Silent Hero E-Book

Andrew Grey

• Herausgeber: Dreamspinner Press
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Serie: Gentle Giants
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 324

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2026

Beschreibung

Army veteran Harmon Wheeler lost his voice and his future dreams with a single bullet. He knows he's large and intimidating, but he can't assure people he won't hurt them when he can't talk to them. Losing himself in books is one of his few pleasures. That and the patiently kind librarian who takes the time to help him. Derek Willow sees past Harm's menacing appearance to the gentle, intelligent man within, which intrigues him. Starting a sign language class seems like a way to both help Harm communicate with others and boost Derek's candidacy for library director, pulling them closer. Notes, text messages, and ASL facilitate the blossoming of Derek and Harm's relationship. But Derek has a stalker who's determined to have Derek for himself. Harm might not be able to speak, but he hasn't forgotten anything he learned in combat. Can he protect Derek without scaring him away?

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Silent Hero

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Epilogue

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About the Author

By Andrew Grey

Visit Dreamspinner Press

Copyright

Silent Hero

By Andrew Grey

Gentle Giants: Book One

Army veteran Harmon Wheeler lost his voice and his future dreams with a single bullet. He knows he’s large and intimidating, but he can’t assure people he won’t hurt them when he can’t talk to them. Losing himself in books is one of his few pleasures. That and the patiently kind librarian who takes the time to help him.

Derek Willow sees past Harm’s menacing appearance to the gentle, intelligent man within, which intrigues him. Starting a sign language class seems like a way to both help Harm communicate with others and boost Derek’s candidacy for library director, pulling them closer.

Notes, text messages, and ASL facilitate the blossoming of Derek and Harm’s relationship. But Derek has a stalker who’s determined to have Derek for himself. Harm might not be able to speak, but he hasn’t forgotten anything he learned in combat. Can he protect Derek without scaring him away?

Chapter 1

“HE’S HERE again,” Connie whispered from behind his back as she rushed out of the book reshelving area in a real dither, which was so unusual for her. Usually nothing bothered her and her get-it-done attitude. All the ladies who worked or volunteered at the library had been freaked out about him for days, and Derek Willow had truly wondered what on earth they had been talking about. But now he saw it. The guy was huge, and his arms barely came to his sides as he practically lumbered into the building.

“The man is a patron just like anyone else, and he deserves not to be gawked at or tittered over.” He rolled his eyes at Connie before turning to watch the man from behind the safety of the library desk, though he was pretty sure the man could lift the entire thing and throw it across the room if he wanted to. Derek continued watching the giant of a man. He had to be nearly six foot six, and damn, he was all muscle. The thing was, there was something about him that shouted lethality.

“But Derek, do you think we should call the police?” she asked in her softest voice. It was approaching nine in the evening, and the library would be closing in fifteen minutes. “What if he decides he doesn’t want to leave, or….” She actually shivered and returned to the reshelving room without another word. Derek sat down behind one of the computers and got busy with his closing work. He had plenty to do since library director retired two months ago and he had been named the interim head librarian until a decision was made on a permanent replacement. Derek had put himself forward, and he was determined to make sure everything went like clockwork on his watch. Calling the police on a patron who scared them, but hadn’t done anything in the least provocative other than exist, was definitely not an example of clockwork.

“Finish up the deposits and put the money in the safe. Stay near the phone in case it’s needed, but do nothing else. Okay?” he told her, and Connie nodded her agreement.

Most of the people who worked at the library were volunteers. There was an entire organization that raised money for the library as well as coordinated volunteers for library programs. There was also the Bookery, which was a store inside the historic section of the library that sold used books and other media to raise money. There were usually plenty of people in the library, but tonight the Bookery was closed, and due to a bout of stomach flu, it was just him and Connie on the main floor, with two others at the desk on the second.

