Free Home to Caroline by Adera Orfanelli Page A

called, putting her entire body into the movement.
    The horse braced her legs and refused to move.
    “Maybe I ought to smack you,” Caroline yelled. A lump formed in her throat. She swallowed it. Tears couldn’t force the horse to move.
    “Wouldn’t do any good. That horse is as stubborn as you are.” Laughter filled the masculine voice.
    Caroline’s heart leapt. Heat flooded her body and she forgot about the fields, the stubborn horse, even her growling stomach. Caroline looked behind her to see a rider halting a big dark brown horse. Her fingers eased from the bridle, her jaw dropping to her chest. Broad shoulders filled out a threadbare gray coat. Both boots and trousers looked as if they’d seen better days, and the feather poking jauntily from his hat brim appeared frayed. A few more lines bracketed those warm, blue eyes, but she found herself staring at her husband’s face. “Travis?” Though bone-tired, her body surged to life.
    Dolly’s ears pricked forward. Arching her neck, she stepped forward, jostling Caroline as she passed.
    “Whoa! Whoa!” Caroline tugged on the reins before they slipped through her fingers. “Stop, you stupid mule!”
    Travis dismounted and grabbed the draft horse’s harness before she passed, easily stopping the mare.
    “Sweet Jesus, you’re home.” Her hands flew to her mouth, releasing the reins and rushing around the horse. “You’re home!” Caroline flung herself at her husband, tears pricking her eyes. All those months of worrying, of reading letters written in her husband’s neat script and careful words, came down to this moment. She wrapped her arms around him, nestling her head against his hard chest. His wool coat scratched her cheek and he smelled of sweat and road dust. He could have been dressed in the finest cloth and smelling of clean soap, she wouldn’t have thought him any more desirable than he was right now.
    His strength comforted her, reminded her of the nights he’d held her and made love to her so tenderly. Her nipples hardened at the memory. She took a deep breath, then murmured against his chest, “You’re home.”
    Travis wrapped one strong arm around her, the other still holding onto Dolly’s reins. Even the horse enjoyed the homecoming, the mare’s sweet breath tickling the back of Caroline’s neck. “I’m home.” His deep voice caressed nerves frayed by the worry of keeping the farm afloat. As if he’d touched every inch of her body, her skin tingled.
    Her senses came alive. “I’m so thankful you’re here.” Her words released a flood inside her soul. Tears leaked down her cheeks; sobs tore from her throat. She sagged against him with relief, the thought of the one egg and her empty larder making her wish for a fat hog and apple pie. A meal fit for a hero, not the meager grubbings of a starving farmer, he deserved that and so much more.
    And she had nothing.
    The tears fell. This should have been the moment when she’d present him with his son. She could hold up the toddler, because the child would be nearly three, conceived the one time Travis had come home on leave. She struggled to stop her grief, and maybe it was because she’d cried alone with no one to hold her, but the tears wouldn’t quit coming. I lost your child. I’m so sorry.
    “I’m here, sweetheart. I’m alive. Don’t cry.” Travis tipped her chin back to stare at her face. With his thumbs, he wiped away her tears. “I’m home. There’s nothing to cry about.”
    There were things, though she couldn’t tell him. Just seeing him again soothed her soul even as it made her confront her failures anew. It might be selfish of her, but she wanted to kiss him, to make love to him, one more time before she told him. Then he could go, and she’d understand.
    Thunder rumbled. The wind picked up, swirling dried leaves and dust around them.
    “We don’t—”
    “Shh.” Travis traced her mouth with a calloused finger before kissing her lightly. The tension in