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Authors: Cooper McKenzie
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and told me,” Bridget said softly as Evan and Frank carried bags and boxes up the path.
As her men passed where they sat, each looked over and met her gaze, giving her a reassuring smile.
Autumn swallowed hard and grabbed hold of the arms of her chair to keep from jumping up and running away. “He wasn’t supposed to tell anyone.”
“He didn’t tell anyone. He told me. And I don’t share other peoples’ secrets. When you’re ready to talk about it, you will. I just wanted to remind you that Spring is young and healthy, and there will be no complications. In ten generations, there has never been a problem.”
“That’s what I figured the last time. The girl was young and seemed healthy, and there should not have been a problem. Only there was. She was too young, only thirteen. She was just a baby herself. She should never have been married, much less gotten pregnant,” Autumn whispered intently as her eyes filled with tears and her mind flashed back.
Without meaning to, Autumn began to tell the story that had ended her Army career and thrust her into a life of nightmares and pain.
* * * *
She’d been off duty when a boy came from the village just outside their base, begging for someone to come and help his sister during her birth. Her husband was one of the locals hired as an interpreter. He was out on patrol with the Army and his young bride had gone into labor early.
Autumn agreed to go and after getting permission, found herself being dragged across the village to what could only be termed loosely as a house. Two rooms, no bathroom, no running water, but with a woman in the later stage of pregnancy whose bone-chilling screams Autumn heard from a block away.
She did what she could, but the mother was too small, the baby too big, and there was no time to send for an ambulance and more help. Autumn did what she could, but by morning, both mother and child were dead.
That’s when the real trouble began. The woman’s brother-in-law decided to take it upon himself to punish Autumn. He tied her to a post behind the house and beat her with a stick off and on for two days.
Though he never broke the skin, he had broken numerous bones. By the time his brother, the husband of the dead woman, arrived home, Autumn was one large, swollen bruise from neckline to the bottoms of her feet. He’d done even more damage to her spirit, causing her to question her right to live when she had not been able to save the young mother and her baby.
She’d spent one day in the hospital’s emergency room waiting for transport out of the country then a month in the hospital in Germany. Only then did the doctors feel confident that her bones had healed properly and the bruising that covered her entire body would have no long lasting ill effects. Finally, they released her back to full duty, and she returned to the desert.
Problem was that when she returned to work, she froze when faced with a pregnant woman or any blood-related injury.
Then the nightmares began. She spent her nights sitting in a chair staring out a window instead of resting and skipped more meals than she ate. When she collapsed while on duty one day, it was decided to transfer her back to the States. Only, the change of location didn’t matter. She still dreamed of the girl and her baby. She still had nightmares of the unending pain she’d suffered as a result of failing that family.
* * * *
“Oh, my God,” a deep voice brought her back from the painful memories.
A moment later, she was plucked out her chair and pulled into a strong chest. Arms of steel wrapped around her back and held her tight, containing her easily despite her wiggling to get free.
When a second hard body pressed against her back, she tensed for a heartbeat until she realized who it was. Her fear of being trapped in a crowd did not seem to kick in when securely sandwiched between her men’s hard bodies.
“Oh, sweet Autumn, it’s going to be all right. You are not alone.
As her men passed where they sat, each looked over and met her gaze, giving her a reassuring smile.
Autumn swallowed hard and grabbed hold of the arms of her chair to keep from jumping up and running away. “He wasn’t supposed to tell anyone.”
“He didn’t tell anyone. He told me. And I don’t share other peoples’ secrets. When you’re ready to talk about it, you will. I just wanted to remind you that Spring is young and healthy, and there will be no complications. In ten generations, there has never been a problem.”
“That’s what I figured the last time. The girl was young and seemed healthy, and there should not have been a problem. Only there was. She was too young, only thirteen. She was just a baby herself. She should never have been married, much less gotten pregnant,” Autumn whispered intently as her eyes filled with tears and her mind flashed back.
Without meaning to, Autumn began to tell the story that had ended her Army career and thrust her into a life of nightmares and pain.
* * * *
She’d been off duty when a boy came from the village just outside their base, begging for someone to come and help his sister during her birth. Her husband was one of the locals hired as an interpreter. He was out on patrol with the Army and his young bride had gone into labor early.
Autumn agreed to go and after getting permission, found herself being dragged across the village to what could only be termed loosely as a house. Two rooms, no bathroom, no running water, but with a woman in the later stage of pregnancy whose bone-chilling screams Autumn heard from a block away.
She did what she could, but the mother was too small, the baby too big, and there was no time to send for an ambulance and more help. Autumn did what she could, but by morning, both mother and child were dead.
That’s when the real trouble began. The woman’s brother-in-law decided to take it upon himself to punish Autumn. He tied her to a post behind the house and beat her with a stick off and on for two days.
Though he never broke the skin, he had broken numerous bones. By the time his brother, the husband of the dead woman, arrived home, Autumn was one large, swollen bruise from neckline to the bottoms of her feet. He’d done even more damage to her spirit, causing her to question her right to live when she had not been able to save the young mother and her baby.
She’d spent one day in the hospital’s emergency room waiting for transport out of the country then a month in the hospital in Germany. Only then did the doctors feel confident that her bones had healed properly and the bruising that covered her entire body would have no long lasting ill effects. Finally, they released her back to full duty, and she returned to the desert.
Problem was that when she returned to work, she froze when faced with a pregnant woman or any blood-related injury.
Then the nightmares began. She spent her nights sitting in a chair staring out a window instead of resting and skipped more meals than she ate. When she collapsed while on duty one day, it was decided to transfer her back to the States. Only, the change of location didn’t matter. She still dreamed of the girl and her baby. She still had nightmares of the unending pain she’d suffered as a result of failing that family.
* * * *
“Oh, my God,” a deep voice brought her back from the painful memories.
A moment later, she was plucked out her chair and pulled into a strong chest. Arms of steel wrapped around her back and held her tight, containing her easily despite her wiggling to get free.
When a second hard body pressed against her back, she tensed for a heartbeat until she realized who it was. Her fear of being trapped in a crowd did not seem to kick in when securely sandwiched between her men’s hard bodies.
“Oh, sweet Autumn, it’s going to be all right. You are not alone.
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