Home of Her Heart (Hearts of the War Book 2) Read online

  Chapter Six

  An eighteen-hour pass fairly burned a hole in Klayne’s pocket as his mind raced with plans. He hadn’t seen Delaney since the morning after the big snow storm when she and her father gave him a ride back to town in the sleigh.

  The whole event seemed rather dream-like now, like something he imagined. However, a few of the men in his squadron had seen him climb out of the sleigh and still razzed him about it from time to time.

  He’d returned from flying with a patrol to discover the 17th Bombardment Group received an immediate transfer to a base in South Carolina. All planes, aircrews, and ground personnel would relocate to Columbia Army Air Base. No details were offered, other than the transfer would happen right away. His commanding officer approached him and asked if he’d be interested in volunteering for a special mission that was hazardous and top secret.

  “The mission may be bad, Klayne,” the captain said. “Odds are good half of you won’t make it through.”

  “Understood, sir, but I’d still like to volunteer.” Klayne wanted the opportunity to not only serve his country, but be part of something that sounded of great importance.

  The officer nodded. “Good. I hoped we could count on you. I can’t give you any details. You’ll most likely find out the particulars once you get to Columbia.”

  Unable to explain the reason, Klayne was convinced returning from the mission would take a miracle. The thought of facing the end of his brief life without anyone who would grieve his absence left him shaken to his core.

  Before he left town, Klayne had to see Delaney one last time. He’d made a request for a pass, for at least a few hours. His commanding officer didn’t even bat an eyelash as he granted Klayne’s request. It was the first time he’d ever asked for a special pass and might very well be the last.

  When the officer handed him the signed document, he gave Klayne a stern look. “Be back here by no later than eight in the morning. Understood?”

  “Understood, sir. Thank you, sir.” Klayne hurried out the door and set a far-fetched dream into motion. It took five dollars and a promise to bring back something from the bakery the next morning to convince one of the young men with a car to let him borrow it.

  Before heading out to the ranch, Klayne filled the car with gas, ran several errands, then stepped into a jewelry store with a window display full of red and white paper hearts along with a selection of Valentine’s Day gifts. After paying for his purchase, he made his way out to the ranch.

  The snow was packed on the road, but navigable. He enjoyed the drive, but not nearly as much as he had riding in the sleigh. It didn’t take long before he drove up the Sage Hills Ranch lane and parked in front of the two-story farmhouse. He lingered for a moment at the end of the walk, studying the big yellow Victorian house. Dormers, gables, gingerbread trim, and the wraparound porch put him in mind of lazy summer days sipping cold lemonade, or at least how he envisioned a summer day on the ranch might be spent.

  Tugging his thoughts to the matter at hand, he hurried down the walk and up the porch steps, but no one answered when he knocked on the door. He walked the length of the porch, gazing around, hoping to spy someone. Finally, he saw a familiar-looking figure riding a horse across the pasture. Delaney’s dark hair bounced on her back with each step of the horse. The animal’s breath created frosty puffs in the chilly afternoon air. Together, the duo presented a magnificent sight, one Klayne could have watched for hours.

  Unfortunately, he didn’t have a minute to waste. He tried to convince himself what he had planned was ludicrous, that Delaney would probably chase him off the place or sic Moose on him, but it didn’t deter his need to give it a try. He stepped off the porch and headed toward the pasture. A warm, wiggly body bumped against his legs as soon as he stepped through the yard gate. He smiled and glanced down at the dog.

  “Hey, Moose! How are you buddy?” Klayne patted the dog’s head and gently thumped his side. “Are you staying out of trouble, boy? Huh?”

  The dog waggled his entire hindquarters with excitement then fell into step beside Klayne as he continued on to the pasture.

  Delaney turned the horse back in the way she’d come and noticed him. Her hand shot up over her head and she waved in greeting, urging the horse into a trot across the snow.

  “Klayne!” she called as she neared the fence. “What on earth are you doing here?”

  “Hi, Delaney!” He leaned against the fence, resting his arms on the top pole. Although he only had eyes for the woman riding the fine equine, he reached out and ran a hand along the neck of the horse. “I was hoping to catch you at home.”

