Battlefield of the Heart

by E. A. West

  “And who is Danny?” Alicia asked, her eyes full of speculation.

  Leann grinned as she stirred sugar into her iced tea. “He’s a veteran who lives two floors below us.”

  Patti’s jaw dropped. “Veteran? You mean like from Iraq?”

  “Yes and Afghanistan.” Cindy resisted the urge to roll her eyes at her friends’ incredulous expressions. Did they not realize veterans were people, too? “He’s a really nice guy and loves photography.”

  Liz laughed and shook her head. “You find the weirdest people.”

  “You think he’s weird just because he was in the army?” Cindy fought a spark of irritation.

  “Of course not. Maybe I should have said interesting.” Liz had the wisdom to look sheepish. “But you have met some strange people. Remember that one girl last year who liked to drop water balloons from the bell tower?”

  “Okay, she was a little bizarre,” Cindy admitted.

  “Yeah, and then there was the guy who only ate fruit and wouldn’t wear anything other than cotton because it didn’t harm any plants or animals.”

  Cindy held up her hands and laughed. “Okay, okay! I get the idea. I tend to attract strange people. But Danny’s not one of them. He’s just a nice guy who was in the army.”

  “He’s weird.” Leann looked around the group. “His roommate told me all about it while we were waiting for Cindy and Danny to get back after the fire alarm last night.”

  So much for having the support of her roommate.

  Tana looked back and forth between them. “Hold on. Cindy, you’ve got the hots for a veteran who may or may not be an oddball, and Leann wants his roommate? Man, I should have requested a room in Wyatt!”

  Cindy rolled her eyes; Tana was notorious for her interest in any and all available men. “The guy who lives across the hall from Danny and Greg seems pretty desperate for a date. I doubt he’d care that you live across campus.”

  “Gee, thanks. You want to hook me up with a desperate guy.” Tana heaved a mock sigh. “I’ll lick the wounds to my self-esteem later. For now, give us details about Danny, his roommate, and why Danny’s weird.”

  Cindy forced herself to laugh with her friends, and then she told them about the last week and a half of her life. Leann added the few details Greg had given her — mainly that Danny suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. When the conversation finally moved away from her new friends, Cindy breathed a sigh of relief. Danny’s suggestion of getting her paper on veterans published sounded better than ever after that interrogation. Her girlfriends’ intense focus on the fact that the men in the student veterans’ group had been in combat made her wonder how many other people never looked past the uniforms they used to wear. Assuming Dr. Brixton gave her a decent grade, she’d talk to him about where to submit it.

  After they finished their meal, they headed for the quad. Flyers had been posted around campus for the last two weeks announcing a free concert by the fountain. When the girls arrived, they found a small crowd — including several of their friends — already gathered and growing by the minute.

  Cindy smiled as Halbert approached with Seiichiro, a Japanese student she’d met last year. “Hey, I didn’t know you guys were going to be here.”

  “I can’t pass up wonderful American culture like a free concert,” Seiichiro said, his accent much less noticeable than it had been when she first met him. A mischievous grin made his dark eyes dance. “I need many stories to share with my friends when I go home to Japan.”

  Halbert laughed. “I’m just here because I’m bored. I ran into Seiichiro on the way.”

  “I didn’t realize you knew each other,” Cindy said.

  “Yeah, we have a statistics class together.” Halbert chuckled and shook his head. “It’s making me understand how Seiichiro must have felt coming here where everyone speaks English instead of Japanese. Half the time, I think the professor is speaking some foreign language.”

  Tana ran an appraising gaze over him as the others laughed. “I’ve met Seiichiro, but you’re new to me.”

  “I’m Dave Halbert.”

  She smiled and shifted a little closer. “Tana Montgomery. Why don’t you join us?”

  “I can join you for a little while, anyway. I’m meeting some other friends here.” Halbert grinned at Cindy. “Danny’s coming with Josh and Alex. I think Corbin’s coming and bringing his kid, too.”

  Cindy nodded, her heart picking up speed at the prospect of seeing Danny again. “Does that mean Monique’s feeling better?”