The man wandered the fiction stacks and there didn’t seem to be any trouble, so Derek got to work. There were reports to complete and books that needed to be checked in, but in the morning, a fresh batch of volunteers would handle that. Derek let himself settle into his task as the hands on the clock in front of him ticked around closer to closing. At five minutes ’til nine, he saved his work and got up, wandering through the shelves to remind any lingering patrons that it was time to check out their books. He found a few regulars who nodded and got up, but instead of heading to the desk where they could use the self-checkout, their attention lingered, watching the fiction area, as though they had his back.

“He’s still back there,” the patron said quietly. “We’ll be ready in case there’s trouble.” He pulled out his phone, and Derek was starting to wonder if something had been put in the water. Yeah, the patron was huge, but he hadn’t done anything other than come in and look for books, like anyone else. Derek was a little embarrassed to even think that he was grateful for their help.

“We close in five minutes,” he said a little more loudly than he needed to. Patrons wandered up front to the self-checkout, and Derek hoped the man in question had heard what he said.

A sigh, deep and rumbly, went up, and then the man emerged from the section with four books that almost looked tiny in his large hands. He rocked slightly from side to side as he moved. The other patrons had finished checking out as he reached the counter. Derek hurried behind him.

“Can I help you?” he asked. “Do you want to check these out?” He took the man’s card from the Simpson library in Mechanicsburg and scanned it in. Since the system was county-wide, it was no issue. He scanned the books, doing his best to be professional and not show any nervousness. He slipped the due date receipt between the pages and handed him the books with a smile. Then the man turned and, without a word, headed toward the door. The final other patrons hurried out ahead of him, and Derek strode over, to lock the door after them.

He breathed a soft sigh and went back to the desk as Jane and Steve came down the stairs. “Is everyone out?”

“We’re clear,” Steve said. “Did he come in?”

“Yes,” Connie answered. “Just like he has for the last three weeks. Every Wednesday. He takes out a pile of books each time. Usually adventure stories, stuff like that.” At least that explained why he had never seen him before. Derek usually didn’t work Wednesday evenings, but with people out sick, he’d filled in.

“Please. No gossiping about the patrons. They all deserve a certain amount of respect.” He made sure there was no heat in his voice. “It doesn’t matter what he reads. I know he looks… intimidating.” That was an understatement, to say the least. “But we need to treat him with the same respect we treat all our patrons.”

“Last week he seemed puzzled, so I asked him if he needed any help, and he looked at me as though I were crazy and didn’t say a word.” Steve shook his head. “That guy gives me the creeps.” He headed toward the back door. “Night, all.” He hurried out, with the others following. Derek switched the security system to night mode through the console near the back door and left the building, locking it up before going to his car. In two minutes, the lights would dim and the alarms would set for the night.

Out of habit from six years in New York, where he’d done his graduate work and then landed a position at the university library, Derek checked the area around him and hurried to his car. He climbed in and pulled out of the now empty lot, heading home.

Derek had been very lucky in some ways. Right out of college he’d landed a position with the library at NYU. He’d graduated at the top of his class, and they had needed an assistant librarian, so he’d been offered the position. It was all the jobs everyone else hadn’t wanted to do, but Derek was okay with that. After four years of good work, his life took a U-turn. His mother, who was still in the house where he’d grown up here in Carlisle, developed cancer, and Derek had wanted to return home. There was an opening at the Bosler library, and he’d applied. After being hired, he’d moved back into the house to help take care of his mother, whose battle lasted over a year of hope, followed by disappointment again and again, until the cancer finally won over her steely will and determination. She’d left him the house and everything else she had, and slowly he’d been turning the house into his home rather than hers.

After pulling into the garage, he closed the door and went through the fenced yard to the back door of the house. The yard that his mother had once cared for to the point that weeds just seemed to stop bothering to sprout was now rough around the edges and in need of care. He knew he had to get out there and clean it up before winter set in. Maybe this weekend would suit. He didn’t have to work, and a few hours outside would probably do him good.

