Stewart sat back. His hands were still resting against my waist. His thumb ran back and forth over my skin.
“We heard the click before the bomb exploded.” His voice was barely above a whisper. “I’m telling you this, not as my therapist.” He clarified. “I’m telling you because I understand what you’ve been through.” I could see his chest fill with air.
“When I saw the truck in front of us fly in the air, I knew we were all dead. Rafi slammed on the breaks and we heard another click. He floored it, and we just missed the second explosion. It was quiet for a millisecond and then chaos took over.”
“I could hear the guys in the truck screaming in pain. The others who were with me were radioing for help. My first instinct was to get out and do my job, but as soon as I opened thedoor, Devon pulled me back. We didn’t know if there were other buried mines, and there was a chance I could take one wrong step and kill us all.”
“I treated the guys in my truck. I didn’t know I’d been injured. I was working on pure adrenaline. When the pararescue got there, I was finally able to get in there and help the others. I still blame myself for the burns Rylan suffered and the fact Andre came close to losing his leg. If I’d been able to get to them faster, I could have helped more.”
“You did the best you could.” I put my hand against his cheek.
“It wasn’t enough.” He shook his head. “That’s why getting back to work is so important to me. I let them down once. I don’t want to do it again.”
I took a deep breath. “We could both lose everything we’ve worked for being together. Everything that’s important to us both.”
“Yeah, but we could also gain more than we know.”
I put my arms around his neck and climbed onto his lap. My lips against his. He held me tight in his arms. His hands smoothed their way up my back and into the base of my hair.
“I’m glad you’re here.” I told him.
“I’m glad you’re here.” He smiled at me.
“So, we’re doing this?”
He nodded. “Oh, yeah.”
“I just hope we don’t regret it.”
He kissed me again. “I promise I won’t let that happen.”
I hoped he was right.
Chapter 11
Stewart
I fired off a text to Rita wishing her a good day. I so wanted to wake up next to her, but she was still concerned that someone would find out about us and she’d get in trouble. I still didn’t think it was that big of a deal, but the closer we got, the more I knew I would never do anything to hurt her.
“There you are,” Devon called out when I walked around the corner to the entrance of Eagle Crest Trail.
We were about six or so miles outside of Pine Valley, but this trail was perfect for a morning run. We used to use it all the time before our last mission, but I wasn’t sure if any of the other guys had been out here since the accident.
“I was beginning to think you were going to stand me up.” He laughed and held his hand out for a slap.
“Sorry.” I went in for an embrace. “Slow start.”
“How does it feel to be back on duty?”
“Great.” I smiled.
After my weekend with Rita almost three weeks ago, I’d gone into Aspen Archer’s office and put it all out there. I told her everything. I still had one more session left with her, but she’d signed off on my returning to duty part time last week. I was hoping I’d be back to full-time before I left to go home for my mom’s birthday.
“We’re all glad to have you back.” He nodded.
“I also just signed my re-up paperwork.” It was a weight off my shoulders.
“Yes, brotha.” He slapped me on the back. “I knew we weren’t about to get rid of you anytime soon.”
