O'Malley: Summer (Shifter Seasons Book 7) by Harmony Raines

Author:Harmony Raines [Raines, Harmony]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harmony Raines
Published: 2020-09-27T18:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen – O’Malley

“Wow.”

They were standing by the side of a waterfall that dropped from around two hundred feet above them into a large pool. Water droplets hung in the air like a cloud covering them in a thin layer of moisture if they got too close.

“I’ll fill the water bottles while you take in the view.” He watched her for a couple of minutes longer. She looked like a child at Christmas.

“I’ve never really spent time in nature.” She glanced sideways at him, her face wet from the spray which mingled, he suspected, with tears of joy.

“Didn’t your parents ever take you out into the wilderness at all?” He winced. He’d avoided talking about her mom, now he sounded critical of her and Hannah’s dad.

“No. It wasn’t really my mom’s thing and honestly, my dad didn’t have time for stuff like that. He never really appreciated the world around us. When he was home on leave, he would be more interested in tinkering with the car or doing something around the house. He preferred a tool kit to a tent.” She switched her attention back to the waterfall.

“Maybe he liked to be around the house for your mom.” O’Malley took out all the water containers and refilled them from the fresh falling water. “Here. Drink it while it’s cold and fresh.”

“Thanks.” She took a long drink. “You might be right. Mom had to do everything when he was away, so I suppose he wanted to make it up to her.”

Hannah turned away from the waterfall after taking a drink, refilling the container before she stowed it on her pack. As she stood before the plummeting water, she looked relaxed and happy after a good night’s sleep.

“There were a few men with families in my unit. It was a tough job. Every time they came back after leaving, there was always a sense of guilt, they hated leaving their families, but they also were proud to serve their country.” O’Malley would never want to be away from his mate and children. But he’d been immensely proud of the work he’d done and the lives he’d helped save. Maybe it was a good thing he hadn’t met his mate back when he was part of the Special Forces. It would have been tough on them all.

“Do you miss it?” Hannah asked.

“The Army?”

Of course she means the Army, his cougar told him.

“I did to start with. But I built myself a life outside of it. I had a focus. I had the bar.” O’Malley checked if the water bottles were secure, he didn’t want the water to leak all over their gear.

“My dad never really settled. I think if my mom hadn’t passed away, he would have stayed in the Army his whole life. He left for us. For his kids, but really he was such a mess, he was never there for us.” Hannah took one last look at the waterfall. “We should move on.”

“Okay.” O’Malley turned back toward the trail, but he soon realized Hannah wasn’t following.

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