“I grew up in a small town in Montana. Single mom. She worked two jobs and still barely kept the lights on. I enlisted the day I turned eighteen. Figured the military would give me a way out and a way to send money home. I was good at it. Medic track. Learned to patch people up under fire. Saved a few lives. Lost more than I like to remember.”
She stays quiet, listening.
“Last tour was rough,” I continue. “Ambush outside a village. My unit took heavy fire. I dragged three guys to cover and worked on them until the evac choppers came. Took a round to the shoulder doing it. Shattered the bone. Docs said I would never have full range again. Medical discharge. I came home angry and useless and not sure what to do with myself.”
Her hand stills on my chest. “That sounds terrible.”
“It was. I drifted for a while. Odd jobs. Too much drinking. Then Rafe found me at a VA hospital in Spokane. He was there visiting a buddy. We got to talking. He told me about Haven 7. A place where guys like me could heal and help each other. I drove up the next week and never left.”
I shift my arm so she fits more comfortably against me. “The work here suits me. I fix what I can. Keep the team alive. No big hero stuff anymore. Just steady hands and quiet nights. At least that was the plan until you showed up bleeding at my gate.”
She smiles against my shoulder. “Sorry about that.”
“Don’t be. I’m not.”
We fall quiet again. The tension between us simmers. I feel every place our bodies touch. Her leg draped over mine. The soft press of her chest against my side. The way her breath fans across my skin. I want to kiss her again. I want to roll her under me and show her exactly how deep this thing inside me has already grown. Instead I stare at the ceiling and keep my hands still.
She speaks after a long pause. “In another life I would have liked to be a nurse. I used to read medical books in secret. My father thought it was a waste of time but I loved learning how the body works. How to help when things go wrong. I enjoy taking care of people. Even the small things. Bandages. Soup. Just being there when someone hurts.”
Her words hit me square in the chest. She’s describing the same pull that brought me into medicine. The same need to fix what’s broken. I swallow hard.
“You’re still young,” I tell her. “Nothing says you can’t do that now. Once this is over you could go to school. Get your degree. Help people the way you want. You have time.”
She lifts her head and looks at me. The moonlight through the window catches in her eyes. “You really think so?”
“I know so. You’re smart. Kind. Stubborn enough to survive anything. You’d make a hell of a nurse.”
She settles back against me. Her body relaxes slowly. Her breathing grows deeper and steadier. I keep my arm around her and listen to the quiet sounds of the cabin. The fire has died to embers. The wind has settled. Everything feels still except for the steady beat of my heart against her cheek.
She falls asleep in my arms. I stay awake long after her breathing evens out. The weight of her trust presses into me like somethingprecious and terrifying. I have spent years building walls so thick no one could get through. Daisy walked right past them without trying. Now I’m lying here holding her close and realizing the feeling in my chest is not just protectiveness anymore.
It’s love.
Quiet. Deep. The kind that changes everything.
I close my eyes and let the truth settle. I’m falling for her. Hard. Against every rule I ever made for myself. And right now, with her warm and safe in my arms, I can’t find it in me to regret a single second.
The night stretches on. I don’t sleep much. I just hold her and let myself feel it all. The fear that Dominic could still reach her. The fierce need to keep her here. The quiet joy that she fits against me like she was always meant to.
Tomorrow we’ll face whatever comes next. Tonight I let myself fall a little harder.
And I know, deep down, there’s no coming back from this.
SEVEN
DAISY
The next morning I wake slowly, wrapped in warmth and the faint scent of cedar and soap that is unmistakably Eli. Sunlight filters through the curtains and paints soft patterns across the quilt. For the first time in months I don’t bolt upright with my heart racing. I simply lie there, breathing deep, feeling the steady rise and fall of Eli’s chest against my back. His arm rests heavy over my waist, holding me close even in sleep. I haven’t slept this well since I left Reno. No nightmares. No jumping at every sound. Just deep, peaceful rest.
I shift carefully and turn in his arms. His eyes are already open, watching me with that quiet intensity he carries everywhere. “Morning,” I whisper.
“Morning.” His voice is rough with sleep. “How do you feel?”
“Better than I have in weeks. Thank you for staying with me.”
He brushes a strand of hair off my forehead. “Anytime.” He doesn’t move away. Neither do I. We stay like that for a long minute, bodies tangled, the air between us warm and charged from last night’s kiss. Then he clears his throat and sits up. “Theteam wants us at the lodge this morning. They’re meeting about Dominic. You up for it?”
I nod. “I’m ready.”
