Page 26 of Mountain Rescue
Dallas carried his plate and Rachel’s to the kitchen. He suspected the girls wanted time alone to talk about what Rachel had told them. He’d met Nichole previously and really liked her. She was perfect for Jack. And Peyton was hilarious, especially when she got on a roll. It was obvious that Noah was besotted with the woman. He was glad to see his brothers happy.
Could he find what they had someday? He’d always wanted a family eventually. Unlike many of his teammates, he hadn’t planned to stay in the Navy until they kicked his tired bones out. Three more years was what he’d given himself before he was captured, then the plan was to figure out what to do with the rest of his life and find a woman to fall in love with. They would have babies and live happily ever after.
Overnight, those plans had changed. Now he was on medical leave and had no intention of returning to active duty. He was rudderless, and not in a good place to bring a woman into his life. He wasn’t sure he ever would be.
Yet Rachel made him feel alive again. Damn if he understood why. It was a puzzle he wanted to solve. Being around her...well, she gave him hope that his mind could heal. He’d always have the scars on his body, and he could live with that, didn’t have a choice.
So what was he going to do about his wildcat? He didn’t have an answer, not yet anyway.
Four dogs trotted into the kitchen, including Dakota and Lucky. Dakota had been the team’s dog, Jack her handler. An IED had exploded, wounding them both, ending their military careers. “Who are your friends, Dakota?”
“These other two are Rambo and Maggie May.” Jack set the dishes on the counter and swept his hand downward. All four dogs sat. “It’s really good to have you here.”
“Better than I thought it would be.” He leaned against the counter as Jack loaded the dishwasher.
“If it’s helping, then I hope you stick around for a while.” Jack started to say something else, then stopped.
“You got something on your mind?”
“Just that I see the way you look at Rachel. She’s a good friend, Nichole’s best friend. You’re not in a good place for a relationship, and Rachel’s not a woman you just have a fling with. I love you, brother, but I won’t stand by and watch you hurt her.”
“Think much of me, do you?” Dallas pushed down the anger bubbling up before he said something he couldn’t take back.
“I think the world of you. Hell, you know that. That’s not what this is about. I don’t want to see either of you get hurt. You’ve been through more recently than any person should have, and Rachel will soak that up. She’ll feel your pain and be drawn to you. She’ll want to heal you.”
“What do you mean, soak that up?”
Jack closed the door to the dishwasher, then leaned back against the opposite counter. “She hasn’t told you?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Rachel’s an empath. She feels your emotions, your pain.”
He didn’t want anyone, especially her, feeling his pain. Why hadn’t she told him?
“I know that sounds farfetched,” Jack said. “But there is such a thing. I’ve seen it happen with her.”
“My sister Cheyenne’s mother-in-law is Crow, and she has that ability. I guess I just thought it was a First Nations thing and the way the Indigenous people are in tune with the earth in a way we’ve forgotten.” He’d always thought it was a cool thing that Chenoa could do, but he didn’t so much like Rachelfeelinghim. What he’d lived through was for him alone to deal with.
“We talking about what we’re gonna do?” Noah said, coming in with his own stack of dishes.
“I was about to tell Jack that I’m supposed to call TG later tonight,” Dallas said, cutting off anything Jack might say about warning him off Rachel. He needed to do some thinking about her, what she was, and what he planned to do—if anything—without more input from his well-meaning brothers.
Noah made a funny face. “That man scares me.”
“He’s definitely spooky,” Jack said. “Rachel only said that he’d made the call to the FBI so her phone couldn’t be traced. He have anything else to say?”
“Not really. He’s going to do some digging, see what he can find on Hargrove.”
“Okay, that’s another member of the team and a good one to have.” Jack glanced at Noah. “You free first thing tomorrow?”
“Yeah. The concrete truck will be at the site in the afternoon to pour some foundations for the cabins, but I’m free until then.”
“Good.” He turned to Dallas. “Let’s meet for breakfast and make some plans. Then you can hang with Noah after that. I’d like you to see what we’re doing.” He glanced at Noah. “Show him where we’re thinking about an equine center and get his input on what we need.”
Dallas was curious about Jack’s plans for his new center, but having a meeting that involved Rachel behind her back? That was a no-go. “If we’re going to meet to make plans on how to protect Rachel, then she needs to be there.”
“Why did I know you were going to say that?” Jack narrowed his eyes. “I’m telling you right now, brother, she’s off-limits.”
