Page 58 of Lucky Charm

“You’re the one who became the human toboggan. You practice. I’m going to go have lunch.” Doogie grabbed his shirt and started for the door.

Sucked to have a friend and remember when he didn’t have any.

“Doog, I’m sorry.” Another phrase he made a point of never having to use. He said it enough when he was little and used to think that if he said it enough, they’d quit hating him, quit beating on him, quit forgetting him.

Doogie switched to walking backwards. “We’re cool, Hunt. I’m always going to tell you what I think, but you gotta do what you gotta do. But I still think you should talk to her. She held up like a trooper. It’s human and nice to show concern.”

“I’ll think about it.” He sighed internally. Cait was all he thought about day in and day out. Had for months since she’d looked down at him with his bare ass hanging out and his blood on her shoes.

He rose and stretched, making himself stop avoiding. Doogie was right. It was too cold outside to run.

He’d go get lunch too and work on restoring his cool. His reputation as a cold, tough operator was who he was. There was no going back and molding himself into a suitor, a lover, a husband, or a forever guy. It wasn’t who he was. Yet, he sat with Cait, held her hand, and it all seemed possible. What if this feeling didn’t go away? Could he take the next steps? Or should he worry about what would happen if he did?

∞∞∞∞∞

November 13, 2019

Day 9

Cait sank her exhausted body into a chair at the table in the break area of the hospital, hoping for five minutes of quiet. Four days off and she still wasn’t bouncing back from the hypothermia. To top that, she felt out-of-kilter with her job and her routine. She looked over the wrinkles and stains on her surgical top and needed to visit the locker room to get a new one. She shut her eyes instead. She couldn’t pretend energy when the meter was at zero. She heard footsteps but couldn’t work up enough care to straighten.

A chair pulled out next to her and a bottle of water was shoved into her sight. “Drink up, girl. We don’t need to take care of you. Again.”

She cracked open an eye and stared at Jo Cartwright. Fortunately, her brain kicked in reminding her tired body that one simply did not argue with the chief nurse.

She limply lifted her hand and pulled the water to her. With a deep sigh, she drank as she was told, then eyed the binder in the woman’s hand. “What’s that?”

“After what happened to you, Colonel Banner has ordered everyone to review our in-country briefing of the more well-known insurgents operating locally and the security protocols.”

That made her straighten. “Is he serious? Now? I had that briefing when I got here in October. Sounds more like a reaction to my trip.”

“Can’t say. I only follow orders.” Jo’s face remained impassive. She handed over the book. “Get it back to me when you’re done. Initial the front sheet.”

“We could do this on the computer.”

“Colonel Banner wants tangible proof that everyone looked at it.” Jo’s tone gave away nothing.

Cait shook her head but set the book on the table, shoving aside the wildly inappropriate emotions stirred by fear rising to choke her. A bunch of sleepless nights and horrid dreams tailgated along. She reached for her water and took a long swallow.

“What’s up with you and this SEAL? Hmm?”

She choked on the water, coughing wildly for a few moments. Ambushed, she went for innocence. “Nothing is up.”

“Uh-huh.” Jo pulled out a chair and sat. Raising one finger, she calmly proceeded to make her point.

“Those stitches you put in hottie’s backside. I was here, remember? A one-handed, cross-stitching housewife who hates blood could have done it faster. And I hear rumors that naked sleeping bag activities were involved in your trek through the mountains.”

“Hey, I was unconscious and frozen for most of that. When I wasn’t, people were shooting at us, and the rest is classified.”

“Classified, my ass. I suspect something else happened before that. Right? You’ve been blushing non-stop, and the stars are sparkling in your eyes, Captain.”

Cait squirmed and thought about lying. But God, they were adults, had different commands, and were of similar ranks – although Hunt had more time in service. It wouldn’t matter. “Okay, so yeah, that happened.”

“You went to Berkley?”

She straightened her spine. “Yes, I did.”

“Okay, so yeah, that happened?” Jo mimicked, then rolled her eyes. “It’s okay to be in love with the man, you know.”