Page 2 of Guarded Hearts

He swung his gaze back to Oaks. His brother was fifteen months younger than Carson. They were tight. Oaks wouldn’t pull any punches with him. He’d tell him straight.

“What the hell’s going on?” Carson demanded.

His brother met his stare. “Dear old Daddy went on a bender after you left for the Navy.”

“What’s new about that?”

“He got on a bucking bronco and blitzed his back.”

He felt his eyebrow hike up. The drinking and stupidity went hand in hand when it came to their father. They all would have been better off if the old man had taken off years ago.

Oaks leaned in, voice pitched low. “You know what a bastard he is with the bottle. He sank into depression after he was laid up with his injury. The doctor gave him pain pills. Now he’s hooked on those too.”

“Jesus fucking Christ, Oaks.”

“It’s been a rough couple months. It’s why we never went to Wyoming. We never saw Layne.”

This explainedso much. Carson never showed up, and neither did his family. No wonder she wasn’t answering his letters or phone calls. She probably believed that he’d dumped her.

He’d promised to protect her. Hell, he’d carried her the entire way home when she broke her leg. And she thought he’d abandon her so easily?

“Malone.”

Every one of his siblings snapped their heads up at the sound of their name. He spotted his commanding officer weaving through the crowd to reach him.

He twitched his head for Carson to follow.

When they faced each other, Carson stood at attention. “Lieutenant.”

“I have orders for you.”

He blinked. “So soon, sir? I’m supposed to have a couple weeks’ leave before I head to the Naval Academy.”

“That’s on the back burner now, Malone. I have orders to create a team from the best of the best of our graduates. That’s you.”

Pride straightened his spine even more. “When do I leave?”

“One hour. You have just enough time to say goodbye to your family before you board a plane with five other seamen from your class.”

He didn’t need to glance around to know exactly who those men were. The six of them had been at the top of every challenge they faced. They’d discussed going to BUD/s training after the academy.

His attention swung back to his family grouped a few feet away, watching him.

Dammit, Layne should be here.

Now he wouldn’t have time to explain or make things right with her.

It turned out that he never got the chance. Carson became a SEAL. A decade passed, then another. The only thing that mattered to him was serving his country.

His summer sweetheart was the only woman he ever would have made time for. If he didn’t have Layne in his life, he didn’t want anybody.

Chapter One

Layne sat in a cushioned wicker chair, her legs curled under her. A fresh Wyoming breeze wafted through the open window, bringing the scent of pine that was so different from the smog and exhaust of city life.

She adored the nonstop bustle of New York City where her family’s art and antique business was located, but she couldn’t deny that peace settled in her soul when she visited their Wyoming ranch.

The relentless pace of the past few weeks, including a whirlwind four days spent in Spain to negotiate an estate filled with turn-of-the-century antiques, was behind her. Now she could sit on the sprawling deck outside and sip coffee while enjoying the chill morning air. She could go down to the pond and stare at the enormous sky reflected in its surface.

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