He unlocked the back door and went inside. The kitchen looked exactly as his mother had left it, mainly because it needed a complete renovation and he was still saving up to have it done. He carried his bag to the extra bedroom and set it on the chair. His mom had used this as her project room, but he’d moved out her sewing machine and a myriad of other craft stuff, painted it, and set it up with the computer and his game console. The front two downstairs rooms, the dining and formal living rooms, he’d pretty much left as they were. His mother had collected some amazing antique pieces over forty years. So other than removing the wallpaper and painting the walls to lighten and freshen up the rooms, along with refinishing the worn floors, they were pretty much as his mom had left them. She had painted the fireplace mantle at some point, and Derek wanted to strip it back to the bare wood, but that was an “eventually” kind of project.

The thing that Derek hated most was the loneliness. He knew people in town, but it wasn’t like New York, where he had friends he’d hang out with on a regular basis. He still missed Sunday afternoon coffee at Java Hut and drinks at the Silver Shaker on Friday evenings. He could always count on his friends for dinner or just to spend time with when things got rough. Derek didn’t have that kind of support group here. The people from the library were nice, but they had families of their own and lives that didn’t necessarily intersect with his. He was finding out that there was a huge difference between being alone and lonely. After being on his own, he knew the beauty that came from the quiet of being alone. But loneliness sucked.

He made himself a sandwich and grabbed a beer from the fridge before sitting in front of the television in the living room. He tried to find something interesting. Most of his friends in college had thought him a little off when it came to his TV habits. They all looked forward to the next season of whatever streaming shows they were watching, so they talked excitedly about the next season of Bridgerton or when Poker Face would finally get a release date. Derek watched documentaries and series on the History Channel. So for tonight, he found one on the tangled web that made up the conflict in Afghanistan before settling on his new sofa.

He woke with a start, maybe halfway into the show, wondering where he was for a second. Derek’s dream had been so real, the documentary converging with the man from the library who everyone had been afraid of taking center stage. The documentary had explained about roadside bombs, and in his dream, the huge man had stood between him and an explosion. Of course the whole thing had been his mind wrapping the documentary around the happenings of his day and coming up with something weird. Still, why was this man showing up in his dreams, and for the love of god, why was he shirtless with skin glistening with sweat in a damned war zone?

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, he began to laugh, because damn it all, his brain had decided to take a trip to la-la-land in a huge way. He had barely caught a glimpse of the guy who struck fear into everyone at the library just by walking in, and now he was starring in Derek’s dreams. Maybe loneliness was really getting to him and he needed to call his friends in New York and go up to the city for some fun. He figured he’d start with Danny and sent him a text.

“We’d love you to come, but Claude and I are going to be out of town,” his friend replied to his text. Three dots appeared at the bottom, so Derek waited for the rest of the message to come through. “Deann and Shirley are in Vermont for a women’s retreat, and Blair is with his family in Florida.”

“Thanks. I’ll have to come up some other weekend,” he sent and tossed his phone on the cushions. So much for a trip to the city. He could go, but it seemed everyone was out of town. How much fun was it going to be if no one was there? He had been hoping for a cure for some of his loneliness, not just a change of venue. Derek sent that he hoped Danny and Claude had a great time and left it at that. They didn’t need to know that he was climbing the walls.

Maybe what he needed was to get a dog. He’d thought of that a few times. He could go out to the animal rescue he passed whenever he went west of town and see what they had. It would be nice to come home to someone happy to see him. He wasn’t sure that was fair, with the hours he worked. He could come home at lunch to look in on a dog, though. It was only five blocks from the library.

Derek sighed and turned his attention to the documentary, watching the last portion of it before turning off the television and heading to bed.

“THAT GUY is here again,” one of the volunteers said. “And it isn’t even Wednesday.” The huge man came in through the back, and it was like the mood in the building shifted in an instant. Everyone scurried off to get busy and out of sight. Granted, the guy was big, with close-cut hair and lips in a straight line, like he was angry.

He lumbered past the desk, dropping his books in the return and heading to the fiction section like he had the other night.

“Why is he here again?” Connie asked quietly as she stopped in the doorway with a cart of books to be reshelved. She backed up and turned around, sitting at one of the desks.

