Page 16 of All My Heart

I just gave her a look.

She huffed out a breath. “Fine. I'll sit in the kitchen. I couldn't see your face when I was sitting in the other room.”

She wanted to see my face? Without a word, I helped her over to a chair, waiting for her to elevate her leg on the only other available chair, then put the ice on it.

I moved over to the stove to check the omelet.

“What are you hiding out from?” Luna asked, her voice softer.

“My family,” I said without any forethought.

Luna frowned. “Why?”

“They're a lot of them. They're pairing off and getting married, having babies, and expanding.” I moved to the fridge, holding an orange juice container up. When Luna nodded her approval, I grabbed a glass and poured her a generous amount. I was glad I'd recently gone food shopping.

Luna accepted the glass. “What's wrong with that? You feel left out?”

“Not exactly. I'm just not sure I fit in anymore.” I poured a second glass and drank most of it before checking the omelet again. It was almost cooked. Time for cheese.

“I'm sure they'd welcome you back. Be happy to have you.”

“You know how it is. Family's complicated.” It might have been all in my head, but I didn't think so. There was a wall between me and my family. One I'd placed there out of necessity when I enlisted. I didn't want them to worry about me, and I couldn't be distracted by them. I'd let myself go numb, and it was hard to see any other way to be.

I sprinkled cheese on the omelet, then waited a few more seconds for it to melt. I folded the omelet. “Yours is ready.”

I was back now; there were no more threats on my life. I wasn't worried about being deployed or moving away. Yet I couldn't bring myself to tell them I was home.

I plated the omelet, then placed it on the small round table in front of her.

“This looks great. Thanks.”

“It's not much. Just some eggs and cheese.”

“You didn't have to cook me breakfast.”

I looked at her over my shoulder. “You're forgetting the part when I bowled into you, pushing you down a ravine.”

Luna smiled wide. “It wasn't as bad as you're making it sound.”

I just lifted a brow before cracking more eggs for my omelet.

Luna cut her omelet into small pieces, then ate one. “This is good.”

I could cook some basic things. It wasn't anything to write home about, but it felt good to know I could make something for her. Her knee was hurt because of my inattention. “What are your plans while you're here?”

She finished chewing, then swallowed some orange juice. “I'm still working. I can do it remotely.”

“You planning on going into town?” It was best I didn't tell her my last name because everyone knew my family. I'd driven farther away to get my groceries, where no one would recognize me.

“I don't know.”

“It's a good tourist spot. You have Annapolis, then D.C., and Baltimore.”

“I've seen it all before when I visited my friend. She's been living here about two years now.”

I nodded like I understood. I didn't have friends outside of my unit, and I was doing a shit job of keeping up with any of them now. I got the occasional concerned text, and I always said I was fine. They weren't really worried about me. It was something they felt like they had to do. Axel's good. Check. Then they could put it behind them and forget about me.

And I didn't want to know who her friend was. I shouldn't want to get to know this woman. She was nothing more than a stranger who was staying next door for a month. Afterward, we wouldn't keep in touch. We had no reason to.

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