She shrugged and remained silent.
Could he talk about it? Maybe, since she’d suffered too, in some small way she would understand.
“I was in Iraq and a school was bombed. We were first on the scene, and there were kids lying dead or wounded everywhere. I worked for hours and hours… until Ethan walked in and threw me over his shoulder and took me out of there.”
“He’s obviously got some issues related to rescuing people. The other day, he saved me from humiliation in the supermarket when I didn’t need saving.”
The images were disappearing as he talked and focused on Branna’s face, so he kept talking. “After I’d slept, I woke, realizing I couldn’t do it anymore. I served the rest of my time there, and then when I came home. I told them I was leaving the army. They tried to talk me out of it, but it was Ethan who supported me and told me I was doing the right thing. He had been the one who got me through those months until I could come home.”
“Are they getting further apart? The flashbacks?”
Jake suddenly didn’t want to be this close to her and not touch her. Putting down his cup, he wrapped his fingers around her wrist and pulled her into his body. Resting his chin on top of her head, he closed his eyes and held her.
“Yeah, they are, but they still come when I least expect them.”
“I know what that’s like. I’d see my mother lying broken and bloodied against the steering wheel and hear my father’s words in my head. He was crying, the sound heartbreaking, as he begged her not to leave him.”
“Christ… that must be hard. At least I didn’t know these people.”
“It’s a bit easier, now that I’m older.”
They stood in silence, holding each other, and Jake felt his memories slowly recede as he focused on the woman in his arms.
“And you hate doctors, needles, and the other crap that comes with the entire medical profession because of the time you spent in the hospital?”
“Something like that,” she mumbled the words into his chest, and Jake decided to leave that conversation for another day.
“Thank you for telling me, Rosebud.”
“Thank you for telling me, McBride.”
“Will you tell me about your father now?” Jake asked her.
“No. Have you told your parents about that? What happened and why you gave up medicine?”
Jake closed his eyes and breathed her in. Her hair was soft against his cheek, and he wanted her again, wanted to lose himself in her body.
“No, let’s go to bed.”
She didn’t protest as he took her hand; she just used the other one to switch off the coffee and lights as she went. Soon, he had her naked again, and his mind was consumed with her… everything else was gone.
He woke alone again.Lying there in silence, he listened to the birds, and then he heard her voice floating up from downstairs.
“The thing is, I didn’t ask you to stay. You just sort of appeared, and that’s okay, if you need a place to stay, but I sure as hell wish I knew your name.”
Jake got out of bed and pulled on his shorts.
“I mean, it’s the least you can give me, considering I brought you food and set up that nice soft pillow for you.”
He made his way down the stairs and out the front door. Branna was sitting in one of the two chairs, coffee in one hand and a large gray cat draped over her lap.
“New friend?” He bent to brush her lips, because touching her was beginning to be just about as important to Jake as a chicken and vegetable pie.
“He arrived on my second day here. Just wandered into the house and sat down on my chair, then started to clean himself. He’s been here ever since.”
Her eyes were still sleepy and her hair mussed, and those long legs were bare under that silky robe. Jake felt something inside him that wasn’t indigestion.
“What’s his name?”
