Letters from Home (Love Beyond Reason #1)(3)

“I gotta head out. You coming tonight?”

Of course, Lena’s homecoming party. “I’ll be there.”

“Good.” Mike tipped his bottle in a gesture of farewell. “I’ll catch you later. Hey, maybe we figure out who this guy is, eh? Show him who’s boss?”

Adrenaline spiked in his veins, but when Mike laughed, so did Zack. He’d always been as over-protective as Mike. “Yeah, we’ll take care of it.”

Mike gave him a fist pump and left.

Zack stood and paced the small space behind his chair. Had she met someone? After all this time, while on deployment? Had someone else beat him to the punch?

He rubbed a hand against the back of his neck.

His Christmas morning surprise might take more work than he’d originally thought, especially with another man involved.





Chapter Two


“Well, if not a beer, how about some punch, Laney?”

“No thank—” She placed a hand on Phillip’s arm. “Actually, some punch sounds wonderful.” A gentle squeeze had his eyes lighting up like her mother’s Christmas tree. He was a nice guy. Nice. Over-attentive and driving her crazy, but nice. She wasn’t completely unhappy to watch him walk away for even the few minutes it would take to get her a drink.

Lena snuck into the alcove that led to the basement and stood back as family, friends, and even a few strangers took over her parents’ home. Exhaustion blurred the edges of the celebration as the last four days of processing and travel caught up with her. She needed five minutes against this wall to get her second wind, because if there was one thing the Rodriguez family knew how to do well, it was celebrate. Holidays, holy days, first communions, weddings, even death. And, since she’d joined the Army, her homecomings.

Food would pour out of the kitchen as if it was the last day on earth. Drink would flow and music would sound through the rafters. She loved it and hated it. The family joke was that she’d joined the Army to be alone. There could be a grain of truth in that.

A hand settled on her shoulder, and she jerked away.

Tall, handsome, blue-eyed Zack Benson raised both hands in surrender. “Whoa. Slow down killer.”

Her heart gave one long, slow thud then raced against her will. Lena scowled, more at her own reaction than his. “Oh, it’s you.”

She gave him a little half-smile before letting her gaze linger on the milling crowd. Zack was a friend, practically a brother—over-protective and off limits. But her heart pounded anyway, which was so wrong. She sighed and gave him a sidelong look.

He had the scruff of a goatee coming in, and his thick, brown hair had grown into the natural curl she’d always wanted to run her hands through. “Time for a haircut, Sergeant?”

They had both joined the Army, Zack out of high school and she five years later after finishing her undergrad. He shrugged then nodded toward her admirer. “If he’s bothering you, I could take care of him.”

He would notice. He had the eyes of a hawk, never missed a thing.

“You wouldn’t,” she demanded, horrified at the thought of him running off a potential love match. “You’ve done enough for me in the past, thank you very much, Zack. I won’t have you messing with this, too.”

“A love match, eh?” Zack held up a plate of food.

“I didn’t say that.” But she’d thought it. He knew her too damned well. If she wasn’t careful, Zack could ruin her entire Christmas plan with his meddling. Her frown caused a headache right between her eyes. She grabbed a piece of broccoli from his plate and dipped it in the pool of ranch dressing. “Phillip works at the fire department—a detective, and he’s very nice. He likes children.” As a matter of fact, he has two of his own. That hadn’t been in the—

Zack brushed a finger across the paper sticking out of her shirt pocket. Her letter. She covered it with her hand, knocking his away. “Don’t.” She’d had that letter on her person since October. Proof that someone on God’s green Earth wanted her. Only now she was starting to worry that her Prince Charming was Philip.

She tried to ignore the slight zing of warmth his touch left behind. Maybe the doctor was right about needing more rest. She blinked away the touch of lightheadedness and tried to shake the fatigue from her brain.

Zack shrugged. “Just looking out for you, Lena. You look like hell. You need sleep and food in that order, not some idiot who offers you beer when it’s obvious you’re about to fall over already.”

Tears tickled the back of her eyes. She was tired. And irritated by this whole secret game. Chinese torture, that’s what it made her think of, and she wanted to scream at the world.

“M’jita, mi amor.” Her mother interrupted, coming up to her, putting an arm around her shoulders, and giving Zack a firm look. “Go find something to do besides bother my daughter.”

Zack winced, a pained expression on his face. “Lo siento, Anabel.” He waited a heartbeat. “Lena.”

She watched him walk away, guarding the sad, little part of her heart that had existed since she turned twelve. Carrying a torch for Zack was just as hard as it was annoying to carry this letter around. But she couldn’t let the letter go. The words had moved her, seduced her, and curious by nature, she had to know, had to find out the identity of the author.