  Halbert shrugged. “Beats me. I assume she is, but it could be that Corbin’s bringing Delario just to keep him out of her hair.”

  Tana turned to Cindy, her eyebrows lifted with speculation. “And who are all these people?”

  “More members of the student veterans’ group. Except for Delario. He’s five and the cutest kid you could hope to meet. Oh, and Monique is Corbin’s wife and Delario’s mom.”

  Chrissy’s eyes widened. “Man, you’ve been busy! Remind me to call you more often.”

  The group laughed, and then Cindy spotted Corbin and Delario slowly approaching with a pretty mahogany-skinned woman. Delario waved and said something to his parents then ran over to give Cindy a hug.

  “Hi, Cindy! My mommy’s all better, so Daddy brought her to hear the music.” The boy stepped back and looked up at her with a huge grin. “Mommy says she wants to meet you.”

  “I want to meet her, too, and tell her how sweet you are,” Cindy said, certain it would embarrass the boy.

  Delario folded his arms across his chest as his parents joined them. “I’m not sweet. I’m tough like my dad.”

  The woman holding Corbin’s arm laid a hand on Delario’s shoulder, her dark brown eyes dancing with amusement. “Your dad may be tough, but he’s pretty sweet, too.”

  Delario reached up and grabbed her hand. “Mommy, this is Cindy.”

  The woman turned to her and gave her a warm smile. “Hi, Cindy, I’m Monique. I want to thank you for staying at the hospital with Corbin last week. He told me how much he appreciated it.”

  Cindy’s cheeks warmed. Would people ever quit making a big deal out of that? “I just did what any good friend would do.”

  Monique laughed. “He also said you’re modest beyond belief.”

  Leann stepped up beside Cindy and slung an arm around her shoulders. “This girl takes modesty to a whole new level.”

  “Please excuse me while I go die of embarrassment,” Cindy said as Leann lowered her arm.

  “Don’t die yet.” Halbert pointed to a different section of the quad. “Danny’ll want to say goodbye first.”

  Cindy turned and found Danny approaching with Josh and Alex. Josh carried Vicki on his back, and Alex had his arm around Kristin as they sang the jingle to a commercial.

  Monique raised her eyebrows at Corbin. “Now, why didn’t you carry me like that? I’m still recovering, remember?”

  He pulled her into an embrace. “I offered, but you turned me down. I seem to recall something about you not wanting to be treated like an invalid?”

  She tilted her head back to look at him. “Maybe I’ll let you carry me back to the car.”

  “I can handle that.” Corbin kissed her as the others arrived.

  “Hey, get a room!” Josh said as Vicki slid to the ground. “There’s a kid present.”

  Delario rolled his eyes as his parents laughed and separated. “They’re always doing mushy stuff.”

  “Just wait until you grow up and fall in love. You won’t mind the mushy stuff so much.” Corbin tousled his son’s short hair.

  “That’s gross!” Delario said, ducking away.

  Laughter rang through the group, and Alex, Josh, and Danny all hugged Monique, appearing relieved to see her out and about. At Josh’s prompting, Cindy introduced everyone. When she finished, Alex grinned.

  “What do you do? Go around collecting random people for fun?”

  She pasted on an innocent expression.
“Can I help it if I’m loveable?”

  Tana threw an arm around her. “Honey, you’re just a people magnet.”

  Josh glanced around the gathering crowd. “Hey, we saw Lacey and Matt not far from here. They managed to get a bench, and they said they’d share with you, Monique, so you don’t have to sit on the ground.”

  “Mm, sitting on a bench sounds good,” she said, leaning against Corbin. “I’m tired of standing.”

  Danny fell into step with Cindy and lifted an eyebrow. “You didn’t tell me you were coming to this concert.”

  “You didn’t ask.” She tapped his shoulder and fought back a smile. “You also failed to mention that you’d be here.”

  He draped his arm across her shoulders and progressively leaned more of his weight on her. “I guess that’s why communication is important.”

  “Yeah, it is.” She poked him in the ribs, wondering just how much he weighed. “Now, quit leaning on me before you knock me over.”

  He laughed and straightened. “I was wondering how long it would take you to say something.”

