Page 78 of The Homecoming

“You were over there, where he was,” Autumn said, obviously referring to her brother’s experience. “Were you exposed to multiple explosions or heavy artillery blasts? Those things can damage your brain. The military won’t tell you that, but it’s happening. And PTSD, the trauma that’s being inflicted on you soldiers now, I’ve been reading all these things—”

She hadn’t realized that she’d stepped back about five steps until he closed the distance between them and reached for her hand. “I’m fine.”

She shook him away. “That’s what Jason would always say.”

He nodded, taking a deep breath as he grabbed her hand and led her to the overstuffed chair in the living room before gently pushing her to sit. He dropped to both knees on the floor in front of her, touching her chin until she looked into his dark eyes. “If for any reason, you think I’m not okay... If I start behaving as he did... You can tell me and I will go to a doctor, a therapist, whatever…” He nodded. “All without complaint, I promise.”

She studied his eyes. He appeared tired, but he didn’t look like Jason did when he came back. “You promise?”

He nodded, kissing her hand. “On my life.”

The tears flowed again as Autumn shook her head. “Why aren’t you angrier with me?”

He reached up and wiped the tears away her cheeks. “Well, I was last night. I came back only thinking about climbing into bed with you, so finding out about Danny was a shock. A good one, but still a shock. You had your reasons, and I don’t agree with what you did, but it’s done. We can’t go back, and I don’t want to waste any more time being angry.” He pushed between her knees, wrapped his arms around her waist as she leaned forward, her head on his shoulder.

“What do you want?” she asked in a whisper.

“To get to know my son. And hopefully, re-win the heart of the woman I love.”

“Why would you still love me?” Autumn lifted her head and stared at him.

“Let’s see…” His fingers pushed lightly against the back of her neck as he brought his lips to hers and left a light kiss. “I’ve been in love with you since we wrote letters after I went to boot camp. I knew then that I wanted to come back and find you.” He kissed her again. “It hurts me so much that you would think, in any way, that I wouldn’t want our baby.”

She gulped. “I had a lot of fear, a lot of unknowns…” Autumn took a deep breath. “It’s a relief to hear you say these things. But where do we go from here?”

He thought for a second. “I have an idea.” He stood and pulled her up with him. Before she could react, he picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder. She yelped, hanging upside down and staring at one well-toned ass. She used the opportunity to smack him on the butt repeatedly while he carried her into the bedroom, kicked the door closed behind him, and threw her on the bed, ready to make up for lost time.

39.

Autumn stepped back from the mirror and smoothed her wrap dress, turning around to make sure it looked good from the back, too. She inhaled deeply to steady her nerves. It was her first full day back at Huntington Farms and she was more than ready, yet terrified, all in one fell swoop. She pulled her hair up in a ponytail to get it out of her face—it’d gotten far too long—and stepped from the bathroom into the living room. “Now, are you sure about this?”

Daniel sat on the couch with Danny on his lap. He lifted the child, covering him with kisses along his cheeks and neck. Danny closed his eyes and giggled at the feel of his dad’s stubble. “Of course,” Dan replied. He rubbed his face on the baby’s stomach and made theatrical munching sounds while Danny squealed and grabbed two handfuls of Daniel’s hair. “I’ve got everything under control.” His voice was muffled by the baby plastered to his face.

“Yeah, I can see that.” She crossed the room and pried the little fingers out of Daniel’s hair. “Now, I can try to find a sitter—"

He adjusted the baby in his lap. “Will you stop asking me that shit? I’m perfectly capable of taking care of my kid. I was in charge of running top-secret missions across Afghanistan, for Christ’s sake.”

“Stop swearing in front of Danny. If his first word is a four-lettered one, I’m going to kill you.”

He stared at Danny, eyes dramatically wide. “Your mom said she’d kill me. An entire terrorist cell tried and failed, but your itty-bitty mommy thinks she can.” He grabbed Autumn’s hand and pulled her down next to him as he kissed her.

“Oh, please, all I gotta do is take off my top. And while you’re busy drooling, I off you. Easy.”

He laughed. “Well, they didn’t try that.” Daniel grinned wickedly. “That would be my preferred way to go, though.” He paused and eyed her chest. “Although, if you could wait until my head was between them, that’d be great.”

She rolled her eyes, shaking her head as Danny lunged to her. She hugged him tight and kissed his little head. “You be a good boy for Daddy today.”

Outside, the horn from Brandon’s new golf cart sounded. “Well, there’s my ride to the office.”

“Why does it sound like an old bike horn?”

“Because it’s Brandon.”

Daniel wrapped his arms around both her and Danny, kissed her again. “I love you.”

“Love you too,” she replied as she handed Danny over to his father’s care.

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