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feet away where he stood with his brothers. “Can we have a word?”
    “Sure,” Barry said, then turned back to Lora.
    “I’m going,” she said, gesturing vaguely to an area where cars had parked alongside the road.
    “Thank you for everything,” he said, although the words felt woefully inadequate.
    “Just doing my job,” she said breezily, then smiled. “But you’re welcome. Goodbye.”
    “Goodbye.”
    He watched her go with a heavy heart, realizing for the first time how his fellow soldiers felt when they had to part from the women they cared about… from the women they loved .
    The realization struck him like a thunderbolt, but he felt powerless to do anything about it. Sweetness was growing and expanding, but there was nothing here for him…except Lora. But if he stayed, he’d have nothing to offer her, no way to make a decent living, not with his disability.
    “Earth to Barry,” Porter called good-naturedly.
    “Coming,” Barry said, and grudgingly dragged his gaze away from Lora’s retreating form.

Chapter Eight

    LORA FOUGHT BACK tears as she ran along the shoulder of the road leading out of Sweetness. Barry was long gone, no doubt, on his way to some exciting place. After the ceremony she’d returned to her room to change and to collect the stray dog that still hadn’t been claimed. She glanced down at him now, jogging happily next to her on his leash. She would have to advertise soon to find him a home. And he needed a name, although she guessed she should leave that privilege to whoever adopted him.
    At the sound of a car coming up behind them, Lora tightened her hold on the leash. The car was on the opposite side of the road, but the dog might still be spooked, or tempted to chase the wheels. When the vehicle slowed, she turned her head. At the sight of Barry leaning out the driver side window of his Jeep, her heart thrashed wildly in her chest. He was unbearably handsome in his dress uniform. She slowed to a jog and the dog barked a greeting to Barry, straining at the leash.
    “Hi,” he called, driving slowly to match her pace.
    “Don’t you mean goodbye?” she asked, hoping desperately she didn’t look as if she’d been crying.
    “For now,” he said.
    She stopped. “What do you mean?”
    He smiled. “I have to report to Norfolk to take care of some things. I’ve been offered the chance to set up a training facility for military dogs.”
    “Wow.” She was truly happy for him, truly sad for herself. “That’s nice—”
    “Here in Sweetness.”
    Her eyes widened. “Here?”
    He nodded. “The Armstrongs set it up—they have connections to every branch in the Armed Services, and donated the land.”
    Her pulse rocketed. “But…you’ve been all over the world, seen exotic places…are you sure you’ll be happy here?”
    He angled his head. “That depends…will you be here when I come back?”
    Her heart fluttered with the hope that he cared about her the way she cared about him. “Yes.”
    “Then I’ll be happy here,” he said, and put the Jeep in park.
    She looked both ways, then ran across the road and met his mouth for a kiss that resonated with promise and hope. How was it possible that life had changed so gloriously in only a few days? At her feet the dog barked excitedly. They laughed and parted.
    “I hope you’ll be here, too,” he said, offering his hand out the window to the dog. “You’ll be my first recruit.”
    “He’ll be here,” she said. “I was thinking of naming him Sealy.”
    He grinned. “Great name.”
    They kissed again, a slow, sweet pledge of their hearts. At the sound of a horn, she lifted her head to see a line of traffic had formed behind his Jeep. More horns blared and people cheered and hollered.
    Lora blushed, then they exchanged another kiss for the crowd. “Go,” she said, “so you can come back to me.”
    “Oh, I’ll be back,” Barry said, then he waved and pulled away.
    Lora’s heart overflowed. She knew he