Page 39 of Wicked Healing

Chapter 10

At seven onthe dot there was a knock on her back patio door. The dogs began a chorus of noise, jostling around her feet. Sophie yipped, like one of the other dogs had stepped on her. Erin snatched the little dog up into her arms, then reached for the sliding glass door handle. Swinging it open, she was not surprised to see Wicked plow in first. He seemed happy to see them, his tail wagging. Luca’s eyes were wide as he took in the chaos of her kitchen. Dogs pushed through to sniff him, greeting him like he was part of Wicked.

Erin laughed at the look on his face. “These are my fosters. This is Sophie.” She handed the little dog over to him so that she could wash her hands again. “She was rescued from a house when her previous owner died. They think the old woman had been dead for a while and poor Sophie was without anything to eat for a long time. The two horses over there are Bait and Switch, so named because they were supposed to be about fifty pounds each. They’ve tripled that and think they need to be bigger. Watch your plates around them.”

She pointed to the hound. “George has been here a few months. Someone found him in the desert, dehydrated almost to the point of death. And Greta,” she pointed, the dog perking up at her name, “was a rescue that I just couldn’t give up. She is the only dog I own on this place. All of the rest of the animals are fosters or boarders.”

Luca blinked. He’d introduced himself to all of the dogs with pets and strokes, and stood looking down at Sophie. “Wow,” he said softly. “I can’t believe everything you do.”

Erin laughed. “It’s actually pretty quiet right now. I’m a certified wildlife foster as well and in the spring is when it gets really busy.”

“When I was growing up I was never allowed to have a pet,” he told her. “I think that was why when I heard about the Navy’s canine program I jumped on it. I haven’t regretted a moment of it. If you can make your passion your career you will never be out of a job. Isn’t that the saying? Or something like that?”

She nodded. “I was fortunate in that I grew up with animals. Horses, cattle, dogs, cats, ferrets. You name it I’ve probably had it or fed it at one time.”

He smiled softly. “I found a baby dolphin on the beach once. I made sure it got back into the water.”

Erin knew her eyes turned dreamy. “I would love to foster a baby dolphin. Not much call for that out here.”

They laughed together. Erin moved to the fridge. “Can I get you something to drink? A beer, or tea? Iced water?”

“A beer sounds fantastic right now,” he said firmly.

Erin handed it to him and watched as he removed the cap. He tipped his head back and took a long swallow. Then he looked at her and grinned. “You have no idea how good that is. It’s been months since I’ve had a beer. Literally.”

Yeah, it probably had been. “What else have you been missing?” she asked curiously.

Luca moved to the counter on the opposite side of the island. “In the past two months or since I’ve been out of the military?”

“Either. Both.”

His dark eyes narrowed a little. “Since I’ve been in the hospital? Things that smell good. I can’t get the disinfectant smell out of my brain. And it’s in the clothes. And I guess it counts for being in the military, too. When I was growing up we had staff that would make sure that our sheets were laundered every few days and there was something they put into the water to make them smell good. I had no idea what it was and at the time I was too self-involved to even think about it. But I remembered the smell of those sheets when I was sleeping on the ground in Iraq and pulling a blanket over top of me that I knew hadn’t been laundered in at least a few months.”

Erin stopped to lean on the counter in front of him. “Wow. You’ll enjoy doing your laundry, then. There are all sorts of smell good things you can add in now.”

“I like whatever you use,” he told her, watching her reaction.

Erin didn’t disappoint him. Her cheeks turned pink and she stood straight. “Tide. And the purple-lidded Bounty add-in. I’ll give you some to take to the apartment with you.”

He shook his head. “Nah. I think I just like it on you.”

Blinking, she looked down at the floor. “Thank you.”

The silence stretched for a moment, but it was good. “This is something else I missed,” he admitted.

“What?” she asked softly, as if she couldn’t help herself.

Luca shrugged a little. “Flirting. Being in a home with a woman instead of a tent with fifty other men. Being able to relax without losing face with the guys your life depends upon. Being able to choose… everything.”

Tilting his head back he took a large swallow of beer, feeling like he’d exposed too much to her. Everything he’d told her was true, he’d just changed the last sentence. He’d been about to say he could choose whether to live or die, but this was not that kind of conversation. Everything had changed since he’d learned that Wicked was alive, and he would continue on that trajectory. He refused to backslide.

“I can understand all of that. I’m glad you’re out now,” she told him softly. “I know you didn’t leave the way you wanted to, but after seeing the guys in the rehab you could have been so much worse off.”

“Yes,” he agreed softly. “I can’t even begin to tell you about all the friends and teammates I’ve lost.”

“I’m so sorry,” she said softly. She reached out to rest her hand on his and Luca stilled, looking at her. It hadn’t escaped his notice that she looked different tonight. Her hair was down, brushing her shoulders, and it looked like it had been fluffed or something. There was makeup around her golden eyes and a pale gloss on her lips. Had she done that before? He couldn’t remember for sure. The fact that she’d taken the time to do it tonight made him feel good. Made him feel more like a man than he’d felt in a long time.

The feeling made him leery. It had been a long time since he'd had any kind of romantic interaction. Yes, it felt good to be with Erin but would he have the same feeling with any other woman? He hated to think that way, but he was smart enough to know that what you felt wasn’t necessarily what was true.

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