Free To Love and Heal (The Power of Love Series) by Tamra Rose Page A

thing to do considering her
undeniable attraction to Caleb, but certainly the right thing under the
circumstances. And the fact that there was no indication on his part that he
wanted to resume what had seemed at the time to be something more only
made it that much easier to keep her resolve.
    Caleb stood up from where he had been kneeling on the floor
to measure a piece of siding.  "Glad you like what you see. Most of
the bull work is done – now it's just putting on the finishing touches, and
pretty soon you'll have a fully functional house."
    His eyes met hers and lingered longer than she expected,
prompting her to wonder if he felt even a fraction of the pang that grabbed her
stomach at the thought of never seeing him again once the job was
finished.  A few more moments of seeming connection before he looked away,
taking her wishful thinking along for the journey. She was almost grateful when
the front doorbell suddenly rang and cut through the awkward silence.
    "This better be Publisher's Clearing House with my
million-dollar win," Anna said as she headed to the door.
    Caleb grinned. "Wouldn't that be nice."
    She cautiously opened the door, immediately recognizing the
easygoing smile on the other side.  "Hi there – come on in," she
said as Joel readily obliged.
    "Hey, man – what's going on?" Caleb exclaimed,
his face visibly brightening at the sight of his friend.
    "I wanted to tell you the good news in person."
    Caleb grabbed Joel's hand in a vigorous shake. "Let's
hear it!"
    "My unit's been called up again. I'm leaving
tomorrow."
    Caleb's smile instantly vanished. "Are you
serious?"
    "I wanted to tell you sooner, but it's been crazy
trying to tie up loose ends before I leave."
    "So I take it the good news part was a joke,"
Caleb said, clearly not amused.
    "You know me – always trying to put a positive spin on
things."
    Anna looked down at the floor, her own concern for Joel
further weighed down by the heaviness in the room.  It was almost as if
she could feel the dread that was growing exponentially inside of Caleb.
    Joel forced a shrug. "What can I say? I'm a sucker for
those gourmet MREs." Seeing Anna's quizzical look, he added, "Meals
Ready to Eat."
    Anna nodded and did her best to smile, although she was now
feeling anything but upbeat.
    "Have you given any thought to getting out of the
Reserves?" Caleb asked.
    "Now you're starting to sound like Sharon."
    "What can I say? You married a good – and smart –
woman."
    "Don't I know
it. And I'm telling you what I told her.  This is it for me.  I don't
want to be one of those guys who's in and out of a revolving door with
back-to-back tours. Like she keeps telling me – I was
born with only three-quarters of my sanity, so I need to preserve what I
have."
    "I was thinking it was more like one-quarter, but I'll
give you the benefit of the doubt," Caleb said with a reluctant grin.
    "Well, I wish I could stay longer, but I still have a
few things to get squared away – not to mention I want to spend as much time as
possible today with Sharon and Jacob."
    "Don't blame you.  I'm just glad you came by
before shipping out."
    "Wouldn't dream of not saying goodbye." He shook
Caleb's hand, then pulled him into a back-slapping embrace. "It's a good
thing you don't have to go back with me, since you no doubt would have to save
my ass a half-dozen times again."
    "It was more like a dozen times, but who's
counting," Caleb forcibly joked, clearly doing his best to hide his deep
concern. 
    As if on cue, Joel's face grew dark, an uncharacteristic
display of seriousness that made Anna wonder if he was more worried about the
months ahead than he was letting on.
    "Take care of yourself," Caleb said firmly yet
quietly, unwilling to let go of his grip on Joel's hand.
    "I will – I have too much waiting for me back home not
to." He turned to Anna.  "You take care of this big lug while
I'm gone, you hear me?"
    Anna smiled, deliberately casting her eyes away from any
possible