A Reason to Love Read Free Page A

only served to make their betrayal that much worse. The three of them had gone through hell together. When men put their lives in one another’s hands, it formed a bond that was unshakable. At least, that’s what Spence had always believed.
    But as he watched Nick smile down at Callie, his expression intensely possessive, that bond shattered into jagged shards of pain. He must have made a sound, because Melanie took his hand in hers and gave it a quick squeeze.
    “Are you all right, Spence?”
    He didn’t trust himself to speak, but she seemed satisfied when he squeezed her hand back and nodded. A full-out retreat would probably be the smartest thing to do, but he couldn’t tear his eyes away from the drama playing out in front of him. Right now the minister was talking, probably asking a question since first Nick and then Callie nodded and answered.
    Then the happy couple turned to face each other. There was a movement that had the entire wedding part staring down toward the floor with huge grins on their faces. What were they waiting for?
    He got his answer when Mooch, the dog that he and the rest of the squad had adopted back in Afghanistan, stepped into sight with a small basket dangling from his teeth. Nick reached down to pat the dog on his head and then took something out of the basket, no doubt the wedding rings. After that, Mooch dropped the basket at Nick’s feet and sat down to watch what happened next. The entire congregation broke into applause.
    Now it was Spence’s turn to have his knees turn to jelly like Melanie’s had back at the cemetery. While he’d languished as a prisoner of war, feverish and wounded, he’d suffered through unending nightmares that both Nick and Leif had died in the explosion. His captors had been only too glad to taunt him that he’d been the lone survivor.
    But even after he’d been rescued, the one question no one had been able to answer for him was what had happened to Mooch. On that last deployment, they’d been on a foot patrol when that silly-looking mutt trotted out of an alley, half-starved and filthy. Spence had tossed him a couple of strips of beef jerky, which was evidently the dog’s price for undying loyalty. In return, it was Mooch who’d sounded the alarm right before they would have walked into an ambush.
    The fur ball’s good deed had been rewarded with a bullet in his shoulder. Against regulations, Spence had carried the wounded animal back to camp while the rest of the squad formed up around them to hide what he was doing. With the help of one of the vet techs, they’d nursed Mooch back to health, and the dog had become an unofficial member of their squad. Unfortunately, Spence’s plans to ship him to the States had yet to be finalized when he was captured. He was so afraid Mooch had been left behind to starve.
    Spence’s eyes stung as he studied his four-legged friend. Mooch’s coat was shiny and clean, and his spots stood out in stark contrast to his white fur. Hell, it even looked as if the mutt had put on a couple of pounds. Good for him. At least one nice thing had come out of the war.
    While Spence’s attention had been focused on the dog, the service continued. It looked as if the pastor was bringing things to a close, and any second now Spence’s friends would be headed his way. When Nick and Callie turned to face the wedding guests, the need to get the hell out of there hit Spence hard. Feeling as if all the oxygen had been sucked out of the air in the church, he stumbled back toward the door, dragging Melanie right along with him.
    Damn, he’d forgotten he was still holding her hand. When he released it to rush out into the night, she followed him anyway. At least he could breathe again, but damn, he wished Melanie hadn’t come with him, not when all he wanted to do was punch something. He settled for cutting loose with a string of curses he’d have to apologize for later.
    Rather than retreat, Melanie planted herself right in front