Second Chance with Her Army Doc by Dianne Drake

Author:Dianne Drake
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2018-07-10T13:56:57+00:00

CHAPTER SEVEN

OPENING THE HOTEL room door, her mind still on Carter all these hours later, Sloane headed directly into the hall and nearly tripped over him. He was sitting on the floor outside her door, eyes closed but not asleep.

“Since I dropped you off at your hotel, I assumed you’d still be there, sound asleep,” she said.

Or pacing the floor for hours, which was something he’d used to do. Last night, however, when she’d suggested they call her hotel to send a car, and then subsequently dropped him off at his room, he’d been quiet. Subdued. She hadn’t expected that. Hadn’t expected him to acquiesce so easily. But he had. He’d simply kissed her on the cheek and walked away from the hotel as if he hadn’t just been on the verge of what had looked as if it might be a major meltdown.

So...was this program Carter was on working for him? Getting counseling...training bears. Sloane hadn’t been sure about it when he’d told her, but she was seeing something different now. Something more like the man she’d used to know. And while it excited her, it also scared her. because she wondered how long this effect would last before he’d revert. Or would he revert?

Maybe. Maybe not. For Carter’s sake, she hoped he wouldn’t.

“Been there long?” she asked, and her heartbeat went a little crazy, the way it always did the first instant she saw him.

“A couple of hours.”

“Without knocking?”

“Didn’t want to disturb you.” He picked up a bag from the floor and handed it to her. “Apple, banana, salad, cookies—”

“I don’t eat cookies,” Sloane interrupted.

“I do,” he said, finally standing. “I’m sorry about what happened tonight. Normally I can feel these things coming on, and I use the grounding techniques I’ve learned when I don’t feel like I can simply walk away. Or in some cases run away.”

“What grounding techniques?” she asked, holding out her hand to him to help him off the floor.

“Sound—turning on loud music, but not like what we were hearing last night. Classical works for me, especially a rousing Beethoven symphony. Normally his seventh does the trick. I know it by heart and I hum along, which gets me away from my anxiety.”

He smiled.

“Especially if I conduct it.”

“You’ve learned to conduct?”

Carter laughed.

“Hell, no. But swinging my arms around pretending that’s what I’m doing takes me to a different place, which is where I need to be.”

“If you want, I could teach you to conduct.”

Sloane had an undergrad degree in music and for a while had thought about becoming a professional. But the lure of healing changed all that.

“Or I could just do it my way,” he said, not intending to sound contentious. “Because I like the freedom of doing it my way. It’s cathartic and energizing, and it works.”

“I didn’t mean to—”

There she was, trying to take over when he clearly needed to guide his own journey. To help Carter, she was going to have to be more aware of her own actions.

“That’s OK.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.