  Josh dropped back and hit Danny in the shoulder, causing him to laugh again. “Dude, quit picking on our civilian.”

  “Why? You want a turn?”

  Cindy rolled her eyes as she caught sight of Matt. “You guys can pick on each other. I’m going to ask my cousin about his latest fashion.”

  She left the two men ribbing each other and picked up her pace to investigate Matt’s new look. In addition to his usual jeans and T-shirt, he wore a multi-colored jester’s hat. He grinned and pointed to the hat when she reached him.

  “Lacey dared me to wear it.”

  “And you agreed?” She hadn’t seen her cousin wear something that wacky for a couple of years.

  Lacey bumped her shoulder into him, a teasing twinkle in her eyes. “He didn’t have a choice.”

  Matt put his arm around her. “Yeah, she gave me the option of watching that dreadful lion movie instead of wearing the hat.”

  Cindy laughed and turned to Lacey. “I love you now.”

  The others joined them, and Lacey and Matt moved over so Monique and Corbin could sit down. Delario climbed into his father’s lap, and everyone else took seats on the ground around them. Cindy ended up between Danny and Josh. Her girlfriends mingled with the others, and she was relieved her new friends and her old ones were getting along so well.

  The murmur of the crowd didn’t stop when the band took the stage and began to play, but everyone seemed to enjoy the music. Even though it was a local group no one had heard of, they played well, and the lead singer had a smooth voice that made Cindy wonder how long it would be until they recorded an album. After several songs, the band started playing an anti-war song, and Cindy could feel the tension radiating from the veterans.

  “Where do they get off saying anything about what’s going on in Iraq or Afghanistan?” Danny said, glaring at the stage. “I doubt they could find either place on a map.”

  Josh leaned forward to look past Cindy. “Dude, chill out. Free speech is a constitutional right, even if the songwriter is an idiot.”

  Danny waved a hand at the crowd, some of whom were nodding at the lyrics. “They’re falling for this political garbage. They don’t want to hear the truth because it might make them uncomfortable.”

  Cindy was getting uncomfortable with how angry he was over a song.

  Alex walked over and squatted beside Danny. “Let’s go take a walk.”

  Danny shook his head in disgust and stood. “Just leave me alone.”

  Cindy watched him stalk off across the grass, and then she turned to find Alex and Josh watching her. “Is it just me, or is he excessively irritated by this song?”

  “It’s a bit excessive,” Alex said. “But he’ll get over it.”

  Josh grinned, irony shining in his eyes. “Welcome to the wonders of PTSD. Irrational anger is part of it. Alex is right, though. He’ll get over it and go back to what you’re used to soon enough.”

  She shifted her gaze back to the stage as the band started another song, one without a political agenda, but her thoughts remained on Danny. When an intermission came, she excused herself and headed in the direction he had taken when he’d disappeared. He could be anywhere, but his long absence worried her.

  She found him leaning against the Donnellson Science Building. He shoved away from the stone wall, his expression filled with annoyance.

  “What do you want?”

  “I wanted to make sure you’re okay.” Her heart stuttered at his tone. Perhaps she would have been wiser to wait for him to come back. Maybe she could find a way to excuse herself and leave him alone.

  “Yeah, I’m great.” He gave a bitter laugh and gestured toward the free concert. “Those morons just sang about how we’re the bad guys and the terrorists are the good guys. I bet they also claim to support the troops. It’s a load of bull.”

  “Anyone with a brain would know that song is wrong.”

  “You’d be amazed at how many stupid people there are in this country,” Danny said, anger smoldering in his eyes. “I bet you don’t believe anyone could be that stupid, though. You like to think everyone is as blissfully unaware of the real world as you are.”

  Tears blurred Cindy’s vision, and she looked away, unwilling to let him see how much he was hurting her. “I know about the real world, Danny. I just try to look at the positive things because if I focus on the rest of it I’ll end up depressed. I’ll see you later.”

  Coming after him had been a bad idea. Although she doubted he meant it, his words stung more than she wanted to admit. She only made it a couple of steps before she heard his voice behind her, minus all traces of anger.

