Danger Becomes You

She tentatively reached out and took his hand. She was still cold, which was probably the reason electricity seemed to jump between them.

She took a deep breath and pulled her hand away. “I take it you’re on leave of some kind.”

“Medical leave. I’m considering getting out and doing something else. I have no idea what at the moment. Eventually, I’ll be going home.”

He wasn’t looking forward to that visit. His only hope was to have his leg working well enough that he need never tell them that he’d been hurt.

“To Texas?”

He paused, wondering why he was talking about this. And to a stranger, at that. Who knew? If it helped her to be more comfortable around him, then why not? In a few days she’d be on her way to wherever she was going and he’d never see her again.

“Yeah, my folks have a ranch in Central Texas. In fact, it’s been in the Crenshaw family since the 1840s.”

“Wow,” she whispered. “That’s a long time.”

He nodded. “I’m the youngest of four sons.”

“The youngest? I would have thought you were the oldest, the way you act.”

He grinned and she looked at him in amazement.

“What?” he asked.

“That’s the first time I’ve seen you smile. You should do it more often.”

He shook his head ruefully. “Sorry about that. I’ve been here on my own too long, I guess. Nothing much to smile at these past few months.

“As for my brothers, they don’t give me much flak. I went into the service right out of college. I rarely go home. Before this—” he gestured at his leg, “—I was out of the country most of the time. I stay in touch with them by e-mail.”

“I bet they’re worried about you, being hurt and alone up here.”

“Nah. They don’t know where I am or that I’ve been wounded. I plan to keep it that way.” He looked around. “I don’t know about you, but I’m hungry. Do you want some of the stew I made yesterday?” He started to push himself up.

“Please don’t get up. I’ll heat it up for us.”

He watched her walk away from him. She certainly filled out those jeans nicely. These were khaki-colored, not the ones she wore yesterday. Her legs seemed to go on forever.

He knew she could hear him around the corner so he asked, “You haven’t mentioned a husband or anyone who might be worrying about you. Is there someone you want to call on the cell phone?”

She leaned around the corner and looked at him for a long moment. “No. I’m not married and there’s nobody worrying about me.” She disappeared again.

“Oh. Too bad. You’re a fine-looking woman, Leslie O’Brien, a fine-looking woman.”

This time she came around the corner with her hands on her hips. “Have you been drinking?”

“No, ma’am.”

“You’re acting strange.”

“Prob’ly the pills.”

“What pills?”

“For pain.”

She frowned. “They must be fairly strong.”

“Who knows? I never take stuff like that.”

“But you did today.”

“Well, yeah. I was, uh, you know, uh, hurting a little more than usual.”

“I see,” she said, her frown intact.

“Why?”

She shook her head and disappeared. A few minutes later she brought them two bowls of stew, went back for two glasses of water, refilled their cups with coffee, then sat down.

“Maybe you’ll feel better once you eat.”

He picked up the spoon. “Oh, I’m feeling fine, just fine.”

She grinned and he noticed she had a dimple in her cheek. “I’m beginning to believe that.”

“That’s the first time I’ve seen you smile. You have a dimple,” he pointed out.

“That’s right,” she replied, chuckling for some reason, and began to eat.

He ate in silence. When he finished she asked, “Would you like some more?”

He shook his head. “Thanks, but no.” When he tried to get up, she immediately took his dishes, along with her own, to the kitchen. With the help of one of the crutches, Jase made it to the big chair and sank down into it. He pushed the bar for the recliner and sighed with pleasure when his legs came up.

A few minutes later, Leslie came out of the kitchen area and looked surprised to see him sprawled in the chair. He waved his hand at the couch. “Here. Sit down. You need to rest.”

She eyed him for a moment, then walked over and sat. “I thought I’d read.”

“Oh. Well, I guess that’s all right, if you don’t want to talk.”

Her lips twitched. “Actually, I’d rather listen to you.”

He nodded agreeably. “Okay.”

“Tell me more about your family.”

His smile slipped. After a moment he said, “I love my family. My mom and dad are my heroes.”

“Do you get along with your brothers?”

“Of course. Once they realized I wasn’t taking anything off them, they learned to respect me. It’s hell being the youngest,” he added thoughtfully.

“I wouldn’t know. I’m an only child.”

“Too bad. Is your dad still alive?”

She shook her head. “He was killed in military action before I was born.”

“Oh, man, that’s rough.”

“It was rougher on Mom. I never knew him, but she grieved for him, even though she worked hard to hide her pain from me.” She deliberately changed the subject. “Are your brothers married or single?”

He burst out laughing. He couldn’t help himself. “Would you believe that all three of my brothers, who swore they’d never get married, got married within a couple of years of each other? The first two were married only a couple of months apart.”

“You’re the lone holdout, I take it.”

“You got that right. Besides, I’ve never had time to work on a relationship. I was determined to finish college in three years and get my commission.”

“Are you saying you don’t like women?”

“Nope. I’m saying I haven’t had any time for women. Until now.”

She stiffened. “What do you mean, now?”

