Page 34 of The Soldier's Homecoming

No fancy date night and drawing on happy memories from the past was going to heal their marriage if they kept skirting around their problems.

He’d tried to convince himself otherwise, but he was wrong.

Daniel peeked into their bedroom, knowing she wasn’t in there before he even looked. He’d heard the back door click shut not long after she’d walked out of the room.

He found his shoes, pulled them on and reached for a sweater.

It wasn’t as if he could leave Gabby in the house alone, but he could walk around outside, see if he could spot her in the street from their yard.

Daniel swung the door open and nearly tripped his way to the bottom step.

Penny hadn’t gone far.

She was sitting, body hunched, sobbing quietly in the dark. Perched on the cold concrete step. Alone.

“Oh, Penny.” His voice was low, husky with an emotion he couldn’t explain. Seeing her sitting like that, so sad and alone, twisted him up inside.

She didn’t look up.

“You must be freezing.” He pulled off the hooded sweater he’d only just put on and wrapped it around her shoulders. It looked huge on her small frame, but it would take the chill away. “Come inside.”

Her body was shaking.

He didn’t know if it was the cold, because she was so upset, or both.

Daniel sighed and dropped to sit beside her. The step was narrow so he was pressed against her, thigh to thigh, knee to knee.

She didn’t protest. Didn’t try to move away.

“Penny, you’re cold,” he said, putting his arm around her shoulders, wanting to warm her with his own body. “I know you’re upset, but you need to come inside.”

“No,” she whispered, voice unsteady. “Leave me, Daniel.”

Her words went deeper than talking about right here, right now. She might not have meant anything by it, but he felt that walking away now to leave her alone and sad outside in the dark would mean walking away for good.

“Penny, Gabby does love you. Please don’t think any differently.”

She didn’t say anything straight away. Sucked in deep breath after deep breath, as if trying to compose herself.

“I know.” She cleared her throat, voice stronger the second time. “I know, I do, but it doesn’t make it any easier.”

“It’s been hard on me, too, Penny. I know that might sound like a cop-out to you, but it has.”Something flashed through her gaze then, something he could see even in the dark.

Anger maybe. Or perhaps disbelief.

“But you’vebeen here, Daniel. You’ve been here and I’ve been away.” She shook her head. “It’s not fair, Daniel, none of this is fair.”

He stood, not wanting to sit any longer.

Not sure if he was ready to have this conversation yet after all.

“You think it’s been easy for me?” he said in a low voice, refusing to let anger creep into his tone. Unable to shoulder all the blame any longer. “You think it was easy for me to pretend to you like everything was okay when I was dying inside here? When I didn’t know how to be a full-time dad, when all I knew was how to be a pilot? I’d give up anything for my family, but leaving the navy behind was nothing likeeasy.”

Penny looked up then, too, drew her body up tall even though she was still seated.

“Let’s not talk abouteasy, Daniel.” Her tone was cold, angry. Like she hadn’t heard anything he’d said except that one word. “Don’t even get me started oneasy.”

Fury built within him until he felt like a jug about to boil over. A volcano about to blow its top after centuries of being dormant.

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