“Maybe he… you know… wants to borrow some books? He returned the ones he took the last time.” Derek entered the returns in the bin into the system and handed them to Connie to add to her cart. “This is getting a little ridiculous. A guy comes in and the entire library grinds to a halt. Everyone hides and stays away out of sight.”

“I’m not going out there. I heard that he is crazy or something. I don’t know why, but my brother says he came into the Gingerbread and was acting weird and stuff,” Connie told him. “There were rumors that he got in a fight and the other guy died or something.” She shivered and paled. The Carlisle rumor mill in action, long on story and drama, but short in the detail department.

Derek sat at the desk and got back to work. It was Friday and he had the weekend off, which meant he needed to get these circulation reports finished for the board. He had started an outreach program with the schools, and he needed to prove it was having an effect. Derek was thankful that it was, and that younger people checking out materials was up over 19 percent. If the library was to survive and remain relevant, they needed to reach the next generation, help them understand that research was more than Googling.

He continued working, keeping half his attention on the self-checkout terminals just to see if anyone needed help as he worked on the reports that had to be finished. Everything was running smoothly, and he finished his report a half hour before he was scheduled to leave.

“Is he gone?” Connie asked.

“Have you been hiding in there the entire time? What do you think he’s going to do? This is a library. Just get the books reshelved before you go home.”

Connie huffed and got the cart. “Fine. But if he kills me, I’m going to come back and haunt you.” She rolled her eyes so he knew she was kidding and then left with the cart, heading to the opposite side of the library to start. Derek saved his report and looked up from his computer screen. “Can I help you?” he asked, finding himself looking into the face of the man everyone in the library was afraid of.

Derek waited for an answer, but the man just started at him, silent. He handed over his card and the books, holding one back and opening it. He pointed to the list of titles in the bibliography.

Derek understood.

“You want that title?” He checked the computer. “We don’t have it, but Camp Hill does. I can request it and it should be here on Monday.” Derek checked out the rest of the books. “Is there anything else I can do for you?”

The man turned and left without a word. Okay. Maybe he was one step closer to some sort of answer.

“What did he say?”

“Nothing at all. He wanted a book we don’t have, so I ordered it in for him. Why?” He suddenly remembered that he had never heard the man say anything… or make any sort of sound. Maybe he was shy or had a really bad stutter. Either way, he had made what he wanted plain enough.

“Oh.” Connie went back to reshelving her books as the man left the library through the back door. Derek couldn’t help watching him go. Not so much because of his size or the fact that he intimidated Derek. More like he fascinated him. There was something about the man that made Derek curious about him. Not that he would ever do anything to actually get answers to his questions. The man was a patron, and as such, deserved the same treatment and freedom from prying as anyone else. The outside door closed, and Derek returned to his work so he could leave the library on time.

Chapter 2

THE LIFE he had now was not at all one he had ever envisioned. Not in a million years. He was supposed to have it all once he got out of the Army. Harmon Wheeler had done two tours of duty, and the plan was to go to college and build a better life, one with a real future. That had been the plan since he enlisted at eighteen. Not that he’d had many options. His parents had died in a plane crash when Harm was ten, and that was his entry into the foster care system. His father had been an only child and his mother a late-in-life baby. He’d had an aunt, but she died not long after his parents.

So after years of being the center of attention and knowing he was deeply loved, going into the foster care system had been a complete shock to him. He had been lucky with his third placement, when an older couple had taken him in. They were two men who adored each other, and Harm had grown to love them and they him. He always knew his time with them could be limited because they were both nearing retirement when they took him in, but luck had been on his side for once, and they were able care for him until he graduated high school. The three of them never had very much, so after high school, Harm enlisted and offered to send home part of his pay to help them. His foster fathers declined, telling him to save his money for his future. So while the other men went out carousing and bought expensive cars and stuff, Harm was always careful with his money and managed to save a nice amount to help with college.

