Comrades In Arms (In Love and War Anthology) by Lindsay McKenna

Author:Lindsay McKenna
Format: mobi
Published: 2010-05-26T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 4

“Happy Thanksgiving,” Tara murmured to Dave as they sat in a deep crater from a bomb dropped by a B-52 bomber a week ago. Dressed in her Afghan soldier outfit, a turban on her head and her M–4 rifle nearby, she crouched with him on the chewed-up dirt at the bottom of the depression where it was safe. Right now, the rest of their team was out on a mission to the hills surrounding Deh Rawod, a hotbed of Taliban soldiers.

Dave grinned and spooned up a bite of food from his packaged MRE—meals ready to eat. “Not exactly the turkey day I would like to have had.”

Tara nodded. “Hey, this is better than nothing, under the circumstances. At least that supply sergeant was thoughtful enough to give us turkey MREs.”

Dave smiled and continued to eat. The day was cool, and the walls of the crater around them provided a modicum of protection from both the wind and possible snipers. “If you were home right now, what would you have done for Thanksgiving?” he asked, studying Tara’s sunburned features and peeling nose. He hadn’t been able to get her another bottle of lotion and that bothered him. It was a small thing, but important to him. Her face had turned several shades darker from being exposed to the merciless Afghan sun in this mountainous desert. He himself looked more like an Afghan every day, with his dark beard and skin turning tobacco-brown from the constant outdoor activities.

Tara sighed and leaned back on the soft dirt, the flak jacket chafing her skin as it always did beneath the vertical striped white-and-brown shirt she wore. “I’d probably go home for the holiday. I have a lot of leave saved up. I’d help my mom make the turkey. I make a killer stuffing, Johnson. You’d pig out on it.”

“I’ll bet you do,” he murmured, watching her half-closed eyes, the MRE resting on her stomach as she lay back in the crater. Their nights together in the small munitions room hadn’t lasted much longer. Halima had taken it upon herself to invite Tara to her room to sleep, a far more comfortable situation, and more in keeping with Muslim tradition. Tara had had to accept, so Dave was left without her warmth and her sense of humor. Maybe it was just as well, he supposed, because he found himself itching to touch her, to kiss her whenever the opportunity presented—which wasn’t often. First and foremost, he had a team to run and a mission to complete. Whatever he and Tara shared came last, and he knew she was in accord with that. Still, he could see desire and sadness in her eyes sometimes, and that made him yearn for her even more.

Today they had an hour to themselves—a rarity. Dave was hungry to simply be with Tara. He felt far more than lust for her, he’d come to realize over the past three months. Something much deeper was taking root between them. Tara was

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