Daddy's Little Warrior (Daddy 13)

“As you can probably guess, they had to drug me for a few days until my commander sent me and my team home. We weren’t supposed to leave for another twenty days, but the new team was already in place, so they sent us home. You kind of know the rest. I walked out of the airport, bought a truck, and drove to the land I bought several years ago.”

Devon cupped his shoulder in understanding.

“Before the explosion, what were you going to do when you had to leave Afghanistan?”

“I had the papers filled out to marry her and get her and her brother out of there. I was going to stay behind until she was able to go with me. I wasn’t going to leave until she could go.”

“So, I’m assuming it was her brother in the house?”

Drake nodded. “Yeah. She’d gone out the back to get the laundry before it exploded. She broke her arm and had burns and shrapnel all along her back. Her cousin dragged her to her aunt’s, and they took care of her until Ryker came for her. She told me he was just in time because she was willing herself to die, and her aunt and cousin did what they could to pull her out of depression. She said she started to live again because she had hoped she’d be able to see me again.”

“Jesus, I can’t imagine the depth of emotion you both went through. I do know I’d lose it if Emma were ever hurt or killed.”

Drake nodded. “There were so many times I prayed for death. At my cabin, I was reckless and drank myself to sleep at night. If there had been a predator in the area, I wouldn’t have been able to fight them off.”

“I truly believe God had a plan for you both.”

“I’m so glad he did. Before I knew she was alive, I’d look into the future and see an abyss of shadows, pain, and loneliness. I knew I’d never truly be happy again.”

The men sat silently for a long moment.

“Whatever you need, man, Emma and I are here to help.”

Drake nodded. “Thank you. She’s overwhelmed, and I want to ease her into this life slowly, so she doesn’t panic or become discouraged.”

“She can spend the day with Emma and her friends, and they can teach her things.”

“I don’t know how I’ll handle having her away from me, even if it’s a couple of floors.”

“Take it day to day. There’s nothing that says you have to make decisions right now. There’s time.”

Drake nodded. He was happy with the fact they had time now, and she was back in his life. That was all that mattered at the moment.