When I blink at him, he crosses to me and takes my shoulders in his warm hands. “Someone broke in. You’re not staying here alone.”
He’s protecting me. Like when we were kids.
Only this time, I want his arms around me. “It’s a big house. Someone might… What if they come back?”
He tugs me to his chest and wraps his arms around me. “I’ll be with you.”
“But then you might get hurt.”
Dorian rubs my back. “Gather some things. You’ll stay with me.”
CHAPTER SIX
DORIAN
Lisette’s in my cabin, and my first instinct is to lock the door and keep her here. I can’t think of a damn good reason why I shouldn’t.
She’d be safe, and I’d be keeping my promise to Florine to take care of her.
Starting with feeding her. I knew it had been a long day for both of us, so when we arrived, I cooked up some stew and served it with the bread I bought in town this morning. That’s where I was when I spotted her.
There was something intensely satisfying about making a meal for her. Seeing to her comfort. Watching her face light up when I said I’d cook and clean up. She tried to argue, but it’s my cabin. My rules.
While she’s here, she doesn’t have to lift a finger.
Now, she’s wandering through my cabin, touching my stuff as if it all fascinates her. I don’t let people in my cabin, but with Lisette, everything is different.
“Are these your grandfather’s medals?” she asks, touching the side of the frame.
I had them put into a shadowbox, along with his military photo and a picture of him with some of his team when they were in Vietnam. In the center is the silver star he received for bravery.
“Yes. Florine gave them to me.”
She looks back over her shoulder. “Why did she have them?”
Because my grandpa knew better than to leave them with my old man. “He asked her to keep them until I was old enough.” Neither of them could have known I wouldn’t see her for twenty years.
“She gave them to you when you visited her?”
I nod.
“I wish I’d met him.”
“So do I.” Grandpa Morgan would have loved her. Especially since she was Florine’s granddaughter.
Lisette looks closer at the medals. “He was awarded a silver star?”
“He was a Green Beret in Vietnam before the draft. One of the Special Advisors. He specialized in medical aid.” Like me.
She looks back over her shoulder. “You said you were in the Army too?”
I nod. “Only branch that would take me.”
Her face softens, and she comes closer. “Because of foster care?”
She knew? I couldn’t tell her. When Child Services came, I didn’t know where they were taking me. I was half afraid it was to jail. “They take the kids that age out of the system and want a real future.”
“Did you become a Green Beret, like your grandfather?”
