A child.
Daniel’s smile faded slightly.
He looked toward the doorway.
“What was that?”
Rachel suddenly looked nervous.
Not guilty.
At least Daniel did not think so.
But nervous.
“I have something to show you.”
Daniel raised an eyebrow.
“What?”
Rachel stepped back inside.
Daniel followed.
He expected perhaps one of her nieces.
Maybe a neighbor’s child.
Then Rachel walked into the living room and lifted a toddler from beside the sofa.
Daniel stopped.
The child was around eighteen months old.
A little boy.
Deep brown skin.
Soft black curls.
Huge dark eyes.
Round cheeks.
Rachel held him comfortably against her hip with the familiarity of someone who had done it a thousand times.
The boy stared at Daniel.
Rachel smiled.
“Look who’s home.”
Daniel did not answer.
Rachel bounced the toddler gently.
“Say hi to Daddy.”
Daniel’s smile vanished.
The room seemed to tilt.
For several seconds, he genuinely wondered whether exhaustion had caused him to misunderstand her.
“What?”
Rachel continued smiling, though uncertainty now entered her expression.
“Say hi to Daddy.”
Daniel looked at the boy.
Then at Rachel.
Then back at the boy.
He laughed once.
It was short and confused.
“You’re joking.”
Rachel’s smile disappeared.
“What?”
“Rachel.”
“What’s wrong?”
Daniel stared at her.
“What’s wrong?”
The front door opened behind him.
A familiar voice came from the entryway.
“Man, you’re finally back!”
Daniel turned.
Marcus Reed stepped inside.
Daniel had known Marcus for nearly seven years.
Marcus lived in the house next door.
Before Daniel’s military assignment, the two men watched football together almost every Sunday.
They borrowed tools from each other.
Marcus helped Daniel build the deck in the backyard.
Daniel once drove three hours at midnight when Marcus’s truck broke down.