Page 5 of Trapped with the Covert Ops Soldier

She took it and threw it over her shoulder. “Thanks.” She stared at him, uncertain of what to say.

“You heading to Bandit Creek right away?” he asked.

“Yeah. My dad should be here to pick me up. It’s about a two-hour drive. You’re lucky, you live in Missoula.”

“Maybe I’ll come up for a visit.”

“To buy me dinner?”

“I think that’s a trick question,” he said with a grin that came and went. “How about coffee? In a restaurant. With people all around.”

Now he was acting as if they’d met on a dating site. Disappointment was a led weight at the bottom of her stomach. “Sure, sounds...safe.” Only, she didn’t want safe, not from him.

They stared at each other for a couple of seconds.

“I screwed up didn’t I, doc?”

She sighed and was about to speak, to let him off the hook, but he spoke first.

“I’ve been dying to kiss you for a long time.”

She frowned. “Really? You never gave me any clues.”

“That’s cause I knew you wouldn’t welcome it. You’re a little shit sometimes, but you’re also big on following the rules.” He gave her a half smile. “I also watched you hand Major Fuller his ass in the chow line that first week.”

“Is that why you ran interference for me? You knew I didn’t want that sort of attention.”

He shrugged. “Maybe I’m over protective. Call it a testosterone problem if you want. Look, I just want a chance to see if we could make something between us work.”

Her anger drained away until all she was left with was the bitter dregs at the bottom of the barrel. “It crossed my mind once or twice.”

“What crossed your mind?”

“Hooking up with you.” She laughed, but it didn’t hold any mirth. “But I was smart enough to realize that was a bad idea before I could do anything about it.”

“Why would it be a bad idea?”

“We’ve been working together for months, in a place where the concept ofsafedidn’t exist. The IED explosion...” The memories of that horrible day overwhelmed her ability to speak for a moment, but she reined it in and continued. “It changed us, Smitty. Changed something basic in both of us, and I need time to process it. Time to get myself figured out, because right now I’m no good for any man. Especially not you.”

He stared at her silently for several seconds, then nodded. “You’re right. We both need time to process what happened.” He took a step toward her and put one hand on her shoulder. “But never doubt it, I will be back and we will figure out what we have between us.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”

He smiled at her and winked. “Never.” He grabbed his stuff and headed out of the baggage area. She watched him leave and struggled to hold off the sense of sadness he left in his wake.

Idiot. She’d probably never see him again.

She picked up her duffel and headed toward the exit, but two men in security uniforms waved her down.

Abby walked over to them. “Can I help you?”

“Yeah, you can,” one of them said. He handed her a piece of paper.

A job application.

“Uh, what’s this for?”

“You. You’ve got a talent for crowd control. Want a job?”

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