Did Keith just say his wife?
Torie’s mind spun as she watched Keith walk away from her and into his parents’ house. One minute her world was magical, the next it was as if the stars were crashing down around her.
“Sweetie. You need to go talk to him.” Rae put her hand on Torie’s arm as she spoke. Somehow in the midst of what happened Tony and Rae had turned up by her side. A pattern of sorts, them always there to back Keith up. She looked down at Rae and then over at Tony. They were backing her now too.
She took a deep breath. “I don’t know. It seems as if he’d like to be alone.”
Tony shook his head. “No. You two need to talk about this.”
Torie looked once again to Rae, who nodded and smiled at her. “It’s all good, honey. I promise. You two can talk this one out.” She nudged Torie towards the house.
Torie’s head agreed but her heart stuttered. With each step she took towards the house, her brain tried to wrap around what had just happened. The quiet of the house was drastic compared to the party outside. She closed the glass doors behind her, muffling the sound.
Keith was in the great room, facing the fireplace, one hand on the mantle, his head hung low. His hat blocked his face but Torie sensed his pain. She watched him from the doorway. Such a formidable man, yet broken inside. There was so much she still didn’t know about him, but what she did know was he didn’t wear his heart on his sleeve. He only shared that with a precious few, and her heart warmed at the thought that she was one of them. That he’d let her in. And she understood. Boy, did she ever. Building walls to protect yourself, to protect others. They were private people, the two of them.
She thought of backing away, giving him space. That’s what she would want. Well, it was what she wanted before Keith entered her life. Now, sharing things with him sounded much more appealing. But she wasn’t so sure he was there yet.
“You can come in. I won’t bite.” His baritone voice filled the quiet room. He lifted his head, his eyes finding hers. Goodness. She could swim in those pools of blue for days. But her heart ached at the pain that filled them.
“We’ve been divorced a year now.”
She moved closer to him, her boots making a thud on the wood floor with each step. She stopped beside him near the fireplace. Her hands burned to reach out and touch him, comfort him in some way, but she was still unsure of what he needed. “What can I do?”
He closed his eyes and shook his head. “You’re something else, you know that, Dragonfly?”
“In a good way, I hope.” She smiled at him.
He smiled back. A small quirk from one side of his mouth, but a smile none the less. Small victories.
“In every good way.”
He moved to the large ottomon nearby and sat down. His shoulders hunched forward with the weight of the world on them, his elbows rested on his knees.
“Mandy and I were high school sweethearts. We both grew up here, loved the small town. I thought we wanted the same things. The same kind of life.”
“What happened?”
“I joined the Marine Corps. Mandy said she was okay with it at first. As soon as I could cut it I went Force Recon. The long stints of being gone were tough on her. They were tough on me too. But she wanted me to quit. Leave. And that’s not…” He took his hat off and ran a hand through his hair. He put the hat back on his head.
Torie joined him on the ottoman. She needed to be near him. Needed him to know she was close. “And that’s not an option. That’s not you. You’re a Marine. It’s not something you do, it’s a part of who you are.”
He looked at her, his eyes narrowing. “Yeah. Exactly.” He shook his head and looked down at his hands. “We grew apart. Whenever I was home, she was angry with me. Couldn’t understand. We’d talked about having a big family but then she said she changed her mind. Didn’t want to bring a child into the world…into our world.”
The hurt in his voice ripped through Torie as if it were her own. She could only imagine how painful those words must’ve been for a man like Keith. Torie thought of what Rae had said at their coffee date about how Tony needed to know Rae believed in him, in his abilities. That his wife was praying him home. The broken man before her was living proof of that truth.
Torie rubbed his back but didn’t say anything. Keith hadn’t pushed her when she unloaded her ghosts on him. She was happy to return the favor.
“I came home after a six-month mission to find she was having an affair with Clint. Who, to add insult to injury, had been my best friend in high school.”
Torie held her tongue.
“I know. I know. But he was different then. Life’s been hard on him. I’m not excusing his behavior or how he’s turned out, I’m just saying….things were different.”
Torie had noticed Mandy’s pregnant belly the minute she’d walked up to Clint. That had to be yet another painful injury for Keith. She wouldn’t have a family with him, but the town troublemaker was just fine? Torie closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Everything in her wanted to punch Clint’s lights out and shake Mandy for all the hurt she’d caused. But what good would it do?
