Page 1

Prologue

Sophie

Rubbingtheswellof my pregnant belly, I put away the last of the dishes from the dishwasher. The house is so quiet without my husband here that I can clearly hear the gentle taps of rain against my kitchen window, like little pins hitting a tin can. I take a moment to watch the beads of rain trickle down the kitchen window. The obscenely quiet house often causes my ears to ring, so the rain is a welcome and soothing sound.

I was gutted when my husband, Sam, told me he had to deploy to Afghanistan. He received deployment orders a week after we found out I was pregnant with our baby girl. It’s hard to believe he’s already been away for over five months now.

Five lonely months.

The pregnancy hormones are definitely adding to my emotional state. I think I’m managing pretty well on my own, though. Getting ready for the baby has kept me busy.

I never realized how much Sam helped around the house until he left. For almost half a year, I have cleaned the house, paid the bills, put together the baby's room, washed all the dishes, done the cooking and lawn care, and remembered to take the trash out each week.

Whew.

I'm just grateful for a healthy pregnancy and that I still have the energy to do it all.

And we're over halfway; only four more months until he'll be back.

I can't wait.

I finish up in the kitchen and grab a basket of laundry to fold. I balance it awkwardly on my hip, which is getting harder and harder with my growing belly.

I can't help but stop and peer into the nursery on my way to the master bedroom. It's coming along splendidly, and I have loved decorating it. There are large, pink paper roses on the wall above the dainty white crib. I've looked at wooden cutouts on Etsy to put with the roses, but since we haven't decided on our daughter’s name yet, I've put off ordering.

Smiling to myself, I continue toward our room. I set the laundry basket on the bed and begin folding. I actually miss folding pieces of Sam's wardrobe. The small loads of laundry are yet another reminder that he's gone. Along with my lonely toothbrush in the toothbrush holder.

A sigh escapes from my chest as I continue folding piece after piece of maternity clothing. I turn on my heel to put the clothes away when I hear the doorbell ring.

My stomach does a little flip. Every time I hear the doorbell or see an unknown number pop up on my phone, I can’t help but get a little nervous, wondering if Sam got hurt or something. I take a deep breath and remind myself that it's probably just an Amazon package. I ordered some baby items a few days ago.

Yes, that has to be it.

Once I reach the front door, I open it slowly and peek my head around the door. No one is there, so I glance down at the welcome mat. Sure enough, just an Amazon package. I release a breath, not even realizing that I had been holding it in.

I grab the small box and close the door behind me, heading toward the kitchen in search of some scissors. This must be the cute ruffly baby socks I ordered the other day. I grin as I find the scissors in the kitchen and begin cutting through the tape on the package. Pale pink comes into view when I pull the flaps open. Oh my gosh, they’re even cuter in person. I’m about to pull them out of the box when my doorbell rings again.

The mailman probably forgot something. Waddling back toward the front door, I open it, expecting to see another package. My breath catches in my throat when I see two Army officers in their dress uniforms standing on my front stoop. One of the men looks to be in his mid-forties; he’s taller and has kind blue eyes. The other is shorter and seems younger, probably in his twenties, with dark hair and tanned skin.

The older man looks at me, and then his eyes drop to my belly as he slowly removes his beret.

Deep down, I know why they're here, but I try to convince myself there's been some mistake.

Maybe the wrong house.

"Sophie Miller?" he asks hesitantly.

The breath leaves my lungs, and the blood drains from my face.

"Yes, I'm Sophie," I reply, barely above a whisper.

His eyebrows draw together and he looks at his feet before he brings his eyes back up to meet mine.

"I'm Lt. Colonel Harmon, and this is Captain Ortez. It's our deepest regret to inform you that your husband, Sergeant Samuel Miller, was killed in action yesterday while he aided in a mission near Kabul. I am incredibly sorry for your loss."

I stand there paralyzed by the sudden onslaught of emotions running through me. It’s like my mind can’t keep up with the words they said, making me incapable of understanding.

There’s no way they have the correct house. I literally just spoke to Sam on the phone yesterday morning.