Sheltered By The Soldier. Lisa Harris

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СКАЧАТЬ being impressed with the four brothers and their parents, whose ancestors had first settled in this area three generations ago.

      “I’ll call him. Griffin’s a deputy and on duty today. I’ll give him a heads-up.”

      She drew in a long, slow breath, trying to gather her nerves. “I’m scared, Liam. I don’t know what’s going on, or what I’m supposed to do.”

      “Don’t worry. We’re going to find a way to make sure you and Mia are safe until we figure out what’s going on.”

      She glanced in the rearview mirror, thankful that Mia was finally sleeping. Poor baby was missing her nap and was exhausted. Her gaze shifted slightly as something else caught her attention. There was a black pickup behind her, following too close. Had she seen the same vehicle earlier?

      Her fingers gripped the steering wheel. Five seconds later, the road straightened and headed down another narrow mountainous stretch. She pressed harder on the accelerator as she sucked in a deep breath and tried to talk herself down. No one had followed her out of her neighborhood. This was nothing more than her imagination playing tricks on her.

      She gave the car all the gas she could and flew back up the hill. A stab of pain shot through her head, and she realized she’d been clenching her jaw. The stress from the last few days had managed to consume her. She kept her eyes on the road, her hand steady on the wheel as she passed a sign to Timber Falls. All she had to do was get to the sleepy tourist town and she would be fine.

      “Gabby? Are you...there?”

      The call was breaking up.

      She glanced again in the rearview mirror. The black pickup was still there. “Liam...”

      “What’s...on... Gabby...”

      The car behind her smashed into her bumper. She fought to keep the car on the road as she pushed on the pedal. Mia woke up and started crying.

      For the first time in months, Gabby prayed God would intervene.

      * * *

      Liam pressed on the gas pedal, pushing the speed limit down the narrow two-lane road that led from the O’Callaghan Ranch toward Timber Falls, the nearest town from his family’s ten-thousand-plus acre ranch. He called Gabby back.

      Nothing.

      He tried to ignore the list of uncertainties simmering beneath the surface. He needed to stop worrying. Phone service around the ranch and the road leading into Timber Falls had always left holes of no reception in spite of recent upgrades over the past couple years. It didn’t mean something had happened. This had been his life the past few months. Waiting for the ball to drop, dumping another tragedy on him. His mother kept reminding him that he wasn’t living. And yet, he knew he hadn’t really been living for a long time.

      Not since Will had died and Liam had been life-flighted to Germany, almost losing his own life alongside his best friend.

      He tried to shake off the memories and instead focus on the road. The last thing he needed to do was run into a deer on the long stretch of winding road toward town. Gabby was fine. One of them had just gone through a no-service patch. He’d meet up with her, see what she needed, then go on with his own life.

      Because if he were honest with himself, seeing Gabby was the last thing he wanted to do. Months of therapy had finally gotten him to the place he needed to be physically, but emotionally the scars were yet to completely heal. And seeing Gabby again... He knew it was only going to be a reminder of what happened that night to his best friend. But he couldn’t let emotion rule his thoughts. He owed Will his life on more than one occasion and if that meant ensuring Gabby and her baby were safe, then he planned on doing anything in his power to keep them that way.

      Memories from the night of Will’s death refused to leave him alone, bringing back the all-too-familiar panic. They’d been ambushed that starless night only a few miles from the base while out on a routine patrol in Afghanistan. But there was nothing routine about what had happened that night. By the time he got to Will, his friend was already dead.

      Mercifully, his memories of that night were few and far between. The following minutes and hours had dragged by as comrades fought to get him to safety. Over a year later, there were still moments when he wished he’d died instead of his friend. Will had a wife and daughter. He should have lived. And yet, for some reason God had taken Will and let Liam live. The guilt of that loss had yet to let go of him completely. But if he could help Will’s widow, it seemed the least he could do to make amends.

      He tried to call her again, but for a third time, the call wouldn’t go through. This time he called a different number.

      “Griffin?”

      “Hey,” his older brother said. “I was just planning on calling you. Are we still on for tomorrow night—”

      “Yeah, but listen. I’ve got a problem, and I’m going to need your help. Do you remember Gabby Kensington?”

      “Of course. Will’s wife.”

      “Yes. She’s on her way into town now to see me. I’m not sure exactly what’s going on, but apparently her house was burglarized. She’s scared, and our call got disconnected.”

      “You know how sketchy phone service is in the passes leading up here. I’m sure she’s fine.”

      “I know, but I’m still worried. I’m on my way into town now, but you’re closer than I am.”

      “What kind of vehicle is she driving?”

      “She owns a yellow jeep.”

      “Don’t worry. I’ll head south out of town right now and see if I can find her. Keep me updated on your location and we’ll meet up. In the meantime, try to keep calling her, but send me her number so I can try as well.”

      Twenty minutes later, Timber Falls began to show above the horizon. He’d grown up in this town. Graduated from the local high school. And for the past few weeks, it had been the place where he could work on the family ranch alongside his older brother, Caden, while he continued to heal. He wanted to go back to active duty, but the doctors still hadn’t approved him. Which left his future in the military hanging in the balance.

      Liam’s phone rang, jerking him from his thoughts. “Griffin?”

      “I found her.”

      “Where is she?”

      “First of all, she and her daughter are both fine,” Griffin said, answering Liam’s next question before he had a chance to ask it. “We’re heading back into town now.”

      “What’s going on?”

      “You did the right thing to call me, because there are a couple things you need to know before you see her.”

      Liam felt a shot of adrenaline rush through him. “What do you mean?”

      “I haven’t had time to take an official statement yet, but someone rammed into her from behind while she was on her way here.” Griffin hesitated. “From the way she described it, this wasn’t an accident.”

      “But she’s СКАЧАТЬ