Read Online Battle for the Soldier's Heart by Cara Colter - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Cara Colter
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“Gracie?”
She looked at her hands.
“He was wrong. You never get over it. You’re never who you were before.”
She looked up at him, and the gratitude in her eyes was so intense it shook him. But he understood then, that the death of Graham was a bond between them. Unbreakable. They, alone, understood what it was to lose a man like that, how it changed the world forever for the worse.
“I hope I never meet old Herbert,” he said, getting the name wrong deliberately, letting her know the name was not important. The character of a man was important.
“Why is that?” she asked.
“Because I won’t be responsible for what happens next.”
He thought she would reprimand him for his insinuated violence. Maybe he even hoped for it: to close that open door again. That something about showing her this little flash of who he really was, how quickly he could go to the dark side, would frighten her just a little bit.
He was not sure he was ready for her trust.
Yes, she could rely on him to be her go-to guy; no, she could not rely on him to handle things her way, which would be all sweetness and light.
He was aware, again, of having darkness in him that could snuff her light.
But instead of her seeing that, instead of her being properly wary of him, she said, ever so softly, “Thank you.”
Still, the intensity of that moment must have shaken her nearly as badly as it shook him: how fiercely protective he felt of her, how joined to her.
Grace changed the subject abruptly. “Tell me about your business, and what you’d like to do for Warrior Down.”
Or maybe it was the most natural of segues, thoughts of her brother turning to ways that they could both honor his memory.
Rory was more an action guy than a talker, so it surprised him how easily he opened up to her.
“When I first enlisted, my brother, Sam, was just getting out of high school. He was a really talented artist and he wanted to get into graphics. I didn’t have much to spend my money on, so I invested in him. In his education, later in his idea for a company.
“He got his big break doing graphics on a car for Saul Bellissimo. Do you know that name?”
“A race-car driver?” she ventured.
“ The race-car driver of the past few years. Anyway, he did Saul’s car, and that got him all kinds of other jobs and publicity. Sam just kept pushing the envelope, first graphic wraps for race cars, then he got the contract to do some buses.
“He’s an artist, and to everyone’s surprise I’m good at business.”
“I’m not surprised,” she said. “Tell me more.”
It was another moment where something shivered along Rory’s spine. It was as if Grace saw things in him that others didn’t. And her interest in him was genuine. He should not allow himself to be flattered, but he did.
“Because of good access to the internet most of the time, I could even keep involved while I was overseas. When I decided to leave the service, I was a little astonished to find myself the CEO of a pretty viable company. In the past couple of months we completed our first contract for an airline company, graphic-wrapping their planes. In the next month or so, we’re going to do our first graphic wrap on a building.”
“A building?” she said. “Where?”
“Melbourne, Australia.”
“My goodness, Rory, you’re an international mogul!”
He felt the danger zone he was in. Boy from the wrong side of the tracks basking in the admiration of the wholesome girl from next door.
Enjoying her admiration in no way meant it was going any further.
He scrambled to keep it impersonal. “It all puts us in a pretty good position to sponsor something for
Warrior Down.”
“What did you have in mind?”
“I went on the internet and looked at your outline for the event. It sounds great. Dinner. Dance. Silent auction, everything set up here on the edge of the lake. I thought we might contribute something to the silent auction.”
“Like?”
“What if we
She looked at her hands.
“He was wrong. You never get over it. You’re never who you were before.”
She looked up at him, and the gratitude in her eyes was so intense it shook him. But he understood then, that the death of Graham was a bond between them. Unbreakable. They, alone, understood what it was to lose a man like that, how it changed the world forever for the worse.
“I hope I never meet old Herbert,” he said, getting the name wrong deliberately, letting her know the name was not important. The character of a man was important.
“Why is that?” she asked.
“Because I won’t be responsible for what happens next.”
He thought she would reprimand him for his insinuated violence. Maybe he even hoped for it: to close that open door again. That something about showing her this little flash of who he really was, how quickly he could go to the dark side, would frighten her just a little bit.
He was not sure he was ready for her trust.
Yes, she could rely on him to be her go-to guy; no, she could not rely on him to handle things her way, which would be all sweetness and light.
He was aware, again, of having darkness in him that could snuff her light.
But instead of her seeing that, instead of her being properly wary of him, she said, ever so softly, “Thank you.”
Still, the intensity of that moment must have shaken her nearly as badly as it shook him: how fiercely protective he felt of her, how joined to her.
Grace changed the subject abruptly. “Tell me about your business, and what you’d like to do for Warrior Down.”
Or maybe it was the most natural of segues, thoughts of her brother turning to ways that they could both honor his memory.
Rory was more an action guy than a talker, so it surprised him how easily he opened up to her.
“When I first enlisted, my brother, Sam, was just getting out of high school. He was a really talented artist and he wanted to get into graphics. I didn’t have much to spend my money on, so I invested in him. In his education, later in his idea for a company.
“He got his big break doing graphics on a car for Saul Bellissimo. Do you know that name?”
“A race-car driver?” she ventured.
“ The race-car driver of the past few years. Anyway, he did Saul’s car, and that got him all kinds of other jobs and publicity. Sam just kept pushing the envelope, first graphic wraps for race cars, then he got the contract to do some buses.
“He’s an artist, and to everyone’s surprise I’m good at business.”
“I’m not surprised,” she said. “Tell me more.”
It was another moment where something shivered along Rory’s spine. It was as if Grace saw things in him that others didn’t. And her interest in him was genuine. He should not allow himself to be flattered, but he did.
“Because of good access to the internet most of the time, I could even keep involved while I was overseas. When I decided to leave the service, I was a little astonished to find myself the CEO of a pretty viable company. In the past couple of months we completed our first contract for an airline company, graphic-wrapping their planes. In the next month or so, we’re going to do our first graphic wrap on a building.”
“A building?” she said. “Where?”
“Melbourne, Australia.”
“My goodness, Rory, you’re an international mogul!”
He felt the danger zone he was in. Boy from the wrong side of the tracks basking in the admiration of the wholesome girl from next door.
Enjoying her admiration in no way meant it was going any further.
He scrambled to keep it impersonal. “It all puts us in a pretty good position to sponsor something for
Warrior Down.”
“What did you have in mind?”
“I went on the internet and looked at your outline for the event. It sounds great. Dinner. Dance. Silent auction, everything set up here on the edge of the lake. I thought we might contribute something to the silent auction.”
“Like?”
“What if we
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