Read Online Battlefield of the Heart by E. A. West - Free Book Online Page A

Monique.”
    Josh and Danny went back to their discussion of wounds, and Cindy tuned it out. If talking about things that would give most people nightmares helped them deal with Corbin’s wife needing surgery, she could survive it.
    Corbin returned in the middle of a graphic description of the aftermath of a car bomb. He stared at Josh and Danny then turned to Cindy. “This doesn’t bother you?”
    She shook her head as Danny and Josh turned toward her. “The only part of it that bothers me is knowing how upset the families of those people must have been.”
    â€œI’m impressed.” Corbin returned to his seat. “They just took Monique back. Someone will let me know as soon as she’s in recovery.”
    The conversation drifted away from the gruesome, and Cindy heaved a mental sigh of relief. As nonchalant as she acted about it, she didn’t know how much more she could have handled. Not only were the descriptions gut-wrenching, the thought of the suffering caused by such horrors made her want to cry. Maybe Danny was right about her being extremely compassionate. Listening to the guys made her want to give a comforting hug to every soldier who had witnessed something horrible and to their families for helping them deal with it.
    Another small group came in, this time for someone with multiple gunshot wounds. Josh moved to a seat by Corbin, and they got into a discussion on weapons; Danny appeared to tune out. Cindy split her attention between the conversation, which fascinated her, and observing Danny. He shifted his attention between the other groups in the waiting room and the framed photo of desert cliffs at sunset on the wall.
    Josh glanced at him then met Cindy’s gaze. He tilted his head toward Danny, and she moved to the chair beside Danny, speaking softly. “Hey, you okay?”
    He looked down and shrugged. “Not really.”
    â€œYou want to talk about it?” She noticed Corbin and Josh continued their conversation, though they kept an eye on her and Danny.
    He shook his head and shifted in his seat. She left him to his thoughts, praying it was the right thing to do. The group waiting for the gunshot victim started arguing about something, and Danny headed out of the waiting room. Cindy stood, remembering Lacey’s instructions.
    â€œStick with him,” Josh said.
    â€œI will.” She hurried into the hall and spotted Danny heading away from her. Picking up her pace, she caught up with him. “Where you going?”
    He cast a quick glance in her direction. “Out.”
    She matched his pace as he went to the hospital entrance. They passed through the sliding glass doors, and Danny walked several feet away, taking deep breaths of the cool night air. Cindy stayed with him as he headed for a low brick wall edging a flowerbed. He sat on the cement ledge along the top and dropped his head into his hands. She sat down beside him and spoke gently. “Hey, you’ll be okay.”
    He didn’t give any sign that he heard her. How could she help him? She said a silent prayer for him, and then began talking about her history class. It was the most mundane thing she could think of, and she figured the non-threatening topic of human migration would help him relax.
    She ran out of things to say about history and started telling him about an archaeology class she’d taken the previous semester. Ambulance arrivals punctuated her words, and Danny finally looked at her as she described some of the tools found in a Stone Age village in Europe. She finished her description as she waited for him to say something.
    He surprised her by chuckling softly. “You have taken some really boring classes.”
    â€œI thought that archaeology class was interesting,” Cindy said, relieved he seemed normal again.
    â€œHave you ever studied psychology?”
    â€œI’ve taken a couple of classes. Why?”
    He looked out at the parking lot.