…
Morning had come early, and Mitch had made sure he was quiet as he rolled out of his bed. Across the room in her own bed, Liz had still been sleeping, so he’d showered and dressed before waking her up. Last night’s sunset kiss had been just that, nothing else. He wasn’t stupid enough to make an all-out pass while hunkered down in military housing. There were some lines he didn’t cross.
For the past half hour, he’d waited in the barrack hallway. Thinking. Planning. Talking. Liz came out of the room just as he finished a conversation with an acquaintance.
“Good morning,” she said.
“About time you got up.” As he took the tote bag from her, he couldn’t believe how fresh and alive she looked today. “You ready to go?”
“Sure. Who was that you were talking to?”
He grinned. “Believe it or not, one of my old training instructors heard I was on base and stopped by to see how I was doing. We just finished up telling truths and lies.”
She smiled in return. “That’s nice. Really nice.”
“Yeah. It was good to see him. Funny thing, he said there’s a hot-shot recruit in training right now that reminded him a lot of me. Even has the last name of Granger.” Mitch shook his head. “He thought it might be my brother.”
She stopped. “Your brother’s here? On base? Do we have time for you to see him?”
“No way it’s him. My brother Jeremy’s back in Indiana.”
“How do you know?”
“Because every month I send the university the money to cover his tuition, books, and anything else he needs. They cash the checks. He thinks he got a full-ride scholarship. And nobody’s the wiser.”
Through the years, Mitch had made the same arrangement with each of his siblings’ college choices. He might have had to get his degree while serving his country, but they’d all start their lives free and clear of any obligations.
They exited the building and headed toward the airfield. He kept up a strong pace, but she stayed right with him. Today wasn’t like yesterday’s downtime. Today was get-your-ass-in-gear-and-move-out time.
She stared straight ahead. “You’re as bossy and controlling as my dad Russ. He used to always try telling me what, where, and when.”
“Control? I don’t control people. What do you mean?”
She shot him a duh look and huffed out a sigh. “If I have to explain it, you wouldn’t understand.”
And, welcome to another day of protector-client sarcasm. Just when he thought they’d made progress, she’d come out swinging with trying to understand him. Well, she didn’t understand him. Never would. And, he wasn’t about to help her learn.
He picked up the pace, but when she struggled to keep up, he slowed a bit.
“Sorry about last night,” he said.
“What do you mean?”
“I shouldn’t have kissed you. Won’t happen again.” He glanced across the tarmac and headed toward their chopper ride. “This is a busy area. Watch your step.”
She followed a couple steps behind him. “I probably shouldn’t have kissed you, either. But I don’t regret one second of it.”
For a moment, he felt the touch of her fingers against his back. What the hell was wrong with him? Just when he thought he’d figured himself out, life screwed with his mind and threw him a curve ball. Once again, he needed to face that, mixed in with being a man, he was sometimes a gentleman. Sometimes an ass—an all-out go-for-broke ass. For the most part, though, he had no fucking idea who he was. Or, why he acted…like an ass sometimes.
“Funny thing…” He stopped and waited for her to step up beside him, then he brushed a strand of hair from her face. “I don’t regret it, either.”
“Granger! Double time over here.” His old training instructor’s voice rang out across the tarmac. “Now!”
Mitch motioned Liz to stay where she was then headed toward his instructor. Off to his left, he saw another man double-timing in the same direction. Same height. Same build. Same gait. Jeremy…his brother Jeremy.
They both arrived in front of his old instructor, who looked smug and proud of himself. “You two need to talk.” The instructor nodded, then walked away. “Now!”
Mitch grabbed his brother’s arm. “What the hell are you doing here?’
