To Honor by D.F. Krieger Read Free Book Online Page B

didn’t look washed out anymore. When had she lost all that weight? Surely it hadn’t happened during their stay here. Her hair was a shiny auburn again and no longer hung in the limp curls as it had a week or so ago. His wife was, in his opinion, looking better.
    “I’ve missed you,” he murmured.
    A flush painted Evelyn’s cheeks a soft pink. “Derek, I…” She sat her burger down and took a deep breath. “I don’t know what you want from me and I don’t understand why you are here. Surely Toni is wondering what happened to you.”
    Anger and shame clench his gut at her words. In an effort to hide it, he grasped her hand and gave it a careful squeeze. “Toni Landers ,” he allowed the disgust to show in his voice as he said the dreaded woman’s name, “has no business in my life. She is a manipulative bitch who, last I knew, has her hands full with a well-deserved court martial. I never wanted her and I know that now. All I’ve ever wanted is you.”
    The tears that threatened to spill earlier now streamed freely down Evelyn’s cheeks. “What if…” Her voice trembled as she attempted to speak. “What if you forget again?”
    Derek stood up, walked around the table, sat beside his wife, then pulled her into his lap. He rocked her, letting his actions show how precious she was to him. He placed a gentle kiss against the top of her head and let her cry into his chest. When the sobs finally stopped, and Evelyn lay quietly in his arms, he stroked her face. “I will spend every day haunted by what I’ve done to you. There is no apology strong enough in the universe to make up for what I’ve done, but I can try with actions. I will never forget again, and I will use every day to show you that.”
    Evelyn didn’t reply, but Derek took comfort in her silence and the fact she remained in his arms. By the time he went to his living quarters that night, his arms were sore from rocking her for hours.
    He couldn’t wait to do it again tomorrow.

 
     
    Chapter Ten
     
     
    The ticking of the clock irritated Evelyn, yet she maintained her composure. She had to. This man was out to get her for some reason, and she wasn’t blind to that fact. Any slip up on her end—a show of temper, a tear of distress—and he was quick to label her mentally unstable and press her continued stay at the facility. The only way to gain any ground was to remain perfectly amicable regardless of how she felt inside.
    Oh how she hated Dr. Williams.
    For the moment, he was staring at some paperwork he held in his hands. Well, more like glaring. Evelyn had no idea what the paperwork said, but she took pleasure in his obvious discomfort regardless. When he set it down and raised his gaze to her, she made sure her expression was passive and serene.
    “It seems Dr. Sherman has taken it upon himself to move forward with steps that I advised against.” Dr. Williams’ voice was calm despite his glare.
    Evelyn allowed a frown to form on her lips at his words. “I don’t know what you mean.”
    He tapped the paper on his desk, his facial features scrunching further into an angry face. “He has been allowing you to dine with your husband during lunch hours in the cafeteria, yes?”
    She nodded, uncertain how this was a bad thing. Her lunches the past couple of days were going well. Derek was opening up to her and discussing things that he’d kept a tight lid on for so long. Sorrow, fear, disappointment—emotions Evelyn thought herself alone in feeling until recently. These discussions affected her on a deeper level than she believed Derek understood. No longer was she the stranger he lived with, but the woman he married. It gave her hope that their marriage was on the path to recovery.
    “Apparently you now have grounds privileges, unsupervised.”
    With effort, Evelyn ignored the disgust in Dr. Williams’ voice and concentrated on the words. Grounds privileges? Meaning outside? It seemed forever since she’d felt the cool wind on