Page 87 of Her Delta Force Protector

“Goodbye, Kade.”

Chapter Forty-Six

Kade returned to his cabin, planning to stay for the rest of his leave. There was no one here who would talk to him, who’d ask what was wrong. Just him and Duke crying in their beer. He snorted as he walked up the steps to the porch. “We’re a sad country song,” he told Duke.

They’d lost the girl...well, he had. Duke would have kept her, given a choice. The dog had a brain after all. Kade stopped before going inside and glanced at the dock. An image appeared of her sitting there while laughing at Duke as he played in the water, and it was so real that he almost walked over there. He squeezed his eyes shut, and when he opened them, there was nothing but the empty dock.

When they’d said goodbye, he’d almost told her that he might be falling in love with her. But themight behad tripped him up. What did he know about the love between a man and a woman? Zilch. If he’d told her, she would have wanted to stay, and then he’d ruin her life. He’d rather be miserable than do that to her.

Miserableturned out to be the operative word when he walked inside his cabin. Everywhere he looked reminded him of her. He couldn’t stay here, and when Duke let out a sorrowful whine, Kade walked back out the door. He wanted his brothers.

“Let’s go home, bud.”

The dog raced him to the truck.

Kade found his family in the backyard, where Parker and Everly were throwing a Frisbee to Fuzz and...another dog? Tristan and Skylar sat on the deck, watching them. Duke raced straight for Everly.

“Duke!” Everly screamed. He didn’t stop when he reached her, and after knocking her over, he covered her face with kisses while she hysterically giggled. “I missed you so much, Duke!”

Fuzz ambled over to Kade and looked up at him as if to say,Did you really have to bring him back?The unidentified dog sat next to Parker and leaned against his leg.

Everly pushed Duke away and ran to him. “Uncle Kade! Did you see our new dog? Her name’s Ember, and she smells fires.”

He glanced at Tristan. “Smells fires?”

“Ember’s an accelerant detection dog. Basically, an arson investigator.”

“That’s cool. Who does she belong to?”

“The Marsville Fire Department now,” Tristan said. “Apparently, Parker put the department on a waiting list but thought it would take longer to get one. Her trainer delivered her to the firehouse yesterday.”

“Red Lab?” Her red coat was rich and shiny.

“Yup. She’s kind of prissy.”

Skylar punched Tristan’s arm. “She’s just shy.”

“Uh-oh,” Kade said. Duke had noticed the new dog. “Duke, come!” Ignoring Kade, he gave a bark of excitement as he ran to her. Ember’s ears perked up, and when Duke reached her, she rolled over on her back.

“He still minds well, I see,” Tristan quipped, then frowned. “What’s up with that? She gives Fuzz the cold shoulder but offers the goofball her belly?”

“I think she likes bad boys,” Skylar said.

“Speaking of bad boys...” Tristan eyed him. “What are you doing home? Thought you were staying at the cabin tonight. Where’s Harper?”

“Gone.” He almost choked on the word, and there was that ache in his chest again. His brother and future sister-in-law were looking at him with pity in their eyes, and he couldn’t deal with that. He should have stayed at the cabin, gotten drunk, and if he’d cried in his beer, there wouldn’t have been anyone to see.

“What?” he said when they exchanged glances.

“Nothing,” Tristan said.

Right. Nothing, other than they thought he’d screwed up. He hadn’t, he’d done the right thing. They didn’t understand that he’d done her a favor. He had to believe that. He glanced down at the red hair tie he’d slipped on his wrist after she left. “She’s better off without me.”

Skylar frowned. “Why would you think that?”

Tristan put his hand on her arm and shook his head. He stood and slung his arm over Kade’s shoulder. “Let’s take a walk, brother.”

Kade almost refused, didn’t want to hear whatever Tristan had to say, but hadn’t he come home because he needed his brothers? For years, he’d used the military to distance himself from home, from the memories of a mother who didn’t want them and an aunt who hated them. All he’d really done was shut his brothers out of his life.

---