Page 29 of Coming Home

When I've finally gotten myself together, I walk inside, toss my keys into the dish next to the door, and walk into the living room. The Italian spices hit me instantly, and my stomach growls, reminding me that I didn’t have lunch today. Ellie is sitting on the couch cross-legged, and she smiles up at me. She holds her hand up. “Okay, I know I have a surprise for you, but ever since I sent the text I’ve been second-guessing myself thinking maybe you aren’t going to like it as much as I do. I think I may have overstepped without really meaning to, but—”

I sit down next to her and put a hand to her shoulder. “You can’t overstep. You can do anything here, Ellie, and I’m fine with it. This is your home now too.”

She looks almost sad as she nods her head. “Yeah, for now, anyway.”

I’m searching her face when she stands up and holds her hand out to me. I put mine in hers, and she pulls me up from the couch. She leads me toward the office, rambling the whole way. “Just remember, we can change anything. I put your desk together and hung some things. I’m working on the bookcases next… but I can take all of it down.”

As soon as I walk into the room, I see what she’s done. My stomach turns, but I go closer, taking in the images on the wall. Faces I haven’t seen in a while, some that are hard to look at and some that make me smile. The wall is a work of art. Elle has hung my medals, pictures of my brothers in arms, and my flag, and the whole thing is mesmerizing. All I can do is stare at it in awe.

I’m lost in the pictures when Ellie comes up beside me and puts her hand on my back. “Huddy, I can take it down. I didn’t want to make you sad.”

I shake my head, unable to look away from the wall in front of me. “It doesn’t make me sad. I mean, I miss it… I miss them, but this is good. I don’t want to forget them or my time in the Army.” I turn to Ellie and look into her eyes. I want to confess my feelings to her, but she’s not ready. I know she’s not. “This”—I gesture to the wall and the rest of the room—“means a lot to me. This is a great surprise. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, Huddy.”

I pull her in for a hug. It’s a temptation I don’t need, but the desire to have her in my arms is too strong. This woman gets me better than anyone. Now if I can just convince her that she can trust me with her past.

Chapter16

Elle

The sound pulls me out of my sleep, and I lie here, my whole body tense as I try to let my eyes adjust to the darkness. I know I heard something.

I lie as still as I can and listen. The house is quiet, and I start to think that I was imagining things when I hear it again.

This time, I throw the covers off and tiptoe out of the bed. As I get to the door, I hear it again, and I make out that it sounds like a groan.

I make my way down the steps, and when my feet hit the bottom floor, I slow down. I look across the living room, the kitchen and dining area, but he’s nowhere in sight. I hear a curse from his bedroom and walk swiftly to his door.

It is slightly ajar, and I take a deep breath, let it out, and slowly enter the room. “Huddy? You okay?”

I barely get through the threshold and try to take in what I’m seeing. The moonlight is peeking in through the window, and there’s a small lamp lit up next to the bed.

The huge bed in the center of the room is made, and Huddy is sitting on that Army-issued sleep pad on the floor next to it.

He stands up, and I grab on to the door to keep from falling. I saw Huddy without a shirt last week when he mowed the grass. Even then, I tried not to drool as I watched him go back and forth in the yard. But I’ve never seen him like this.

He’s in boxers that are tight across his hips, and they don’t hide anything. His thighs are thick, and his legs are long. His abdomen is taut, his arms solid, and when I finally get to his face, he’s watching me, breathing in and out roughly. “I’m sorry…” he starts.

I shake my head, knowing I should be backing out of the room, but instead I stand here on shaky legs, trying to catch my breath. “You shouldn’t be sorry. I’m the one that barged into your room.”

I force my eyes off him and look at the pad on the floor. It’s obvious he’s been sleeping there, and even though it’s not my business, I still ask him, “Is the bed not comfortable?”

He shoves his hand through his hair and walks toward the dresser. I glance down at his butt and force my eyes up only to find his gaze on me in the mirror. Yep, he caught me looking.

I’m so embarrassed I can feel the heat envelop my whole body. “I’m sorry… I heard a noise, but I shouldn’t have—”

“I had a nightmare,” he says as he pulls a pair of shorts on.

When he turns to face me, his hands are on his hips, but this time, my eyes are on his. “A nightmare?”

He shrugs and sits on the end of the bed. “Yeah, I have them every now and then. I’m sorry I woke you up.”

I move toward him and stand in front of him. “I have them sometimes too, but I haven’t had one since I’ve moved in here. Do you want to talk about it?”

He shrugs. “I would, but it’s not a big deal. Sometimes I hear gunfire in my sleep. It doesn’t happen a lot.”

I bite my lip as I think about it. “Did I cause this? The wall… did that bring back—”

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