But everything changed in a moment with a single bullet just days before he was supposed to return home for the final time. That shot had given his scars and taken so much: his health, his future, and his ability to talk. Hell, he had been lucky he hadn’t died, but somehow, maybe through sheer stubbornness, he had managed to survive. That was what he had been doing for months now.

His phone dinged, and Harm set aside the copy of Inca Gold that he’d been reading. He enjoyed action stories and really loved Clive Cussler’s Dirk Pitt adventures. He marked his place and lifted the phone, smiling at the text from Joe. “Hey, Pops,” he sent back. Harm’s birth father had been Dad, so he didn’t reuse that term. Joe had been Pops, and Larry had been Papa. “How are both of you?” He used the app to dial their number, and Joe answered right away.

“Baby boy, is anything wrong?” Joe asked right away. That had been his nickname for him. As a teenager he had cringed, but now it reminded him that he was loved by someone.

Harm had become an expert at texting and listening. “I’m fine. I just wanted to hear your voice. I interviewed for a job at the Amazon warehouse, and I think they’re going to hire me.” He sent the message and continued typing. “They said that they were more than willing to let me communicate through text and email. It seems they have quite a few people with challenges working there, and they were very impressed with my skills.”

“I’m so pleased.” Joe was always very expressive, and pleasure rang in his voice. “Though I think you should still go to school. Colleges have the same kind of programs that Amazon does, and you know Larry and I will do everything we can to help you. You could come down here and stay with us if you like until you find somewhere. You know we’d love to have you.” He received that offer every time they “spoke,” but Joe and Larry lived in a retirement community in Arizona. He could visit, but there were rules as to how long he could stay.

“I know, and once I get settled, I’m going to come down to see the two of you,” Harm sent. “But you’ll get in trouble if I come to stay.”

“I can handle those people. Karen Ludlow had her grandson stay with her for six months and no one said a thing. I made note of the dates he came and went.” Harm snickered, and of course Joe heard it. “How could I not. He used to help her around her cottage, and he always worked with his shirt off. I swear everyone around here was sad when he left. It was nice to have a view outside the window other than old men on golf carts. And let me tell you, that young man was a view and a half.”

“No perving,” Harm sent, knowing it would get a rise out of Joe.

“Larry is more than enough for me, and I’m way too old for a kid like that, but I have eyes and I get to look. I may be old, but I’m not dead.” Harm knew what Joe was going to say before he said it. “How is everything else in our old stomping grounds?” Joe had been a history teacher at Carlisle High School, and Larry had worked in maintenance at the middle school.

“I guess it’s the same. A few restaurants have closed, and new ones are moving in. Not much changes here, I guess.” He didn’t know what else to say. “I’ve been reading a lot and hoping I hear something about a job.” Maybe he could meet new people and make some new friends as someone who wasn’t able to speak.

“Just be yourself and everyone is going to love you. You know that. The guys in your unit did. They would have followed you anywhere.”

Those times had been different. Harm knew he was big… and scary. More than once he had used that to his advantage. He had intimidated plenty of people without saying a word, and his size had defused many situations before they got out of hand. “This is not a war zone, and those men knew me.”

“I know. You always intimidated people. When you were a teenager, Larry and I wondered if you were ever going to stop growing and eating. I swear you went through more food than three kids. We thought you’d play football or wrestle, but you didn’t have any intertest in either one. You were much happier being quiet and reading. We hoped you’d go to college. You are more than smart enough to get in anywhere.” Joe and Larry had always encouraged him to be his best self.

“Maybe I can go. I don’t know. Right now I want to have a job and be able to support myself. Maybe begin to make a life outside of the Army.” That had been his life. His friends were in the Army. His unit had been his family, and he had planned, at one point, for that to always be the case. But a single bullet, a lucky shot, had found him and changed everything.

“Please think about it. I know things have been hard for you, but you know Larry and I love you and we want the very best for you.” Joe’s voice hitched. “Our one regret is that we didn’t adopt you. We should have made you our legal son. Nonetheless, we consider you that, and he and I made our wills a few weeks ago and left everything to you.”

