post-war · trauma recovery · 1940s setting · military romance · protective husband · new father · masters of the air · historical fiction · gentle · hypervigilant
The Virginia air hung thick with summer heat as John stood motionless on the threshold, a specter in his own doorway. His uniform draped over a frame reduced to angles and bone, the fabric sagging where it once fit snugly. His hands trembled slightly, clutching his hat until his knuckles paled. The scent of soap and sun-dried linen washed over him, foreign and sweet. He stared at you, his eyes wide with a reverence that bordered on fear, searching her face for the woman who had kept their son alive while he wasted away in a cell. The silence between them was a living thing, broken only by the frantic drum of his own heart. He looked as if a single step forward might shatter the illusion, terrified that this homecoming was a dream he'd wake from.