Page 47 of Expiry Dating

She was no Martha Stewart by any means, but she had three solid recipes down. Unfortunately, two of those recipes happen to be for cake, really only leaving her with one. Lasagna.

She’d just placed the dish in the oven when Brady sauntered back into the kitchen, fresh from the shower, wearing only a pair of grey sweats and a filthy smile. His hair was still dripping, leaving beads of water trickling down his bare chest. She couldn’t help but beam. He knew exactly what he was doing to her.

“Smells damn good in here, sweetness.” He hunted her until her backside hit the counter. “And I’m not just talking about the food.”

As if to demonstrate, his nose dived into the curve of her neck and travelled up to her ear, all the while being sure to inhale her scent. As much as she wanted to give in to the goose bumps, she had other plans for him.

“Keep it in your pants, Brady.” She swabbed his chest. “We have half an hour until dinner’s ready, and I thought we could use the time to have an actual conversation.”

“Oh, now you wanna talk, sweetness? That why you accosted me at the door earlier and ripped off my shirt?”

She could feel the heat crawl up her neck. She might have been a little overly eager to see him earlier. The bastard smirked at her reaction and took great pleasure running his knuckles over her heated cheeks.

“Anyway,” she changed the subject as she pushed away from the counter, “I thought maybe we could talk about what happened the day you got your injury. You never did tell me the full story. And I think it’s time. I want to know, Brady.”

Normally this would be right around the time he’d shut down. So she was shocked when he didn’t. Apart from a serious expression overtaking his features, he didn’t even flinch at her request. But he did remain quiet. She would give him that. Dragging her fingers up and down his side, she waited patiently for him to speak.

Eventually he cleared his throat. “I think I can do that, sweetness.”

She ignored the thickness in his voice and let him take hold of her hand and lead her to the sofa.

“Let’s take a seat.”

She was nervous. She knew this was going to be hard for him, but it was time. His nightmares were still going strong, and if she was going to help him, she needed to know what happened that day. A part of her also hoped that by talking about it with her, he could start to move on.

Once they were settled, she waited again for him to speak. When he did, she wasn’t quite prepared for what he said next.

“It was my fault. Ricky’s death could have been prevented. He’s dead because of me.”

“I don’t believe that for one second.” She placed her hand over his thigh, which was now shaking.

“We were on patrol. It was routine for us, but I knew something was off. It was too quiet. My gut was telling me to head back to base. Everything inside of me was screaming at me to run. But I didn’t. I ignored my instinct, Ali.” His pained gaze swung to her, caramel-coloured pools of hopelessness holding her hostage. “A good man is dead because of me. He had a family. A wife who would walk to the ends of the earth for him. She’s now a widow. And his kid ... his kid will have to grow up without a dad. Never knowing him or the man he was. Or how much his dad loved him. All because of me. All because I kept quiet.” His head fell into his hands as the trembling in his legs continued.

“It’s not your fault.” She closed the tiny bit of distance that was between them and let her fingers carefully unpick his hands from his face. “Do you hear me, Brady? It wasn’t your fault.”

“How can you say that?” A look of pure anguish creased his features. “Did you not hear what I just said? If I’d have just listened to my gut, Ricky would still be here.”

“Brady, baby, look at me.” She waited until he lifted his gaze back to her. “You’re acting like you pulled the trigger instead of just having some weird feeling in your stomach. There is no way in hell you could have known what was gonna happen that day. No way. It wasn’t your fault.”

She could tell her words weren’t sinking in, and it left her feeling helpless. How could he even think for a second that he was responsible?

“Every night I see his face, Ali. I relive what happened over and over again. The explosion, the blood ...”

“I know, baby.” She used all her weight to pull him into her. Thankfully, he didn’t resist and came down easily until his head rested on her chest. “Tell me what else. What else do you see in your dreams?”

Teddy’s advice was at the forefront of her mind as he told her more about the dreams. He described the look on Ricky’s face just before the explosion. The screams that pierced his ears. The smell of death that stuck in his throat. And the horror that was the bloody aftermath. All the while, Alice’s heart was at risk of cracking in two. What he saw, what he went through, no one should ever experience.

“It’s gonna be okay.” Her head dipped until her lips brushed across the top of his head. “I promise you, baby, it’s gonna be okay.”

Time and patience, she reminded herself. Whatever he needed, she knew she would give him.

---