Page 53 of Wandering Souls

Stevie nodded, washing her mouthful of pastry down with a gulp of tea. “A trauma surgeon, actually. It’s been a while since I practiced, though. First came bounty hunters looking to take my head, and then came Max, who stole my heart.” Her hand went to her abdomen and her face softened with love. “And soon, it will be baby number two.”

“Congratulations. Boy or girl?”

“Oh, we let Max surprise us the first time around, so we’ll let this little cadet do the same. It doesn’t matter, although just between us,” she gave a conspiratorial wink, “I’m pretty sure my husband wants a girl.”

No wonder Damien wanted to stay in the Crossing. Abi stared out at the street. Cars whooshed by and a number of people strolled along the footpath, turning their faces to the brilliant sunshine. The cozy atmosphere of the town went a long way to making her feel at home, a feat not achieved by any of the other places in the world she’d seen.

“What about Penny?”

Stevie touched Abi’s hand. “Unsure how you’ll react to her.”

“I know you love her, Stevie, and I don’t want to speak ill of anyone, but I’ve had a hard time understanding what she did.”

Max squealed and Stevie rose to lift him from the pram. Taking her seat again, she propped the boy on her thigh and offered him a pacifier. The kid reached toward Abi. She couldn’t ignore the little hand with the stubby fingers and accepted him. He held onto her with a strength that surprised her.

“Look, Abigail, you really should talk to her. I know, I know, I’m bossy, but you can believe me when I say giving you up broke her heart.”

Abi took a deep breath and met Stevie’s stare. “Could you do it? Give Max up for adoption?”

A knowing smile crossed her pretty face. “I gave up my whole life, and if the right circumstances presented themselves, I’d do it again in a heartbeat. If, for some reason, my presence put the people I love at risk, I’d do whatever it took to protect them, and while we hardly know each other, I’m confident you’d do the same.”

~

It was fitting thatsunlight shone on the two women, bathing their golden hair and putting a sparkle in their pale blue eyes. Across the street, Abigail nursed Max on her thigh, laughing at his childish antics. The happiness on her face eased some of the burden weighing on Damien’s shoulders, while seeing his daughters bond filled him with a sense of optimism he never thought he’d feel.

He’d always wanted a big family but life got in the way. For a long time, he’d considered the men he commanded as sons, and as they welcomed children of their own, his extended family grew by the day, granting a young man’s wish many times over.

The women talked for over an hour, at times smiling and happy, while at other times somber and serious. Stevie consoled her sister on numerous occasions, either with a one-armed hug or with heads bowed together in deep conversation.

If anyone was capable of relating to Abigail through the discovery of long-lost family, it was Stevie. She’d already lived through his resurrection from the dead, and Penny’s return after more than two decades of absence. The way his oldest took the unbelievable in her stride impressed everyone who met her, and her resilience was second to none.

Would Abigail be open-minded enough to see that? Or would she succumb to feelings of abandonment and loneliness? It was a fine line between the two. Her life so far had taught her the people she loved and relied on left her, intentionally or not, scarring her ability to trust.

Damien pulled out his phone and woke it from sleep-mode. He navigated to his email and opened the communication from Captain William Blackburn, the man who’d commanded Abigail’s unit for the last three deployments. It had taken some fast talking to get the man to open up about their time in Afghanistan, and by the end of their conversation yesterday, Damien had been reminded why he hated talking to the upper echelons of authority. It was like getting blood out of a stone. Whether he was inherently suspicious or wary about somehow incriminating himself, Blackburn had been cagey with the details.

In the end, Damien had had to pull rank over the Captain andencouragehim to share information with him. He re-read the email, his chest tightening with each paragraph. As the only female pilot in their unit, she’d withstood every test thrown at her but unlike Blackburn and his men, she hadn’t come away unscathed.

Her pretty smiles and soft laughter hid nightmares, just like Riley’s scars and Hollywood’s tattoo. Even now, nine months after her chopper was shot down, no one could comprehensively explain what she’d been through. The only person who knew the truth sat across the street, untrusting and wary.

He glanced up, glad to see her laughing at something Stevie said. That she could still see humor and be optimistic was a miracle, and one he intended to use to save her soul.

A knock at his window startled him. His heart jumped in his chest as he turned to find a tall, redheaded copper staring through the glass. Damien switched on the vehicle’s accessories and rolled the electric window down.

“Morning, Detective.”

Ray smiled. “Morning. You know.” He bent and pointed through the windshield. “You could just go over there and join them, right?”

“She agreed to meet Stevie.”

Ray sighed and rested an elbow on the window ledge. “One step at a time, huh?”

It was a delicate situation, one that none of them really knew how to handle. Sometimes heavy-handed, the McCafferty’s weren’t known for their finer touch. Perhaps Abigail could teach this old dog a new trick or two. “Something like that. It’s going to be a long process and to be honest, we might not have the time.”

Ray’s eyebrows lifted in question.

How much to tell the man? It seemed, to Damien, the copper had gotten close to his daughter, but the question of how close teased him. Was it a friendship between them? Or something more?

“She has evaluations in February, back on base.”

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