Page 18 of Tormented Hearts

Rhae threw them all a knowing smile as her daughter placed her tray on the table and scrambled into a seat, looking pleased with herself.

“Say hi to everyone, Navy.” Rhae took a plate off her own tray and set it in front of the child. She began cutting chicken for her.

“Hi, Auntie,” she said to Willow. Then her gray gaze fixed on Sinead.

In an instant, she clamored down and popped up beside Sinead. “Up.”

She stared down at the girl. She couldn’t possibly want to sit with her, could she?

Willow and Rhae were both smiling, waiting to see how she’d react.

She looked at the child. “You want to sit with me?”

Navy bobbed her head, making her braids bounce.

She pushed her chair back to allow room to lift her into her lap. The child twisted to look up at her. “You like lollipops?”

Her heart melted at the question. “I do like lollipops. What flavor is your favorite?”

Navy thought for a moment, her adorable face screwed up. “Strawberry!” Her face lit with a wide smile and wiggled in her lap. Holding her wasn’t unlike holding a puppy, and the girl reached for her muffin.

Rhae stopped her. “The muffin is your dessert, Navy. You need to eat your dinner first.”

“Baby Maren can eat the chicken.”

Rhae’s eyes creased with her smile. “Baby Maren doesn’t eat chicken yet. Soon.”

Sinead was used to meeting new people and was skilled with making observations. What she’d learned so far about the Malone family was how warm and inviting they were. How kind and generous too, from the care they offered to veterans all the way down to little Navy.

Rhae caught Sinead’s gaze. “You don’t have to hold her if you don’t feel comfortable.”

She looped her arm around Navy’s side. “She’s fine. Actually, she’s great. It’s almost therapeutic to hold her.”

Rhae and Willow traded a knowing look, and Rhae smiled into her coffee. “I know.”

Navy looked up as if she knew they were talking about her, then offered Sinead the mangled corner of her muffin.

Her chest did a strange squeeze. “Thank you, sweetheart, but that’s yours.”

Navy shrugged and went back to eating.

The vets kept drifting over to the table. Big men. Rugged men. Men with scars, tattoos, weathered faces and many with visible injuries that might frighten a child. But every single one of them softened when they reached Navy.

One crouched to ask if she saved him a bite.

She giggled. “No way! It’s my muffin.”

“Sure I can’t have a bite?”

She stuffed a huge bit into her mouth to keep it from him. He laughed and straightened. Obviously this was a routine between them.

Another came by to ask her if she would bring apples for the horses tomorrow instead of carrots.

She looked at her mother. “Can I have apples?”

Rhae nodded. “We have apples in the kitchen.”

A third stopped just to tug one of her braids and get a giggle out of her before moving on at a painstakingly slow amble with the aid of a walker.