Her Hometown Hero by Melissa Klein

Author:Melissa Klein [Klein, Melissa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Contemporary, Scarred Hero/Heroine, Military
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Published: 2014-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

Riley had barely put Gloria in Park before Matt and Lexi poured out of the house and jumped into the backseat. “Uncle Brian says we’re going for ice cream,” she announced.

“Isn’t that exciting? I can’t wait.” In truth, what got her pulse going was him as he stalked toward her. His heavy arms swung at his side like he had a mission to complete.

He leaned over the door and pressed a kiss to her lips. With the part of her brain not occupied with relishing the feel of his firm lips against hers, she marveled how much had changed since she woke this morning.

“Eeeewww,” Matt groaned from his spot behind Riley’s seat. “That’s gross.”

Brian leaned over to give his nephew’s head a knuckle scrub. “Give it three or four years and you won’t think so, Wildman.” With that, he crossed in front of the car and took the passenger seat.

A tap on her shoulder pulled her from considering the sinful things his chest and torso did to a t-shirt. “What’s up, Lexi?”

The seven-year-old had a way of studying a person that mimicked the way her mother had eyeballed Riley that morning. “Do you like my uncle?”

“Yes, I do,” she answered with a smile.

“What’s not to like,” he chimed in.

“No,” Lexi said, folding her arms across her tiny chest. “Do you like him, like him?”

Riley bit her lip to keep from laughing. She leaned over the seat so the little girl could see how serious she was. “I totally like him like him.”

Lexi nodded as if that settled the matter.

“Put on your seatbelts, kiddos,” Brian said over his shoulder. “We’re heading for the open road.”

Following his directions, she steered Gloria onto Pine Street. “This used to be the main road between Atlanta and Columbia, South Carolina. Can you imagine? I bet it took four hours to get there from Magnolia Springs,” he said, breaking into her thoughts.

She would take the hours and want more. Flying down the road with two kids in the back seat and a handsome man by her side, she felt she was living someone else’s life. Any minute she’d wake up and find it was another one of her dreams. Unlike the ones that woke her in a cold sweat, this was one from which she never wanted to wake. It was too perfect to be real—or to last.

A round of “Ninety-Nine Bottles of Pop on the Wall” later, they pulled into a root beer stand complete with a carhop in a short skirt and roller skates. While waiting for their ice cream, she tackled the promise she’d made to Maggie. She turned to face the two behind her. “I hear you two are going on vacation with your dad in the morning.”

“Yeah,” Matt said, his eyes sparking. Lexi didn’t look as if she shared her brother’s excitement.

Riley tapped into the myriad of worries she’d had as a child. “Remember you’ve got each other,” she said. “And I’m sure your dad will let you call your mom anytime you like.

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