He waved his hand airily. “Well, until my leg’s strong enough to hold me and I go back to my unit, I’ve got all the time in the world to do anything I want.”

“Is that why you’re hiding up here in the woods?”

Hmm. Maybe she had a point. With all the time in the world, why was he staying by himself? Oh, yeah, because he didn’t want his family to see him like this. He didn’t want them to worry about him. He didn’t want to bring his guilt and anger and frustration home to them.

“I didn’t want to see or talk to anybody. I led my squad into an ambush and two men were killed. I should have died with them.”

“Looks like you almost did.”

“I know. Guess it wasn’t in the cards for me.”

“You sound disappointed.”

“I’ve asked to be reassigned. No more combat. They’ll either put me behind a desk or have me train others.”

“Sounds like a way for you to use your skills.”

After several minutes of silence, Jase murmured, “I’m tired.”

“Oh, well, why don’t you try to rest? I’ll just get one of my books and—”

“No, I don’t mean tired right now. I’ve been in the army for nine years, working in special ops. I was good at it. But I screwed up that night. I should have double-checked, hell, triple checked, the info we received to make sure what we had was accurate. I don’t want that kind of responsibility again.”

“I think you’re being a little hard on yourself.”

He shrugged. “Doesn’t matter, anyway.”

“Do you intend to let your family know what happened?”

“Not if I can help it, no. I want to be in good physical condition the next time I see them.” He closed his eyes. “I’m ashamed to face them, all right? I wanted them to be proud of me and what I’ve accomplished. I don’t want them to know that I screwed up.”

“I have a hunch they’ll be too glad you survived to care about anything else and, from what you’ve told me, I doubt they’ll believe you screwed up. I know I don’t.”

He opened his eyes. “You’re a nice person, Leslie O’Brien.”

“Yep. Nice. That’s me.”

“Do you have a boyfriend?”

She laughed. “Why are you so interested in my personal life?”

“Well, we talked about mine. I think. Didn’t we?”

“I date once in a while. Nothing serious.”

“Good.”

She raised her brows. “Good?”

He closed his eyes. “Yeah,” he said, drawling his words, “’cause I don’t want to be stepping on anybody’s toes.”

Four

Leslie couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She stiffened in outrage at his cavalier attitude toward her. She wanted to say something cutting, something belittling, in response, something that wouldn’t betray the way his words had affected her.

He didn’t stir. She stood and looked closer at him. He lay there bonelessly sprawled in his chair. He had thick lashes she’d never noticed before, probably because his eyes had always drawn her complete attention.

Jason’s hair fell across his forehead and she wanted to push it gently back, but she restrained herself.

He made a sound and at first she thought he’d said something until she realized he was asleep and the soft noise she’d heard was his deep breathing.

She turned away and spotted her suitcase in the middle of the floor between their beds, paperbacks and magazines scattered around it. How could she have forgotten to pick those up?

She made a neat stack of them, found her warmest pair of pajamas and laid them at the foot of her bed. She also dug out socks because her feet had gotten cold the night before.

Sometime while they were talking, the light had disappeared outside. She glanced at her watch and was surprised to see that it was almost eight o’clock.

My, how time flies when your reluctant host is busy making passes at you.

What a strange day this had been. She wondered if Jason would remember talking to her and revealing so much about himself. Would he resent her for being the one who’d listened to his pain?

She glanced over her shoulder. He looked comfortable where he was. She looked around the room and saw that the stove needed more wood. There was a huge stack on the porch so she quietly put on her coat, opened the door and hauled several pieces inside.

Next, she put them in the stove as she’d watched him do, and quietly closed the small door of the efficient heat source.

He didn’t stir.

Leslie went to the table and blew out the lamp before she slipped behind the blanket around her bed. Once she’d dressed for bed, she went into the bathroom and brushed her teeth.

When she came out of the bathroom, she looked over at him. He hadn’t moved. She found an extra blanket and draped it over him, tiptoed to her bed and slipped in between the covers.

Despite her exhaustion, Leslie had trouble falling asleep. She’d never known a man like Jason. He was troubled, but who wouldn’t be, having gone through what he had.

She reminded herself that he was exactly the kind of man she’d vowed never to become involved with: a military man.

Not that his career really mattered. Once she left, she knew there would be no reason for her ever to see him again. At least she had a different opinion of him now that she’d gotten to know him a little better. Pain would explain his rude and irascible behavior.

If she were home, she’d probably be across the hall from her apartment visiting with Teri and discussing the mixed emotions this man caused her.

Teri.

She prayed that Teri was all right.

The grating sound of metal rubbing against metal woke her up and she realized the noise she heard was the old recliner as it straightened. Impulsively, Leslie slipped out of bed to check on him.

“Jason?”

The silence lengthened until he finally said, “Sorry to wake you,” in a gruff voice.

“Is there something I can do for you?”

Another pause. “No. I’m going to put more wood in the stove and go to bed.”

Because of the moonlight coming through the window, she could see him sitting in the chair, holding his head. She carefully made her way over to the sofa.

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