Page 140 of A Soldier's Return

“Sage! Hi Sage!”

Somehow from deep inside her, she dug around until she found the courage to meet Eben’s gaze. His features were impassive and revealed nothing as he watched her approach.

I’m in love with you.

For an instant, she could hear nothing but those words, not even the low murmur of the ocean.

He had offered her a priceless gift and she had rejected it with cruel finality.

I don’t love you. You’re not the kind of man I want.

She wanted to sob all over again at the lie. How could she face him in the cold light of day?

She looked away quickly and turned her attention back to Chloe. “Hey. Good morning. I didn’t expect to see you today.”

Or you can bet I would have been back at my house with the covers over my head right now.

“My dad woke me up. He said we had to try to find a few more sand dollars to take home today so we can always remember our trip together. Look at how many we have. He’s the best at finding them.”

“You’re lucky to get them before the gulls do. That’s terrific.”

“I’m going to make something cool with them. I don’t know what yet but I’ll figure something out.”

“Great.”

Oh, she did not want to be here. She wanted to grab her dog and run as far and as fast as they could until both of them collapsed in the sand.

“Look! My dad doesn’t have his shoes on, either. Don’t you think that’s funny? He said he wanted to wriggle his toes in the sand one more time before we leave.”

Against her will, Sage shifted her attention to Eben and saw that, indeed, his bare feet were covered in sand. She couldn’t seem to look away from the sight.

“This isn’t going to last long.” His voice sounded tight, slightly strangled, and her gaze flew to his. A glimmer of emotion slipped through his steely reserve and she could swear he looked as if this was as awkward for him as it was for her. “To be honest, it’s not what I expected. The sand is much colder than I thought it would be and I’m a little nervous about being pinched by a hermit crab.”

“But you tried it, just like you said you wanted to, didn’t you, Daddy?” Chloe chirped, oblivious to the currents zinging between them.

He smiled, more than a little self-consciousness in his expression, his eyes shimmering with love for his daughter.

As she gazed at him, something inside her seemed to shatter apart.

The stiff, controlled businessman she had mistaken him for early in their relationship was nowhere in sight. She was stunned by the transformation. His jeans were rolled up, his toes were bare and he had his hands full of sand dollars.

She thought of him that first day when she had taken Chloe home to their beach house. He had been angry and humorless and she never would have imagined in a million years that one day she would find him digging his toes in the sand, laughing with his daughter, hunting for the treasures delivered by the sea.

Or that she would come to love him so dearly.

“Didyouget pinched by a crab?” Chloe asked her. “You look funny.”

Everything inside her began a slow, achy tremble and she suddenly felt as if her heart was like one of the gulls overhead, wheeling and diving across the sky.

“I’m... I’m fine.”

Her voice sounded scratchy, and drew Eben’s gaze. She saw echoes of longing in his eyes and a pain that matched her own.

She let out a breath, trying so hard to hang on to some shred of sanity. Nothing had changed. Not really. She was still terrified she would be left bruised and bloody.

No. She gazed at his bare feet and at the sight of them, it seemed as if her fear ebbed out to sea with the tide.

She loved him. More than that, she trusted him. He might not be comfortable digging his feet into the sand, but he had done it for his daughter’s sake. And for his own. Because he wanted to know what it was like, even if it wasn’t the most comfortable feeling in the world.

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