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He’d come to help, when this couldn’t be easy for him, either.
    Taking her time in the shower, Liv let the hot water ease her tension and wash away the remnants of her tears. When she heard the loud rumble of thunder, she turned off the shower and climbed out. In addition to funeral arrangements to make, she also needed to leak-proof her house.
    Trouble was, her bones felt useless and her head ached and she had a great, crushing void inside her. She and her father might have been estranged, and true, she’d often been lonely for a caring father. But in her heart, she’d always known he was still there, just a distance away. Now he was gone forever, along with the opportunity to reconcile. She should have gone to her father, she could have made him care.
    Squeezing her eyes shut and holding her breath, she waited for the wrenching pain to subside. It didn’t, but at that moment, Ham tapped on the door.
    His deep baritone vibrated through the door. “You okay, honey?”
    She had to clear her throat before she could answer. “I’m fine.”
    He paused before murmuring low, “You don’t sound fine.”
    No, she didn’t. She shook her head, swallowed hard and lightened her tone. “I’ll be right out. How’s Jack holding up? Storms scare him.”
    “He’s right beside me, but he’s not fretting about himself, so don’t insult him that way. He’s worrying about you. ”
    That made her smile. Yes, Jack would worry. Whenever she got sad, he crowded close and whined and looked as miserable as she felt.
    And talking about sad…Her appearance in the mirror left a lot to be desired. With a red nose, puffy eyes, and still damp hair, poor Jack might disown her. No telling what Hamilton might do….
    “Liv?”
    Resigned, she pulled on a hooded sweatshirt and flannel pants and opened the door.
    Hamilton leaned in the doorframe, staring down at her, solemn and observant. His gaze moved over herbefore settling on her face. “I ordered some food. It should be here soon.”
    She was grateful because she had way too much on her mind to ponder what to cook. “I have to—”
    “Eat.” His hand glided over her hair to her shoulder, then fell away. “You know you get shaky when you go without food.”
    “True. But I don’t have time to worry about it.”
    Satisfaction brought a small smile to his face. “I know. That’s why I took it on myself to order some Kartoffelsuppe from Hofbräuhaus. ”
    At her wide-eyed surprise, he laughed and tugged on a lock of her hair. “I thought that’d get your attention.”
    Kartoffelsuppe was a delicious potato soup topped with sour cream and cheese. She’d fallen in love with it the first time Hamilton had taken her to eat at Hofbräuhaus. But the closest restaurant was more than an hour away. “How…?”
    “I have a buddy who lives down that way. We were in college together at the Citadel and completed the ROTC program the same year.”
    Which no doubt made them lifelong brothers. “So you just called him up…?”
    “That’s one of the calls I made while you were showering. He agreed to send the food here in a taxi.” And with deeper meaning, Ham added, “The military is onebig family, Liv, always willing to help out when they can.”
    Unwilling to acknowledge the truth of that, Liv studiously ignored his statement. “It’s so much trouble for soup.”
    “Not just soup. We’ll be sharing a Schmankerlplatte, too.”
    The mention of smoked pork chops, roasted chicken and fried cabbage had her mouth watering. “Okay, so maybe I can take time to eat after all.”
    His smile settled into a frown. “It won’t be too much for your stomach, will it? Maybe I should have considered something lighter and blander.”
    “It’s perfect.” And so thoughtful—so typical of Ham. “Thank you.”
    Again, he touched her hair, tunneling his fingers in toward her scalp. For the longest time he said nothing, then with a sigh, he whispered, “Liv,” while bending down to take her