Returning to Eden (Acts of Valor, Book 1): Christian Military Romantic Suspense

by Rebecca Hartt

  “I can’t believe it.” The dark-haired dance instructor ran a hand through her mane of midnight hair. “You were free of him, and now he’s back!”

  “Nina,” Eden scolded, “that’s an awful thing to say.” Regret pulled a whimper out of her. Too bad that was exactly how she felt.

  Nina, who had heard first-hand accounts of Jonah’s callous behavior before his disappearance, whispered through the steam rising from her coffee cup, “What about the money from his life insurance policy?” Her dark eyes roved Eden’s face.

  “I have to give it back,” Eden realized with a start. In the recent upheaval, she had completely forgotten about the large sum of money from Jonah’s supplemental insurance policy. USAA had transferred it to her savings account only last week.

  “No!” With a miserable groan, Nina thumped her mug onto the tabletop and covered her face with her hands.

  “I’m so sorry,” Eden said, patting her friend’s shoulder. “I know how much you wanted those treatments.” She had promised her friend she could help pay for in-vitro fertilization. Nina, who’d been told years ago she was barren, now desperately wanted a baby. Her abusive husband had walked out, leaving her divorced and destitute. Yet, her dream of raising a child grew stronger with every passing month. She’d planned to proceed with IVF treatments and raise the baby on her own.

  “I know every round is like eighteen thousand dollars,” Eden added.

  Nina’s slender hands dropped to her lap. “It’s fine,” she said with resolution. “I’ve saved enough money for one treatment. Let’s hope that’s all I need.”

  “I’ll pray for you,” Eden offered.

  “Thanks.” Nina’s tone, as usual, conveyed her belief that prayer was a waste of time.

  A minute passed in which the two women sat in silence, watching people place their orders and doctor their drinks with cocoa, cream, and sugar.

  “So there goes your nest egg,” Nina said, bringing up the subject of money again.

  Eden shrugged. “It’s no big deal. I have a steady job,” she reminded her friend. “I can make enough money to support myself. Besides, I’m not leaving him just yet. I’ve decided to give it twelve more months—”

  “What? You were telling me last week how happy you are to be single.”

  “I was, but I can’t just leave him,” Eden insisted. “He’s completely vulnerable right now. Wait till you see how thin he is. It’ll take him months to get his health back. NSW is paying him disability for a year. After that, he’ll either be a SEAL again or they’ll med-drop him with disability pay.”

  “So, he’s getting a paycheck, then,” Nina said with relief.

  “Yes. I don’t know how much of his usual salary it’ll be, but I’m sure it’s enough for us to live on, and I can save up what I’m earning in the meantime.”

  “That’s good,” Nina answered. “But you can’t teach fitness classes for the rest of your life. You’re thirty-four now, and the body starts to break down after thirty-five. I’m already having trouble with my hips,” she complained.

  “You’re only thirty-six,” Eden retorted. “Stop acting like you’re getting old.”

  “I’m just saying, when the time comes, you’ll need to ask for alimony,” her friend advised.

  Eden understood Nina’s obsession with money. Her own ex-husband had fled the country, returning to his native Turkey to avoid paying her anything.

  “And maybe child-support.” Nina gnawed on her lip.

  Eden thought about what Jonah had said in the car just yesterday.

  “You’re not going to believe this, but Jonah already offered to take care of me and Miriam, no matter what happens between us.”

  Nina’s eyes widened. “You’ve already had this conversation?”

  “He brought it up. I think he can tell I’m not completely invested.”

  “Wow.” Nina considered Eden in astonishment while sipping her coffee.

  “He’s so different now,” Eden marveled. “He’s sweet.”

  Nina snorted.

  “Seriously. And he talks to Miriam like he enjoys her company. He’s like a totally different person.”

  Nina lifted a skeptical eyebrow.

  “Remember, I told you he was hit in the face and lost a tooth? Well, the part of the brain that’s responsible for things like memory and personality sustained permanent damage. He may never get his memory back,” she said, stating her worst fears. “He may never be the same man.”

