Biblioteca
Buscar
Início / My Husband Was Everyone Else's Hero / Chapter 2

Compartilhar

Chapter 2

Autor: Hyacinth
Five days after Ivy's birthday, I came home from a six-hour operation to find her pony being loaded into a trailer.

Ronan had missed the morning at the lake. The camera was still in its box.

At the hospital, I had spent the afternoon removing shrapnel from a young soldier's abdomen. I was still wearing my surgical scrubs when I stopped beside the stable gate.

"Where are you taking Hazel?"

The groom tightened his grip on the lead rope and glanced at Ronan, who was securing the trailer ramp.

"Noah's been having trouble sleeping since the sirens," Ronan said. "His therapist suggested spending time outdoors, doing something familiar."

I looked past him at Ivy's saddle, already strapped inside.

"So you decided to give him her pony?"

"She's staying with them temporarily."

I had saved three years of extra-shift pay to buy Hazel. Ivy had chosen her at a riding school that was closing because of the war. Since then, she had spent most afternoons at the stables, practicing for the children's riding trial next month.

"Did you ask Ivy?"

"She hasn't ridden all week."

"She's been waiting for you. You told her you would come and watch."

Ronan lowered his voice as the groom moved out of earshot.

"Noah tried riding yesterday. A truck backfired, and the pony he was on threw him. Hazel's used to the supply vehicles here. She stayed calm when he approached her."

"Then arrange lessons for him here."

"Mara can hardly bring him across the garrison every afternoon. Her house is beside the old riding grounds, and there's an empty stall."

He had found a stall, arranged transport, and packed our daughter's saddle. Ivy had spent five days waiting for him to find one free morning.

"I'll bring Hazel back when he's more settled," he said. "There are school ponies Ivy can ride."

"She'll still come here looking for hers."

"Elena, I'm trying to help a frightened child. Caleb trusted me to take care of him."

I called the stable manager while Ronan waited beside the ramp.

"Please record where Hazel is going, and keep her ownership unchanged. She was bought for Ivy. Ronan authorized the move without our agreement."

He reached toward my phone.

"Do we need to make this formal?"

"The stable needs to know who can authorize her return."

I finished giving the manager Mara's address. Ronan watched until I put the phone away, then helped the groom close the trailer.

When Ivy came home from school, she left her bag by the kitchen door and went straight to the stable. I followed her to Hazel's stall, where the feed bucket had been removed from its hook.

She checked the adjoining paddock before turning to me.

"Did Dad take her to Noah?"

"He says she's staying there for a while."

Ivy crouched to retrieve a grooming brush from beneath the bench. Her name was written on its wooden handle.

"Will she be there for my riding trial?"

"I'll speak to the stable manager."

She rubbed a loose strand of horsehair between her fingers.

"Dad said he would watch me practice."

I put my arm around her while she brushed the dust from the handle. She carried it upstairs and laid it beside the rabbit in her open suitcase.

Later, when I brought her clean clothes, her school journal was open on the bed.

Dad says I can ride a different pony.

I wanted Hazel.

Does he think Noah can have my dad because I still have Mom?

That evening, a video appeared in the garrison families' group.

Noah was riding Hazel around a small enclosure. Ronan walked beside him, one hand on the saddle, telling him how to hold the reins. Mara filmed from the fence.

"There you go," my husband said. "I've got you."

Ivy had asked me to film her first riding trial so Ronan could watch it if he was called away.

Beneath the video, Mara had written:

Caleb would have loved to see this. Thank you, Ronan, for always showing up for his boy.

Other families thanked him for remembering the men who had never returned. His reply appeared beneath theirs.

Always.

I closed the group and opened Ivy's school transfer application.

Northmere had confirmed her place and sent details for a local pediatrician. I attached her school reports and requested an appointment to discuss how she had been coping.

Ronan's messages arrived while the documents uploaded.

My next leave starts in two weeks. I'll take Ivy to the Founders' Fair.

Tell her we'll have the whole day.

Then:

Please help her understand. Noah already lost his father.

I checked the travel confirmation beside my keyboard. We were due to leave in ten days.

By the time Ronan came home to take Ivy to the fair, her room would be empty.
Continue a ler este livro gratuitamente
Escaneie o código para baixar o App
Capítulo anterior Próximo capítulo

Último capítulo

  • My Husband Was Everyone Else's Hero   Chapter 9

    ElenaTwo years later, Northmere hosted an international conference on children affected by war.Military physicians, trauma specialists, government representatives, and officers from neighboring countries filled the royal medical college. I presented the results of our rehabilitation program, including treatment for smoke inhalation, panic-related breathing disorders, and children who temporarily lost the ability to speak after severe trauma."Physical recovery can begin within hours," I told the audience. "A child's sense of safety may take years to rebuild. Trust returns through consistency, choice, and the certainty that the adults around them will listen."When the presentation ended, I saw Ronan in the last row.He remained a colonel in Greyhaven, although the disciplinary inquiry had removed him from all decisions involving survivor funds and military family welfare. Every payment now required independent approval, and the memorial committee had been rebuilt without him.Our div

