Because of that near-kiss. “Hey.” He touched her arm. “I’m… sorry about …” When her gaze hit his lips, he knew she tracked what his apology was about. And he also felt a stupid swarm in his gut at the same time. Then saw her uncertainty and fear. He had to majorly veer off—she’d been mistreated by men and didn’t need to add his name to that list. “Yeah,that. You shouldn’t ever have to worry about me trying to …” He couldn’t even say it. “I wouldn’t. Ever.”
“No,” she said, surprised. “I do not think you would.”
Wait. Did that mean she didn’t think he’d try to take favors from her? Or that she wasn’t interested in him?
Why was he even asking the latter?
“I was coming to find you,” she said, folding her arms. “Breakfast is ready.”
“Lead the way.” As he followed her down the hall, he chucked his toiletries in the room. “Where’s Zookie?” He planted himself in one of the wood chairs at the kitchen table.
She laughed as she carried a big pan over and set it on a stone trivet. “Zakiis in his office on the other side of the compound.” She passed him a plate. “Hope you don’t mind spices.”
He eyed the pan. “Sweet!Tokhme banjanromi.”
“Ah, you know it?” Her expression said she approved. “It is my favorite.”
Poached eggs nestled in a bed of tomatoes, onion, chili, and?— “You added potatoes.”
“I did.” She slid into a seat across from him.
Why did he feel so awkward around her suddenly? He nodded and took the first bite. Flavorful and delicious. “I approve.” He eyed the drink in a mug. “Shir chai?”
Again she flashed surprised and poured him a cup of the warmed, sweetened milk as she squinted at him. “How do you know our traditions so well?”
“Immersion.” Range thanked God for a good homecooked meal, which his body sorely needed and a conversation to divert their attention from the tension he’d created. “When I left the Coast Guard, I was thrown into the deep end, had to sink or swim.”
She smiled and took a bite. “Again, you taunt me with swimming.”
“Too bad Zookie doesn’t have a pool.”
Another laugh. “He has threatened to get one, but it would only give the imam more reason to chastise his gluttonous lifestyle.”
He glanced around. “This is normal back home.”
“I have heard so much about America,” Kasra said as she scooped up some egg. “I hope to see it someday.”
“I think you’d love it.” Why did his heart pound out a cadence at that? “Couple years ago, my oldest brother bought a lodge up in the mountains—it has a pool. Pretty legit. The views are killer. And the snow—”
“I love snow.”
He smirked. Knew she’d love it there.
“What about Texas? Does everyone wear cowboy boots and hats?”
“Not quite,” he said. “America has some pretty amazing mountains like the Shenandoah, Blue Ridge, Rocky Mountains, but I don’t think they compare to the rugged beauty of the Hindu Kush.”
Kasra set down her fork and gaped at him. “Now that I did not expect to hear—an American saying Afghanistan has something more beautiful than America has.”
Like you?Stretching his neck, Range shoved his gaze to his plate. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m a die-hard patriot. I’ll fight to my dying breath for the ideals on which America was founded.”
“I think, if we are all honest, anyone could say the same of their country.”
He felt more than saw the presence looming in the hall. “Would you agree, Zaki?”
The man emerged from the shadows. “I would—to a degree.” His words were lathered in his southern accent. “But I do not smile upon those who would take the beauty from my country for their own gain.”
That was about as overt a comment as one could make without blatantly stating the point—the man was jealous.
