Page 65 of A Soldier's Return

She felt a little like the landscaping around the house—damaged, scarred. She had to hope she could be like a few of the shrubs around the house, which had been bent by the storm but were already beginning to straighten again.

“I don’t think we can save this one.” Sonia sat before one of the brambleberry bushes, her lovely, perfect features creased with a grief that seemed out of proportion to a little storm damage.

“Are you sure we can’t salvage some of the canes?”

“They won’t be the same. I’m not sure they’ll be able to produce much fruit at all.”

She seemed devastated by the loss. Maybe she had an extreme fondness for that particular brambleberry bush, or maybe her grief was for something else entirely.

Melissa tried to choose her words carefully. “You know, my dad used to say that not everything that’s broken is worthless. It might not ever be what it was, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be something else. Maybe something even better.”

She wasn’t sure if she had helped or made things worse. Sonia gave her a long look, nodded slowly, then went back to work.

“That’s all we can do tonight,” Sonia said sometime later. “It’s going to be dark soon. You look very tired. You need to rest.”

Her exhaustion had deepened, and she thought she might fall asleep right here in the cool, storm-battered garden.

“I’ll just stay with Fiona for a moment, then we’ll come inside.”

Sonia gave her a long look and she could see the concern on her friend’s features. She didn’t pry, though. One of the best things about Sonia was her ability to let other people keep their own secrets, too. After a moment, the other woman twisted her mouth into what other people might consider a smile and headed into the house.

Melissa sat for a few moments more, heart aching. She needed to go inside but couldn’t seem to find the energy to do it.

She wanted her daughter here. A Skye hug always went a long way toward healing her soul from life’s inevitable disappointments. Her daughter would be home the next day. They would have plenty of time for hugs then.

She was just about to head into the house when Fiona suddenly turned around and raced for the edge of the garden.

What on earth?

“Fiona,” she called. “Come on, girl. Home.”

The dog ignored her, headed with single-minded purpose in the other direction. There was probably some poor mole who had been foolish enough to set up shop in the gardens the Irish setter considered her own.

Fiona didn’t stop when she reached the beach access gate. To Melissa’s astonishment, she nudged open the latch and raced through, leaving her little choice but to chase after the dog.

She was too tired for this, but Fiona didn’t seem to care about that.

Exasperated, Melissa followed the dog onto the beach. “Come on, Fi. Here girl,” she called, then her voice faltered.

Fiona wasn’t alone. She stood on the sand not far from the house, nose to nose with another dog. A little black schnauzer, whose leash was currently held by the one man she didn’t feel strong enough to face again right now.

Her heart seemed to stutter, and she wanted to slip back through the gate and hurry into the house.

After that emotional kiss earlier when she had bared everything in her heart, she didn’t want to face him right now...or ever again, if she could arrange it.

But he was here and she had no choice. She forced herself to move toward him. “Sorry. She got out somehow. Come on, Fiona. Inside.”

The dog showed no sign of obeying her, and Melissa sighed, taking another step toward him and the two dogs.

“Julia and Will send their love and gratitude,” he said when she was an arm’s length away.

Despite her discomfort, she couldn’t help a smile at that. “How is Julia? I wanted to go visit but thought I would give her a day or two to be settled at home.”

“She’s good. Glowing.”

That made her smile again. “And baby Miri?”

“Beautiful. I held her for a good fifteen minutes while the infant unit nurses were giving me their report and she slept the whole time. She obviously likes me.”

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