  • My Husband Was Everyone Else's Hero   Chapter 8

    Several weeks later, Greyhaven held its annual service of remembrance.The names of soldiers killed during the border war covered the wall behind the platform. Caleb Hale's name stood near the center, beneath the insignia of Ronan's regiment.Military families, officers, welfare representatives, and members of the preliminary review board filled the hall. Mara sat in the front row wearing Caleb's old service coat. She had been scheduled to speak on behalf of the bereaved families and confirm the support allocated to Noah for the coming year.After the memorial silence, the head of the welfare office approached the lectern."Before next year's assistance is approved, the board must address irregularities discovered in the survivor support accounts."A screen displayed records from the previous three years.Several invoices had been issued in the name of a clinic after it closed. Medication had been charged more than once, although the pharmacy had no record of collection. Funds approved

  • My Husband Was Everyone Else's Hero   Chapter 7

    The next morning, the garrison welfare officer called Ronan about the review he had ordered before dawn.For three years, he had approved Mara's requests under the survivor assistance program. Most of the records covered legitimate expenses, including housing, school fees, medical treatment, and the allowance provided to the families of soldiers killed in service.Several payments required an explanation.There were private clinic invoices, duplicate charges for medication, and transfers from Ronan's personal account. The cost of moving and boarding Hazel appeared among them.One invoice was dated the morning after Ivy's birthday. According to the claim, Noah had received emergency treatment at a private clinic shortly after midnight.Ronan remembered that night. By the time he arrived at the military clinic, Noah's breathing had improved. Mara had asked him to remain because the boy might wake frightened, so he had stayed until morning.He did not recognize the name of the private cli

  • My Husband Was Everyone Else's Hero   Chapter 6

    Ronan drove from the command post to the house shortly after dawn.He left the car in the driveway with the door open and crossed the front steps at a run. Inside, his coat still hung beside the entrance, but Elena's medical bag and Ivy's school satchel were gone.He called their names before remembering where they were.Upstairs, Elena's side of the wardrobe had been cleared. Ivy's clothes were missing from the drawers, along with her stuffed rabbit and the books she kept beside her bed.A folder lay on the desk in Elena's study.The first document confirmed Ivy's transfer to a school in Northmere. It had been approved the previous week, several days before the attack. Beneath it was Elena's appointment as director of the royal hospital's wartime rehabilitation program.The final page carried the Northmere royal seal.Ronan read it twice.Her Royal Highness, Princess Elena of Northmere.For seven years, he had known Elena Vale as a military doctor who had chosen to remain in Greyhaven

  • My Husband Was Everyone Else's Hero   Chapter 5

    The emergency doors were closing when Ivy lifted her head from the pillow.Her mouth moved beneath the oxygen mask. I recognized the shape of "Mom" and stepped toward her, but the nurse asked me to wait outside."I'll be here, sweetheart," I called. "I'm staying."Two hours later, the doctor found me beside the corridor window, where another nurse had put my arm in a sling."Ivy is breathing more comfortably. We'll keep monitoring her overnight. Her ankle is badly bruised, but the X-rays show no fracture.""Can I see her?""As soon as we move her. There's something else we need to discuss. She's responding to questions by nodding, but she hasn't spoken.""She tried to call me when you took her in.""The smoke has irritated her throat, and she's been through a severe fright. We'll reassess her as she recovers. For now, let her communicate however she can."Ronan came down the corridor before I could ask another question. Ash covered his uniform, and a dressing had been wrapped around on

  • My Husband Was Everyone Else's Hero   Chapter 4

    At ten that night, I drove out of Greyhaven with Ivy in the back seat and two suitcases in the trunk.We needed to collect our amended travel permits at the northern transit station. Beyond the checkpoint, the Northmere convoy would be waiting.Ivy held her rabbit against her chest, watching the houses pass."Will Grandpa be awake when we get there?""He'll probably call before we cross the border.""Does he know I'm bringing Hazel's brush?""I told him."She settled back against the seat. For the first time that evening, she seemed willing to close her eyes.The transit station served military traffic and civilian travelers. Supply trucks waited beneath the inspection lights while families queued inside for permits.I parked beside the passenger entrance and took Ivy's hand.We were passing the cafeteria when she stopped.Ronan sat at a table near the window. Noah was beside him, still wearing the medal from the ceremony, while Mara cut the boy's food. My husband leaned over to loosen

Mais capítulos

Você também pode gostar

Explore e leia bons romances gratuitamente
Acesso gratuito a um vasto número de bons romances no app GoodNovel. Baixe os livros que você gosta e leia em qualquer lugar e a qualquer hora.
Leia livros gratuitamente no app
ESCANEIE O CÓDIGO PARA LER NO APP
DMCA.com Protection Status