Page 10 of A Soldier's Return

Wendell beamed back at her. “Well, hello there, my dear. Isn’t this a lovely surprise?”

She gave a grin, missing her two front teeth, and held up the basket. “This is for you. My mom was busy talking to her friend at the nurses station and I got tired of waiting for her, so I told her I would come by myself. This thing isheavy.”

“Eli, help my friend Skye out and take that big basket from her before her arms break right off, will you?”

He dutifully rose so he could take the basket out of the girl’s arms and set it on the small table next to his father’s bed.

While he was occupied, the girl stole his chair, the one right next to Wendell’s bedside.

“That stuff is all for you” she said, pointing to the basket. “Even the candy. My mom and I went shopping in three different stores, trying to find all the things you love.”

“That is so sweet of you. Your mother is a treasure and so are you, my dear.”

She giggled. “My grandma says I’m a pill and too big for my britches.”

“I don’t doubt that’s true,” Wendell said.

The girl turned to Eli with a curious look. “Hi,” she said brightly. “I’m Skye Fielding. What’s your name?”

When she identified herself, he gave her a closer look. Skye Fielding. This had to be Melissa’s daughter. He should have picked up the resemblance before she even identified herself. Now he could see she shared the same vivid green eyes with her mother and the same dimple that appeared and disappeared on one side of her mouth.

“This is my son, Elias Alexander Sanderson.”

“Whoa. That’s a big name. It’s...” She counted on her small fingers. “Ten syllables.”

Yes. He was fully aware. Try filling out all those letters on military forms designed for guys named Joe Smith. “You can call me Eli,” he said.

“Hi, Eli.” She settled deeper into his chair, perfectly at home, which he found more amusing than anything he’d seen in a long time. With nowhere else to sit in the room, he leaned against the sink.

“Mom says you got brand-new knees because your old ones hurt you all the time,” she said.

“Oldis the key word there,” Wendell muttered.

His father wasn’t that old. He was only in his early sixties and vibrant for his age. Why hadn’t Wendell started dating and married someone? His father was still a handsome man. Judging by all the flowers and cards in his room, he was fairly popular around town, too. Maybe Eli could work on that while he was home.

“My mom says you have to stay here for two whole weeks!”

She seemed positively aghast at the idea.

“It’s not that bad. They have fun things to do all day long. Games and movies and music time. Plus, they serve good food and have free popcorn in the cafeteria.”

Eli had a feeling Wendell was trying to convince himself as much as he was the little girl. His father wasn’t thrilled about the time that loomed ahead of him in the rehabilitation center, but that was the price for his impatience and desire to do both knees at the same time, when he needed daily therapy and his house wasn’t fully accessible.

“Free popcorn! You’re lucky. I love popcorn.”

“So do I, but if I eat all the free popcorn, I might have a tough time getting back on my feet.”

“I guess.” She appeared to consider that. “Do you think I could have some now?”

Wendell laughed. “Maybe. You’ll have to ask your mom. Where do you think she is?”

“Probably still talking to her friend,” Skye said.

A moment later, as if to prove her daughter wrong, Melissa appeared in the doorway, looking slightly frazzled.

He had seen her three times that day, in three different wardrobe changes.

This morning on the beach, she had been wearing running clothes—leggings and a comfortable-looking hoodie, with her hair up in a ponytail. All day he had been aware of her moving around the office in burgundy-colored scrubs and a black cardigan. Tonight, Melissa had changed into jeans and a soft coral sweater and had let her hair down to curl around her shoulders.

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