Mending Hearts (The American Soldier Collection 11)

“Where are you working?” Gator thought to ask.

“Well on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, I work at the clothing store in Salvation, and on Fridays and Saturdays, I work at Casper’s waitressing and doing some bartending.”

“Really? We go into Casper’s often. I think I would remember seeing you,” Gator told her, looking her over.

Alana pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. “Well, I just got started there last weekend. Deanna’s husbands’ friends own the place. They hooked me up with the job.”

“You mean the McCallisters?” Jeb asked.

“Yes. You know them?”

“Of course we do. Gunner is a Texas Ranger, and Jaxon and Geno do some work for the local law enforcement. They train the cadets in the academy,” Jeb said.

“That’s great.”

They all fell silent, and Jeb couldn’t help but absorb Alana’s beauty and watch her. She really was sweet. If only this situation with Gabe were different.

“Can I ask you two something?” Alana looked at both of them and then moved farther into the living room.

“Sure,” Gator replied.

“How long have you guys and Gabe lived in Salvation?”

Jeb’s heart sank a little. He almost felt jealous that she wanted to know about Gabe, yet he understood how difficult of a situation this was. He needed to put aside his attraction to her and just do the right thing.

“We’ve been here for a little over two years. We have a large ranch about ten minutes from here,” he told her.

“Ten minutes?” She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. Her voice cracked.

“I don’t want to put the two of you in an awkward situation. It’s just that you live with Gabe, a man I thought died while serving our country. To show up here, of all places, and bump into him, alive and fairly well at an estate sale is…well… pretty freaking crazy.”

Jeb and Gator nodded.

“I’m certain it’s been difficult,” Jeb told her.

“To see an old boyfriend like that is freaky,” Gator added.

“He was more than that. He left with the intention of us getting married and starting our lives together when he returned. He told me to wait for him, and I did.”

Jeb swallowed hard.

“Surely you moved on after he was reported as MIA?” he asked.

She shook her head. “Move on? No. I didn’t.”

“Not even one guy since he left?” Gator questioned, as if she were lying.

She immediately got on the defensive. “No, not one guy. I declined any offers. I truly thought he would return to me.”

They were all quiet a few seconds.

“Well, things change, Alana. You heard what he said. He doesn’t want anyone to know he’s alive. He’s changed,” Jeb told her.

“I’ve changed too, but I still care about him. I want to know what’s wrong with him. What happened to him, and why is he shutting me out?”

“Those are questions we can’t answer. It might be best to move on,” he told her, feeling his gut clench. He had a loyalty to Gabe, but he was also a man.

“That’s easier said than done, Jeb.” She walked toward the door and opened it, a sure sign she was sending them on their way.