Page 26 of Between a Rock and a Hard Cowboy

That was when she realized that Linc Wilder, wearing nothing but boxer shorts and a T-shirt, was not nearly covered up enough.

From his thick thighs to bulging biceps to well-defined pecs that probably surpassed the size of her A-cup breasts, he was too naked for her to be able to hang out with him. Not here in the bedroom. Not even down there by the fire.

“I’ll, uh, leave you alone to get dressed and meet you downstairs.” Hopefully, he’d take her hint and put on some more clothes.

She was sitting in the chair warming her hands by the fire when Linc trotted down the stairs a minute later. He’d pulled on red plaid flannel pajama bottoms and suede slippers, but his biceps still bulged from beneath the short sleeves of the tight white T-shirt.

“Aren’t you cold in just that shirt?” she asked, more concerned that the sight of his muscles was making her feel warm in places not exposed to the heat of the fire.

“I’m good,” he said, bending to grab another log from the pile and toss it onto the flames. “I’ll probably stay down here for the rest of the night. Keep an eye on the fire.”

She had to wonder if that was really the reason, or if he didn’t want to go back to bed for fear of more nightmares.

“Okay.” She nodded watching him grab the throw folded over the back of the sofa and carry it to the chair nearest the fireplace.

Sitting, he spread the throw over his lap, leaned back and the leather wing chair turned into a recliner.

“Wait. What?” Her eyes widened. “What magic is this?”

He grinned wide enough a dimple that rarely showed itself appeared. “Cool, right? I found them online. That one does it too.”

“You mean I could have been reclining all day and you just decide to reveal this now? Way to bury the lead, dude.” She smiled in return, happy for the light conversation. Maybe it would help him forget the dream.

“Sorry. You didn’t ask.” He shrugged.

Grabbing the other throw from the sofa, she sat and copied Linc’s action, pushing back. The chair yielded, just as his had, until her feet were thrust out toward the fire and her head back. “Well, I can tell you I won’t make that mistake again. From now on, every new chair I sit in, I’m going to ask the owner if it reclines.”

That got her a small smile from Linc and then it wasn’t just the fire that warmed her.

ChapterThirteen

They sat in silence for a few moments. Watching the flames dance as they caught onto the new log he’d added. Absorbing the warmth of the crackling fire. Appreciating the silence from outside as a layer of snow insulated them.

“It happens almost every night,” he said.

“That dream?” she asked.

“The memory. Nightmare. Both,” he said.

She remained quiet, letting him talk if he wanted to. Not demanding more if he didn’t. It didn’t seem her place to ask for more. At the same time, it did seem like her responsibility to listen if he needed to talk.

“We were scheduled to head out when I tested positive for Covid. So they quarantined me, assigned a replacement and my unit went without me. The mission went sideways. The ones who didn’t die instantly lived long enough to get airlifted to a hospital and die there.”

“Holy shit,” she whispered, more to herself than to him.

Lost in his memories as he stared into the flames, he didn’t seem to hear her anyway as he continued, “I was just over a month away from the end of my contract. I’d been planning to re-up. After that I couldn’t do it.”

Finally, he looked at her.

“It wasn’t that I was scared of dying. It was because I’d lived. I should’ve been there. If I had been, instead of a last-minute replacement, things might have gone differently.”

“You don’t know that.”

“No. But I know it messed with my head. And with my sleep. I wasn’t sure of myself anymore. I didn’t know when or if it would hit me. If I’d freeze up. Fuck up. That made me a danger to others depending on me, so I got out when my contract ended.”

“And came back here,” she guessed.

“Only after I’d hand delivered the personal effects of every man in my unit into the hands of their families.”

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