Page 1 of Carry On
PROLOGUE
LINCOLN
ThefirsttimeIsaw Nash Calhoun, I was just a kid home on spring break from law school. I had books practically growing out of my arms with no time to deal with anything. However, Pine Creek was a small enough town that everyone turned out when a soldier came home. It was small enough for me to know that the whole thing was a big deal but not small enough for me to actually know who he was.
I clapped and cheered like I was supposed to, but the truth was that I didn’t care. Not the way others around me did. How many of these coming-home videos had I watched while doomscrolling on social media? Yeah, it was emotional, but it just didn’t hit me the same way it did other people.
Maybe I was just cold-hearted. Who knew? I just wanted to go home and continue studying. Spring break, my ass. I had essays to write and exams to study for. There weren’t enough hours in my day to do everything I needed to do.
But I stayed because my aunt and uncle wanted me to. My uncle had served in the Army back in his day, and this sort of thing was a big deal to him. He wanted to welcome a fellow soldier home. I couldn’t blame him for that, and my job as the nephew he was raising was to respect that.
And my uncle wasn’t the only one. A small line of hometown heroes stood ready to welcome Nash home. I hung out with them because I didn’t know where else to be.
Nash Calhoun was all emotional smiles and full of thank yous with every hand he shook. He was attractive in a way that everyone noticed, including me. Dusty blond hair was neatly combed to the side, and eyes as deep as evergreen trees crinkled at the corners with every smile. I took a long moment to appreciate the lines of muscles and broad shoulders. There was something about a man with muscles that turned me on. No one knew that, though.
“Welcome home, kid,” my uncle greeted, his voice thick with emotion as Nash stopped in front of him.
“Thank you, Sir,” he said while they shook hands.
“Now, I know coming back is hard,” my uncle continued, “and this job… it’s no one’s friend.”
“No, Sir, it isn’t,” he agreed. “But I’ll be just fine.”
“I don’t doubt it, I don’t doubt it. But I just want you to know, my door is open if you ever need anything. We’re over on Waterfall Glen. Gray house with the blue front door. There’s a big bird bath on the front lawn. If you ever need anything, you just come to me, got it?”
“Thank you, Sir.”
“And if I ain’t there, this is my nephew, Lincoln.” My uncle ushered me into the conversation. “He’ll help however you need.”
Ah, great. I didn’t want to be a part of this conversation.
“Hi,” I said awkwardly. I wasn’t sure what kind of help I could be to a man like him. I didn’t know a damn thing about being a soldier. Maybe if he got arrested, I could give him some unofficial legal advice, but that was it.
“It’s nice to meet you, Linc,” Nash replied and offered me a hand. As I took it, he gave me one of those blinding smiles that had the whole town smitten with him. My stomach rolled, and my heart beat a little faster. His hand was warm and tight around mine. Were we shaking hands at this point, or just standing there weirdly holding hands?
I cleared my throat and pulled away, taking a small step back.
“It’s nice to meet you,” I told him. “And no one calls me Linc.”
“Who knows? Maybe I’ll be the first.” He winked, brazen and almost flirtatious—maybe the flirtatious part was in my head. Maybe I wanted a guy like Nash Calhoun towantto flirt with me. He could have any girl in town. Maybe I just wanted him to want the closeted bisexual guy to feel a little better about myself.
Before I could even process that thought, he was gone and moving on to the next person.
The second time I saw Nash was a year later in the local bar. I was home to study for the bar exam and had been pried out of my room to go to an old friend’s bachelor party. Why? I didn’t know. I wasn’t even invited to his wedding, not that I cared. We hadn’t talked much in years. He’d stayed in Pine Creek to settle down, while I had no intention of making this place my home. I wanted bigger things.
I sipped on my beer, desperately wracking my brain for some kind of excuse to leave. Apparently, the bar exam wasn’t a good enough one for this crowd.
As I sat there, I caught sight of him by the bar. Nash looked worse for wear with shaggy hair, a thick beard, and clothes he probably hadn’t changed in days. He was drunk as hell and hunched over the bar, clinging to his drink like a lifeline. Even from where I sat, I could hear how he raged on about the government and other random lines of thought that didn’t make sense.
What the hell had happened to him in that year? I knew coming back was hard for some soldiers, but it was different seeing it in person.
I kept my distance but kept my ears open. I wasn’t sure why. Morbid curiosity, maybe? Nash and I were on two different paths in life. I was on my way out, and he was clearly on his way down.
When someone tried to tell him he’d had enough to drink, the fighting started. His eyes were glazed and wide as if a million miles away, but that didn’t make him weak. It took four guys to drag his ass out on the sidewalk. They left him out there screaming while the bartender gave everyone a free drink to distract them.
I quietly paid off Nash’s tab when no one was looking. It was a hell of a tab too. Weeks’ worth of drinking had added up for a broken hero that everyone felt bad for.
That was the last time I saw him. He was nothing more than a blip of a memory in my rearview. My life carried on. I graduated from law school and passed the bar exam. I left Pine Creek behind and moved to Seattle, where I got a good job and worked my way up in the firm. My wins stacked up, and so did my money. A nice condo, a nice car, and a damn good reputation.
