Homecoming Read Free Page A

filled her eyes. “You did not kill those children. That al-Qaeda maniac killed those children.”
    “But…” He broke down again, leaning his head into her shoulder. “They died because of me.”
    Pulling his head to her shoulder, she spoke into his ear. “You saved kids. Will. You saved nearly one hundred. What about them? It’s not your fault.”
    Not his fault. Every waking moment since it happened he wished it hadn’t been his fault. Or that it would have been him instead. “Then why do I hear their screams every time I close my eyes?”
    “Oh, Will.” Her voice broke and she wrapped an arm around his head as she cried into his hair.
    “Mommy?” A little voice called out.
    Will pulled away from Megan, wiping his face with the back of his hand.
    A little boy stood in the doorway to the kitchen, his eyes wide with fear as he watched Will. “Why are you crying?”
    “Because Uncle Will came home and Mommy is so happy to see him.” Megan swiped her tears away with her fingertips and turned toward her two-year-old son. “Dillon, I thought I told you to stay in the kitchen. You were supposed to eat your crackers.”
    The boy’s mouth formed a pout. “I ate those all gone and I’m still hungry.”
    “I’ll get you dinner in just a minute.”
    Will rested his hand on the fireplace mantle, hanging his head. He needed to get a grip. “It’s okay, Megan. Go take care of him.”
    She hesitated, worry in her eyes.
    He glanced up, his eyes pleading with hers. “No. Go feed him. I can wait.”
    Resting a hand on his arm, she rubbed his bicep. “Don’t go anywhere. I‘ll be right back.” She stared into his face, waiting for his response.
    She knew Will well enough to know that his typical response to emotionally overwhelming situations was to flee. It was a luxury he could never afford in Iraq. But he was home now and he could take off whenever he felt like it. Yet when he studied Megan’s worried face, he knew he couldn’t leave.
    He nodded.
    Reassured, Megan headed toward her son. “Okay, sweetie. I wanted you to wait for Daddy, but he’s running late.” She cast a backward glance toward Will.
    He gave her a tight smile before she disappeared behind the wall. Her soft, cheerful voice floated into the living room as she talked to her son.
    “Do you want ketchup? Sit down and I’ll get you more milk.”
    Will sat on the sofa and closed his eyes in exhaustion, the children’s faces filling his vision again. Would he always see their faces and hear their screams? Would forty souls haunt him forever?
    He deserved it. He deserved to be haunted and more. He deserved to be turned away by his mother and his father. Megan should turn him away. She shouldn’t allow him close to her son or the baby she carried. Will deserved to die in the fire with those kids and his men. Why couldn’t the Pentagon see that he deserved to be locked up in prison and the key thrown away? But then again, maybe the images he saw in his mind were a more fitting punishment. Maybe they’d haunt him until the day he died.
    Will welcomed it. And cursed it.
    “Will?”
    He jerked, startled to find Megan sitting next him.
    “I take it you saw Mom.”
    Nodding, he rubbed his hand over his mouth.
    “That’s not her doing. You know that, right?”
    He snorted, staring at his feet. “It sure seemed like her saying it.”
    “It’s Dad. You know how he is.”
    “Megan.” His gaze met hers. He loved that her eyes were full of anger and indignation. For him. She’d always been on his side, she and James. Even when Will was in the wrong. “When did Mom ever let Dad make her do something she didn’t want to do?”
    She blinked, her certainty fading.
    He smiled, but his heart felt so heavy he was sure his chest would collapse with the weight of it. “You know I’m right.”
    “What are you going to do?”
    “I have no idea.” He leaned back against the sofa back, staring at the ceiling. “I never even considered it while they