The Soldier's Homecoming. Patricia Potter
says it is, as long as the sun is shining.”
“I can’t believe I haven’t heard of it before,” she exclaimed. “It’s almost...mystic.”
Mystic? He didn’t believe in that stuff, and yet it’d helped change the lives of three hardened warriors and one war-experienced nurse...not to mention a Scotsman nearly a hundred and fifty years ago. At least that was what Josh contended.
“What can you tell me about it?” she asked. “Why isn’t it on a map? Isn’t it in the national forest?”
“Nope, that’s the odd part of it. You haven’t heard about it because the town wanted to keep it to themselves. The founder of Covenant Falls, who had substantial political pull at the time Colorado became a state, had the area incorporated into the city limits. The family had enough pull to keep it from being included in the national forest. At least, that’s the story. The city has never tried to keep outsiders out. It just never advertised the fact. That’s changing, according to Josh. The town needs revitalization. There’s not many jobs for young people, and the population is aging.”
“I can understand why they might want to keep it private,” she said. “It’s so peaceful here. I feel I could reach out and touch the end of the rainbow.”
“I thought you were an action junkie.”
“Is that your impression?” she said. “I do like to be where things are happening. I also like full moons, soft misty days, ocean sunsets and especially rainbows. Quiet things. They center me. Especially after being in a war-torn area.”
“How long have you been back in the States?”
“Four months, nearly five.”
“Planning to go back to Syria?” he asked.
“If I can. My shoulder was damaged by a piece of shrapnel during a ‘truce’ there. The shoulder joint was injured, and the rotator cuff torn. My shoulder is getting stronger, but then I make a move and wow, it feels like someone is tearing it off. I’m working up to driving again.”
He liked the way she replied frankly. No drama. Just how it was.
“But I do want to go back,” she repeated. “Someone needs to tell the story there. The civilian population is being slaughtered. I was accompanying a medical group during a promised cease-fire. They—we—were bombed. I keep reliving it.”
There it was again. No self-pity. Damned if he didn’t like her.
“I didn’t advertise it,” she continued. “I was afraid it might scare off some of the news services I worked with. I just told them I needed time off.”
He didn’t ask any questions. It was none of his business, and he sure as hell didn’t want to talk about his own injuries. But he empathized with her. More than he wanted.
“Tell me more about the town,” she said, changing the subject. “It sounds even more interesting than I thought.”
“I don’t know that much. The two people who can help you are Andy Stuart, the army nurse, and Eve Manning, Josh’s wife. She’s also the mayor.”
“Special Operations?” she asked suddenly.
She did it again. Threw out a question, seemingly out of the blue. She was smart. Too smart. He hesitated.
“Forget I asked that,” she said. But he knew she had her answer by his silence.
He looked as his watch. “It’s nearly four,” he said. “What about those burgers?”
“You heard my stomach,” she accused him.
“I heard my own.”
“A duet,” she said with that quick, open smile.
As they walked back, he saw her stop and turn. She hesitated. It was obvious she didn’t want to leave.
He didn’t want to either. For a moment, he’d felt alive again, more alive than he had in years. He wanted to catch her hand, as a high school kid would.
Instead, he walked in silence beside her, reminding himself of another newswoman. Jennifer Talbot was here for a few days, no more. Then she’d hopefully get back to her life, although he was very aware of how difficult shoulder wounds could be. He liked that she wasn’t giving up.
Hell, he liked her too much. But then, he’d liked his ex-fiancé immediately, too.
Hopefully, she would talk to Eve and Josh and Andy and write a story on Covenant Falls, minus Jubal’s pet project.
He’d done his part. There shouldn’t be a need to meet again, although Covenant Falls’ size made that unlikely.
Unless he sped up his plans to go on the road. Like maybe tomorrow.
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