A Soldier's Redemption by Rachel Lee

Author:Rachel Lee
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Silhouette
Published: 2010-06-13T16:00:00+00:00

For the first time in forever, Cory thought about what she was putting on. Ordinarily she grabbed a uniform from her closet, or just a shirt and jeans, not caring which. But this morning she dithered over whether she should wear a denim skirt, the brown plaid shirt with the piped yoke, or a plainer polo shirt.

Finally she told herself to stop being ridiculous, pulled on fresh jeans—in Florida jeans were rarely worn except when it was cool, but here everyone wore them even if it was hot—and the gold polo shirt. She even added a bit of lipstick and mascara, from among the few personal possessions she’d been able to bring with her: nothing that wouldn’t fit into a suitcase.

Good smells reached her as soon as she opened her bedroom door. Apparently Wade had added some bacon to the menu from the groceries he had bought yesterday, and from the aroma she could tell he’d brewed fresh coffee. Not only a second cup today, but a second pot. Now that was an extravagance she hadn’t enjoyed in far too long.

When she entered the kitchen, she found the table already set. The bacon was draining on a paper towel over a plate on the table, and a stack of toast stood on the counter beside the toaster, already buttered.

“You can cook,” she said with surprise.

“Told you. What do you think happens when we’re at some small firebase on our own? We take turns, and God help the guy who can’t even make a decent breakfast.”

A little laugh escaped her.

“And here it’s easy. You even have a toaster. Take a seat. I’ll bring you coffee.”

She sat, saying, “I thought you guys had prepackaged meals. What are they called?”

“MREs. Meals, Ready-to-Eat. Three lies in three letters. I won’t give you any of the slang names for them.”

“But you cooked anyway?”

“When we move, we move fast and travel light. Try to live off the land. Besides, what you eat affects how you smell, so it’s best to eat local diet as much as possible.”

She noticed his consistent use of the present tense, and wondered if he really found it that hard to put his years as a SEAL in the past, or if the present situation had just put him back in the mental mode as if he’d never left.

“I never would have thought of that,” she said as he joined her at the table with the toast and eggs.

The eggs were perfectly cooked, not too dry or moist, though he evidently hadn’t whipped them. But why would that occur to him, considering he had done most of his cooking in the field? He’d spiced them with just a hint of cayenne, too, making them more savory.

“Perfect,” she said, complimenting him.

One corner of his mouth lifted in a smile. “Thanks. I hate overdone eggs. I’ll eat them, but I won’t like it.”

For a man who said he didn’t know how to converse, he was doing a darn good job of it. Maybe something in him had begun to open up, too, as it had inside her.

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