THE FUNERAL MADE her squirm, her grief and tears for her husband having already been spent long ago. The second the news had reached her that Jacob’s chopper had been shot down in a remote part of Afghanistan, Hollee Cantrell had instinctively known he hadn’t survived. But protocol demanded he be listed as MIA until the helicopter and his body were found.
A year later, both had been.
It was official. She was a widow. The ache in her heart bloomed to life all over again.
She stood on the plush lawn of the cemetery beside her parents as guns fired one blistering shot after another until all she wanted to do was press her hands to her ears and muffle the sound.
Instead she stood frozen in place.
The military salute ended and almost against her will her eyes shifted to a spot to her right.
He was watching her. Again.
When he mouthed, Are you okay? her eyes filled with hot tears.
All she could think about was herself, and here was Jacob’s best friend—looking as handsome as sin in his dress blues—asking her if she was okay. He’d separated himself from their little band of friends before she and Jacob had started dating, deciding that playing the field was a lot more fun than hanging out with them. So she was surprised to actually see him here. And even more surprised that he cared about how she felt. If only he’d known all those years ago that, given the choice, she would have chosen...
No, it would have changed nothing.
She forced herself to give an imperceptible nod, even though she wasn’t okay. Not at all. What she felt was numb.
Her dad put an arm around her shoulder and dropped a kiss on her head, which made her tears come even faster.
Using her fists, she rubbed them away and prayed neither Clancy, his sister nor his mother came over to speak to her after it was all over.
She felt the worst sort of traitor. She’d married Jacob and only a couple of years later had she realized she’d made a mistake. But there’d been no going back, even as the ring on her finger had become a noose she had been desperate to escape. She’d planned on having a long talk about their future once he came off deployment. Only he’d never come home.
And now she was done with love. Done with relationships. Forever.
As soon as she could, she was slipping away. Far away from Virginia. Far away from Jacob’s memory. And most of all far away from the man who hadn’t wanted her. A man she’d never quite forgotten, no matter how hard she’d tried.
Five years later...
CLANCY DE OLIVEIRA SETTLED behind his new desk, putting the picture of his significant other on the corner of it with a smile. Gordy might not be human, but he was the only kind of permanent companion Clancy needed or wanted nowadays. The part basset hound had followed him to his car after the funeral, and they’d been together ever since—except for his nine-month stint in Syria. The last one of his career.
It was almost like Jacob had sent the dog to apologize for what he’d done. At least that’s what Clancy would like to think. The truth was they’d barely spoken since Jacob had confessed that he was in love with Hollee all those years ago.
Clancy tried to find her after the funeral, but she’d been long gone. Besides, would he really have told her the truth about what her husband had done while overseas? Probably not. Better to just let the truth be buried with his old friend. The last he’d heard, Hollee had moved away from Arlington, probably needing a fresh start.
Clancy was now a civilian taking his place in a vast network of hospitals and private practices in the area. His plastic surgery skills would morph from treating combat injuries to treating children with facial injuries and defects. The devastation of war had changed him in ways that no one could imagine. In addition to the scars he wore inside, he’d suffered a physical injury, a shard of shrapnel that had sliced a path through his eyebrow and across his cheek, barely missing his left eye. The thin scar had faded somewhat—leaving just a line and a narrow bald patch in his brow. The exterior package had been cleaned up. The interior, however...
He shook himself free of his thoughts and opened his laptop, logging into the hospital’s computer network and clicking the different tabs to see what was there. The administrator had told him to take the first week to acquaint himself with the way the hospital did things. There was a staff meeting in fifteen minutes, where he’d meet some of the folks he’d be working with, which included trauma and general reconstruction specialists, and there was a volunteer opportunity he was interested in. He was anxious to get started. Sitting still had never been one of his strong suits.
Which was why he’d decided not to take a vacation after leaving the military. The offer from Arlington Regional Medical Center couldn’t have come at a better time.
Prying himself from his chair, he took the elevator to the third floor, where the administrator had said the meeting would be held. Some of the muted but elegant decor made him frown. He took a deep breath and let it hiss back out. It would take time to transition from the sparse military installations he was used to. Arlington Regional believed in focusing as much on atmosphere as it did on quality of care, saying it was all part of the healing process.
And it probably was. He’d just never practiced in a place like this. But at least here he would never have to worry about things like whether their stock of gauze pads would be depleted before the next supply run.
He turned a corner, following the blue stripe on the floor that would take him to the business areas of the hospital. There. People were ducking inside a door to the left, and a couple of others were standing outside the room, talking. Just as he got ready to enter it, one of the people waiting glanced up at him.
Bright green eyes—all-too-familiar eyes—met his, and her soft gasp came as complete recognition dawned. Hell. It couldn’t be. She no longer lived here.
But that had been years ago. And she’d been a vet tech back then. So what was she doing here at the hospital? His hospital? Dressed in scrubs?
“Hollee?”
The word came out before he could stop it, and the person she’d been chatting with must have decided to get while the getting was good because the woman murmured a goodbye and shot through the door.
Hollee stood there without answering for a minute and memories from the past washed over him. Specifically, the moment when his nineteen-year-old eyes had met hers and he’d thought he’d captured something swirling in those green depths. Intrigued, he’d moved in to take a closer look. Before he’d known what was happening, his lips had brushed over hers.
The light touch had deepened into an actual kiss that had had his hands cupping her face. When they’d finally parted, they’d both stood there staring at each other, and she’d whispered his name. The wonder in her tone had almost transformed a friendship into something else. Almost. Until he’d remembered that she was the apple of her daddy’s eye, and Clancy was a motorcycle-riding rebel.
A few days later his best friend had told him he’d asked her to their prom and that she’d said no, but he was hoping she’d change her mind. Clancy had instinctively known that Jacob was right for her in all the ways that Clancy was wrong. So he’d set out to prove that to her. And had succeeded far too well, since she had indeed accompanied Jacob to the prom.
Only what he’d found out about his friend later had made him rethink that decision.
He shook off the thought.
“Clancy, what are you doing...?” Her eyes widened slightly when they passed over his chest, and it took him a minute to realize she wasn’t looking at him, rather at his lanyard. Maybe she’d been hoping he was just