Читать книгу Danger Becomes You - Annette Broadrick, Annette Broadrick - Страница 9

Leslie stood underneath the warm water. She was so cold. She hadn’t realized how cold until the water hit her skin. Although the water was barely warm, it hurt everywhere it touched her.

She stood with her eyes closed. Why had she done something so foolish? She had no answer.

She dreaded going back into the room where Jason waited. She’d never seen anyone as angry as he was. She worked for accountants who, by and large, were even-tempered people.

Her job! How could she have forgotten? She’d left without telling anyone, not even her boss. A tear trickled down her cheek. As if her whole life hadn’t been turned upside down, she’d let her boss down.

Not that she could have told him what had happened or when she might be able to come back. The fact was that she might be running for the rest of her life. She’d have to find some kind of work, though, to survive. All her savings were tied up with her employee’s benefit package. Sooner or later, she’d be forced to contact them.

Leslie finally turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. Compared to outside, the bathroom now felt almost toasty warm. Well, maybe not quite, but far better than what she’d felt outside.

Remembering her recent trek reminded her that Jason waited on the other side of the door. She shivered. It was a toss-up whether she was more afraid of freezing to death or of facing Jason’s wrath.

At least she had clean clothes to put on. She’d grabbed the first things she could find. Now she understood why people wore long johns in the winter. Too bad she didn’t have any. Once she got away from here, it would be the first item on her shopping list.

Jase forced his quivering arms to hold him as he went into the kitchen alcove. This was one time when he was going to break down and take the pain medication he’d been given.

He’d been trained to ignore pain and had elected not to take the meds because they made him feel weird, as if he was floating or half awake. At the moment he welcomed the sensation if it meant getting some relief.

After he swallowed them, Jase made more coffee, giving a silent plea for the electricity to return. He’d bought a top-of-the-line machine that could be programmed to make coffee. At the moment, his shaking hands spilled as much coffee as he managed to put into the campfire pot he’d found when he moved in. The old drip pot was better than nothing and he needed something hot. As did Leslie.

She’d turned off the shower several minutes ago but after that he’d heard nothing. He supposed he would hear some noise if she’d passed out and crashed onto the floor.

By the time the coffee was ready, the pain pills had taken the edge off and he managed to fill two cups and carry them to the table without spilling scalding coffee all over himself.

He heard the bathroom door open but he didn’t look her way. “Have some coffee. It will help you get warm.”

She didn’t reply but he was damned if he was going to beg her to look after herself. She meant nothing to him. Less than nothing. Hell, he’d only known her for less than twenty-four hours.

He sipped on his coffee, keeping his eyes on the swirling snow, until she walked to the table and sat down. He glanced up at her and quickly away. She had a little color in her cheeks now and her lips were pinker.

“Thank you for coming out to help me,” she said.

He lifted one shoulder in acknowledgment.

“You were right. I shouldn’t have gone out there until the snow stopped. It was foolish and you have every right to be angry with me.”

His head snapped up and he stared at her. “I’m not angry at you.”

“You gave a great imitation, then.”

“I was scared out of my wits, Leslie. You were gone much too long. I figured I’d find your body lying somewhere in a snowdrift.”

A corner of her mouth lifted. “I couldn’t get the trunk open. The lock had frozen.”

“Then how did you get your bag?”

“I blew on it for what seemed like forever in hopes it would thaw a little.” Before he could comment, she said, “I know. It was a stupid thing to do.”

“Not if it worked.” He settled back into his chair. Other than feeling as though he’d had several beers in quick succession, he felt fine. He glanced at her again. She looked like a baby chick with her fine hair in tufts around her face and neck. When she lifted her cup she saw him staring at her. She paused with her coffee halfway to her mouth and blinked.

She really was a cute kid. “How old are you?” he asked.

“Twenty-five.”

“Really. I figured you to be in your teens.”

“How old are you?”

“Just turned thirty.” He could tell she was surprised. Probably thought he was some old crippled geezer. “How old did you think I was?”

