Sheltered By The Soldier. Lisa Harris

      * * *

      The next morning, Liam sat out on the wraparound porch of his parents’ ranch house, nursing a cup of coffee and watching the sun rise over the mountains. As beautiful as the scenery was, he couldn’t shed the worry that had settled in his gut. He still needed to read Will’s letters, but even if his friend had discovered corruption within one of the contracted firms, that didn’t mean he’d been murdered. But then how did that explain the threatening text, the break-in and car wreck?

      Had Will’s death really been the perfect cover-up?

      He shifted his thoughts back to the view. The O’Callaghan ranch had been his home his entire life and in his family’s possession since the early 1920s. The thousands of acres included irrigated meadows, pastures, ponds for fishing and livestock. On top of that, there was some of the best elk hunting in the country. When he’d been deployed overseas, what he’d missed most had been Sunday dinners, hunting with his father and three brothers, and white Christmases. Three things that he might be getting more regularly if the army didn’t sign off on his going back to active duty.

      He pushed away the reminder as Gabby stepped out onto the porch wearing her long red coat, a scarf and boots, and holding a mug of coffee.

      “Good morning,” he said, jumping up to straighten a cushion on the chair next to him. “I see you found the coffee?”

      “Your mother found it for me, actually.” She sat down next to him, then took a sip of her drink. “This is just what I needed this morning. And she insisted she’d listen for Mia while I enjoy the sunrise.”

      “How did you sleep?” he asked.

      She shot him a smile before sitting down next to him. “Like a rock. Mia managed to only wake up once, and she’s still sound asleep. I don’t think I realized just how tired I was.”

      “I’m glad you slept. Both of you. Everything always seems better when you have a good night’s rest behind you.”

      He wasn’t going to tell her how little he’d slept last night. He’d tossed and turned while going over every conversation with Will he could remember, trying to figure out what he’d missed. If Will had stumbled on something that had gotten him killed, he should have at least been aware that there was a problem. Why hadn’t his friend come to him?

      He pulled her phone out of his pocket and handed it to her. “Griffin dropped by earlier this morning and asked me to give it back to you.”

      “Did they find something on it?”

      He hesitated. “There was spy software installed.”

      “Spy software?” Gabby let out a sharp puff of air. “How could they do that without physical access to my phone?”

      “It’s clean now, but apparently it is possible to install it remotely through a cellular or Bluetooth connection. Griffin’s guy installed a security app to protect it from now on.”

      “Thank you. I just... I’m having a hard time processing all of this.”

      “I don’t blame you. I am, too.”

      Gabby slipped the phone into her coat pocket then stared at the tree line in the distance. “Will told me how much you loved this place and wanted us to come for a visit after the two of you were finished with your deployments. I knew it was beautiful, but all of this...the colors of the sunrise...the fall leaves...the mountains... This truly is stunning.”

      The house was surrounded by aspens that turned golden every fall, as well as blue spruce and Douglas firs. With the sun slipping above the horizon, he couldn’t imagine a more peaceful setting. But even with the pull of family and home, a part of him had begun to feel antsy and ready to go back to active duty.

      “There’s a tributary from the lake called Wayward Creek that runs through the part of the property,” he said, pointing to the left. “It’s one of my favorite places. And no matter what you like to do, hunting, fishing, snowmobiling in the winter, hiking, you can do it here. We even go ice fishing when the ponds are frozen over.”

      “Ice fishing?” She pulled her mug of coffee against her. “While my parents love their Florida winters, I admit, I prefer the snow and the cold. Though I’ve never tried ice fishing. That might be a bit too cold, even for my blood.”

      “I should take you one day, though...though I’m sure you’re going to be ready to get home as soon as we figure out what’s going on.” He quickly tried to backtrack his invitation, wondering why he’d said that. Gabby wasn’t here on holiday. She was here because her life had been threatened. And that didn’t include excursions with him out on the ranch. She needed his help, which meant he needed to stay focused.

      “What’s the likelihood of falling through the ice?” she asked. “I think that would be my biggest fear.”

      He shifted his mind back to the conversation. “My father taught us the importance of both having fun and being safe. But it happens. As long as you check your safety equipment and have the necessary gear in case of an emergency, you should be fine. Though my brother Reid fell in one winter while we were playing a game of hockey with skates, sticks and pucks. Took all three of us to drag him out, and we never told my father. We’d been lectured on the dangers of playing on the ice, and we knew he’d be furious.”

      Gabby laughed. “Somehow, I have a feeling that the four O’Callaghan brothers managed to get into a lot of trouble growing up.”

      “Well, we learned our lesson that time. We dragged him back to the house, stuck him in front of the fireplace and made him drink about a gallon of hot coffee. The only real issue after that was that he didn’t sleep that night from all the caffeine, but we were just grateful he was okay.”

      He’d realized just how close they’d been to losing Reid, which was why he’d always believed God had stepped in that night. He glanced at Gabby. She’d pulled her long dark hair back in a ponytail and for the first time since she arrived, she looked relaxed. But what if he wasn’t able to keep her safe? There were no guarantees in life. Hadn’t he learned that the hard way? Reid had survived that day out on the ice. But on the battlefield, Will hadn’t. If someone was after Gabby, how was Liam supposed to stop them?

      He took a sip of his coffee, wishing he could somehow drown his worries. His training had taught him how to fight and how to survive, but it had never completely prepared him for what it was like to watch someone you cared about die. The emotional wounds he’d suffered had ended up being far worse than the physical ones he’d received.

      She reached out and brushed her hand against his arm. “Thank you for bringing me here.”

      “It’s not a problem at all. My mom’s always telling us there’s too much testosterone when we’re all home, though I know she loves every minute of it.”

      “I’m sure she does. How often do the O’Callaghan brothers get to all be home at the same time?”

      “Except for yours truly, pretty often, actually. You know Griffin. He’s the oldest and one of the deputies in town, so he’s around a lot. Next in line is Caden, who was an army ranger until he was honorably discharged three years ago. He now runs the ranch with my father and lives in a small house next to my parents’ home. Reid’s one of three full-time firemen in Timber Falls and lives there, and I’m the youngest.”

      “I don’t think I knew that.”

      “The baby of the family, as they like to constantly remind me. I’m the one who’s spent the most time away, but no matter where we are, we all always manage to find ourselves back at the ranch.”

      “I like your parents.”

      “My father considers retiring every year, though something tells me he never will. At least not officially.”

      She let out a low laugh, but her smile quickly faded.

      “You okay?”

      “For