Page 27 of Shielded Hearts

Long moments later, she felt Colt rise from her. She reached for her clothes.

“Leave them.” His gruff tone sent a ripple of awareness through her.

Then he did something completely unexpected. He held out the blanket for her to step into.

Reluctantly, she stepped forward. He wrapped the blanket around her shoulders.

With all the protectiveness of a movie hero, he lifted her into his arms.

And carried her to the cabin.

Chapter Six

Colt never woke up feeling rested. He never woke up with a stretch and a smile to greet the day.

For the second time in forever, he woke up without a nightmare clinging to him like a dirty second skin. As a SEAL, focusing on his breathing came without thought. Instead of rough, violent heaves of his lungs as his body searched for oxygen, his breaths came nice and even and his heart thumped in a steady rhythm—a stark contrast to the usual wild panic he usually felt when he woke.

Upon leaving the military, he retreated to the back country, staying for months in a cold, desolate cabin in the mountains. After surviving a harsh winter, he sought something that offered more creature comforts, which was how he found the Tahoe cabin.

But he’d only stayed here a couple months before his little sister barged in, demanding that he was coming home with her to reconnect with the family.

Colt knew what his nightmares were like. He knew how restless his nights could be. The whole reason why he slept in the barn was to spare his siblings the same terrible sleep he got. Or worse, to keep them from running into his room when he woke up screaming from a dream of battlefield chaos.

He blinked at the ceiling. Early morning light trickled through the blinds, drawing soft lines across the down comforter. His mind struggled to make sense of waking without disorienting nightmares or the fight-flight reflex that began long before he ever opened his eyes.

From the pillow beside him came the sound of soft breathing. He turned his head and saw her there—Aspen.

Dark lashes fanned over her cheeks. When he continued to study her, he realized that one of her hands was still latched on to his arm as if he might vanish in the night.

When he laid her down on the king-sized bed, he thought to leave her alone in the master bedroom, but she’d hooked her arms around his neck.

“Stay, Colt.” Her husky tone countered any resistance he would have put up. “Please.”

It was his sanctuary, but she deserved a good night’s rest, and she’d never get that with him beside her.

Only, she had.

Military life had stripped him of the ability to connect with or trust anyone outside his family. It also robbed him of the ability to feel worthy of a moment like this.

Peace.

His scars ran deep. Not many were visible. Yet Aspen had seen something worth holding on to the previous night.

He’d also slept better than ever and woke up feeling rested. Was it her presence or the pre-sleep bump-and-grind workout they’d shared down on the dock?

He had to stop the workings of his brain.

Coffee. He knew from yesterday they both enjoyed starting their day with coffee. Only this morning, he wouldn’t be relying on it to zap him awake enough to function. He felt ready to conquer the world.

When he shifted to roll out of bed, Aspen tightened her grasp on his arm.

He looked down at her. Her eyes must have just popped open, but they were already cleared of the haze of sleep.

“Where are you going?”

“Coffee.”

“Oh, I’d love some coffee. But this is some mattress! The comfort level—I’ve never felt anything like it. And I know mattresses.”

---