Union soldier, Ian O'Reilly, must find his brother who's been captured by Confederate forces. While Ian's company occupies New Bern, North Carolina, the town holds many dangers for him...as well as many treasured memories including those of the lovely southern belle, Olivia Coltrane, who stole his heart before the war. Ian isn't sure he'll be able to face those memories and find and free his brother.
Olivia Coltrane tries not to think about the war...the war that stripped almost everything from her: Ian, the love of her life, the lives of her parents, and her innocence. Forced by circumstance to work as a nurse to support herself and her daughter, she's surrounded by destruction and sickness every day, but the work keeps her hands and her mind busy.
When a group of Yankee soldiers comes under her care, she is devastated to find Ian among the wounded. Can their love be rekindled or does this Union sergeant have a hidden agenda that doesn't include her?
"Now to check on you. All right, sleeping sold—" She gave a gasp. "No. No. Not you." Her voice broke. Olivia fell across his chest, and he expelled a woof of air as she wrapped him in a tight embrace. He next felt her hands roam along his face, her fingers raking through the weeks' growth of beard, and she wept. As her slight body shook with sobs and tears of grief, he could only feel honored his injury had affected her so. But could she really care so much?
"Why Ian?" she asked. "Why'd you have to fight this war?"
He had loved her so long, but her father's cutting words still rang in his ears. "No decent man will ever court her as long as you keep sniffing around her. She deserves better than a penniless Irish sea rat like you, O'Reilly. A lot better. You tell her you don't want her. You tell her you don't love her. I don't care how you do it. You make her know you aren't interested in her."
Ian remained motionless, but his heart was ripping. He'd hurt her. Granted, it had been for her own good. But he'd rejected her. The next time he'd seen her, she still hadn't forgiven him. She'd pushed him away, said she didn't need him and certainly didn't want his pity.
Now, Olivia clung to his chest with one hand while the other moved on his brow with a soft caress, all the while the energy of her hiccoughing sobs shuddered through him. Surely, she must care a bit to feel such grief. Ian deliberated if silence was the best course of action. Perhaps, he should comfort her.
As soon as the idea formed, he discarded it. He couldn't move if he wanted to. Still weak as a newborn, his arms remained pinned at his sides by Olivia's embrace. He'd wait for her to calm before speaking or moving.
Olivia stood and groped along his bandaged skull. Pain reverberated through his head as she touched the site of the wound through the large bandage. He didn't want to startle her as she probed.
She cupped his cheek. Teardrops plunked on his chest. He wiggled a bit as she placed her palms on either side of his face, her sweet breath brushed over his cheeks and lips. "Ian? Can you hear me?" For a moment, her voice was hopeful. She dropped her head to lie on his heart once again, and her hand gripped his shoulder. He opened his mouth to speak.
"You can't leave me." She stopped his words. "I forbid it. I can't live without you."
He couldn't bear anymore of her sorrow. With all his strength, he lifted his free arm and placed it around her waist.
"Shhhhh, it's all right. I'm not going anywhere." Speaking was more difficult than he'd anticipated, but he managed a scratchy whisper as he stroked the small of her back. She went still, stiffened, and then reached back to remove his hand from her person. "Ian O'Reilly?"
"Yes?" His throat felt like it had been rubbed with sand.
"How long have you been awake?"
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