Kyle looked away, back at the fire, which was starting to die down. He set aside the blanket she’d given him and got up to throw another log on. Arden or someone else—his chest clenched again at the thought of a boyfriend—had stacked a pile of split pine off to the side and he grabbed two pieces. “My family isn’t nearly as interesting as yours.” He set one of the logs on the flames and they died down. “My dad’s an accountant. My mom’s a teacher. Her parents live in Jersey.”
Behind him, Arden said nothing. He set the other log beside the first and grabbed a poker from a rack. “I’ve only seen my mom’s parents a few times in my life. They don’t like to travel, so they’ve always been closer to my cousins who live near them than to me.” Kyle prodded at the orange coals, trying to get the fresh logs to catch. “My dad’s dad owns the accounting firm. I’ve seen him a lot, but he’s not the kind of grandpa who takes much notice of you if you aren’t talking finance.” He knelt and blew on the coals. That helped. “Grandma nods and agrees with everything Grandpa says and doesn’t talk much on her own. She makes a great Thanksgiving spread though.”
Still not a word from Arden. Kyle sighed. “I’m sorry, okay? But you can’t possibly know what Camo means to me. What I mean to him. I’ve been waiting two years to see him again. I was supposed to get him when he came Stateside after his last deployment. Dammit, I put in the paperwork the minute they…the minute I got out of the service.”
Not a fucking word back from Arden. Kyle hated the silent treatment. It was the minimalist soundtrack of his childhood and played whenever he didn’t meet his parents’ expectations, however vague.
The logs were starting to catch, heating his face. “You could have any other dog in the entire world, even a different military working dog if that’s what you’ve got your heart set on. Camo wasn’t supposed to be yours, okay? He doesn’t know you. He doesn’t have a connection with you. He’s never…he’s never seen you bleed.” Kyle’s eyes stung in the firelight.
Silence.
Kyle seethed. He should have believed her when she said Coloradans were rude. He whipped around. “You know something? You really are cold—”
Yeah, Arden was cold, all right—outcold. Her empty mug threatened to slip from her fingers as she lay with her head back and her honey waves spread out around her. She looked so vulnerable in sleep. And to think she trusted him enoughtofall asleep, right here in front of him.
Either that, or his family’s story had bored her into a coma.That’s more likely.
Camo stopped snoring and lifted his head. He looked alert, like something had just caught his attention. His floppy ears perked up and he scanned the room, tracking something. Kyle’s heartrate kicked into overdrive like it had the hundreds of times they’d been on patrol or on a mission. That alertness had saved his life more than once.
Kyle saw nothing in the room and wondered if Camo heard a noise outside. Maybe a passing band of coyotes calling to each other over the wind.
He went to the closest window and peered out, heart hammering for no damn good reason. This wasn’t Afghanistan. No one was after him. No one was sneaking around out there, waiting for a chance to kill him, or Camo, or Arden. Nothing out there but wind and snow and there wasn’t anything he could do about either condition.Deep breaths. In, hold, and out. He breathed deeply the way he’d been taught until his heart settled and his hands stopped shaking.
By the time he turned back to Camo, the dog was asleep again. Arden hadn’t stirred.
He could sneak out with Camo right now. The wind didn’t seem quite as bad, and he was in warm, dry clothes, whosever they belonged to. He could put a blanket over Camo and the dog would be fine. He’d leave a hundred-dollar bill to cover the loss of the clothing and blanket, and for the hot chocolate.
“Camo?” he whispered. The dog opened his eyes and thumped his tail once but otherwise didn’t move. Then he rolled over against Arden and huffed.
Dammit. Dog always did have more sense than me.
Kyle gently took the mug out of Arden’s hand and set it on the coffee table before it slipped and fell. He didn’t want to wake her. She looked too peaceful. He couldn’t exactly pick her up and carry her to bed, either. He had no idea where her bedroom was, and what if she got the wrong idea?
He picked up a soft throw from the back of the couch, unfolded it, and draped it over her. He focused on her parted lips. They’d taste like chocolate.
Kyle went to the other end of the couch and pulled up the blanket she’d given him. He punched up the pillow she’d also loaned him and hunkered down. The couch was surprisingly comfortable, the fire warm, and Camo was curled in the bend behind Kyle’s knees where he belonged, snoring again.
The day’s fatigue caught up with him almost immediately, and before he knew it, Kyle was sound asleep, leaving his enemy the blizzard to rage futilely outside.
Five
Arden had planned on pretending to fall asleep, then staying on the couch all night just in case Kyle decided to do the dumb and light out with the dog. What she didn’t plan on was falling asleep so quickly, and certainly not before he did. But his voice soothed her, and it was nice of him to build the fire back up, even if he was a thoughtless jerk. Unbelievable, how comforting it was to have someone else in the house with her after so long, even if he couldn’t wait to leave.
Wow. How pathetic does that make me?
Fake it ‘til you make it. Never let them see you sweat. And her personal favorite: What would Nancy do? Those bromides kept her from looking weak or needy. They worked great—on other people. Not so much on yourself when you know the truth, that you’re someone who has no fucking clue how to move forward.
She pulled the blanket he’d draped over her up to her chin. Pale gray light seeped into the house. Morning was coming and the storm was doing its damndest to push it back and hang onto the night. The fire was down to coals again and the room felt cooler. She should get up and add some more wood before it got too cold and she’d have to turn up the central heat. But the blanket was warm, the couch comfortable, and she didn’t need to go chasing after a crazy man through a storm to get her dog back. Let’s hear it for the small victories.
Arden looked over at Kyle sleeping at the far end of the couch. Camo was curled up behind the man’s knees, his muzzle resting on Kyle’s thigh. Again, she felt a pang of guilt. This was the calmest, the happiest she’d seen the dog. He hadn’t chewed up a single thing all night, but slept all the way through instead. Kyle looked peaceful too, just snoozing away. She pushed away the thought that maybe he chewed on things at night when he couldn’t sleep, too. Things like bad memories. Regrets. Fears for the future. The same things that stole her sleep.
As if her thoughts somehow prodded his sleeping brain, his face contorted into a mask of pain and he moaned. Camo woke immediately and looked at Kyle.
Should I wake him? Is that dangerous? No one should have to look that anguished in sleep.
“No, you have to stop,” he slurred. “Can’t do that. Abort!”
His eyes flew open as he sat up and punched the air. He kicked his leg straight out across the couch and his foot slammed into her hip hard enough to make Arden cry out. Camo bolted up and started licking his face. Kyle slowly reoriented and wrapped his arms around Camo while he got his breathing under control. Arden’s heart crumpled at the sight of the dog comforting the man.Did Camo do that for…God, what a dog. She blinked back tears, pushing down her thoughts. Instead, she focused on what good Camo could do at the ranch for her clients. He belonged here. They needed him. She needed him.
