Название: A Soldier's Homecoming
Автор: Rachel Lee
Издательство: HarperCollins
Жанр: Зарубежные детективы
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“Good for you.”
She shook her head and sighed. “It wasn’t pretty. After I managed to get to my feet, I knocked him down and got my gun. After that it was a restraining order and divorce. I never saw him again.”
“He couldn’t stand up to the gun, huh?”
“I don’t know. I mean, it was a dangerous time. Thank God for my buddies on the force. They got me out of the house and into a shelter, and for a long time I never went anywhere alone.” She looked over at him. “That’s the time when most women get killed. After they stand up to their abuser and decide to get out. I’ll forever be grateful to my fellow officers.”
“That’s the way it should be. If we don’t take care of each other, who will?”
She figured he was thinking about his own unit and a very different set of circumstances. Sometimes one’s own scars ached in response to similar scars in others. It was as if like recognized like.
“You’re a strong woman,” he remarked.
“Sure. That’s why I’m coming apart. Sophie needs me, and I’m coming apart.”
He touched her arm tentatively, as if afraid of her reaction. “You have to allow those feelings,” he said. “The important thing is that you allow them when it’s safe to have them. That’s what you did in the office this morning. Sophie was safe at school, you were in a safe place, and it hit you. Good timing, actually.”
“Yeah.” She gave a short, mirthless laugh. “There’s this level I was operating at, where I was in control and focused on doing what I needed to. Then, bam, I lost it.”
“That’s okay. Now you’re back in control.”
She glanced at him. “I guess you know about this stuff.”
“Too much about it.”
Surprising herself, she took his hand, feeling its strength, size and power. It was a toughened hand, callused and firm. She squeezed it gently. “Thanks, Ethan.”
He didn’t pull away. “Nothing to thank me for. There have been times when I wanted to beat my head against a wall until it hurt so bad I couldn’t feel anything else. I never gave in, but I think you know what I mean.”
“Yeah, I think I do.”
All of a sudden she felt a whole lot better about things. She had an ally. An ally who understood. “So Micah is…your father?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m sorry, but I never heard about you before.”
“He didn’t know about me.”
“I’m so sorry.”
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