The Soldier's Baby Promise by Gabrielle Meyer

Author:Gabrielle Meyer
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2022-03-26T15:29:04+00:00

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Nate was already sweating, and it wasn’t even nine in the morning. The enormous dumpster had been delivered around eight, and Nate hadn’t wasted any time starting to go through the barn. Grandpa Jed had even bypassed his morning drive into Timber Falls to help, though Nate told him to take it easy and stop often for rests. But Grandpa was having a good day, and he seemed energized to tackle the junk stacked high in the barn.

“I wonder why Adley hasn’t shown herself this morning,” Grandpa said absently as he looked through a box of random tools.

They had one trailer backed up to the barn to put the items in that they planned to sell, and another trailer beside it, for things they planned to donate to the local charity thrift store. The giveaway pile was starting to grow, but they had only found a few things that they thought might be worth some money to sell. The appraiser would come out at the end of the week to look over everything before they took stuff to the dump.

The dumpster was filling up faster than anything.

Nate tossed an old, rusted chicken feeder into the dumpster and glanced at the house, hoping to see Adley.

“She got in pretty late last night,” he said to Grandpa. “I was already in bed when I heard her tiptoe through the kitchen.”

“I’m happy she got to spend some time with her parents.” Grandpa tossed an old handsaw into the dumpster. “There’s a lot of healing that needs to happen there.”

A few minutes later, Adley finally came out to the barn. She had Benny in a back carrier and wore her hair in a bun. Her eyes were shining, and she looked refreshed. The baby also appeared happy, his legs dangling down and drool dripping from his bottom lip as he grinned at Nate.

“Good morning,” Adley said. “Sorry I didn’t get out here sooner. Benny and I slept in, and then he had a blowout in his diaper and needed a bath.”

“We’re doing okay,” Grandpa said. “How was your day with your parents?”

Nate watched Adley’s expression as he lifted an old, broken rocking chair off the pile in the barn. Something shifted in her face, making her look a little less relaxed and a lot more annoyed.

“Other than the fact that my parents are trying to set me up with Spencer Ford, it was a lovely day.”

It took a lot of control, but Nate was able to keep his face neutral. He didn’t have anything against Spencer—he just didn’t like him.

“Spencer?” Grandpa wrinkled his nose in a rare show of judgment. “He might be right for someone, but I don’t think he’s right for you and Benny.”

“Oh?” Adley smiled. “You have an opinion about who is right and wrong for us?”

Grandpa smiled to himself as he lifted a broken hammer out of the box and tossed it into the dumpster. “I sure do.”

Nate tried not to appear like he was eavesdropping, though it was impossible.

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