He gasped for one more breath, and then he was gone.
I wanted to scream out his name. To yell for him to come back. To tell him he still had so much more to live for. However, my mind forced me to sit back and stare at his hand clasped in mine. Blood covered both of them.
Another brother gone. Another life lost.
“Aiden?”
Slowly, I focused back on the windmill, Willa’s voice pulling me from the memory.
Her hand lightly touched my arm. “Aiden? Are you okay?”
I turned to look down at her. “I’m fine.”
The words came out harsher than I wanted them to, but Willa simply nodded and looked up at where I had been staring.
“It’s a wind machine. They’re checking them all today since we’ve got a cold front moving down tonight.”
“Keeps the orchard from freezing?” I asked.
She smiled. “Yes. It pulls the warmer air down and circulates it.”
I glanced up again, then quickly looked at Lilly, needing a distraction from the memories still in my head. “Lilly, how about I lift you onto my shoulders and maybe we can talk Aunt Willa into letting us pick an apple or two.”
Lilly jumped and ran over to me. I reached down, picked her up, and placed her on my shoulders, turning to Willa. I hated the look in her eyes, because I knew she’d seen something in my own only moments ago.
Her eyes were silently asking if I was sure I was okay. But to her credit, she didn’t ask me again.
Lilly’s little voice broke through the silence. “Can we pick apples? Pwease!?”
Willa chuckled. “Of course you can.”
“Come on, Aiden! Come on!” Lilly said, pointing to the trees.
After I walked Lilly into the trees and waited for her to find the perfect apple, I turned to look at Willa. She stood there leaning against the utility vehicle, a smile on her face…and zero judgment in her eyes.
It was in that very moment I realized I was more in love with her than I could have ever imagined.
Willa
I stared at Aiden as he quickly walked away with Lilly on his shoulders. Lacy walked up and stopped next to me.
My sister cleared her throat. “Okay, was it me or did something just happen with him? He was totally lost in a memory, and from the pained expression on his face, it wasn’t a pleasant one.”
I wrapped my arms around my body, suddenly feeling a chill rush over me as I leaned against the side-by-side. “I agree. Something sparked a memory.” I dropped my head back and stared at the wind machine. “The blades,” I whispered.
Lacy followed my gaze. “What do you mean?” she asked in a hushed voice.
With a quick look to make sure Aiden was far enough away, I said, “The blades on the windmill reminded him of something. I’m going to guess it was maybe a helicopter.”
Lacy looked over at Aiden. “Shit. What do you think happened?”
I shook my head. “I’m not sure, but the torment in his eyes said whatever he remembered wasn’t a fond memory.”
She let out a long breath. “I don’t even want to think about the things he did as a SEAL. Connor told me he had a friend who was in the Marines, and when he came back home, he wasn’t ever the same.”
“What was wrong with him?” I asked.
Lacy lowered her voice even more. “PTSD.”
My heart started to pound harder in my chest as I turned and looked at Aiden and Lilly. My niece was laughing as Aiden lifted up onto his toes so she could inspect each apple.
“Did your Aunt Willa teach you the proper way to pick an apple?” he asked. Lilly nodded her head as she searched for the perfect one.
I couldn’t help the smile that appeared on my face. There was something so magical in watching Aiden with both Ben and Lilly. He truly enjoyed their company, and that made my heart sing with joy.
He suddenly looked over at me—and something about him changed. He smiled…but it was almost as if he were seeing me for the first time in years. My lips suddenly buzzed with the memory of our kiss only moments ago as my stomach played host to what felt like butterflies swarming.
“Okay, I’ve seen that look on a man’s face before,” Lacy said.
When Aiden broke our connection and looked up at Lilly, I turned to my sister. “What look?”
She looked back at Aiden. “The look of a man who just realized he’s in love.”
I swallowed hard and whispered, “Could he really be?” It was more a question to myself than anything.
My sister decided to ignore me as she made her way over to Aiden and Lilly. “Come on, let’s go join them.”
I forced myself to appear carefree and happy as Lilly ran and played among the Pink Lady trees, but in reality, my mind raced. I couldn’t shake the look on Aiden’s face when he’d been transfixed by a memory—or the way he had looked at me afterwards. Throw in my sister’s comment about Aiden being in love…and my head was all over the place.