  “Well that could be both bad and good,” Nina pointed out.

  Eden agreed to a point then shook her head. “No, he has to get his memory back. He’ll never be a SEAL again without his memory, and that would crush him.” She added with feeling, “Being a SEAL means everything to him.”

  Nina sighed. “Just promise me you won’t put your life on hold forever.”

  “One year,” Eden promised. “I’m going to return him to his former glory, and then my conscience won’t bother me.”

  Nina sighed. “Good luck.” Stretching out an arm, she patted Eden’s hand. “I know it can’t be easy having him underfoot all the time.”

  Eden pictured Jonah in the kitchen making waffles.

  “Actually, it hasn’t been that bad yet. Like I said, he’s different.”

  “People don’t change their stripes.”

  Poor Nina. Her ex-husband had certainly darkened her view of humanity, men especially. At one time, Eden might have agreed. Her husband, though, was certainly not like Nina’s ex.

  “I’m not so sure. I think a year-long captivity would change me, though not necessarily for the better. He was tortured.”

  Nina gasped. “How badly?”

  “His fingernails are still growing back from where they ripped them out. And he’s so skinny and weak he can barely walk a hundred feet without collapsing.”

  Nina shook her head. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t even think about that.” Her eyes reflected concern. “Are you sure you can handle this? Isn’t there someone in his troop who can help him?”

  “I hope so. Master Chief Rivera helped at the hospital. He told me to call him if I need anything.”

  Nina went perfectly still at the mention of Rivera’s name.

  Eden’s intuition niggled. “You know Jonah’s master chief,” she guessed.

  “No.” Nina’s denial was immediate and forced.

  Eden took note of her friend’s lie but didn’t press the issue.

  “The rest of his teammates should be back soon from coastal patrol. When they’re home, I’ll invite them over.”

  She pulled Jonah’s old cell phone from her purse and showed it to Nina.

  “This is his phone,” she said. “I need to zip over to Sprint and see if I can activate his number again. Hopefully, they can download his contacts from the cloud.”

  “Hopefully,” Nina repeated, but she seemed suddenly distracted.

  “I’d better go,” Eden said, taking a final sip of her coffee. “Thanks for meeting me.”

  “Any time,” her friend replied. “Good luck.” Catching Eden’s hand, she squeezed it adding, “Be careful.”

  As Eden left the coffee shop and headed for the Sprint store three doors down, Nina’s words echoed in her head, giving rise to a strange feeling of premonition.

  Be careful. Actually, there was good reason in her present situation to be cautious. Jonah had been through so much. Was he honestly as balanced and introspective as he seemed? What if he were to suffer an episode of some kind? What if he went off the deep end? His training made him a lethal weapon. Was she safe with him? What about Miriam? Should Eden be leaving her alone with him for hours on end?

  Hastening her step, she all but ran to the cell phone store, then chewed on the inside of her lip as she waited for the attendant to restore Jonah’s phone, putting it back on their family plan.

  As soon as Jonah got his contacts back, he could invite them to visit, which would take some of the heat off her.

  Thinking of Mi
riam’s safety again, she called her daughter’s cell phone while she waited.

  “Hi, Mom.”

  Miriam’s cheery answer immediately dispelled Eden’s fears. “Oh, good. You’re up.”

  “Yep, Dad woke me up a while ago. He made waffles.”

  “I know. How’d they turn out?”

  “Pretty good, but we need more maple syrup.”

  “What’s he doing now?” Eden asked.

  “Walking the dog.”

  Concern reared its grizzly head. “By himself?” Eden glanced at the attendant, willing him to hurry up.

  “I tried to go with him, but he said he wanted to do it alone. I watched them all the way to the end of the street, but now I can’t see them anymore.”

  “Was Sabrina pulling him really badly?”

  “No, she’s good with him.”

  “Well, that’s a relief. Listen, I’ll be there soon. Call me if Jonah isn’t back in fifteen minutes.”

  “’Kay. Bye.”

