Page 13 of Embattled Ever After

She knew the statistics of veterans that died while waiting for something were truly depressing, and they had to be soul-crushing for the vets themselves on the lists. There had been several recent news stories about vets asking for help, then committing suicide when they were denied or delayed yet again.

“It seems so wrong that they can’t speed things up. I mean, considering the rate of deployment and return, the system was overloaded years ago.”

“Yes,” Duncan agreed.

The single word seemed to linger in the air, but honestly, what else could be said? The system that was supposed to take care of them was simply not keeping up with the needs of the veterans it was meant to serve.

“Did you see the NY Times article the other day proposing that PTSD is now a physical issue rather than behavioral and emotional?” she asked him. “A doctor has done studies on the brains of deceased servicemen and there is a physical abnormality in the folds of the brain itself in those that have been in combat.”

“No,” he admitted, limping over to set a plate in front of her. “I hadn’t seen that. But I’m not surprised at all.”

Alex forked a bite into her mouth, starving. Duncan offered her ketchup for her scrambled eggs and fried potatoes, but Alex shook her head. They were too good without it. “Thank you for this. I don’t get real cooked food very often.”

Duncan chuckled and handed her a bowl of mixed berries. “No problem. I slaved over it.”

Alex grinned at him, appreciating the sardonic humor. It was obvious Duncan had been up for a while. He was showered and his dark hair had been brushed. The silver at his temples gleamed in the kitchen light, merging into the dark hair. He’d also shaved, the lean skin of his cheeks looking baby-butt smooth. Alex wanted to reach out to see if it was as smooth as it looked, but she forced her hands to stay where they were.

Today he wore a simple gray long-sleeved sweatshirt, but he’d pushed the sleeves up his strong wrists to cook. Dark hair sprinkled the backs of his hands and his arms seemed very strong.

When he glanced at her, his dark eyes considering, Alex felt that prickle of awareness she always felt when he looked at her. But was the feeling reciprocal? She’d have given a lot to know.

Chapter Four

This was anodd Christmas.

Duncan was very aware that there was a woman in his house. She didn’t make noise or demand attention, but his focus was on her as she moved through the rooms. After cleaning up the breakfast dishes, she’d gone back to her room for a bit. He heard some rummaging around then she’d walked back out to the living room, iPad Mini in hand.

The snow outside had slowed, but still fell. They were at about eighteen inches right now. Not a record, but definitely a significant amount of snow that crippled travel in the Denver area. There would be a travel advisory in effect. But then, it was Christmas. People should be home with their families and not worried about going out. Kids should be ripping open presents. Parents should be cradling steaming cups of coffee as they watch the kids gush over whatever Santa had gotten them.

Duncan remembered Christmases from his childhood with his brothers. Robert had always been the trailblazer, getting all the cool outdoor toys. Duncan had gotten whatever Robert deemed boring. Sam, the baby, had always gotten whatever was left over, which wasn’t always very much. They’d been a rough and tumble group, happiest running through the still developing suburban landscape. They’d played cowboys and Indians and cops and robbers, then they eventually moved to soldiers. It was where his love of the military had been born. His father’s father had been in World War II and he had sat on Pap’s knee listening to his stories for hours.

Those had been amazing days, when they were too lost in their own adventures to worry about anything else going on in the world. And now as he looked at Sam’s two, and Robert’s three kids, it was easier to remember the times with his brothers.

Duncan was supposed to go over to his parents’ house sometime this afternoon for Christmas dinner. There were two bags of presents packed and sitting beside the door, ready for delivery to his niece and nephews. The brothers exchanged gag gifts usually, and they always got their parents something. Would Alex be interested in attending his family dinner? He had no idea.

Limping into the room, he sat in the corner of the brown suede couch. It had a comfortable recliner built into one end. Alex had chosen a smaller settee, folding her legs up and to the side. His gaze rested on her position. It had been years since he’d had even a fraction of that flexibility. He shook his head. “Doesn’t it hurt to sit like that?”

Alex blinked, her big, bright green eyes curious. “No. I’ve sat like this for years.”

Duncan pressed a button on the side of the couch and the foot of the leather recliner began to rise. He stopped when his back was still mostly vertical. Reaching down beside him he retrieved his own tablet, in a black leather case, but he didn’t open it.

“There’s a travel advisory out so we won’t be traveling for a couple of hours.”

Alex nodded, tucking her long hair behind her ear. In the light of the morning, he could see how vibrant the color was, and there was no doubt it was a true auburn. He’d only seen one other person with hair that color, and he’d been on base at Camp Lejuene years ago. Poor guy had had so many freckles, that it would have been quicker to color in the unmarked skin than the freckled. Alex’s skin was pale, milky smooth. There was a single sexy mole on her lower right jaw.

Duncan looked away, down at his lap. He had no business studying her this way.

“I called the hotel and cancelled my reservation for the night. As soon as I saw how much had accumulated outside, I had a feeling we wouldn’t be going anywhere.”

Duncan shrugged. “The snow plows are probably already out. Even if they aren’t, I have four-wheel drive. My mother is having Christmas dinner later so I have to be able to get out.”

She gave a slight ‘oh’, her dark pink lips rounding. “Even this deep, you’ll be able to drive?”

He nodded, glancing outside. “Snow is no big deal. It’s the ice you have to be careful of.”

She looked doubtful, but when they went out later she would be able to see.

“You have snow in Kansas City, right?”

---