Page 49 of A Soldier's Return

Absolutely nothing.

What could come of it? She deserved better than a long-distance relationship, and that was all he could offer her right now. He was leaving town as soon as his father was back on his legs. Eli had had an email just that morning from his commanding officer, asking when he would be back and whether he was ready to take off again to return to his job overseas.

For one crazy moment, Eli had been tempted to tell Dr. Flores that he was done, he wasn’t going to re-up but would continue serving the National Guard, available when his country needed him.

He knew the woman would be disappointed but wouldn’t think less of him. Many—in fact, most—army doctors didn’t stay in as long as he had, at least not on active duty. His initial commitment had only been two years, but the work had been so fulfilling he hadn’t been able to walk away then.

Could he walk away now? That was the million-dollar question. Before Justine and Miri died, he had been thinking about going into private practice while retaining his military benefits by serving in the Guard. That was the course most in the Army Medical Corps eventually took.

Since that horrible day in that dusty market town, he had felt driven to do more, try harder, dedicate himself more fully.

He owed both of them. Didn’t he? He hadn’t been able to save Justine, but he could help those she had cared about.

That left little place in his world for someone like Melissa, who had finally found her own place to belong here in Cannon Beach.

While he might accept that intellectually, it hadn’t stopped him from thinking about her all day, remembering their kiss and feeling comforted all over again when he remembered the sweet way she had wrapped her arms around him in her kitchen, offering solace and concern.

He had it bad for Melissa Fielding. That was the plain truth. He was all tangled up over her and didn’t know how to unravel the silken cords around his heart.

The doorbell startled him out of his thoughts, and it took him a minute to figure out how to work the control of the chair enough to put the footrest down so he could get out.

When he opened the door, he was greeted first by a familiar woof, and then by a grin and wave from a young curly-haired girl.

“Hi, the other Dr. Sanderson.”

He was as charmed by Skye as he was by her mother, even though her bright smile reminded him so painfully of Miri. “Hi there, the other Ms. Fielding.”

She grinned. “Mom said we had to take Max back to you today, even though I really, really, really wanted to keep him.”

He glanced at Skye’s mother and felt that peculiar tug in his gut that had also become familiar since he’d come back to town, the one he felt only around Melissa. He wanted to tell the girl she could keep the dog for another night, but he had a feeling Melissa would not appreciate his offer.

“Thank you. Both of you.”

“Thanks for loaning him,” Melissa said. “He was wonderful company, weren’t you, Max?”

The dog yipped as if agreeing with her.

“Here’s his stuff.” Skye handed over the bowls and blanket he had taken to Brambleberry House the night before.

“Thanks.” He took them and set them inside his father’s house, then gestured to the colorful fabric kite in Melissa’s hand. “I guess I can tell where you guys are going after this.”

“Yep,” Skye answered. “I’ve been begging and begging to fly our kite and today Mom said yes. We’re going down to the beach by your house because the wind is always just right.”

“Looks like a great kite.”

It was shaped like a jellyfish, purple with rainbow-colored tentacles. “You should see how high it goes. Sometimes it goes up and up until I can barely even see it.”

“Sounds amazing.”

He and his mom used to fly kites on the beach often after school. It had been one of their favorite pastimes. After the cancer made her too weak, she used to sit at the window here and watch him down on the beach below their house. Some nights he would fly a kite past dusk, hesitant to come in when he knew she enjoyed the sight of it flying and dipping so much.

“You can come with us,” Skye suggested. “We always have a hard time getting it up in the air. I can never run fast enough to have the wind take it. Maybe you could help us.”

He darted a look at Melissa but couldn’t tell by her veiled expression what she thought about her daughter’s spontaneous invitation.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve flown a kite. I’m not sure I remember how.”

“We can show you,” Skye said.

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