And easy.”

Nate smiled, a slow twist of his lips that was surprisingly attractive. She found herself smiling back. She hadn’t really managed a real one for months, not until several days after she was introduced to Joseph. It was impossible not to respond to an animal that lived every day just to please you and intuit your every mood. It was also...difficult not to respond to Nate Rowland’s smile.

“You must be exhausted,” he said.

She shrugged. “I don’t sleep much.”

“I get that. I didn’t, either, when I returned from Iraq.”

She turned back to the newspaper and closed the bound volume. “It’s probably time for me to go back to the cabin and feed Joseph.”

“Bill had to leave. Something for his wife,” Nate said. “He asked me to close up for him and drive you home. He said you were so engrossed in the files, he didn’t want to interrupt you.”

“That was considerate of him,” Andy said, “and you, but I can walk home. Joseph and I need the exercise.”

“He thought you might want to take some of the material with you.”

Surprised, she blurted out her first thought. “I would think he, or the town, would want keep it under lock and key.”