“I didn’t know. I’m not very good at judging people’s ages.”

“Ah.” He waited, but when she didn’t say anything more, he asked, “What do you do for a living?”

She placed her cup on the table, folded her hands around it and asked, “What difference does it make?”

“None whatsoever. Just making conversation.”

“That’s a change,” she muttered, bringing her cup to her mouth and draining it.

“I realize I haven’t been very friendly since you arrived.”

“Gee. You think?”

He shrugged. “Okay, so I’ve been rude. I apologize. So why don’t we start over?” He held out his hand. “Glad to meet you, Leslie O’Brien. I’m Jason Crenshaw from Texas, and a member of the United States Army.”

She tentatively reached out and took his hand. She was still cold, which was probably the reason electricity seemed to jump between them.

She took a deep breath and pulled her hand away. “I take it you’re on leave of some kind.”

“Medical leave. I’m considering getting out and doing something else. I have no idea what at the moment. Eventually, I’ll be going home.”

He wasn’t looking forward to that visit. His only hope was to have his leg working well enough that he need never tell them that he’d been hurt.

“To Texas?”

He paused, wondering why he was talking about this. And to a stranger, at that. Who knew? If it helped her to be more comfortable around him, then why not? In a few days she’d be on her way to wherever she was going and he’d never see her again.

“Yeah, my folks have a ranch in Central Texas. In fact, it’s been in the Crenshaw family since the 1840s.”

“Wow,” she whispered. “That’s a long time.”

He nodded. “I’m the youngest of four sons.”

“The youngest? I would have thought you were the oldest, the way you act.”

He grinned and she looked at him in amazement.

“What?” he asked.

“That’s the first time I’ve seen you smile. You should do it more often.”

He shook his head ruefully. “Sorry about that. I’ve been here on my own too long, I guess. Nothing much to smile at these past few months.

“As for my brothers, they don’t give me much flak. I went into the service right out of college. I rarely go home. Before this—” he gestured at his leg, “—I was out of the country most of the time. I stay in touch with them by e-mail.”

“I bet they’re worried about you, being hurt and alone up here.”

“Nah. They don’t know where I am or that I’ve been wounded. I plan to keep it that way.” He looked around. “I don’t know about you, but I’m hungry. Do you want some of the stew I made yesterday?” He started to push himself up.

“Please don’t get up. I’ll heat it up for us.”

He watched her walk away from him. She certainly filled out those jeans nicely. These were khaki-colored, not the ones she wore yesterday. Her legs seemed to go on forever.

He knew she could hear him around the corner so he asked, “You haven’t mentioned a husband or anyone who might be worrying about you. Is there someone you want to call on the cell phone?”

She leaned around the corner and looked at him for a long moment. “No. I’m not married and there’s nobody worrying about me.” She disappeared again.

“Oh. Too bad. You’re a fine-looking woman, Leslie O’Brien, a fine-looking woman.”

This time she came around the corner with her hands on her hips. “Have you been drinking?”

“No, ma’am.”

“You’re acting strange.”

“Prob’ly the pills.”

“What pills?”

“For pain.”

She frowned. “They must be fairly strong.”

“Who knows? I never take stuff like that.”

“But you did today.”

“Well, yeah. I was, uh, you know, uh, hurting a little more than usual.”

“I see,” she said, her frown intact.

“Why?”

She shook her head and disappeared. A few minutes later she brought them two bowls of stew, went back for two glasses of water, refilled their cups with coffee, then sat down.

“Maybe you’ll feel better once you eat.”

He picked up the spoon. “Oh, I’m feeling fine, just fine.”

She grinned and he noticed she had a dimple in her cheek. “I’m beginning to believe that.”

“That’s the first time I’ve seen you smile. You have a dimple,” he pointed out.

“That’s right,” she replied, chuckling for some reason, and began to eat.

He ate in silence. When he finished she asked, “Would you like some more?”

