Read Online A Reason to Love by Alexis Morgan - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Alexis Morgan
Ads: Link
little secret. “God, Leif, I can’t imagine what that was like for him. What I don’t get is why wouldn’t the army have told someone that Spence was alive? If they did, why wasn’t the headstone immediately removed?”
Leif’s face looked as if it had been carved out of stone. “The army would have bent over backward to make sure the next of kin was notified.”
Then he let loose with a string of curses. “I’m betting they did let Spence’s uncle know, and the old bastard couldn’t be bothered to tell anyone else. I know for a fact that he didn’t say anything to his son, because Austin has been staying at Spence’s house with us. A while back, Vince caused some real trouble for the kid, and Gage Logan, the chief of police, intervened. Gage told him to stay the hell away from the kid or else.”
That matched up with what Spence had said. Back in high school, Callie had hated the way Vince treated Spence after he became his guardian. Vince had no use for him then, and it sounded as though that hadn’t changed.
Even if it made sense, it only added to her confusion. Spence knew better than to trust Vince to do the right thing and let everyone know the good news. At the very least, she would have expected him to call Callie. The two of them had been close since they were kids. She knew for a fact that he often spent his leave time from the military visiting Callie wherever she was working at the time.
“You never made it to the reception last night. Callie was looking for you, but you didn’t answer your phone.”
Leif’s blunt statement brought her thoughts to a screeching halt. She lifted her gaze to meet his. “I know I missed her call.”
Something she planned to apologize to Callie for in person after she and Nick got back from their honeymoon. “I did try to call her this morning, but last night there was someplace else I needed to be.”
He wasn’t buying it. There was no getting around telling Leif the truth. “I’m the one who brought Spence to the wedding. We got there too late to be seated, so we watched from the narthex. When it was over, Spence bolted back outside, and I went with him.”
She closed her eyes as the memory of those awful moments came flooding back. “When I first talked to him, he acted like his old self. Friendly. Normal, you know what I mean? That lasted until the service started. One minute he was fine, and the next he was so angry.”
Leif jerked his head in a quick nod. “No surprise there. A lot of us come back from deployment with a few anger issues. What happened after that?”
She frowned as she tried to replay the events in her head. “That dog found him. Spence seemed really happy to see him.”
Leif stood with his shoulders slumped and his eyes closed, as if the memories hurt. He didn’t speak again until after he took another drink of his beer. “Spence was the one who adopted the dog after he saved us from walking into an ambush. The mutt likes me and Nick, too, but Mooch really belonged to Spence. The two were inseparable.”
The former soldier opened his eyes and stared off into the distance, his jaw tight, and with a death grip on his beer. “I just wish Spence had been as happy to see me and Nick.”
What could Melanie say to that? She wished she knew some way to ease the bewildered pain in Leif’s dark eyes, but he was right. Spence’s fury had been impossible to miss.
Leif finally spoke again, his voice sounding rough. “You left the church to follow him.”
Again, not a question, but she answered anyway. “Yeah, I did. Considering how upset he was, I was worried about what he’d do next. It took me a while, but I finally found him at that bar on the outskirts of town. I don’t know the name of the place, but it’s a cinder block building.”
For the first time since they’d come out on the porch, Leif smiled just a little. “Nick and I just call it BEER because that’s what the only sign on the whole place says.”
She’d
Leif’s face looked as if it had been carved out of stone. “The army would have bent over backward to make sure the next of kin was notified.”
Then he let loose with a string of curses. “I’m betting they did let Spence’s uncle know, and the old bastard couldn’t be bothered to tell anyone else. I know for a fact that he didn’t say anything to his son, because Austin has been staying at Spence’s house with us. A while back, Vince caused some real trouble for the kid, and Gage Logan, the chief of police, intervened. Gage told him to stay the hell away from the kid or else.”
That matched up with what Spence had said. Back in high school, Callie had hated the way Vince treated Spence after he became his guardian. Vince had no use for him then, and it sounded as though that hadn’t changed.
Even if it made sense, it only added to her confusion. Spence knew better than to trust Vince to do the right thing and let everyone know the good news. At the very least, she would have expected him to call Callie. The two of them had been close since they were kids. She knew for a fact that he often spent his leave time from the military visiting Callie wherever she was working at the time.
“You never made it to the reception last night. Callie was looking for you, but you didn’t answer your phone.”
Leif’s blunt statement brought her thoughts to a screeching halt. She lifted her gaze to meet his. “I know I missed her call.”
Something she planned to apologize to Callie for in person after she and Nick got back from their honeymoon. “I did try to call her this morning, but last night there was someplace else I needed to be.”
He wasn’t buying it. There was no getting around telling Leif the truth. “I’m the one who brought Spence to the wedding. We got there too late to be seated, so we watched from the narthex. When it was over, Spence bolted back outside, and I went with him.”
She closed her eyes as the memory of those awful moments came flooding back. “When I first talked to him, he acted like his old self. Friendly. Normal, you know what I mean? That lasted until the service started. One minute he was fine, and the next he was so angry.”
Leif jerked his head in a quick nod. “No surprise there. A lot of us come back from deployment with a few anger issues. What happened after that?”
She frowned as she tried to replay the events in her head. “That dog found him. Spence seemed really happy to see him.”
Leif stood with his shoulders slumped and his eyes closed, as if the memories hurt. He didn’t speak again until after he took another drink of his beer. “Spence was the one who adopted the dog after he saved us from walking into an ambush. The mutt likes me and Nick, too, but Mooch really belonged to Spence. The two were inseparable.”
The former soldier opened his eyes and stared off into the distance, his jaw tight, and with a death grip on his beer. “I just wish Spence had been as happy to see me and Nick.”
What could Melanie say to that? She wished she knew some way to ease the bewildered pain in Leif’s dark eyes, but he was right. Spence’s fury had been impossible to miss.
Leif finally spoke again, his voice sounding rough. “You left the church to follow him.”
Again, not a question, but she answered anyway. “Yeah, I did. Considering how upset he was, I was worried about what he’d do next. It took me a while, but I finally found him at that bar on the outskirts of town. I don’t know the name of the place, but it’s a cinder block building.”
For the first time since they’d come out on the porch, Leif smiled just a little. “Nick and I just call it BEER because that’s what the only sign on the whole place says.”
She’d
Similar Books