  “Cindy, wait.” She turned to find his expression full of apology. He walked closer as he continued. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean what I said. I just get angry sometimes and say stuff I regret almost immediately.”

  She decided to be honest and let him do what he wanted with it. “That hurt, Danny, especially after the encouraging things you said about my paper on poverty.”

  “I’m sorry.” He wrapped her in a hug, the unexpected tenderness making her pulse race. “I’m not angry with you, and I think you know more about people than most. You definitely have a ton more compassion than a lot of people I’ve met.” He leaned back, warmth filling his eyes. “I like you. Most women would avoid me when they heard just a little about me, yet you’ve stuck with me even after seeing me lose it. That means a lot to me.”

  He held her closer and touched his lips to hers. Sparks rushed through her veins as she slipped her arms around his neck and responded to his kiss. Chuckles interrupted them. Cindy stepped out of Danny’s arms and turned to find Josh and Alex grinning a few feet away.

  Josh nudged Alex. “I guess we didn’t need to check on them after all.”

  “No, I think they’re getting along just fine.”

  Heat crept into Cindy’s cheeks. She should have known they’d follow her. They knew how unpredictable Danny could be, and they had seemed protective of her since rescuing her the day she met them.

  “You were that worried about what I’d do?” Danny combed his fingers through his hair.

  “You have to admit you were pretty ticked when you walked off,” Alex said.

  “Then there’s the flashback last week,” Josh added, “and the incident at the hospital.”

  Danny sighed and nodded. “I guess I’d better see if I can get in sooner than my next appointment.”

  “That’s probably a good idea,” Josh said, his voice tinged with sympathy.

  “I’ll call them tomorrow.” Danny glanced at Cindy, and a teasing twinkle brightened his gray eyes. He returned his gaze to Josh and Alex. “For now, go away. We’ll join you guys in a little bit.”

  They laughed and headed back toward the quad. Cindy turned to face Danny and raised her eyebrows. “So, what is it that’s keeping us from going with them?”

  He looped his arms around her,
linking his fingers at the small of her back. “I just thought I’d give you a chance to yell at me for kissing you.”

  “You’re right. I should let you know how I feel about that.” She gave him a kiss then looked deep into his eyes. “I have no problem with you kissing me, as long as you’re not also kissing half the girls on campus.”

  He chuckled and gently stroked her cheek. “You have nothing to worry about. As cute as your roommate is, I’m only interested in you.”

  Cindy laughed as she stepped out of his arms and swatted his shoulder. “You had to bring that up, didn’t you?”

  “Sure. You should have seen your expression when I said it the other night.” He draped his arm around her shoulders, and they strolled toward the quad. “I don’t think you could hide your feelings if you tried.”

  “The curse of being an honest person.”

  “Or just a terrible actress.” Danny chuckled as she smacked his chest. “You’re so abusive.”

  She sobered as she realized she was getting into a relationship with a guy who had psychiatric problems. Now was as good a time as any to lay down some ground rules. If he didn’t like it, she’d have to end the relationship before it started. She didn’t want to be on the receiving end of any kind of abuse. A quick prayer for courage flew from her heart. “I’ll make a deal with you. I won’t hit you, even joking around, if you’ll do your best to avoid saying things to hurt me. I understand that the PTSD may make it impossible sometimes, but I’d rather have you walk away for a few minutes than have you intentionally say something to make me cry.”

  He stopped and turned her to face him, his hands warm on her shoulders. “Cindy, I was only kidding about you being abusive. I know you were just playing. But I promise I will do everything I can to avoid making you cry. Seeing those tears in your eyes just about killed me. I don’t mean to hurt you. Or anyone else, for that matter.”

  She embraced him. “The only reason I said anything is because I need to be sure you know where I stand. I did the whole abusive boyfriend thing for a while when I was fourteen. I’m not doing it again.”

  Danny held her close as he spoke quietly. “If you catch me doing anything even close to abusive, tell me. If I don’t listen, all you have to do is tell anyone in the veterans’ group. They’ll make sure I listen.” He leaned back and looked her in the eye. “You’re too sweet for anyone to get away with hurting you.”