Page 24 of Stolen Hearts

They collapsed on the rug, breathing hard. Her hearing automatically sought out any sounds coming from her child, but the place was silent, all but for the pounding of her own heart in her ears.

Denver’s rough knuckle grazed her chin, and he tilted her face up to meet his stare. In his face, she saw the echo of the long, brutal journey they’d both experienced—one without each other.

In his eyes she saw something that lit a flame of hope in her chest.

A promise of what could be.

A reclamation of everything they once were…and could become.

* * * * *

Sometime in the wee hours of the morning, he and Rhae fell into bed in a tangle of limbs. She slept as hard as he remembered, turned on her side, a beam of watery sunlight streaming across her beautiful face.

Hell, he didn’t know how he got here, let alone her. He never planned to come home to the Black Heart. And to find Rhae here…and theirchild…

He looked into the little closet Rhae had pushed the crib into. The baby seemed to sleep just as heavily as her mother.

Something sweet and unfamiliar surged through him.

The sky outside the window was brushed with the very pale blue streaks of early dawn when Denver slipped out of bed, careful not to wake Rhae. His body was conditioned for early mornings—years of ranch life, followed by military life made sure of that—and old habits died hard.

On silent feet, he paced into the small living room no larger than some of the hotel rooms they’d shared during their meetups and began dressing. Finally, he tugged on his boots and quietly slipped out of Rhae’s quarters.

The hallways were silent at this time of day, but he heard the clatter of plates and silverware as he approached the cafeteria that served the veterans. Several men sat at tables, grouped in twos and threes, and a few solo diners too.

Nobody paid any attention to him as he headed straight to the coffee station.

He set out two paper cups and filled each with coffee. Black for him, cream for Rhae. With drinks in hand, he turned to go back to his sleeping lover.

One of the vets he’d worked with on various ranch chores, a guy they called Dutch, stood a few steps away, waiting to refill his coffee cup. He recalled that his real name was Decker, andhis brothers hadn’t filled him in on how he got his nickname, but military men tended to make up interesting nicknames for the brothers they fought with.

A newspaper was tucked under his arm, theWillowbrook Newsfrom the local town.

Denver grunted at the sight of it. “You’ve got some pretty light reading there.”

Dutch smirked. “Yeah, all five pages of it.”

“Don’t forget the obituaries mixed with advertisements on the back.”

“Oh yeah, that will take another thirty seconds to read.” Turning it over, Dutch displayed several square ads and a single obituary photo. They shared a laugh.

Then Dutch’s eyes flicked to the coffees he held. If he had questions about what Denver was doing in the cafeteria, he didn’t ask.

Denver lifted his jaw in the cowboy nod. “I’ll be out of your way and let you get your coffee.”

Dutch’s stare rested on him for a beat. Then he said something completely unexpected considering they had only repaired fence and baled hay together. “It’s good to have you here.”

Touched, he said, “Thanks, man.” He slipped away as easily as he’d come.

On his way back to Rhae, he ran into Rodney—the guy who’d just finished his third tour. Since his arrival on the Black Heart, he didn’t talk to many people, and he hadn’t been at last night’s bonfire either.

He offered him a nod of greeting but Rodney just stared through him, eyes hollow and fixed on something far away.

Denver hesitated, wondering if he should do more for the guy, but in the end, he kept walking. Some ghosts never left a person. That he knew too well.

When he entered the room, he heard the hum of the shower running behind the closed bathroom door. He set the drinks down on the coffee table and was just straightening when he heard the tiniest whimper.

His breath hitched, and his feet were moving before he even registered the sound.

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