  “I didn’t realize you were back.” She walked the horse toward the gate on one side of the fence while Klayne strode along the other.

  “This is the first opportunity I’ve had to leave the base. I’m sorry I couldn’t get in touch sooner.”

  Delaney offered him a sympathetic look. “I understand, Klayne. I really do.”

  He nodded and swallowed hard. She was even more beautiful and vibrant than he remembered. Everything about her oozed a zest for life, adventure, and fun. Would what he was about to ask her alter that? There wasn’t anything in the world he’d do to change a thing about her.

  Convinced his plans would only benefit her, he decided to forge ahead. “Do you have some time to talk, Delaney?”

  “Sure. Just give me a few minutes to put Troy away. It won’t take long.”

  Klayne opened the gate for her then closed it as she rode the horse to the barn. He and Moose caught up with her as she hefted the saddle from the back of the horse and carried it into the tack room.

  Klayne breathed in the scents of leather, oil, and horses. He loved the aroma and took another deep breath, hoping to imprint it in his memory to take out later, when he’d need something pleasant to think about.

  Moose stayed close, as though he sensed the finality in Klayne’s visit. He kept one hand on the dog’s head as he watched Delaney give her gelding a quick brushing then lead him into a stall and shut the door. She made sure Troy had water and feed before she brushed her hands on the seat of her jeans.

  “Okay, I’m all yours,” she said, starting to reach out to loop her arm around his. Suddenly, she jerked back. “Gosh, you look spiffy, Sergeant. Going somewhere special?”

  Klayne grinned. “Maybe. That depends on you.”

  “Well…” Delaney glanced down at her chore coat and jeans covered in manure and horse hair. “I think I better clean up a bit first. Come on in the house and have a cup of coffee while I change.”

  She led him into the kitchen and pointed to where the red enameled coffee pot sat on the back of an old wood burning stove Delaney told him they used in the winter to keep the pipes from freezing. “The coffee should still be warm, or I could make a cup of tea if you’d rather.”

  “Coffee is fine, thank you.” Klayne removed his hat and coat, setting them on a kitchen chair while Delaney shed her outerwear then dashed up the back stairs.

  While she was gone, Klayne started to pour himself a cup of coffee then decided against it. Jittery and unsettled, he didn’t need to further jangle his tightly strung nerves. He paced the floor, practicing the speech he’d decided upon when he’d first come up with his insane plan a few hours ago.

  The sound of water running upstairs drew his gaze upward. An unbidden vision of Delaney taking a bath made him tug at his suddenly tight collar. Desperate for a distraction, he wandered down the hall, studying each photo hanging on the wall. Some were very old, darkened with age around the edges. In others, he recognized Dill. A few photos of a man who greatly resembled the rancher made him think the person in the photo was probably Delaney’s grandfather.

  In the front room, photos displayed across the top of an upright piano showed a little girl who had to be Delaney. In one photo, she gazed adoringly at an older boy who had her same eyes, smile, and stubborn chin. The boy couldn’t be anyone other than her brother. There were photos of Mac with his w
ife, and then the two of them with a rascally looking little boy. Another image showed Mac’s family with Delaney and Dill. All of them were smiling, full of more joy and happiness than Klayne had ever experienced.

  A board creaked overhead and he headed back down the hall to the kitchen. He leaned against the doorframe, waiting for Delaney. It took only a few more minutes before she appeared. Her hair was damp, but she’d put on a lovely dress in a shade of peacock blue that brought out vibrant tones of blue and green in her expressive hazel eyes.

  “Wow, Delaney. You look gorgeous,” Klayne said, reaching out a hand to her. “I hope you didn’t get cleaned up just for my benefit.”

  “Perhaps,” she admitted, taking his hand then hesitating only a moment before she wrapped both arms around him in a welcoming hug.

  He lifted her off her feet and kissed the top of her head, drinking deeply of her wonderful, enticing fragrance. “I missed you,” he said in a husky whisper.

