Military Daddy by Patricia Davids

being careful not to touch him, and plunked the extra dish on the table.
    â€œAnnie, I will leave if my being here upsets you.”
    â€œI’m not upset,” she countered quickly. Lord, please forgive that little white lie.
    â€œGood, because I haven’t had a home-cooked meal in ages. Mess hall food is…mess hall food, and something in this kitchen smells great.”
    â€œMarge is a good cook.” Turning the subject of the conversation to her friend seemed like a safe move.
    He leaned a hip against the counter. “She comes across as a very caring person. How long have you known her?”
    â€œAlmost two years.” She pulled out the flatware they would need from the drawer at the end of the counter and carried the pieces to the table.
    â€œHow did you meet?”
    â€œMarge was assigned as my caseworker when I was brought into the emergency room one night.”
    Annie didn’t tell him that it had been the night she had tried to kill herself. Thankfully most of those terrible hours were nothing but a black hole in her memory.
    The door to the kitchen opened and Crystal came in, followed by Olivia.
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    Shane could have growled aloud with frustration. He wanted time alone with Annie. Time to get to know her and for her to get to know him. While he sensed her reluctance to talk to him, as least she hadn’t made an excuse to leave the room. It was a small victory but one he would have to be satisfied with for now.
    The outside door opened and Marge came in. “I’ll just wash up and then we can get started. Sit anywhere you like, Shane. We’re not much for ceremony here.”
    Olivia sat and patted the seat next to her. “Sit here, Shane.”
    Smiling at her, he took the chair she indicated, but it was Annie he followed with his eyes as she moved around the kitchen, getting the food on the table and filling everyone’s glasses with water. When it came to his glass, she leaned in to pick it up and her arm brushed against his shoulder. The sound of her quick indrawn breath sent a jolt of awareness straight through him. Her hands trembled ever so slightly and she sloshed some of the liquid onto the tabletop.
    â€œI’m sorry.” She had to lean in farther as she mopped up the spill with his paper napkin.
    â€œI’ll get it.” He took the soggy mess from her and finished the task, half afraid she’d pour the rest of the ice water in his lap if he didn’t let her escape.
    Crystal made a beeline for the chair across from him. “Hi, there. I’m so glad you could join us, Corporal Ross. I’ve just been dying to tell you how beautiful I thought your flowers were. I sure wish someone would send me something like that. I’d be forever grateful.”
    He took note of her come-hither glance. The realization that it didn’t interest him as much as catching Annie’s downcast gaze came as no surprise. Annie was special in a way he couldn’t quite put his finger on. He wanted to spend time with Annie. He wanted to get to know her.
    His pending reassignment overseas loomed like the approaching storm clouds outside that were fast blocking the afternoon sunlight. Faced with Annie’s reluctance to admit him into her life and the limited amount of time he had to change her mind, he didn’t see a way to accomplish that goal.
    Marge, at the head of the table, held her hands out to Olivia and Annie seated on either side of her. “Let us give thanks and ask the Lord’s blessing on this family and the company gathered here.”
    Shane met Annie’s eyes as she glanced in his direction. The longing in her expression stunned him. Before he could be certain of what he’d seen, she looked away again.
    Olivia took her mother’s hand and then reached for Shane’s. Feeling a bit awkward, he grasped it. Crystal’s smile widened as she stretched her arm across the table toward him. He hesitated only a