Page 3 of Saving Grace

Tears spill, tracking into my hair as they did before.

I can’t breathe.

A harsh grip clamps down over my arms. I thrash in their hold, desperate to get to my second youngest.

The roof implodes. Then caves in.

I watch, scant air burning my hollow lungs, as Mackinlay is tossed from the building like a rag doll. Sickening stone slams into the sidewalk below, and the air rumbles.

The grip on my arms pulls.

Pulls hard.

Warmth folds in around me.

I wake with a start.

Sobs choke from my taut face, my fingers curled to claws. “Mackinlay!”

The familiar scent of my Harry surrounds me. He presses me into his chest, hands rubbing my hair, running down my back. “It’s okay. It’s only a dream, darlin’.”

The heartbreak in his voice sends fire into my chest. I shake my head.

No.

I push out of his hold and find his gaze. Within a breath, his eyes reflect mine. Terror mixed with devastation. “Sweet Jesus, Lou.”

“It wasn’t just a nightmare this time.” I push off the bed and steady myself on the side of the mattress. Forcing air into my lungs, I wrap my dressing gown around my body and pad into the hall. In the kitchen, I pull the kettle onto the stovetop. My hand trembles around the handle. A large hand slides over mineas I’m folded in his embrace, his chest to my back. His heart races against my spine, his stubble tangling with my bed hair.

“Let me, Louie.”

I tamp down a sob and turn in his hold. Meeting his gaze, a torrent of tears cascade down my heated cheeks. “What if he doesn’t come home, Harry?”

“Hey, we will find out if he’s okay in the morning.”

I sob into his chest. His stubble digs into my hair above my ear, his breath moving in my hair. “Hold hope, darlin’.”

The same god-awful dream every night he is deployed. Without fail. My nerves are shot. My heart so weary.

I can’t.

I can’t do this anymore . . .

Harry holds me at arm’s length. “How about I make the tea, and you find a spot on the sofa.”

I nod and lean back a little. Hand resting on his weathered face, I force a smile. Where the hell would I be without this man?

I sink onto the sofa and tuck my feet beneath me. Staring into the unlit fire, I let my mind wander back to the days when the boys were little. Mack and Reed, peas in a pod, always up to something. Up a tree. Hunting for no good. If anything happens to Mack, Reed will never be the same.

Harry settles in beside me, handing me a cup of tea.

It’s hot and I embrace the slight burn, a reminder that I’m awake. That the horrific scene that played through my head wasjust a dream. I drain the cup and strong arms pull me into his side. A hand rubs my hair, a kiss dots to the crown of my head.

Exhausted, I relax into his warmth, letting my eyes drift shut for a moment.

*****

Ringing jerks me from Harry’s side. It pierces the quiet.

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