Page 31 of Love Shots

CHAPTER TEN

Something was up with Teddy. He’d been acting weird ever since she’d given him the cuckoo clock. At first, when he didn’t say anything, she was worried she’d overstepped. The memory of his mom’s clock was a personal one that he’d shared with her a long time ago.

She still remembered that night. It was burned into her memory. It must have been only a year after his parents’ car accident. They were thirteen. She’d found him in their spot. Crying. Listing the silly things he missed about them had been her idea. It was supposed to help.

Going by Teddy’s reaction, she hadn’t crossed any boundaries with the gift. Thank God. But he was still acting strange. Every time she looked over at him, he was staring at her. He didn’t even pretend to look away when she caught him, like a normal person. And he had this ridiculously intense expression on his face. It was making her squirm. She didn’t know where to look or what to do. And every time she caught sight of those flaming eyes, she seemed to melt under the heat.

“I talked to my buddy Tyler the other night,” Teddy announced as they continued their ride across Moonrock’s sun-soaked fields. “He wants to meet you.”

“Okay. I have questions. Who is Tyler? Where does he live? What did you tell him about me? And when do I get to meet him?”

Teddy’s hearty laugh warmed her belly. “Navy. We were on the same team together. We were buddies before though, known him almost ten years. Remember I told you I was a POW? Well, Tyler was the other survivor. Only he had worse injuries than me.”

“Oh,” was the only reply Summer could manage as her mouth suddenly went dry.

“Yeah. He had an infection in one of his legs ... they had to amputate. He has a prosthetic now. He’s still in California, so I don’t see him much, but I check in every month, make sure he’s okay. He took the loss ...” Teddy paused to take a deep breath. “Let’s just say he didn’t adjust well. And what with losing two of our teammates as well ...” His words trailed off as he stared into the distance. She realized pretty quickly that she needed to say something other than oh.

“I’m sorry.”

Really? That’s the best you could do?

Teddy pulled on the reigns of his chocolate-colored mare and came to a halt. Summer followed suit and came to a stop next to him. The air was still thick with emotion. As he turned to face her, she could feel herself holding her breath.

“I’ve never really spoken to anyone about what happened over there. Not to anyone who isn’t a Navy-issued psychiatrist anyway. Not even to Tyler.” Teddy’s eyes were boring into her now, and she couldn’t look away if her life depended on it. “But I want you to know. I want to tell you.”

“Whatever you want to tell me, Teddy ... you can. But there’s no rush. I know it’s hard for you. And I know it’s not going to be a pretty story. Whenever you’re ready ... I’ll be here.”

What she really wanted was to hear it all. Now. She had ever since he’d told her he was captured. The bad, the ugly, the damn-right scary. Then she wanted to comfort him. Hold him. Kiss him. Tell him everything was going to be all right. But despite his declaration, deep down she knew he wasn’t ready yet. If he hadn’t even talked to Tyler about what went down, it meant he’d been burying this stuff for a long time. And it was bad. Really bad. Bad enough to make him change his mind about being a SEAL.

“I really wanna kiss you right now.” The corner of his mouth tilted up. “I really didn’t think this whole horse-riding date through, huh?”

“How ’bout we head back? Then ... we can make out in your truck.” She shot him a wink.

That panty-melting smile grew wider. “Let’s go.”

“Race you?” Teddy immediately took off, choosing a non-verbal reply to her challenge. She made sure to shout after him as she kicked Blaze’s side. “Cheater!”

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