  Hanging up, Eden was glad she’d called. It was reassuring to learn that Jonah was still treating Miriam well. Once again, he’d exceeded her expectations. That couldn’t last forever, could it? Oh, Lord, what happened if he hurt himself while walking the dog?

  One flaw common to all Navy SEALs was their tendency to bite off more than they could chew. She didn’t want Jonah setting back his recovery by taking a fall.

  The wind whipped Jonah’s hair into his eyes. The sun, still rising toward its zenith, cast a warm glow on the left side of his face. Though he walked at a brisk pace set by the dog, he closed his eyes briefly, imagining the sun to be God’s healing wand, undoing the damage he’d sustained to the front of his brain.

  Stumbling into a pothole, Jonah snatched his eyes open, then chided himself for his foolishness. A voice in his head warned him against letting his guard down.

  Pay attention!

  Until that very second, he’d been enjoying his exertion, reveling in the obvious fact that he was getting stronger, breaking an actual sweat from exercise. Sabrina had taken him at least a mile from the house, all the way to the only hotel on the isthmus. There were people every hundred feet or so, either walking to the beach or leaving their ocean-front houses to head out somewhere. He hadn’t felt alone or vulnerable until the voice in his head warned him of danger.

  Realizing he had gone far enough, Jonah stopped in his tracks and urged the dog to turn around. “Let’s go back.”

  Fortunately, the retriever didn’t seem to care which way they were going, so long as they moved at a fast clip. That was fine by Jonah. Apart from the strain on his lungs and legs, he was happy to get exercise. But with the voice echoing, Pay attention! in his head, he spotted potential threats everywhere he looked.

  That woman on the deck of her home. Why was she staring at him? What was in her hand? She had a clear shot at him if that was a gun.

  “Hey!” Some teenager yelled out of his car. Jonah nearly jumped out of his skin, only to realize the kid was calling his friend over.

  I’m freaking out over nothing, he assured himself. Just because Dr. Branson said I might have PTSD, that doesn’t mean I have it.

  Just then his attention was caught by a blue Ford Taurus, parked on the opposite side of the street, with the driver still at the wheel. He knew for a fact he had seen that same car, same driver, watching him from a different spot, shortly after he had left his house.

  Check the plates. Thanks to his superlative vision, he could make them out before the car backed up and pulled a U-turn. XUV-6821. Yep, same car, same plates. Someone was watching him. Alarm swam up Jonah’s bloodstream to his heart as the sedan sped away.

  The driver had realized he’d been made. And now he was driving in the direction of Jonah’s house, where Miriam was at home alone.

  Miriam! Jonah broke into a jog, then lengthened his stride until he was running. The dog started to run, as well, jerking the leash right out of Jonah’s hand.

  “Sabrina!”

  With a happy glance back, Sabrina kept running, fortunately in the direction of home. Moreover, she was bright enough to avoid running down the middle of the road. Jonah gave up chasing her but kept up his pace. Run! Run straight to the house and protect Miriam from—

  “From what?” he ground out, even as he gasped for enough oxygen to feed his weak thighs. His calves protested with each step. But logic alone could not eradicate his fear.

  There was a threat. He knew there was, and he wasn’t imagining it, either. The feeling had been with him for some time. He remembered rowing the stolen fishing boat, thinking he had to get home to warn others. If he could only remember what the threat was!

  Sabrina rounded the bend in the road and disappeared from view. By the time Jonah took the turn, the dog was gone. Lungs burning, a cramp building in his right calf, he pushed himself to get to the house to see if the dog had arrived safely.

  As he approached the house, Eden dashed out of the driveway, sprinting in his direction. Relief and concern jostled for expression on her face. She streaked toward him with the effortlessness of an athlete, inspiring his envy. Her long hair swirled around her shoulders as she stopped abruptly in front of him, catching him by the arm.

  “Stop! Why are you running?” she demanded.

  “Sabrina,” he gasped, dropping his hands to his knees to catch his breath.

  “She’s at home,” Eden assured him. “We thought when she came back without you that something happened.”