He shook his head. “Thanks, but no.” When he tried to get up, she immediately took his dishes, along with her own, to the kitchen. With the help of one of the crutches, Jase made it to the big chair and sank down into it. He pushed the bar for the recliner and sighed with pleasure when his legs came up.

A few minutes later, Leslie came out of the kitchen area and looked surprised to see him sprawled in the chair. He waved his hand at the couch. “Here. Sit down. You need to rest.”

She eyed him for a moment, then walked over and sat. “I thought I’d read.”

“Oh. Well, I guess that’s all right, if you don’t want to talk.”

Her lips twitched. “Actually, I’d rather listen to you.”

He nodded agreeably. “Okay.”

“Tell me more about your family.”

His smile slipped. After a moment he said, “I love my family. My mom and dad are my heroes.”

“Do you get along with your brothers?”

“Of course. Once they realized I wasn’t taking anything off them, they learned to respect me. It’s hell being the youngest,” he added thoughtfully.

“I wouldn’t know. I’m an only child.”

“Too bad. Is your dad still alive?”

She shook her head. “He was killed in military action before I was born.”

“Oh, man, that’s rough.”

“It was rougher on Mom. I never knew him, but she grieved for him, even though she worked hard to hide her pain from me.” She deliberately changed the subject. “Are your brothers married or single?”

He burst out laughing. He couldn’t help himself. “Would you believe that all three of my brothers, who swore they’d never get married, got married within a couple of years of each other? The first two were married only a couple of months apart.”

“You’re the lone holdout, I take it.”

“You got that right. Besides, I’ve never had time to work on a relationship. I was determined to finish college in three years and get my commission.”

“Are you saying you don’t like women?”

“Nope. I’m saying I haven’t had any time for women. Until now.”

She stiffened. “What do you mean, now?”

He waved his hand airily. “Well, until my leg’s strong enough to hold me and I go back to my unit, I’ve got all the time in the world to do anything I want.”

“Is that why you’re hiding up here in the woods?”

Hmm. Maybe she had a point. With all the time in the world, why was he staying by himself? Oh, yeah, because he didn’t want his family to see him like this. He didn’t want them to worry about him. He didn’t want to bring his guilt and anger and frustration home to them.

“I didn’t want to see or talk to anybody. I led my squad into an ambush and two men were killed. I should have died with them.”

“Looks like you almost did.”

“I know. Guess it wasn’t in the cards for me.”

“You sound disappointed.”

“I’ve asked to be reassigned. No more combat. They’ll either put me behind a desk or have me train others.”

“Sounds like a way for you to use your skills.”

After several minutes of silence, Jase murmured, “I’m tired.”

“Oh, well, why don’t you try to rest? I’ll just get one of my books and—”

“No, I don’t mean tired right now. I’ve been in the army for nine years, working in special ops. I was good at it. But I screwed up that night. I should have double-checked, hell, triple checked, the info we received to make sure what we had was accurate. I don’t want that kind of responsibility again.”

“I think you’re being a little hard on yourself.”

He shrugged. “Doesn’t matter, anyway.”

“Do you intend to let your family know what happened?”

“Not if I can help it, no. I want to be in good physical condition the next time I see them.” He closed his eyes. “I’m ashamed to face them, all right? I wanted them to be proud of me and what I’ve accomplished. I don’t want them to know that I screwed up.”

“I have a hunch they’ll be too glad you survived to care about anything else and, from what you’ve told me, I doubt they’ll believe you screwed up. I know I don’t.”

He opened his eyes. “You’re a nice person, Leslie O’Brien.”

“Yep. Nice. That’s me.”

“Do you have a boyfriend?”

She laughed. “Why are you so interested in my personal life?”

“Well, we talked about mine. I think. Didn’t we?”

“I date once in a while. Nothing serious.”

“Good.”

She raised her brows. “Good?”

He closed his eyes. “Yeah,” he said, drawling his words, “’cause I don’t want to be stepping on anybody’s toes.”