quieter than his brother or sister, even before the military.
Watching good men—good friends—die right in front of him and not being able to stop it had made Noah even more introverted and reserved.
Trigger started to put the bed together from the pieces they’d brought in, and Noah headed back out to the large room near the back door. This was going to be the common area—he’d helped knock out a number of walls when they remodeled the place to give the area an open feel.
That’s when he’d first met Marilyn a few weeks ago. They hadn’t talked, but he’d noticed her. Noticed the way her big hazel eyes took in everything, and how she kept her back to the wall whenever possible.
That was something he did too, but he did it because of his military training. He was pretty certain she was doing it because she’d learned the hard way not to leave her six unguarded.
He’d noticed that despite her tension and unease, she’d stayed nearby during the remodel, listening to understand how things were done.
He noticed how gentle she was with her children, answering their many questions, and how patient she was when trying to explain to the crew foreman her vision for the room.
He noticed how damn lovely she was in general.
She was just as lovely today. Her soft brown hair was pulled up in a ponytail that swung every time she turned. It was obviously more in her nature to pick up pieces of furniture and boxes and move them herself, rather than direct someone else to do it. But every time she did, someone grabbed whatever she had in her arms and asked her where she wanted it.
He’d seen her wince more than once—touch her ribs, roll her wrist. Nagging injuries. He was familiar with those, too. And since this was a domestic abuse facility, it didn’t take a genius to figure out how she’d gotten them.
She’d been a different kind of soldier in a very different war.
“Zac, can you put those boxes in bedroom four?” Marilyn’s voice was gentle, soft. She was probably having to force herself to speak louder than she would normally.
“Yes, ma’am,” Zac said.
It had been a common phrase all day, even though Marilyn was probably the youngest adult here.
Noah took one of Zac’s two boxes as he came in the room, then they bent to help Trigger with the bed frames, laughing as the ancient frames got stuck in a position that was the wrong bed size and they had to take it completely apart.
“Mr. Noah?” All three men froze at the sound of a little voice in the doorway.
Noah dropped down to a crouch so he was closer in height to this little munchkin as he spun around to face the girl—a tiny version of her mother with delicate features and soft brown hair. Her brother was standing just behind her, obviously uncomfortable around the men but willing to stay close enough to protect his sister if she needed it.
Noah didn’t care how old the kid was, he respected that man to man.
“I’m afraid you have me at a disadvantage, little lady. You know my name, but I don’t know yours.”
She smiled, not showing any of the hesitation her brother showed behind her. That was good.
“I’m Eva. I’m five years old, and I’m trying to decide whether my new room should have fairies or butterflies.”
Noah smiled. “It’s nice to meet you, Eva. And I don’t think you can go wrong with either of those choices.”
She nodded solemnly. “Me, too.” She hooked a thumb over her shoulder. “This is my brother, Sam.”
Noah looked at him but didn’t move any closer. The kid was obviously struggling with his fears. Noah gave him a two-finger half salute. “Hey, buddy.”
Sam didn’t smile or wave, but he also didn’t run. Standing your ground was sometimes all that could be expected.
Noah glanced over Sam’s shoulder and found Marilyn watching the whole situation from the hallway. She was wringing her hands so hard he was afraid she might hurt herself. Obviously, she was torn between letting her children talk to him and rushing in to save them from any possible danger.
He kept his gaze on hers, waiting to see what she would do. There weren’t any words he could give that would make this situation less fraught for her. Words meant nothing when it came to building trust. Trust took action and time.
The surprising part was that he actually wanted to build trust between them. He wanted