Soldier of Love by Allie Boniface

Author:Allie Boniface
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: second chance, soldier, military, small town, beach, army, veteran, PTSD
Publisher: Allie Boniface
Published: 2016-03-18T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 19

Heath yawned as he walked to his truck. An entire day of lectures, bookwork, and videos made him remember why he’d hated school. Glad this course is only two weeks long. It wasn’t all bad, lots of common sense shit to know about the security guard job, and the teacher was a cool guy. But the six of them in the course were stuck in a basement conference room, which meant no fresh air and no view of the sky.

He gulped in fresh air as he crossed campus. It also meant no cell service, not like he needed it most days. Who would call him? Maybe Franny. No one else. He pulled out his phone and stopped mid-stride at her picture. Holy fuck. He grinned at the sight of her white skin and smooth breasts. His thumb hovered over the message, and he almost sent back a few words that would turn her bright red in no time. Then he scrolled down and saw two missed calls from her and a final text message.

Call before you get back if you can.

He reached his truck and climbed inside. Strange. He put down the windows and left the engine off. Maybe she needed him to pick something up at the store. She answered on the first ring.

“Heath?”

“What’s up? Everything okay?”

Long pause.

“Franny?”

“There’s someone here to see you. I thought you might want a heads-up before you got here and saw her.”

Her? His pulse ratcheted up a few notches. Before he could fully process her words, Franny continued. “It’s your daughter.”

He careened into the driveway of the Hideaway less than ten minutes later. Thank God he hadn’t passed any cops on the way, or he’d probably be in jail right now, with the speed he’d been going. He jerked to a stop, threw open the truck door, and stumbled in his hurry to get up the front steps. Numbers flashed inside his head. Chloe’s seventeen now. What did she look like? Who did she resemble? Above all, how the hell had she found him?

Heath pushed open the front door and stopped.

She stood with her back to him, and for a second he thought Franny was wrong. It was Beth who’d come to the Hideaway to see him, not Chloe. His daughter couldn’t possibly be so tall. Or have such long hair, the exact color of her mother’s. Then she turned, and he saw his own blue eyes in her face.

“Holy shit,” he blurted out. His cheeks burned as he rubbed the back of his head. Suave, Garrick. Great thing to say to your kid after not seeing her since she was a baby.

“You’re Heath?” She fussed with the clasp on her purse. A tiny crease appeared between her eyebrows. Beth used to do the same thing when she was nervous. He went dizzy for a moment, as if time had spun him backwards.

Franny stood in the doorway between the parlor and the kitchen, and suddenly Heath was glad he wasn’t alone. “I am.” He took a few steps toward Chloe, lifted one arm, and then dropped it.

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