Free A Scarred Soul: A Small Town Love Story (Safe Haven Book 2) by Erin Sloane Page B

allowances put on for him that reinforced what a jerk he was. The open closet doors were so that he wouldn’t spend the entire session fretting about what hid within the room’s blind spots. He could feel the watch of the others as he tried his best not to scan the room before he lay down, but never succeeded.
    Hell, they wanted him to lie there with his eyes closed. Seriously?
    He should get out of the chair and start on the restoration, or the carving on Gable’s wagon. In his mind he pulled up her smile, her joy when she towed the wagon around the yard until the awful moment of what had occurred tumbled in.
    Fuck it. Why couldn’t he run through a single happy memory without the intrusion of war? His head fell to his hands and he started to rock.
    He couldn’t continue like this. He stood and Calliope came immediately to his side, following him as he grabbed a pen and paper from his workbench, then out to the pickup to retrieve her leash. They went to Lulah’s porch and Vince sat at her table and wrote a note.
    There is a terrible battle in my soul and I can’t make anything beautiful while it rages.
    Out there, in the mountains, is a place I can stay awhile, talk with friends who are no longer here.
    Please, watch Calliope for me while I fight my war.
    One more time, please…
    I AM sorry. Truly.
    He tied Calliope to the porch railing. Joker was inside the cabin and Lulah probably minutes away. Calliope watched as he drove off.
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    V ince’s backpack bit into his shoulders and he gave them a slow roll. The weight was comforting, like a hug. Hot, hot hell, it was good to feel something. He locked the pickup and started up the track. On the trail, he could control the chaos. Nobody to harm, no expectations, no emotional investment with anybody else. Simply encounter, react, encounter, react. Burn off some stress and reduce the commotion in his head.
    He’d let Lulah down and right now there wasn’t one thing he could do to make that better, because until he improved, he had to be a selfish ass. He should stay away from her, tell her she needed to find someone else to help with her course work. If he could find another place to do his woodwork, and ask one of the others at the Sanctuary to watch Calliope for him, he’d be sweet. Sorted.
    Lulah in Lycra.
    What a sight she was in her yoga gear. The pants that hugged her butt, that little top that curved around her pert breasts, small and perfectly formed, and memorable. With that white spiky hair she looked like an imp. A sexy, mischievous sprite. If this day had started differently and traveled another route he could have been there with her, at the yoga class. Sure, his mind didn’t steady much, but it usually finished up a pleasant hour where he could set his thoughts aside and concentrate on his physical self.
    A quiet practice of stillness…not for me tonight.
    It was time to disembark from this train of thought. He picked up his pace to a slow jog to reach the ridge where he could pitch his tent before sunset. Once camp was made, he would let his demons loose for a mid-evening workout. There were times when yoga didn’t cut it for the monsters. They were more inclined to enjoy a sparring session over sun salutations.
    The demons hadn’t been contained for some time now. And the divorce papers had lit a blaze up their butts.
    Thank you, Taryn. Yeah, I know our marriage is fucked, but a phone call, a warning—would that be too much to ask? And what about Gable? What story are you spinning her about why Daddy doesn’t come home to see his girl these days?
    It’s a big mess in here, Lulah. Best you stay away.
    His marriage died before his last deployment. Taryn could scarcely hide her pleasure when he received his orders. But Gable? She wasn’t much over a year old when he’d left, and when he returned they were strangers. She called him Daddy with an odd look on her face, as if someone had lied and she was still trying to figure out exactly who.
    The