Page 53 of A Soldier's Return

“Thanks for letting me fly the kite with you,” he said to Skye. “I had a great time.”

“Thanks again for helping me. Me and my mom never would’ve been able to get it up that high.”

“I don’t know. You seem like a pro.”

“Thanks.” She beamed at him. “Now that you showed me what to do, I bet the next time I can get it as high as you did this time.”

“I don’t doubt it for a minute.”

“You can come watch and tell me if I’m doing it right,” she declared.

“Maybe.”

He wouldn’t be here. He would be off saving the world, leaving them here to figure out how to fly kites and play billiards without him. Melissa frowned but didn’t want to ruin her daughter’s happiness by pointing out that depressing truth.

“I guess I’ll see you at the office tomorrow,” she said instead.

“Right. I guess so.”

With other friends, she might have hugged them or even given a kiss on the cheek before sending them on their way. With all these emotions churning through her, she didn’t dare do anything but give Eli an awkward little wave.

He looked as if he wanted to say something else, but he finally nodded and waved, gripped Max’s leash and headed back down the beach.

She did her best not to watch after him, though it took every ounce of self-control she had.

“I am so ready to have this baby, if only to be done with stirrups and paper gowns.”

Melissa smiled at Julia Garrett, currently settled onto the exam table in said paper gown. “It looks so lovely on you. Are you sure you don’t want a few more children?”

Julia made a face. “No. This is it. Our house is bursting at the seams and Will says he can’t build on again and I can’t bear to move. So we have to be done.”

“At least until Maddie and Simon go off to college next year. Then you’ll have plenty of room for more babies.”

She gave a rough laugh. “I hope you hear how ridiculous that sounds. We’ll never be empty nesters at this rate.”

This was Julia’s fifth child. She and her husband, Will, had her teenage twin boy and girl from her previous marriage as well as an eight-year-old and a four-year-old. Melissa could only imagine the chaos at their house, but Julia always seemed calm and composed. Oh, how she envied her and wished some of that serenity would rub off on her.

Julia had once lived in Brambleberry House with her twins, when she was a single widow with twins, before she married Will. She had a soft spot for the house and the gardens and the stunning beauty of the place.

When Melissa came back to town, the two of them had bonded over that right after they met, a bond that had deepened and strengthened into real friendship in the months since.

“This is the last one, for sure.”

She touched her abdomen protectively and Melissa felt a sharp little ache in her own womb.

She had wanted more children but hadn’t been willing to bring more children into the uncertainty of a shaky marriage.

The little twinge of regret annoyed her. She had an amazing daughter. She refused to waste the wonderful life she had, wishing she had made different choices.

“Dr. Sanderson should be here soon.”

“When you say that, I keep picturing sweet Dr. Sanderson, then remember you’re talking about someone else entirely. How is it, working for Wendell’s son? He’s quite gorgeous, isn’t he?”

Oh, yes. Entirelytoogorgeous. She had to brace herself against her instinctive reaction to him every time she came into the office. It had been three weeks since he came back to town, two since the day he had come with her and Skye to fly kites, and she was more tangled up than ever.

“Just like his father, Eli is an excellent doctor,” she said. “I promise you’ll be in great hands.”

“Oh, I know. He was great when I came in for my checkup last week and the week before. Wendell has nothing but praise for him. Will remembers him, though Eli is a few years younger. Will said he was freaky smart in school.”

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