Warrior at Willow Lake Read Online Free

was...” He was going to finish with working , but the lie wouldn’t come. The truth was, a year ago he hadn’t been ready to return to Willow Lake.
    Maci dipped her head, speaking slowly. “I know about Josh. Ali speaks of him often. She told me—”
    “Don’t.” Hunter strode to the vending machine and fed another dollar into the slot. His gut would just have to push through the sludge-induced pain. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
    “You’ll have to sometime.”
    “Oh?” A cup dropped into the dispenser, followed by the trickle of muddy, dark liquid. The aroma of coffee filled the room. “What makes you such an expert?”
    Maci simply offered a ghost of a grin. “Do you mind if we head outside to the courtyard while you drink that? I could use some fresh air.”
    “Sure. That’s a great idea. Lead the way.”
    She turned to grab her violin case as the babies continued their symphony of squalling. It was only steps and a quick trip through a revolving door that brought them into the moonlight melded with muted lighting from the parking lot across the way. Trees swayed in a gentle breeze, their leaves chattering against the stars.
    Maci set the violin case on a low-bricked retaining wall and loosened the clasps. Hunter hoped there was no damage to the instrument; he knew how much she loved it, and wondered at the strength of her friendship with Ali that would make concern for such a valuable instrument so secondary.
    She ran her hands in a caress over the polished wood and then let out a soft, almost inaudible sigh. As though handling a newborn, she rested the violin back in the case. He wanted to speak, to confirm the violin wasn’t damaged, but somehow it seemed blasphemous to interrupt the beautiful reverence unfolding before him. He contemplated for a moment what it would be like to be the recipient of Maci’s tender affection.
    She rosined her bow and retrieved the violin. Gently plucking at the strings, she tuned the instrument, and then attached a piece across the bridge that looked like one of the practice mutes his sister used to use. Tucking the wood beneath her chin, Maci fluidly ran the bow over strings. Soon a rich, sweet melody filled the NICU courtyard.
    Hunter’s shoulders relaxed as the timbre, slow and soothing, washed over him. For a moment, he nearly forgot he was standing near the hospital lobby, the night inching toward dawn, while patients healed and neonatal nurses rushed by the foyer to tend to ailing babies.
    He turned to watch Maci and was instantly transported to a concert hall. Her rich, fluid movements were the very definition of graceful. His tongue sat like a brick in his mouth as what he saw defied description.
    Beautiful.
    That’s all he could muster—one simple word. She was beautiful.
    In that moment, he was transformed. He fell in love as her fingers, long and delicate, caressed the bow while it whispered across the strings. Her eyes slipped closed, and her body swayed in time to the gentle rhythm. Curls brushed the length of her back like a curtain of copper silk, and Hunter longed once again to smooth his fingers through the sleek shimmer.
    When she finished, the courtyard fell silent except for the whirr of an air conditioning unit and the swish of the revolving entrance door. Hunter’s heart pounded against his ribs and he wondered why she couldn’t hear it.
    “Maci.” Her name on his lips was perfect…the salve he’d been searching for. He closed the distance between them as if in a dream. “I’ve never seen anything so…mesmerizing.”
    She shrugged lightly, her eyes dancing. “I love to play.”
    “I love to watch you play.” The adrenaline that surged through his veins made Hunter throw caution to the wind. He took the instrument from her and tugged her close. “It makes me want to do crazy things.”
    A hint of blush reddened her cheeks, and she sighed as he grazed her jaw with a knuckle. “Such as?”
    “Kiss you.” The words were a sigh