A Family For The Soldier. Carolyne Aarsen

       Chapter One

      The hospital room felt suddenly too small.

      Chloe clutched the chart of her patient, Ben Stillwater, as his twin brother, Grady, limped through the doorway of Ben’s room. In spite of the single crutch supporting him, Grady’s presence filled the space.

      He stood taller than she remembered. Broader across the shoulders. His eyes had taken on a flat look, though, all emotion leeched out of them; lines of weariness bracketed his mouth. It was as if his time serving in special ops in Afghanistan had shown him sights he wanted to forget.

      “Hello, Chloe,” he said. His chocolate-brown eyes, shaded by dark eyebrows, drew her in as his eyes shifted to her left hand. Chloe unconsciously flexed her fingers. Though her divorce from Jeremy had been finalized a mere four months ago, Chloe had removed her ring eight months before when she’d discovered Jeremy had been cheating on her.

      “A lot of things have happened since you went away from Little Horn,” she said, setting Ben’s chart aside, then covering his legs with a sheet. He looked so pale compared to his twin brother, who now joined her at the foot of the bed.

      She had come into Ben Stillwater’s hospital room hoping to do some physical therapy with him. But for the moment, all thoughts of her patient fled as the man who had once held her heart came to stand by her side.

      “I know. My cousin Eva getting married, among many other things,” he said.

      All of Little Horn had buzzed with the news of the injured vet’s return from Afghanistan two days ago, the day after the New Year had been rung in, the day of his cousin’s wedding.

      Eva Stillwater and Tyler Grainger had been engaged since Thanksgiving, but they had surprised everyone by announcing that they’d decided to get married as soon as her cousin Grady could come home.

      “I heard it was a lovely ceremony,” Chloe said. “I’m happy for them.”

      “Me, too. I think they wanted to start adoption procedures as soon as possible. That’s why she stepped up the date.” He held her gaze. “It’s good to see you again.”

      Chloe gave him a tight smile, disturbed at how easily old emotions had intruded. She’d known she would run into him eventually. She just wished she could have had some advance notice.

      So you could have put on some makeup? Do your hair?

      You’re a divorced woman and he’s a war vet with an unexpected child, she reminded herself. And you have other complications. Too tangled.

      Besides, she had promised herself when she discovered Jeremy’s cheating that no man would hold her heart again. No man would make her feel vulnerable.

      “I’m sorry. I’ll leave you alone to spend time with your brother,” she said, moving past Grady only to come face-to-face with her stepsister.

      “Hello again, sister of mine,” Vanessa Vane said, tossing her red hair, her bright smile showing off thousands of dollars’ worth of dental work and a puzzling nervousness. Vanessa had never been one to show anything but overweening self-confidence.

      Last month she had waltzed into Little Horn, crashing the Lone Star Cowboy League’s annual Christmas party and laying claim to Cody, the baby who had been dropped off at the Stillwater ranch four months earlier. Vanessa had cried crocodile tears, telling anyone who would listen how badly she felt about abandoning Cody at that time. She should have owned up that Grady was the father and stayed around.

      But she was back now and wasn’t that great?

      For Chloe, not so much. Vanessa’s redheaded vivaciousness was a bright contrast to Chloe’s wavy brown hair and calm demeanor. And whenever Vanessa saw Chloe she liked to remind her of those differences, as well as the deficiencies of Chloe’s now-deceased father, Vanessa’s stepfather.

      “Hello, Vanessa. How’s Cody doing?” Chloe asked.

      Though Chloe had heard Grady and Vanessa were an item a year ago, seeing Cody, the physical evidence of their relationship, created a surprising and unwelcome heartache.

      “He’s great. Such a sweetie.” Vanessa smiled up at Grady, batting her eyelashes.

      Grady’s own eyes narrowed and he didn’t return her smile, which surprised Chloe. Vanessa’s expression grew taut as she looked from Grady to Chloe again, and her auburn hair glistened in the lights of the hospital room. “Isn’t my baby adorable?”

      “He is,” Chloe agreed, wishing she could be less inane. More sparkly and interesting.

      Like her sister.

      Every time Vanessa came into a room, eyes were drawn to her; men took a second look at her long red hair, slim figure and vivacious personality.

      “Can you give me any information about my brother, Chloe?” Grady’s resonant voice broke in over Vanessa’s prattling. His eyes, deep set and dark, held hers in a steady gaze, resurrecting old feelings she couldn’t allow. “Do you know when he’ll come out of it? Do you know if there will be any long-term damage?”

      “Don’t be silly, Grady,” Vanessa put in, walking past him to stand beside Ben’s bed. “Chloe can’t tell you anything about your brother. She’s only the physical therapist.”

      Chloe ignored Vanessa, unconsciously tucking back a strand of hair that had freed itself from her ponytail. “The only thing I can tell you is that he will experience some measure of muscle atrophy, given how long he’s been in a coma.” Chloe put on her professional voice, trying not to let Vanessa’s patronizing attitude get to her. “The range-of-motion exercises we perform on him will help maintain as much of his muscle tone as possible and at the same time prevent sensory deprivation.”

      “Ooh. Long words,” Vanessa said, the joking tone in her voice negated by her flinty look. “Still trying to impress Grady? I wouldn’t bother.”

      “Do you know anything about the coma?” Grady continued, obviously ignoring Vanessa. “At all?”

      Chloe heard the hurt and fear behind his questions. She guessed the bond identical twins often shared made him more anxious.

      “I only know what you know,” she said. “The fall from the horse was the root cause, but there have been no other internal injuries that we can ascertain, no brain injury. No hematomas.” She stopped herself there. As Vanessa had said, she wasn’t a doctor. “You’ll have to speak with his doctor to find out more.”

      “Thanks for that information at least,” Grady said, his smile holding a warmth that could still make her toes curl.

      “You’re welcome,” she said, trying to convey a more brisk and professional tone. “We hope and pray he will come out of it. That’s all we can do.”

      “I’ll take care of the hoping and leave the praying to those more capable.” The bitterness in Grady’s voice made Chloe wonder again about his war experiences overseas and what they had done to his once rock-solid faith.

      “How long are you back for?” Chloe asked, holding up her head, determined not to let the effect he had on her show.

      “For good. I got an honorable discharge from the army. I’m home.”

      She forced herself not to look at the crutch he leaned on to support himself.

      “We can all be so thankful Grady made it back from Afghanistan. And a hero to boot,” Vanessa said, the edges of her lips growing tighter, as if she had to work to maintain her vivacity.

      Each word she spoke felt like a tiny lash. Her stepsister had known Chloe had a crush on Grady when they were in high school. In fact, once Vanessa had discovered this, she’d made an all-out attempt to charm and captivate Grady just to spite her. Chloe, a tomboy at heart, had known she couldn’t compete