Chapter 2 - The Cold Blood On The Texas Soil
Caleb stood erect in the center of the dimly lit suburban bedroom, his desert tan US military combat uniform still bearing the dust of a twelve-month deployment in Syria.
His heavy canvas duffel bag lay on the hardwood floor where he had dropped it, near the bedside table where his father's folded US flag sat encased in polished mahogany and glass.
Beside him on the bed, Sarah clutched the emerald green silk nightgown against her bruised collarbone, her body trembling violently as she tried to catch her breath.
Her tear-stained face was buried against his waist, her hands gripping his military belt as if he were the only tether holding her to the earth.
Caleb did not raise his voice; his military training strictly governed his body language, suppressing the tidal wave of lethal fury threatening to rip through his chest.
He reached down with his calloused hands, gently unhooking her fingers from his belt and lifting her up until she sat upright on the edge of the mattress.
"Tell me everything, Sarah," Caleb commanded softly, his jawline tense as iron as he looked into her swollen brown eyes.
"Every name, every date, every document they brought into this house while I was six thousand miles away."
Sarah wiped a fresh tear from her cheek with her sleeve, her voice trembling as she looked toward the window where the Texas night stretched out into shadow.
"It started three months ago, Caleb," she whispered, her voice cracking with suppressed trauma.
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"Your mother, Evelyn, brought Julian to the ranch house with two estate lawyers from downtown Austin."
"They told me you were missing in action... they swore your helicopter went down over the desert, and they had the official casualty notification papers."