  “I missed you, too. Let me get a good look at you.” When she pushed against his chest, he set her down. She took a step back and tilted her head to the right, studying him from the top of his hair to the tips of his polished shoes. “I do believe you’ve gotten even better looking while you were gone. Have you been taking some sort of handsome treatments I should know about?”

  Klayne chuckled. “No, ma’am.”

  “It really is good to see you, Klayne. I’d about given up on you coming back. Will you be here for a while?”

  “No,” he said with stark honesty. “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. Do you think we could sit down?”

  A wary look passed across her face, but she quickly hid it behind a smile. “We can. Did you have a cup of coffee?”

  “No, ma’am.”

  Delaney’s left eyebrow quirked upward, but she didn’t say anything. “How about a cup of hot chocolate?”

  “According to your dad, it’s not safe to drink any you make,” he teased.

  “I’ll have you know I purchased a mix when I was in town the other day. All you have to do is add hot water and I’ve got a kettle of it already warm on the stove.” Delaney took two mugs down from a cupboard and made hot chocolate, then filled a plate with oatmeal cookies. She handed Klayne a mug and motioned toward the doorway. “Let’s go sit in the front room. It’s more comfortable there.”

  She led the way to the room where Klayne had studied photos of her family and settled on one end of the sofa. Plagued with doubt and anxiety, he took a seat on the other end then accepted a cookie when she held the plate out to him.

  “How have you been, Klayne? By the frown lines trying to permanently attach to your eyebrows, I’d have to guess something is bothering you,” Delaney observed.

  He’d almost forgotten her tendency of frankness. It was hard for him to concentrate with her scent ensnaring his senses. Her long, gleaming hair slowly dried into tempting waves he longed to run his fingers through, further distracting him.

  As he gathered his thoughts, he took a drink of the hot chocolate. It wasn’t as good as the chocolate her father made, but better than many cups he’d tasted.

  “Is your dad around?” he asked, hoping to speak to Dill before he progressed with his plans.

  “No. A water pipe burst in Carol’s basement and she was having quite a time trying to clean things up. Dad left yesterday to go help her. He’ll be back at the beginning of the week.” Delaney gave him another long perusal then set down the mug she held. She took his hand in hers, gently holding it. “You don’t seem quite like yourself, Klayne. Is something wrong?”

  “No… I mean… well, it’s um…” Determined, he set down the chocolate he still held in his other hand and sighed. He started to speak, couldn’t get the words past his lips, and cleared his throat. He cast a quick glance at Delaney, touched by the concern on her face and the genuine affection he could read in her eyes.

  With a hard swallow, he pushed out the words he’d been hesitant to speak. “I’m leaving, Delaney. New orders came in and I’m heading out soon. I just found out, but wanted to let you know.”

  “Oh, Klayne, I’m… I…” Tears glistened in her eyes. Rapidly, she blinked them away, but her voice sounded strained when she spoke. “I wish you didn’t have to go.”

  “Me, too, but wishes won’t change anything.” He cleared his throat again. “Look, Delaney, I, um… I wanted to ask you something.”

  “I’m listening,” she inched toward him, her gaze intently holding his.

  For a moment, he allowed himself the indulgence of falling into the warmth of her eyes, of fantasizing about a life with her, before he jerked his thoughts back to reality. “I told you I’m an orphan. I’ve got no one, not a single person in the world who cares whether I live or die.”

  “That’s not true!” she protested. Delaney slid so close her knee bumped against his. Possessively, she held his hand against her. Her pulse galloped beneath his fingers as they rested against the base of her throat. “I care, Klayne. Far more than you can know.”

  He brushed her cheek with his thumb, battling the urge to kiss her. But he wouldn’t. Not until he somehow uttered what he’d come to the ranch to say. “Thank you, Delaney. I hoped you had more than just a brief, passing interest in me. In fact, I counted on the fact that we’re friends.”

  Her gaze narrowed as she glared at him. “After those kisses we shared at the theater the last time I saw you, not to mention the one that nearly buckled my knees on New Year’s Eve, we are more than friends, Klayne Campbell. And you know it!”