She tucked her arm under Keith’s and held his hand. Her head resting against his shoulder, they sat looking at the fire that crackled in the fireplace. And really, who was Torie to judge anyone? Mandy had made decisions, mistakes just like everybody else. All Torie cared about now was the man beside her. The man he was right now. At this moment, with her.
“I can’t believe you haven’t started running now that you know all my dark, ugly secrets.”
She rubbed her thumb along the side of his hand. “Nah. I hate running.”
He laughed. That all-male, deep sound from his chest that made her toes tingle and her heart warm. He kissed the top of her head. “So what now, Dragonfly?”
She sighed. “We take it one day at a time, Captain. One day at a time.”
***
Keith watched the flames flicker in the fireplace. Torie’s thumb rubbed along his hand, sending a different kind of fire through his system. Her fingers were long and thin, graceful and feminine intertwined with his rough, calloused hands that trained horses and shot rifles. They were so different and yet, similar in so many ways.
When he’d heard Mandy’s voice outside earlier, memories washed over him. Sure, they saw each other from time to time. It was a small town. But they never spoke. He’d also heard through the grapevine she was pregnant, but seeing her that way was like a punch to the gut.
Like a tidal wave crashing down on him, he’d thought his world was going to wash away with the tide. Torie would find out the truth about him and take off without looking back.
But she hadn’t.
This amazing tower of strength beside him came after him and asked what she could do. For him. She only wanted to help him. How was that possible? He didn’t deserve this precious gift that leaned her lemon-scented head against his shoulder, comforting him with her presence, but he was damned sure he’d do everything in his power to keep her there.
“You’re thinking way too hard.”
He kissed the top of her head. “I don’t deserve you.”
She looked up at him, those hazel depths soaking into his soul. “I was thinking the same thing about you. I guess that makes us a perfect pair.”
He cradled her face in his hand and lowered his head, covering her mouth with his own. He could get lost for days in those lips, those eyes, his hands tangled in her golden locks. His own private heaven.
When he pulled back, he tucked her against him again, if only to give them both time to catch their breath. And him time to cool down. The room was heating up fast and it wasn’t from the fire.
“When will you go on your next mission?”
His heart sank with her question.
“I don’t know. I get a call and I go.”
“Okay.”
Okay? Did she just say okay?
She sat up and looked at him. “Then we face that when it comes.”
“I can’t ask you to do that, Torie.”
“No one’s asking.” She turned his head to look him in the eyes. “Do you want me in your life?”
“More than you know.”
“And I want you in mine. So that means we take things one day at a time and face things as they come.”
It wasn’t fair to ever compare Torie to Mandy, but the resolve he saw in her eyes he’d never seen before. She meant it. She would stick with him. His heart wanted so much to believe that, but his head said to wait and see how they’d do when he got the call.
A commotion outside caught their attention. They turned to look just as his dad came through the glass doors carrying his mom in his arms.
Keith sprang to his feet. “What’s wrong?”
Tony, Rae, and Angie were close behind his parents, Angie closing the doors so no one else could come in.
“Your mother’s had a fainting spell,” his dad said. “I’m taking her to our room.”
Keith looked at his mother. Her eyes were open, but her head lay against his dad’s chest, her arms wrapped around his neck. The paleness of her face stood out against his dark jacket.
Keith looked at Tony and Rae. Rae said, “The party is winding down. I’ll go out and say good-bye to those who are still here. Let them know she’s fine.”
Angie nodded in agreement. “I’ll go with you.”
The two women went back outside leaving Keith, Tony, and Torie the only ones left in the great room.
“What happened?” Torie asked before Keith could. She stood beside him near the fireplace.
Tony shook his head. “She was standing next to your dad and just looked…sleepy. But then she grabbed onto his arm. He must’ve sensed something was wrong, because he swept her up and brought her in here.”
Torie looked at Keith. “Has this happened before?”
He shook his head. “Not that I know of. She has seemed more…mellow lately, but she does get crazy busy around this time of year.”
The door opened again and Angie came through with Ainsley Smith. He’d been the Scott family doctor for as long as Keith could remember.
“Angie said your mother fainted?” he asked of Keith.
“Yes sir. Dad took her to their room.”
