Having The Soldier's Baby (Parent Portal 1)

So that was it. He had to dispel the lies. Show her the truth. Not by leaving her. He couldn’t stand in that room and not be aware of the damage his simply walking away would cause.

No, he had to show her. In as kind a way as possible. Minimize the pain.

The plan was forming.

Life was about doing what you had to do until you died.

And if you were a decent man, you did your duty.

* * *

She gave him ten minutes. When there was no movement coming from the bedroom in all that time, Emily trusted her gut and went to find Winston. To help him. She had no idea how hard this had to be for him. Couldn’t hope to put herself in his shoes.

But when he hurt, she hurt. Pure and simple.

She had something that would bring him great joy. She had the healing tonic, growing right inside her. And all of the love and patience he could ever need to help him get to it.

He didn’t seem to have moved since entering the room. Still in full uniform, not a drawer opened or a closet door, not even a button undone, he stood there, staring at his nightstand.

The ring.

How could she have forgotten about the ring?

Having lived around it, moved around it, for so long, it had almost become a part of the furniture.

A revered one, but still...

The deal was that he’d retrieve it when he got back. Moving quietly, but quickly, she snapped the ring off the nightstand. Dusted it with the hem of her shirt. Grabbed Winston’s left hand and slid the ring in place.

It still fit.

That mattered.

“Deals change,” she told him, meeting his gaze as he looked down at her. “The love doesn’t.”

He said nothing. Took his hand from hers. But didn’t remove the ring.

They faced each other. She wasn’t intimidated. Like always, she had his back. He’d been through hell to get home to them. It was her turn to do their work. Or something like that.

“I understand that things change, Win. That things happened while you were gone, with both of us. I also know that our love is stronger than anything that life can dish out. No matter what happened. Or what changed. I’m here. You have my total support. And I’m absolutely thrilled, beyond anything I’ll ever be able to express, that you’re home. You, the man you are now. Welcome home.”

His lower lip jutted, giving his chin a small pucker.

“So, what do you want to do first?”

“I have to return the rental car by five.”

Innocuous words. They felt huge. “Okay, I’ll follow you. I’m assuming you rented it in San Diego?” It’s where the base was.

Where her mother and brother were, too, but there was no way she was exposing Winston to family. Not until he was ready.

At the moment, she had no idea when that might be.

One second at a time.

That’s how she’d dealt with his disappearance. His official death. And that’s how she’d deal with life, too, for as long as it took.

“I didn’t intend to stay here tonight.”