A Soldier's Journey

“I don’t think he’s worried about you taking off with anything in here,” Nate said with that wry smile again. She was prepared for it this time.

She stood, stretched. She considered the newspapers she had been reading. It was either that or a book tonight, and she was becoming intrigued with Covenant Falls. It was the first time in months that she’d felt even a smidgen of interest in anything around her.

She was grateful for it, for anything that kept her mind from going back to Afghanistan. But if she took the bound newspapers home, she couldn’t hold Joseph’s leash. She would need a ride.

“Thank you,” she said. “I’ll take that ride.”

“Good. Can I carry that down for you?”

She hesitated, then nodded. The last thing she needed now was to fall down a flight of stairs.

He picked up the heavy, awkward book with ease. He waited for her and Joseph to lead the way down the stairs and he followed.

The building was empty. She waited as Nate locked up the building, then walked with her to his blue pickup.

“What time does it usually close?” she asked.

“Five on Friday. Seven the other weekdays so kids can do homework. Then it’s open Saturday from nine to five.”

“And it’s after six,” she said. “I didn’t realize...”

“Not to worry,” he said. “Bill saved me from doing some paperwork that’s on my desk. Now I can foist it on Josh.” He paused, then asked, “Have you had dinner?”

“No, but I had a late lunch with Eve Manning and there’s enough food in the fridge to feed an army.”

A light seemed to go on in his eyes. “Ah, now I understand,” he said.

“Understand what?”

“Why you’re here. Eve is behind this.”

“I like to pay my own way.”

“I get that, too,” he said as they went down the few steps to the ground. They reached his pickup and she wondered whether everyone in Covenant Falls drove a truck. The Bucket was definitely going to be out of place.

She opened the passenger door before he could reach it and climbed inside. Joseph hopped in and squeezed next to her, then she took the bound newspapers in her lap.

It was warm outside and it seemed to get warmer when Nate stepped inside. The sleeves of his blue shirt were rolled up, displaying bronze muscles. She hadn’t noticed that much this morning. She’d been tired and anxious to get inside and settled, at least as much as she could in a cabin that didn’t belong to her. She had worried every mile of her drive that some loud noise or headlight would send her back to Afghanistan and off the road.

But now she was running on adrenaline. The lunch with Eve Manning had given her something she very much needed: an immediate goal. She liked Bill Evans and thought he could be a friend. Maybe Nate, too, although she wanted absolutely nothing outside a casual friendship.

She leaned against the seat.

“What exactly does Eve want you to do?” Nate asked.

“A brochure about the town’s history,” she said.

Nate didn’t say anything, but then silences seemed to be a part of him.

A minute later they were in front of the cabin. He turned off the engine. “If you want to know the history, you should talk to Al Monroe.”

“Eve mentioned something about him, but Bill indicated he might be difficult.”

“He might. He might not,” Nate said. “But it’s worth a try.”

“Could you ask him?”

“I think you should do it yourself,” he said. “He respects strength and directness. And even if not, I’m the last person to ask him.”

“Why?”

“As far as he’s concerned, I’ve been wrong on every side of an issue in Covenant Falls.”

“That’s intriguing.” She waited for him to continue, but he didn’t. Instead, he stepped down and went around to her side of the pickup and opened the door. He reached for the book, but she shook her head.

“I can take it from here,” she said.

His gaze met hers in the internal light of the pickup. His eyes were predominantly a golden brown but with shades of gray and green mixing with it. What was striking, though, was not the color. It was something she couldn’t define. It wasn’t kindness, but more of an empathy. She resented the hell out of sympathy, or pity or its like, but this was neither. I’ve been there. I know what you’re going through. I respect it.

She suddenly realized she was still sitting in the seat, holding the book as if it were a lifeline. Joseph barked as if to jar her into moving. She handed the bulky volume down to Nate. He took it, and she stepped out and followed him to the cabin. “I can take it now,” she said, but as she took it from him once they were inside, her bad hand failed her and the heavy volume started to fall. He caught it.

“Where would you like it?” he asked as if nothing at all had happened.

“The table, I think,” she said, biting her tongue in mortification.

He placed it down on the table, then he turned to her. “Think about contacting Al Monroe,” he said. “I think he would like you.”

“Why?”

“Because I think you have a hell of a lot of grit, and he respects that.” She was too stunned to reply. Grit? Not recently.

“Listen,” he said. “I don’t know what the hell happened to you out there, but here you are, in a strange town, standing up tall and ready to take on a challenge because you’re not giving up.”

“But I was giving up,” she admitted honestly.

“Was doesn’t matter. Now is what matters. Just know we all have your back. Okay?”

He was willing her to believe it. She took a deep breath. “Okay,” she said.

He just nodded. “Call if you need anything, or just want to talk. You’ll be coming to the vet meeting Monday night?”

“You said they play poker?”

“Yeah. We’ve been known to do that.”

“You betcha, then.” False bravado, but it just popped out. She was as surprised as he looked.

He simply nodded, his eyes hooded. “Welcome to Covenant Falls,” he said as he headed for the door.