  He grinned. “True. I do think of you as a friend and much more, because those were the best kisses I’ve ever had.”

  Pleased with his comment, she smiled at him with something in her eyes he hadn’t dared hope to see. Slowly, he let his fingers trail across her jaw and along the slender column of her throat. Assailed with second thoughts, he wondered if perhaps he should stop this nonsense before he went any further. Regardless, something drove him to continue.

  “What I came here to ask you today… what I need to talk to you about is kind of personal. If you’d rather not hear it, please just ask me to leave now.”

  “No, Klayne. Go on.” She raised the hand she still held between both of hers and kissed his palm. “Tell me whatever you need to. I’ll listen.”

  “Other than you, there isn’t a person on this planet who cares what happens to me. If I died tomorrow, no one would really notice, not in any way that matters. I don’t know if… that’s to say, I’m not sure…” He stopped, hesitant to say too much. At the look of encouragement on her face, he continued. “When there’s a strong chance a man will face death and death will come out the victor, he needs to set his affairs in order. I want to be able to leave something behind, even if it’s only a little money to a friend I greatly value.”

  If he’d reached out and slapped her, Delaney couldn’t have looked more stunned or hurt. “Klayne Campbell! You are not going to die. Are you always so fatalistic?” She glowered at him. “Where are you going that makes you believe you’re going to die?”

  “I don’t know where I’m going, and I don’t know exactly when. Even if I did, I couldn’t tell you.”

  “I understand, Klayne, but don’t go into this thinking you won’t come out of it. That’s not an attitude that will help you survive. You need to focus on reasons to make it through whatever lies ahead.” Delaney looked like she wanted to smack him, but only tightened her grip on his hand. “Stop hemming and hawing around what you really want to say. Tell me what’s going on in that head of yours.”

  Klayne stared at her, wondering if he’d ever meet another woman like Delaney Danvers. Somehow, he doubted it. In his opinion, she was one of a kind.

  “I had a nice little speech all memorized, but if you don’t want to hear it…” Klayne stood, grinning at her. He waggled a finger her direction and sidled toward the doorway. “Wait right here.”

  His footsteps echoed across the hardwood floors as he walked down
the hall then hurriedly returned. He held a heart-shaped box of fancy chocolates in one hand and a small velvet box in the other.

  He regained his seat next to her and held out the candy. “Since I’ll be gone for Valentine’s Day, I wanted you to have this. If I could be here, I’d make sure you knew, without question, that I want you for my sweetheart.”

  “That’s so sweet, Klayne,” Delaney said, taking the candy, opening the box, and selecting one before holding it out to him. He shook his head and she set the box on the table then bit into a rich caramel. “Oh, that’s yummy. Thank you.”

  Involuntarily, his index finger traced the contour of her bottom lip and wiped away a bit of caramel clinging to the corner of her mouth. Her eyes darkened and her breathing grew shallow as she melded her gaze to his.

  “Delaney, I…” He swallowed twice. “If something happens and I don’t come back, I want you to be the beneficiary. It’s not a lot, but it would give me peace of mind to know what little I have mattered to someone… to you.”

  Tears filled her eyes again. “I don’t want you to talk like that, Klayne. You’ll be fine. You’ll come back and…”

  He silenced her by placing a finger over her lips as he shook his head. “There is a very real possibility that I’m not coming back, Delaney. I’d hate to die knowing I haven’t meant anything to anyone in my entire life.”

  “You mean so much to me, Klayne.” Delaney threw herself into his arms and pressed her face against his neck. “I know it’s crazy, but I’m in love with you.”

  Arms tightening around her, he murmured against the fragrant locks of her hair. “It’s not crazy, Delaney. I’ve been in love with you from the moment you asked if I was spying on you from behind that crispy Christmas tree.”

  Her choppy laugh blew against his neck, heightening his awareness of her body held close to his. “Oh, Klayne, I love you, so much!”

  For a moment, he couldn’t speak. Not when the words he’d waited a lifetime to hear had just been spoken. No one warned him that love would strip his heart bare yet make it feel as though it might explode from being so unbelievably full.