The Soldier's Newfound Family. Kathryn SpringerЧитать онлайн книгу.

      Chapter Two

      Carter watched Savannah disappear through the swinging doors that separated the kitchen from the dining area.

      In his mind, this had played out differently.

      Savannah had been happy to see him. Touched by the message that Rob had entrusted him to deliver. Instead, she’d looked at him as if he’d lobbed a grenade in her direction.

      Maybe you did.

      It occurred to Carter that he shouldn’t have chosen a public place to introduce himself, but Rob had never given him their home address, only mentioned the name of the tiny diner in Dallas where Savannah worked.

      Carter dropped into the chair again and pressed his fingers against his temples, an attempt to ward off the headache that had sunk its talons behind his eyes. When he’d stepped off the plane, he’d naively assumed that time would slowly begin to sand down the jagged edges of his memories and life would return to normal.

      Normal, he remembered his nanny, Rachel, saying with a laugh, is just a setting on the dryer.

      Carter finally understood what she’d meant. Because so far, nothing had gone the way he’d planned.

      He’d spent a sleepless night at Gray’s condo, fighting jet lag and the realization that everything he’d believed about his family had been based on a lie.

      Breakfast with Maddie and Gray the next morning had been awkward; no one seemed to know how to fill the silence. Carter had politely declined their invitation to church. His brother took off shortly after breakfast to pick up Elise and Cory. After the service, Maddie planned to return to Grasslands so she could check on Belle Colby at the convalescent center.

      Carter had welcomed the time alone to regroup. He’d decided to help Gray search for their father, the only person who could tell them the truth about the past. But first, he’d been honor bound to deliver a message.

      If the woman the message was intended for decided to cooperate.

      “How are those ribs tastin’?” Libby, the waitress who’d been so attentive when Carter had walked into the diner, bounded up to his table.

      “Great.” Once Carter tried them, he’d know for sure.

      “Okaay.” She glanced down at his plate and frowned. “Anything else I can getcha?”

      How about an explanation for Savannah’s parting words?

      I’m glad one of us did.

      The statement hadn’t made sense. She was Rob’s wife. Of course she knew him. Savannah’s reaction—and her abrupt departure—didn’t quite match up with the woman Rob had described. A woman with a sweet smile, a sense of humor and a strong faith.

      Carter understood how grief could do a number on someone, but wouldn’t she want to talk to someone who’d spent time with Rob?

      Been with him at the end?

      His gaze shifted to the kitchen, where Savannah was hiding out. If he could outlast a sniper for ten hours, he could certainly wait out a pretty green-eyed waitress.

      “I’ll take a piece of pie and a cup of coffee.”

      Libby followed the direction of his eyes and grinned. “Coming right up.”

      A half hour ticked by and the dining room emptied as the lunch crowd dwindled. Carter finished off the pie and started on his third cup of coffee but there was still no sign of Savannah.

      “Excuse me?” He motioned to Libby as she emerged from the kitchen, armed with two coffee pots. She changed direction, navigating through the maze of tables until she reached his side.

      “Do you need a warm up on that coffee?”

      He needed to talk to Savannah. “No, thanks. Just the bill.” Carter reached for his wallet. “Is Savannah busy?” he tossed out casually.

      “No.” The smile dimmed. “She left a little while ago.”

      “Left?”

      “She said she wasn’t feeling well.”

      Savannah had slipped past him. Admiration and frustration battled for dominance. Frustration won.

      Carter released a slow breath. “Will she be back tomorrow?”

      “She’s not scheduled to work again until Tuesday.”

      Great. Before she’d left, Maddie made him promise he would drive to Grasslands to meet the rest of the “family” as soon as possible.

      “Would you mind giving me her home address?”

      Libby looked uneasy with the request. “I don’t know—”

      “Her husband and I served together in Afghanistan. He introduced us.” It was the truth. Sort of. He and Savannah might not have met until today, but Carter felt as if he knew her. He knew that she hummed when she was nervous and that her favorite color was blue. She liked yellow roses and coffee-flavored ice cream and black-and-white movies.

      And she was more beautiful in person than she was in the photograph Rob had given him.

      Carter set that thought firmly to the side.

      “I didn’t know Savannah was married to a soldier,” Libby breathed. “She never talks about him.”

      “He talked about her.” Twenty-four seven. “And he asked me to deliver a message.”

      “That’s so romantic.”

      Only in the movies, Carter wanted to say. The reality hadn’t been quite so warm and fuzzy.

      He and Rob had been shoulder to shoulder in a shallow ditch, caught in the middle of a firefight. Under attack from both the ground and the air.

      If anything happens to me, promise that you’ll find Savannah and make sure she’s okay. Tell her that I loved her.

      But Rob hadn’t told him that Savannah might not want to be found.

      Or that she was pregnant.

      * * *

      “Going somewhere?”

      Savannah whirled around at the sound of a deep male voice.

      It was him. Carter Wallace. The soldier who’d shown up at the diner that morning. He filled the doorway, arms folded across his chest in a casually deceptive stance. The set of his jaw warned Savannah that she wouldn’t evade him as easily this time.

      She didn’t bother to ask how he’d found out where she lived. He must have sweet-talked Libby after she’d left the diner.

      “Your landlady let me in.” Those intense blue eyes scanned the living room and narrowed on the hedge of cardboard boxes that separated them.

      “Look, Sergeant Wallace.” Savannah heard a catch in her voice. “I don’t know what you want—”

      “That’s