Page 37 of All We Carry Home

I hadn’t the words to answer, so I closed her door and watched her drive off.

Somehow, I found myself at Phantom’s pen, leaning my elbows on the wooden fence. The sun had now set, and though the sky still had a deep-blue color, the rest of the horizon had turned haunting and dark. Phantom, with his light gray—almost white—coat, glowed in the low light. He watched me from the other side of the pen and paced slowly. Though he more calmly approached Eva to drink from the bucket, his body was still tense and ready to burst at the slightest trigger.

I knew how he felt. My soldiers knew it too. I saw it in their eyes, felt it sitting next to them.

Eddie came up beside me as if reading my thoughts. His shoulders were hunched and his eyes darted around the property. Eddie had seen too much, lost too many friends, to leave Europe without deep and abiding scars.

“You’re not going to follow her anyway?” he asked.

I shook my head. “You ever hear much from Junior, Bennett, or Lucky?”

Eddie blinked as if surprised by the switch in our conversation. “No. Though Lucky was released from the hospital a few months back.”

Lucky had lost his eye when we’d all thought we were safe. What was safety? What was it like beyond the war that had consumed our lives and souls for so long?

Eddie cleared his throat. “Boss, what do you want to do about Merrick?”

Awaiting his next orders, his mission clear again. Perhaps I was grasping for the same thing. Had I misheard the conversation in the Geiser? Had I assumed more than I should have?

Phantom nickered softly across the paddock and bobbed his head as if he smelled something on the wind.

I shook free the doubt in my mind. My instincts didn’t fail me often, and everything within me knew that Victor was a threat.

“You know what I want to do, but for now we watch and wait,” I said. “Tomorrow I’ll drive to Pendleton to speak with the president of the horse organization and address those rumors.” I knew face-to-face would be more effective for a circumstance like this.

Eddie nodded, the deflation in his chest evidence that he’d hoped for a different directive. “You know, I did hear from Colonel Roland recently,” he said tentatively.

I hesitated. I should be telling the world of my intent to run for office, but the notion still hadn’t taken root. I believed it was the right path for me, sure. Eva volunteered for night shifts at the hospital to care for our fellow soldiers, and I could do no less with the opportunities before me. We each had to play to our strengths.

Still, the thought of politicking didn’t sit quite right. My officer promotions had been in the field—and a rare instance of moving from enlisted to officer ranks. After the casualties of D-Day and the immediate months following as we infiltrated enemy lines, there were vacancies to fill. My success in the field reflected the success of my men and our collective unit. It wasn’t about me. It was about all of us. I only wanted the influence and power to keep my men safe and make sure they made it home.

“Going into politics?” Eddie studied me and must have seen my unease. “You sure that’s a good idea?”

“Didn’t we always talk about how we could do better than the jokers in DC?” I smiled, pushing back from the fence and putting my hands in my pockets.

He didn’t return my levity. “Aren’t we getting close to campaign season?”

“You want to be my campaign manager?”

“Have you told Eva about these plans?”

I shook my head. I needed to, but it still felt strange to proclaim that I thought I’d even have a shot to be elected to the Senate.

Eddie crossed his arms and clamped his jaw shut.

“I’ve never known you to hold your opinion, Sergeant Moore, even if it meant a formal reprimand.”

He chuckled at that. “You do right by you, Captain, but I think you’re needed here.”

I’d only been in Baker for two days. And while I had to admit the town was charming, I wasn’t sure I was built or cut out for country life. Philly and the Army were the only lives I’d ever known.

“August is still a few months off,” Eddie said, shrugging. “I guess we’ll see where things stand by then.”

“I guess we will.” I was hoping for a vote of confidence from my trusted friend.

“I’d better get Annie set up in the house.” Eddie looked down, kicked at a stone. “Peter and I can sleep here on the porch tonight to keep watch over things. I’ll call you at the hotel when Eva’s back home.”

I nodded my thanks, and we parted. Him to wrangle the twins, and me to my truck for the long, dark drive into town. As the miles of flat landscape passed, I ruminated on Eddie’s words and the fact that as much as my gut had always been reliable, so was his. Perhaps even more so.