Chapter Three
As Willow pushed through the big double doors of the dining hall, sound rushed over her—the vets trading jokes, the clang of silverware. The air was thick with the mouthwatering scent of chocolate cake fresh from the oven, rich and sweet enough to make her stomach grumble.
She’d missed blueberry cobbler day, and this morning Zayne told her with regret that he wasn’t able to snag her a slice before it was gone. Every guy she bumped into this morning hadn’t let her live it down either, since they all knew it was her favorite.
She would have to slip into the kitchen and give chef her compliments about how good the chocolate cake smelled.
“Willow!” Several greetings rang out from the tables. More than one hand shot up to wave hello. Heads lifted and grins spread over the vets’ faces. Each one of the men she’d come to think of as family.
She waved at them and smiled. Her other hand was weighed with the gifted jar of honey.
It made her skin crawl as she set it on the buffet among bottles of ketchup and hot sauce. A tall, lanky veteran balanced on a crutch a few feet away.
“Looks like good honey, Miss Willow.”
“It comes from a good farm. I thought I’d share with everyone.” She offered him a smile and took a moment to ask about his physical therapy for his knee replacement. “Do you need any help getting your tray, Matt? I’ll gladly fill it for you and carry it to your table.”
“Thank you for your kindness, but I can manage.”
She patted his arm and grabbed her own tray, immediately nabbing the slice of cake with the thickest frosting. When she swung to the tables, she spotted Rhae and Honor waving at her to join them.
Slipping into a seat, she smiled at her sisters-in-law. “Hey, girls. How’s your day going?”
Honor’s fingers were stained with ink from whatever art project took place in the group. “Had a messy session this morning, but the project was a hit with the guys.”
“I’m sorry I missed it. I didn’t get a chance to break away.”
“Next time.” Honor gave her a sweet smile and picked up her sandwich.
Willow studied Rhae for a moment. Gray half-moons shadowed each undereye. “How is Navy?”
“You were right—she has a cold, and it’s here in full force. She kept me and Denver up half the night.”
“Poor little lamb. Can I do anything to help?”
“You’re a gem, but I don’t think so.”
Honor looked past Willow at the buffet. “I don’t suppose a baby can drink hot tea with honey for a cold.”
At the mention of honey, Willow’s spine went stiff.
“What’s up with the honey you brought?” Rhae asked her.
“The feed store delivered it yesterday. I thought it was an accident, but supposedly it was a gift for me.”
Rhae cocked her head. “From?”
“I guess it’s from one of my many friends in town.” She shook her head and picked up her fork, going straight for her dessert before her main course.
“The gift didn’t have a card?” Honor pressed.
Every single one of her brothers and their significant others had problems with anonymous gifts, but Willow knew it was harmless. It was only honey.
“I called the feed store that delivered it, but they didn’t know who it was from. I’ll ask more next time I go to the feed store.” She sank the tines of her fork into the rich, dense cake. “Have you guys tried this? It’s delicious.”
They both laughed and abandoned their lunches to taste their own desserts.
A ripple of awareness washed over her. As if someone was watching her. She spotted Decker at a table along the wall.
She sent him a smile and only received a head dip in return before he turned his attention to his plate of food.
Willow’s fingers tingled at the memory of how warm his skin was and how the muscle rippled beneath it.
She could never let her attraction to Decker be known, but the first time she’d set eyes on the battle-hardened SEAL, her body reacted.
When he came to the ranch, he wouldn’t speak a single word. Days turned into weeks of silence, his voice locked away as tightly as his pain. The only things that spoke for him were his eyes. Haunted, watchful, carrying stories he couldn’t—or wouldn’t—give voice to.
Willow learned to read those glances, to catch the flicker of gratitude or the flash of torment in a single look.
His eyes were a dark, steady brown, the color of earth after rain. Solid and carrying a warmth that could steady her if she let it.
Since he began speaking again, his eyes burned with a quiet fire that made her chest ache. Every glance was a reminder of the man beneath the scars and silence.
And god, the man was pure sin wrapped in worn denim and flannel. If he weren’t in the therapy program… If she didn’t fear putting more pressure on him…
Well, she didn’t have time for romance even if it were possible.
She turned her focus to her companions and brought up the wedding, which made Rhae perk up as much as the cake. The rest of lunch, they discussed everything that needed done.
