He stepped behind the door for privacy. “I wish. My job protected me from the draft. Boy, was I glad when they ended deferments for men under twenty-three and my number came up.”

Now she understood his eagerness to leave home. “Is Ellen still living with your parents?” What had she thought when Clay called after the wedding?

He leaned against the doorjamb, his shirt tucked in, his face softer and sad. “She died a few months after the baby was born. Driving too fast in the rain, went over the embankment into the Guadalupe River.”

Leah gasped. “Oh no. The baby?”

“Timmy was home with my parents. Still is. They’re raising him.”

They were indeed kind. “I can’t imagine how difficult that must have been. Thank you for telling me.”

“Thanks again for marrying me.” He flipped up a sad smile and sat on the end of the bed. “I can’t help wondering what might have happened if I’d talked Ellen into marrying me.”

If Leah had been his wife in more than name, she would have embraced him. “You wonder if she might have lived?”

He shrugged. “No way of knowing. But you gave me a second chance, a chance to do it right this time. So, thanks.”

She smiled into his warm eyes. Kindness ran in a thick vein in the Paxton family. What an honor to be a recipient.

CAMP FORREST
MONDAY, AUGUST 9, 1943

In the early afternoon heat, Clay squeezed Leah’s arm. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

Leah studied the library façade, once her dream, now her dread. “Yes.”

“You don’t have to. You’ll receive my allotment.”

They’d spent all morning on the business side of marriage, changing her name, combining bank accounts, and making her his beneficiary and next of kin.

She set her jaw. “I want to do my part, both for you and for the war effort.”

“All right.” One corner of his mouth puckered. “If I can, I’ll be here at nine thirty to walk you to the bus stop. If not—”

“I know. Leave when the library closes and only with an MP escort.” While she had still been in the hospital, Clay had talked to Miss Mayhew about having a night guard. Since the wolf hadn’t been snared, Leah didn’t argue. She fought off a shudder.

“Are you—”

“Absolutely sure.” She injected her voice with conviction. “You’d better report for duty.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Clay gave her a sharp salute. “I’ll see you later.”

She waved good-bye and headed toward the library.