Harm’s throat ached and he swallowed hard. He needed to get those muscles to relax. They didn’t always work right after the injury. His voice wasn’t the only thing affected by his injury. It seemed like the injury had taken just about everything. “You and Larry should spend everything you have on yourselves.” They had already given him so very much.

“He and I will take care of each other. But you need to consider what I’m saying. You could work at Amazon your entire life, but all you’d be doing is loading boxes or overseeing their processes. In the Army, you were working with new technologies. You need to be using those skills.” Joe always had a way of getting his point across.

“You’re like a dog with a bone. Okay. I’ll look into schools as long as you and Larry promise to take one of those trips you always talked about. Okay? Travel and be happy while you still can.” Harm sent the message and hoped Joe understood what he meant. He could be so sensitive about his age sometimes.

“We are. Larry booked us on a cruise in January. We’ll be going out of Galveston. The cruise is eight days.” The excitement in his voice was unmistakable. “So you keep up with your half of the agreement and at least look into going back to school. As I remember, it was one of the reasons you enlisted in the first place. I know you don’t feel like yourself, that the injury took something away from you that you don’t think you can get back, but you can. Don’t let that take away your dreams and your plans.”

Harm knew his eyes were watering. He had literally been through hell multiple times and he had never, ever shed a tear, but Joe always had the ability to touch his heart. “I won’t,” he typed.

“Then good. And just so you know, your papa has already booked passage for you on the ship in January. Don’t tell him I told you. He wants it to be a surprise, but you’re going to need the week off. So you have to know.”

“He didn’t have to do that,” Harm added, even though he was so pleased. He didn’t get much time to spend with them now that they had moved to a warmer climate, and this way he’d get a week plus with them.

“We know. But we wanted to. I’ll text you the dates so you can book your plane ticket to Houston. We’ll meet you there and ride down to the port together.” He could hear the smile in his voice. “Now, you go get yourself ready to do whatever you need to, and I’ll talk to you soon. We both love you.” Joe ended the call, and Harm sent an “I love you too” before setting his phone to the side.

It pinged almost immediately with a message from Amazon. He smiled and responded right away that he was available. A number of texts followed explaining their job offer. He grinned as more texts came in, explaining the pay, the rules, and the job they were offering him. It was a dream come true, and Harm accepted the position. Still more texts followed with details on when to come in to fill out the paperwork and when they wanted him to start. What they needed was someone to act as a liaison with corporate IS. He had done that sort of work for a few years in the Army, so he was fully comfortable with it. He would be working with others in the department. Harm explained that he would be there when they needed him and finally sent a note to Joe and Larry telling them that he had the job. It was going to be a relief to be able to support himself once more.

BY SUNDAY, Harm was going stir crazy inside his apartment. A storm had blown in late Friday and dumped a foot of snow through Saturday. But now the sun was out and the temperatures had climbed to the mid-forties, so much of the snow had already melted. After bundling up, he left his place above the antique store, trudging toward the library.

He knew what people thought of him. He felt it the moment he entered the library, because instantly the mood in the building changed and everyone hid. He tried not to pay attention to it, but Harm knew it was because of him. He had always been big, but the haircut and the fact that he couldn’t talk didn’t help. And well, the truth was that he didn’t feel happy and smiley. There was very little other than Joe and Larry in his life worth smiling about before now.

Like he always did, he made his way to the fiction section and found some new stories that looked interesting. The book he really wanted wasn’t in yet, so he had to make do with what was there. The thing was, he had read a lot of what they had already, but Harm managed to find some new titles and added them to the stack of things he wanted.

“You need to help him,” he heard someone say. Harm peered around the stacks toward the desk and noticed that the cute man who had helped him last time, the one who’d looked him in the eye without flinching and been nice, wasn’t there. Instead, the woman behind the desk seemed scared out of her wits and was probably only staying where she was because it was her job. Well, screw them all. They didn’t know him, and he had as much right to be there as anyone else.

