Page 67 of All We Carry Home

“Oh, Eddie,” she breathed, her voice full of sorrow and compassion.

My own anger dissipated in the same moment.

He clutched a photo of Violet from their wedding. He had a black eye, a deep cut on his cheek, and blood on his lips, as if he’d been in a fight. He stared at the counter and mumbled incoherently.

Eva carefully pulled the glass from his hand and rubbed his back gently. “Eddie?”

He grunted. “She isn’t coming back,” he slurred. “She doesn’t understand.”

“Don’t give up on us,” Eva whispered. “Peter and Annie need you.”

“They’re better off without me.” He put his head in his hands and rubbed his face. “I wish I’d never come home.”

Eva took his elbow. “Let’s get some rest, Eddie.”

He jerked free of her touch and then looked like he had the spins. I grabbed his shoulders to keep him upright, and he slumped over me and muttered, “Was it worth it, Captain?”

His legs gave way. I braced myself and shook him awake enough to help him stumble his way to the truck. Eva paid his bill and followed.

Once he was in the cab of the truck, he fell across the entire bench seat and snored loudly.

“I’ll bring one of the boys back tomorrow to pick up his car.” I rubbed my face. “Let’s let him sleep this off.”

A thousand tasks waited for us back at the ranch, but it had been a long, hard day. She seemed to wrestle with the same conflict, her lips tight and her shoulders tense. She crossed her arms and nodded.

“Come on,” I said. “When was the last time you consumed anything other than coffee?”

She shook her head. “I don’t even remember.”

“Thought so.” I started walking across the street and she followed me.

We slipped into a booth at a small diner. Not exactly the way I’d hoped to take her out for a meal, but I’d seize the opportunity. Among the flurry of horses and repairs at the ranch, it wasn’t often I had her company to myself. The rest of the diner was empty, overhead fans whirled, and noises from the kitchen filtered around us.

She ordered a sandwich and coffee. I knew she’d be up late into the night to make up for the lost hours this afternoon.

“What did he say to you?” she asked quietly.

I absently ran my finger over a small scratch in the surface of the wooden table. “He asked if it was worth it.”

“The war?” Her voice cracked.

I nodded. I’d buried those thoughts, those questions. Eddie needed a beer or three to make that happen, and I wondered if that would be me someday. If the memories would break through my own efforts and haunt me all the same.

No, that couldn’t be the answer. I had to help Eddie and others like Lucky, Bennett, and EP. We needed to help each other the way we’d been there for each other in the forests of Bavaria, the sands of Normandy. We had to live fully, or the lives of our fallen were all for naught.

The sunlight splashed upon Eva’s face through the window beside us, casting a glowing light around her. Her expression darkened.

“I don’t know how to help him,” she said, staring at her hands folded on the table. “Gramps didn’t have anything I can use for something like this.”

I wanted to put my hands over hers, comfort her, but held back. Even with just the waitress and cook in the diner, I knew how quickly rumors spread in Baker.

“I don’t know about that,” I said. “I think Eddie could benefit from a dunk in the pond right now.”

A smile broke across her face, sending my heart racing.

As quickly as it appeared, her smile disappeared. She glanced over my shoulder and frowned. Victor entered the diner and sat in a distant booth. He watched us with a flat expression.

It was time to leave. There was no telling where his associates might be.