Sunkissed by Janelle Daniels Read Free Book Online

he seems capable enough.
    He is obviously well liked. More than one of the soldiers has come in during their free time to talk with him.
    I’m not exactly sure what happened, but during one of their sessions, he broke his arm. He should recover quickly, and I suspect that there will be no future issues with his arm once it’s healed. Which is rather fortunate, because I heard his family owns an orchard in the area.
    God willing, he will make it back there when the war is over. That is my prayer for each and every one of these brave men.
     
    Natalie leaned back, stunned. Here it was. Written in her grandmother’s own hand as if she were telling Natalie herself. That was how she had met Edward Walker. She’d been a nurse at the base’s clinic.
    Continuing on, she read the story of how quickly they had fallen in love, joyously making plans for after the war. Edward had given her grandma the picture of himself in the orchards before the war so that she could imagine what their lives would be like once it was all over.
    It was well after midnight when Natalie came to the end of the volume. Launching herself toward the closet, she hurried to get the next journal.
    Sifting through the box, she couldn’t find it. She found the journal for 1945 but not for 1944. Opening up the book listed as 1945, Natalie could find no mention of Edward Walker there.
    “What happened in 1944?”she puzzled aloud, frustrated that she didn’t know.
    After tearing through the other boxes, hoping to find the journal misfiled, she finally accepted that it was gone. She still didn’t know what had happened to them.
    Pressing the journal from 1943 to her chest, she sat on the bed, dazed.
    Her grandmother had loved Edward Walker. The feelings she had written down were strong, more powerful than Natalie had ever heard her grandmother express about her grandfather. Something terrible must have happened. Natalie was sure of it. If her grandmother had felt this way, there was no way she would have let him go.
    Dialing quickly, she waited until Grant picked up the phone.
    “Hello?” he asked, his voice scratchy with sleep.
    “Oh…” she glanced at the clock, wincing when she read the time. “Sorry. I didn’t realize it was so late. This is Natalie.”
    “Is everything all right?” He sounded instantly alert.
    “No, no. I mean yes. Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you. Geez, my brain is fried. I’m calling because I found something in my grandma’s journal. I was wondering if I could come over tomorrow. You’ll want to see this for yourself.”
    “Absolutely. I can’t believe it. Did you find out where they met?”
    “The base. She was a nurse at the clinic there.”
    “I knew that had to be it.”
    “I’ll warn you though, my grandmother’s writing is very emotional. It might be a bit uncomfortable for you.”
    “I won’t have a problem with that.”
    “All right then. I’ll stop by tomorrow. Probably later in the evening. Does that work for you?”
    “Yes.” He paused. “Why don’t you stop by for dinner? Around six? We can talk about it then.”
    Her heart thumped heavily. Cool it , she scolded herself. It was just dinner. They both had to eat. They would just be eating together. No big deal. And if they happened to kiss again, that was great too. There were no ties, no strings. He hadn’t asked her to marry him, for heaven’s sake.
    Her lips quirked at the corners. “Sounds good. See you then,” she agreed before saying goodbye.
    Snuggling under the covers, she closed her eyes. Her final thoughts were of Grant before drifting to sleep.
     
    * * *
     
    Grant closed the journal, his head shaking softly. “They were in love. Why did they never say anything?”
    Natalie reached out for the book, tucking it safely in her bag. Readjusting on the couch next to Grant, she tucked her legs beneath her to get more comfortable. “I don’t know. I wish I knew what happened between them.”
    “And you’re sure the next journal