Page 59 of Duty Bound

After the tea and sandwiches, Stitch got up. “Why don’t you get some shut eye, you both look shattered. We’ll pick this up in a couple of hours and figure out how to get you home.” He smiled at Lily.

She nodded gratefully, her eyelids heavy.

“Alright if we sleep here?” Blade nodded at the cushions.

“Sure, man. Make yourself at home. Mi casa, su casa.”

For the first time since he’d arrived back in Afghanistan, Blade felt like he didn’t have to sleep with one eye open. After making sure Lily was comfortable, he sighed, leaned back onto the soft cushions, then drifted into blissful oblivion.

Blade woke to the sound of a kettle whistling over a gas stove. A woman dressed in a flowing robe and wearing a teal scarf on her head was working in the kitchen. From her profile, and the small bump of her belly, it was obvious she was newly pregnant.

Now that was something Stitch hadn’t mentioned.

He sat then smoothing down his wayward hair. After three days of hiking, there wasn’t much hope. “Hello, you must be Soraya.”

He heard Lily stir.

The woman turned and smiled. She was very beautiful, with smooth, olive skin and eyes the color of her headscarf. He could see why Stitch was smitten.

“Yes, you’re Blade?”

He nodded and got to his feet. “Can I help you with that?”

Stitch came in and immediately went to her side. “Soraya, love, I told you not to come down.”

“I know.” She looped an arm around her husband. “But it’s not often we have guests, particularly friends of yours. I wanted to meet them.”

With a roll of his eyes, Stitch introduced them.

Lily rose and rubbed her eyes. “It’s wonderful to meet you, Soraya.”

“I’ll take that.” Blade grinned at his buddy as he took the tray with the teapot and cups from her.

Soraya had just the right amount of curiosity and feistiness to keep her American husband on his toes. She was exactly what Stitch needed in his life.

“Thank you.”

“I’m sorry for the intrusion,” Lily said as Blade put down the tray. “It's my fault we’re here.”

Blade wasn’t sure if she meant because she’d been abducted or because she’d prevented him from killing the goat herder.

“I’m sure that’s not true.” Soraya knelt and began pouring the tea. “I’ve always been curious about Stitch’s past, and of course he’s told me all about his friends in the unit.”

“Has he now?” Blade raised an eyebrow.

Stitch laughed. “Soraya knows everything about me, including my time in the Green Berets, but it goes no further. The rest of the village think I’m an army doctor.”

“Which you are.” Soraya smiled up at her husband. It was clear she adored him.

He winked at her. “Amongst other things.”

They were very much in love.

Blade stole a glance at Lily. She had a sad, wistful expression on her face that made his gut tighten. Was she thinking about Joe? What they might have had?

“Why the long face?” Stitch asked, glancing at him.

Damn. Was he that obvious?

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