When she stood and grabbed her tray, one of the guys who was passing the table stopped. “I’ll take your tray if you’re done, Miss Willow.”
She smiled. “Thank you, Rex. That’s kind of you.”
He took her tray, and she felt that prickle of awareness again, as if someone was watching her. But when she looked up to where Decker had been, he was gone.
Willow strode out of the therapy lodge, letting her fingers trail along the wood-paneled wall. The smooth wood grounded her, and by the time she reached the security office, she was ready to tackle the stack of paperwork on her desk.
Her office was only a small nook tucked in the corner of what her brothers called the “war room,” but it was hers. Issuing a sigh, she began sorting through the mail.
Outside the window, the ranch hummed with life. Horses clustered around a big round bale of hay. The top field, dormant all summer, now contained the cattle Colt and Theo moved earlier that morning.
Somewhere in the house came the rumble of male voices as her brothers discussed a schedule. But her mind wasn’t on the mail she opened or scheduling.
It snagged stubbornly on Decker.
The way he sat alone in the dining hall, quiet as always, his shoulders squared as if braced for a hit.
The way his eyes burned into her before he looked away.
At every turn, he retreated. And that worried her. He’d fought so hard to claw his way back into the land of communication, to let his voice out after being locked inside his own silence for so long. Was he backsliding again?
Her pen stilled over the page, the numbers she’d been working on blurring. She pressed her lips together and forced herself to focus. The men who came to the Black Heart to heal counted on her to keep the ranch running smoothly just as much as they counted on the structure the program provided.
Still, she couldn’t shake the thought of Decker—of how tightly her stomach knotted when he wouldn’t give her more than one guarded glance.
A knock on the doorframe made her lift her head. Carson leaned in, his big frame filling the doorway. “Hey, Willow. Just wanted to remind you—Felicity’s got that order waiting for us at the bookstore. She called to say it came in this morning.”
“Right.” She set her pen down and glanced at the clock on the wall. It was later than she thought. Her desk was still littered with mail and reports Carson asked her to type up based off his scrawled notes, but a trip into Willowbrook might be exactly what she needed to clear her mind.
“I’ll just finish up here and head to town.” She offered him a smile.
He ducked his head in a nod similar to Decker’s, but her brother’s bothered her far less. He had an amazing wife, a child on the way and support from all of his siblings.
Decker only had the program, and now she was worried about it failing him.
Willow pushed her chair back and stood, smoothing her hands over her jeans.
Maybe the quiet of the road and the warmth of Felicity’s little bookshop would steady her nerves.
And maybe, just maybe, it would help her stop thinking about a certain dark-eyed SEAL who tied her in knots without saying a word.
* * * * *
The Black Heart boasted a handful of psychologists and doctors aiding all the vets on the road to recovery. Some liked the structure that Dr. Bella provided. But Decker preferred the chaos of Rhae’s therapy office.
For one, the door was always open. From halfway down the hall, he heard the low babble of what they all called the therapy baby—Navy Malone. The tiniest and cutest member of the family had been taking Decker’s mind off his troubles since the day he walked through the door.
When he entered the office, Rhae looked up with a welcoming smile. And Navy issued a happy squeal in greeting.
His lips quirked into a smile as he drifted toward the corner that was always scattered with soft building blocks, stuffed animals that rattled, baby dolls and a vast array of farm animals.
“How are you this afternoon, Decker?” Rhae didn’t move from the armchair she usually occupied as she waited for her next patient to come seeking a listening ear.
Or a baby to play with.
He settled cross-legged on the floor next to Navy. Her big gray eyes blinked up at him, a little pink around the rims. “She catch that cold that’s going around the lodge?”
Rhae nodded. “I think so. You caught her in a happy moment. Enjoy it while you can. I sure am.” She gave him a soft smile and picked up her notebook and pen.
He selected a doll from the basket of toys. Its dark hair was a wild mess, and he smoothed it with a hand before holding it up on its cloth cowgirl boots.
Excited by the play she remembered so well, Navy crawled over to him and reached for the horse.
They’d done this a few dozen times—Navy held the horse steady while he brought the doll over to pet it.
Navy never made him feel awkward about talking through his troubles. She simply saw him as a friend who played with her.