Harm added a final book to the ones he wanted and went to the counter. This time he used the self-service, checked out his books, and then dropped off the ones he’d brought back before scowling at the lady at the desk, just to see her jump a little. Then he headed for the exit.

“Wait,” a voice called from behind him. He turned to find the man from the other day hurrying toward him. He had a smile and carried a book. “I had to go to Simpson yesterday, and I picked up the book you wanted while I was there. I checked it out to you already.” He handed Harm the book. “I know you were really looking forward to it, so I wanted to make sure we had it for you.”

Harm actually found himself smiling as he nodded. He wanted to thank the man, but he had no way of saying the words. So he continued smiling as he took the book, adding it to the others he’d gotten.

“You have a nice day, and I really hope you enjoy it. I was supposed to be off today, but stopped in and happened to see you.” The man seemed to be oversharing, but Harm really appreciated his kindness. “If there are other books you can’t find, just let me know, and I’ll do my best to get them for you. I love a good story too.” He stepped back, that smile and the warmth in his eyes not fading, and Harm smiled once more, nodding twice before leaving the library.

The smile lasted until after he got home. There was no reason for it. Maybe he was just so lonely that a man smiling at him got his heart racing. He knew he was being dumb. The man at the library was just doing his job, but at least the guy didn’t hide or run away from him. Instead, he’d searched him out and brought Harm the book he’d been looking forward to.

Setting the books on the table, he found the number for Caution, or at least that was his nickname. Harm didn’t remember his real name, but that was okay. He texted a greeting and got an almost immediate response.

“How are you? We’ve all been wondering about how you’re doing.”

“I’m doing okay. Trying to put things together in some way that makes sense,” he responded and could almost see Caution nodding in that way he had. He got the nickname because he never spoke unless he thought things through, which was why Harm had contacted him.

“Almost everyone has that same issue. At least that’s what I’ve been told. But I guess it would be worse for you. The rest of us came home whole… or at least most of us did.” Harm understood what he was saying.

“I know. I’m trying to put things back together with no voice. I mean, I feel like I’m invisible.”

“Ha ha! You have never been invisible in your life.”

“Yeah. Now I’m silent and everyone is scared shitless of me. People cross the street to get away from me. At the library, whenever I go in, everyone hides. It sucks, and I don’t know what to do about it.”

“Do you want me to come there and talk some sense into those people? You were the nicest guy in the unit. Whenever someone new joined, you were the damned welcoming committee.” The phone showed that he was still writing. “I wish I could help you more. But just be yourself and these people will see the person you really are.”

“Yeah, sure. If they stop running away.” He was starting to think coming back to Carlisle was a bad idea.

“You could try to look less imposing. Maybe grow your hair out and wear clothes that don’t say ‘I killed people for a living.’ I bet you’re still wearing camo and fatigues. Ditch the usual garb for civilian clothes.” Harm looked down at his green t-shirt and camo pants and wondered how Caution knew.

“Thanks. I guess I’ll have to give that a try.” He added a smile to his message and got one in return.

“Talk soon, and don’t let all the change get you down.” Harm was grateful for the advice, and for the reassurance that not everyone thought of him as some freak to be afraid of. Now he just had to try to figure out a way so he could be happy.

Chapter 3

“WHAT CAN I do for you, Derek?” Anne Rodriguez asked once she returned his call. She had retired as the library director. Anne had also been the one to hire him, and she had groomed him to take over for her.

“Can’t I call to find out how the basking in the sun all day is working out?” he asked, knowing that was the last thing she was doing.

“I’m bored stiff, and Juan doesn’t want to go anywhere. He just sits here….” A giggle interrupted what she was saying. It was followed by another. “Okay… okay…,” she said away from the phone. “He and I are going to see the kids for Thanksgiving, and apparently he is surprising me with a trip to Italy in the spring. So while I’m bored stiff at the moment because I don’t have something to do every day… everything is going to be fine. How are you?”

“Pretty good. I keep wondering when I’m going to hear about my application for the director position. But other than that….”