Free Jagged Hearts by Lacey Thorn

where he wanted it, his fingers stroking through her hair. They stayed that way for a long moment, long enough for her to think he wasn’t going to share with her, but he did.
    “I was married right out of high school. We’d dated since our sophomore year. Everyone expected it. She knew I planned to join the military and said she supported me. Then I had my first tour away from her. Twelve months. It was hard for both of us, but harder on her. That became our pattern. I’d volunteer for these tours—Afghanistan, Iraq, Africa. She’d become withdrawn and resentful. I wasn’t there for her.” He glanced down, and Paisley saw the hurt and pain in his eyes. “She said I loved my job more than I did her.” He blew out a long breath. “And she was right. The last time I returned, she’d started drinking. She was… God, it was awful. I called her parents, told her to go home. Then I left again. Just packed up and left her.”
    “What happened?” Paisley asked.
    “She was killed in a head-on collision with another car. She was the drunk driver. She killed herself and the two people in the other car, teenagers, who had their whole lives ahead of them.”
    “Oh, God,” Paisley moaned, hugging herself to him. “I’m so sorry.”
    His fingers tightened against her for a minute then relaxed as he continued stroking through her hair. “It took me a long time to stop blaming myself. I was a mess when Jamison and Tuck took me in. Tuck looked me right in the eyes and said I was just a body in search of a grave.” He shook his head. “Those words hit me hard. He helped me realize I had no control over what she had done or hadn’t done. Bottom line was they were her choices to make, not mine.”
    “So you left the service after it happened?”
    “I did. Blamed it for everything. Leaving turned out to be a good thing though. Otherwise, I’d probably have gotten myself killed and come home in a box.”
    “How did you meet my dad?” Paisley asked and was relieved to see a grin tug at Bare’s mouth.
    “Bar fight.”
    “With my dad?”
    Bare laughed. “Caught him square on the jaw when he tried to break up a fight between me and another guy.”
    “Oh my God! I can’t believe you hit my dad.”
    “Me, either. All I can say is I was stupid back then.”
    “So what happened?”
    “Next thing I knew, I had five guys on me while Jamison just rubbed his jaw and stared me down. I thought I was a dead man and didn’t even care. I think Jamison saw that in me. He turned his head and asked Tuck what he thought.”
    “What did Tuck say?”
    “' He’ll do . Just nodded and said I’d do. Asked if I had a place to stay. I think I told him to fuck off or something. Shit, I was three sheets at least by that point. Your dad told me paybacks were a bitch and punched me so hard I swear I saw stars. Woke up the next morning with a jackhammer going off behind my eyelids and a swollen jaw. Your dad packs a solid punch.”
    “I’m sure he does,” Paisley agreed and shook her head. “And they took you in?”
    “Just like that,” Bare said. “They saved my life that day. Gave me a new direction when I was floundering and desperate.”
    “I’m glad they found you,” she whispered and turned her cheek to place a soft kiss on his chest. “Do you still blame yourself?” she asked just as quietly.
    He was silent again, and she wondered if he felt the weight of that question the same way she did. Sometimes, she felt so guilty. Guilty for living when Lance hadn’t. Guilty for being unable to protect herself and her unborn child. Guilty for existing in a world where they didn’t.
    “No,” Bare finally answered. He rolled so she was on her back and he rested his weight on one arm, the other reaching out to rub across the silk of her gown where it rested on her belly. “Do you blame yourself?”
    “Sometimes,” she admitted.
    “Ah, Paisley,” he said, moving his fingers up to trace across her cheek. “You survived, and