Love Is a Battlefield by Annalisa Daughety Page A

people how much he loved being married to his best friend. And Ainsley could spend hours gushing over how blessed she was to have found him.
    What must it be like to have a love like that?

CHAPTER 16
    â€œIt’s open,” Ace called as he walked down the hallway toward the sound of knocking on his front door.
    Owen Branam opened the door part of the way and stuck his head inside. “Are you ready, man?”
    â€œReady.” Ace followed him down the steps and climbed into Owen’s old Bronco.
    â€œSteve’s meeting us there. Said his wife was glad for him to get out of the house so she can pack.” Owen steered the Bronco out of the driveway and toward the park exit.
    â€œPack? Where’s she going?” Ace asked.
    â€œThey’re taking a trip to Europe. Some kind of second honeymoon. Gonna be gone practically the whole summer.” Owen slowed to a stop at the highway and waited for a car to pass.
    â€œWow. That’s quite a vacation.”
    â€œYeah. He had a hard time talking Arnie and Hank into letting him off that long. And after the vandal hit the monuments, they tried to make him stay.” Owen flipped the air conditioner a notch higher. “But the tickets he has are nonrefundable, so they went ahead and told him he could have the time off.”
    â€œGuess he was relieved.”
    â€œMore like his wife was. I’m not sure Steve is the world-traveling type, but I guess a man will do a lot for the woman he loves.”
    Ace chuckled. “I’ll say.”
    He’d been a little hesitant when Owen had asked him if he wanted to have a guys’ night out. In his experience, guys’ night out usually meant beer and bars, and neither of those things appealed to him. But when Owen mentioned a steak house in Savannah that was supposed to be good, Ace figured it would be a pretty tame night.
    They pulled into the crowded parking lot. Despite the cars, the restaurant looked like little more than someone’s house. Ace shot a questioning look at Owen.
    â€œDon’t let the outside fool you,” Owen warned. “The steaks are delicious. And the sweet tea is even better than my grandmother’s was, God rest her soul.”
    Steve was already in a booth, waiting.
    â€œWhat took y’all so long? I’m a hungry man.” He was also a large man. If Ace had to guess, he’d say this wasn’t Steve’s first time at the steak house.
    They ordered steak and baked potatoes all around.
    â€œCould we have some bread, darlin’?” Owen asked the waitress.
    â€œSure thing, Mr. Owen. It’ll be right out.”
    â€œDarlin’?” Ace asked once she had left the table.
    Owen chuckled. “Welcome to the south.”
    Ace had definitely noticed a bit of a difference in the sleepy Tennessee town from the city he was used to. It wasn’t better or worse, just different. Things seemed a little slower. Cars were slower; people walked slower. But it was kind of nice. There was an abundance of sweet tea and fried food. And it helped that he was a bit taken with the southern drawl. A grin played across his lips as he remembered Kristy’s southern-flavored spiel to park visitors. He still thought one reason they stayed awake for her and snoozed for him was because of her accent. Of course, when he’d shared that theory with her, she wasn’t thrilled.
    â€œSo, Ace. What brings you down here?” Steve asked. “Do you have relatives here or something?”
    â€œI’m just here for the job.” And access to the archives. But Steve wasn’t asking about his personal business. “I worked for the park service in Illinois and decided I was ready to transfer on to a different park.”
    â€œAnd you chose Shiloh?” Steve asked. “Is Civil War history your thing, then?”
    â€œI guess you could say that.” Ace knew his ulterior motive for choosing Shiloh would come out eventually,