  Jonah forced himself to straighten. Lacing his hands together at the back of his head, he kept filling his lungs. If he told Eden he had sensed a threat, she would think he was crazy. What if he was? Maybe the man in the car was simply some tourist who’d realized he’d forgotten something and had to go back for it. Dr. Branson’s concerns about PTSD might be right on target.

  “No.” He managed to insert a few words between each breath. “She just…got away…I tried…to catch up.”

  “Are you insane?” Eden demanded. “Jonah, you could barely walk yesterday. You’re going to kill yourself running like that.”

  He didn’t try to defend himself. Not only was she probably right, but her scolding gave the illusion she actually cared about him. He nodded, acknowledging his foolishness.

  “Even if the dog hadn’t come home, you weren’t going to catch her any sooner by running after her. Come on.” She propped herself under his sweaty armpit and escorted him the rest of the way to the house. All the while, Jonah wished he weren’t perspiring like a madman. He kept his mouth shut, so he didn’t also sound like one.

  Half an hour later, he ventured into the living area smelling like Miriam’s berry bouquet body wash and dressed in fresh clothing. His exertion had sapped his remaining strength. Eden, who was standing at the stove, looked over at him. Miriam, seated on the couch and watching a game show, waved him over. Jonah crossed to the sofa and flopped down next to her. The show was educational, he realized. Teens from local high schools competed by answering trivia questions.

  “Do you know these kids?” Jonah asked.

  Miriam held a finger up as the host asked, “What is the name of the mythical bird that rises from its ashes to new life?”

  “The Phoenix,” Miriam answered as one of the students hit the buzzer.

  Her answer, of course, turned out to be right. Jonah experienced a sense of pride.

  “An illness which, in Latin, means ‘inflammation of the lungs.’”

  “Pneumonia,” Miriam answered, but the youth who’d hit the buzzer got it wrong. “Oh, come on, David,” she groused.

  “So you know these kids.”

  “Yeah, sorry.” She gave him her attention as the show went to commercials. “I don’t technically know them because they’re upper classmen and I’m only going into tenth grade. But they’re from my school. I’m going to be on this show one day.”

  “You should be,” Jonah agreed. “Has anybody ever told you you’re smart?”

  Her face flushed
a pretty shade of pink. “Yeah.” She laughed self-consciously. “But not you.”

  What did she mean, not him? Oh, no. Had the jerk he used to be implied she was stupid or something? Jonah frowned and sat up straighter. A glance at the kitchen showed Eden ladling what looked like mac and cheese into two bowls. She pretended not to be listening, but the watchful look she shot him indicated she most certainly was.

  “Look,” Jonah said to Miriam. He spoke quickly so as not to cut into the show when it came back on. “Whatever I might have said to you in the past—just forget it, okay? I must have had issues. I’m sorry.”

  Even with the television babbling, the silence seemed to ring through the house. Miriam and Eden both stared at him like he’d grown horns. Then, to his confusion, Eden thumped two bowls onto the counter, snatched up what looked like a cell phone, and brought it to him.

  “I have to go to work,” she announced. “There’s lunch for the two of you.” She gestured toward the breakfast bar. “Here you go,” she added, putting his phone in his hand. “You’re back on the plan.”

  Looking down at the all-black Android, Jonah was struck by the strange sense of foreboding he had felt when she’d showed it to him that morning. He didn’t want to hold it.

  “Luckily, your old number was still available, and all your contacts were in the cloud, so now they’re back on the phone.”

  “Thanks,” he said, acknowledging the trouble she’d gone to that morning.

  “Don’t you want to check it out?” Eden prompted, as he laid it on the arm of the couch.

  Not really. He forced himself to pick it up again and rouse the phone, but he could not recall the passcode.

  “You’ll have to set that up again,” Eden told him. “In the meantime, use 0719.”

  Recognizing the month and day of his birthday, he followed her directions and the home screen appeared.

  “I think you should call your master chief and have him over,” Eden continued. “Or maybe he could take you out somewhere. Ask him when your friends come back.”

  Jonah lifted a dry look at her. It couldn’t be more obvious she was desperate to get him away from the house, out from under her feet. But then who would keep an eye on Miriam while she was working?