Страница 33 из 68
CHAPTER 15
There is no grief like the grief that does not speak.
—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
On Thursday night, Gavin’s parents invited them to a cocktail reception at the Guthrie I
“We don’t have to go if you don’t want to,” Ella said, tuning in to his reluctance.
“I want to support my parents. The i
“But?”
“No buts,” he said, forcing a smile for her. He honestly didn’t want to go. He didn’t want to be around women who’d lost their husbands to war. Though he supported the wonderful work his parents and Ha
But he couldn’t very well tell his parents that, not when the i
So they went.
His mother greeted them with the big, bright smile that used to be so much a part of who she was until her son’s death dimmed the light inside her.
It was a relief to see her eyes dancing with excitement and joy again. Gavin hadn’t realized how much he’d missed that until now.
“Come in, have a drink, and Ha
“Sounds great,” Ella said. She was stu
Gavin was so damned proud to have her at his side. This last week with her had been right out of a dream. He’d forgotten what it felt like to be happy—truly, deeply happy. Everything, even the supremely crappy days at work, had been easier to deal with knowing he got to go home to her each night.
His gaze shifted from Ella’s sexy body to the picture of his brother that adorned the foyer now that the Guthrie family home was the Capt. Caleb M. Guthrie Memorial Retreat. Caleb’s fierce expression in his official Army Ranger photo got to Gavin every time he allowed himself to look at it. Almost eight years later, it was still a vicious punch to the gut to remember he would never see that face again.
Gavin forced himself to look away lest he be dragged down into the rabbit hole of despair once again. He refused to let that happen when he had so many good things happening in his life. Resisting the rabbit hole had become a part-time job, but it was easier now with Ella by his side.
With her hand curled around his, he followed Ella into the kitchen, where her sister was arranging bruschetta on a platter. Ha
For so long after Caleb died, the two of them and his parents had been like the walking wounded, none of them quite sure how to go forward without the man who’d been at the center of all their lives. The other three were showing signs of recovery. Perhaps it was time for him to let it happen to him, too.
Caleb wasn’t coming back, as much as he wished otherwise. None of the raging, fighting or drinking had done a damned thing to assuage his bitter loss. If possible, he’d only succeeded in making everything worse.
Gavin took a deep breath, forcing his wandering mind to stay in the present rather than drifting to the past where trouble lay.
As she talked and laughed with her sister, Ella kept a firm grip on his hand, as if she knew he needed the co
He gave her hand a gentle squeeze that she returned, making him feel as co
Nolan came into the kitchen, carrying an empty tray. “You’re a hit, babe. Everyone is clamoring for more.”
“Here you are,” Ha
“You’ve been thoroughly domesticated, Nolan,” Gavin said in a teasing tone.
“Watch out,” Nolan said, nodding to his and Ella’s joined hands. “It could happen to you, too, my friend.”
Ella gri
Ha
Gavin’s parents circulated, filling glasses and checking on their guests. On a table laden with food, Gavin retrieved a bottle of beer out of a bowl of ice and cracked it open. Ella’s parents joined the party as did her brother Will and his wife, Cameron, who’d designed the i
A lot of work had gone into creating this oasis for women struggling to put their lives back together after unimaginable loss. Sadly, even with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan over or winding down, the need for the services they provided here was still acute. The i
Amelia used the handle of a fork against her crystal glass to get everyone’s attention.
The din in the room quieted and all eyes turned to Gavin’s mother.
“I want to thank you all for being here tonight,” Amelia said. “We hope to make these parties part of our overall effort to include our lovely guests in the community of Butler so they will always feel like they have a second home here. In the months since our opening, we’ve had more than fifty guests from twenty different states come to spend some time with us. All have left with new friends, an enhanced support network and yet another place to call home. I want to say a special thank you to Cameron Abbott, who is here tonight, for her amazing work on our website.”
A polite round of applause had Cameron smiling and blushing from the attention. “My pleasure.”
“And to my daughter-in-law for life, Ha
As Ha
“I’ve asked Cindy, one of our current guests, to say a few words,” Amelia said, “so I’ll turn it over to her. Cindy?”
A petite blonde walked to the front of the room, her cheeks flushed with what might’ve been nerves. Gavin noticed she still wore her engagement and wedding rings on her left hand, and the sight of those rings made him unreasonably sad for someone he’d never met.
“Thank you so much, Amelia, Bob and Ha