“I thought it might be a good idea if the doctor had a look at her,” Angie offered.
“Thank you, Angie. That is a good idea.” Keith waved the doctor to follow him. “Come with me. I’ll take you to her.”
He glanced back at Torie, who nodded in understanding. “I’ll be right here.”
Why he was still worried she’d run he had no clue. But grateful she wasn’t, he led the doctor down the hall to his parents’ room.
***
Tony went back outside to help Rae, leaving Torie alone in the great room. She looked around. The fire had died down a bit in the fireplace but still cast a cozy glow throughout the room.
Pulling her phone from her jacket pocket, she opened a game app. It looked like it was going to be a long night so why not settle in? She had zero intention of leaving until she knew Ellie was okay. She tucked herself into a corner of the sofa and started playing.
Tapping the screen, she embraced the way the game allowed her mind to zone out a bit. Her brain needed a break.
She missed getting to the next level by one move. “Darn it!”
“What? What is it?” Keith’s voice boomed behind her in the empty room. He came around the sofa and plopped down next to her, his body against hers warming her. He peered over at her phone screen.
“I’m just playing a game.”
“What kind of game?”
“You have to line up the pieces three in a row to score. Each level gets harder and harder. You’ve never heard of it?” She turned towards him, genuinely surprised.
“Nah. It sounds goofy.”
She rolled her eyes. “It’s a game. See.” She turned her phone for him to see the screen better.
He looked at it and shook his head. “I don’t trust those online things.”
“You don’t trust a jelly bean?” she teased.
“That’s not what I said.”
Of course it wasn’t, but it sure was fun to crinkle that brow of his.
“How’s your mom?”
“She’ll be fine. She didn’t completely pass out, which is a good thing. Doc is talking to Dad now. When I left she was propped up in bed telling both of them to stop fussing over her and let her go say good-bye to her party guests.”
Torie smiled. She could see that scene in her mind. Her heart went out to the two men. Even with the odds in their favor, Torie’s money was on Ellie.
“How did your dad take that?”
Keith chuckled. “He crossed his arms and said she’d have to go through him.”
“Oh my. What did Ellie have to say to that?”
“Something to the effect of, ‘That sounds appealing’ but I left the room before I could hear the rest. Leave it to my parents to sound like feisty teenagers at the most inappropriate time.” He turned away and looked at the fireplace.
Was he blushing? The man was blushing. He was the cutest thing Torie had ever seen. If one could ever call the gorgeous man beside her cute.
“Awww, you’re embarrassed by your parents. That’s so sweet.”
He looked back at her then, daggers in his eyes. Well, not daggers, really. Just more blushing and a “You can stop now” kind of glare.
She laughed just as Colt came down the hall and into the room.
“She okay?” Keith asked.
Colt nodded. “She’ll be fine.” He shook his head and took a seat on the sofa across from them. “Doc says she’s just exhausted. Worked herself too hard over this party and Christmas.”
“Dad. Is there anything else going on with Mom?”
Colt looked his son in the eye. “No. There’s not. She’s healthy as a horse. Truly.”
“This hasn’t happened before.”
“Never.” Colt’s voice was like steel. “You know your mother. She just doesn’t know when to quit. We aren’t in our twenties anymore but I’ll be damned if she’ll ever believe that. She needs to learn to take it easy.”
Torie smiled as the two men talked. Colt’s love for his wife was obvious, as well as his admiration for the strong woman he married. Even if he did sound frustrated. Scared was more like it. Worry for his wife was apparent in his tone and features. This was what real love looked like. For better or worse, in sickness and health. She’d never seen it before and she liked it.
She looked at Keith. Would he ever believe that she was willing to stand by him? Wait for him as he served overseas. Seeing Colt and Ellie together made her want that—a love so deep it surpassed all odds.
The doctor came into the room and gave Colt instructions. Ellie would be fine, she just needed to rest. The doctor shook Colt’s hand and said, “Oh, and she’s asking to see someone named Torie.”
All eyes in the room turned to her. “Me?”
Keith looked at her and shrugged. “You better go. Lord only knows what will happen if you cross that woman.”
Torie could’ve sworn Colt shivered.
Okay then. She gave Keith one last glance, tucked her phone back in her pocket, and headed down the hall.