by Cat Johnson
He drew in a deep breath of hot summer air. “I don’t see why you have to go at all, with or without me. This has nothing to do with our department.”
“Mark asked me to come,” Logan answered.
“Mark Ross? The dean I met at your poker game that one time I sat in as fourth?”
“Yup.”
They continued toward the building where this wine party was being held. It was a hell of a hike in the August heat to be walking clear across campus for no good reason, while wearing his army combat uniform to boot. Maybe if there were a nice cold longneck waiting for him it would be a different story, or if the mixer part referred to cola to mix with a bottle of bourbon, Tuck’s feelings might be changed.
In any case, he knew he could bitch about the mixer, but he didn’t dare complain about the walk or the heat. If he did, Logan would probably make him run the campus with a full pack like he was a damn cadet. Army strong and all that. A soldier could complain about being forced to mingle at a party with some pansy-asses, but he’d better not complain about anything even closely resembling PT. Even if the T-shirt under his ACU would be soaked with sweat by the time they reached this shindig.
Maybe subjecting his new professor to two sweaty soldiers would teach this friend of Logan’s from the English department not to invite the military science crew to a fancy wine mixer.
Tuck considered why they were invited in the first place and still couldn’t come up with a good reason. “You know, just because you guys play poker together every week still doesn’t give me any reason why you have to go to this English mixer thing.”
“He wanted a big turnout for his new professor. She just moved all the way from New York and doesn’t know anybody, so he thought it would be nice. She’s supposedly smoking hot, if that helps ease the burden on you any.” Logan shot him a sideways glance.
New York. That’s where Becca was from. He swallowed away the dryness in his throat. His body still reacted viscerally at just the thought of Becca. If he didn’t watch it, he’d have a hard-on walking into this party.
He drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly, focusing again on the conversation before his memories ran away from him. “I seriously doubt she’s hot, and even if she is, I don’t exactly think English professors are my type. Or that I’m theirs. The only books I own are The Art of War and Schwarzkopf ’s autobiography.”
“So? I thought that bio was a good read.”
Tuck frowned so deeply he could see the brim of his watch cap lower from the action. “Yeah, it was. And what do you think the chances are little miss professor has read it? I’ll tell you, slim to none.”
Logan laughed. “You never know. Besides, opposites attract and all that.”
He let out a snort. “You can’t get much more opposite than a soldier and bull rider from Oklahoma and an English professor from New York.”
“Don’t sell yourself short. You’re on equal footing here. You’re both faculty at a damned good university. Just because you’re usually teaching military operations and tactics and she teaches—hell, I don’t know—poetry or whatever, doesn’t mean you’re not on the same level.”
What was this big push by all his friends to make him keep associating with random women from New York? First Jace at the rodeo—not that he regretted that, except for all the sleep he’d lost over Becca since then. But now Logan was in on the act, too, by making him go to this party.
He frowned at Logan. “You’re single. Why are you trying to push this woman off on me? What about you? You can just as easily compare military biographies with her as I can.”
“If that’s how you feel, fine.” Logan shrugged. “Just thought it was about time you got back on the horse. You know, started to get out and meet people. Mingle a little. It’s been a year since the divorce.”
What, did all his friends have the anniversary of his divorce marked on their calendars? “I’m fine, thanks. I don’t want to meet any new people. And I’ve recently been back on the horse, thank you very much.”
The only thing admitting the truth to Logan did was make Tuck miss that ride, and regret never seeing again one particular filly with bright blue eyes and hips a man could hold on to all night long. Crap, he was definitely going to get a full-blown hard-on if he didn’t redirect his thoughts. And how had he let this conversation turn to sex?
“Oh, really?” Logan actually stopped walking and turned to face Tuck. “When?”
He kept walking and said over his shoulder, “I’m not talking about it.”
“Fine.” Logan’s long strides brought him even with Tucker again in no time.
Meanwhile, he had taken a moment to consider this mysterious guest they were going to meet and what Logan had said about her. His frown deepened. “Wait a minute—the dean of her department is going around telling people his new hire is hot? That’s pretty unprofessional. He’s lucky if he doesn’t lose his position and get his ass sued for shit like that.”
Tuck should know. They’d all had to sit through more than their share of sexual harassment seminars in the military.
“It wasn’t Mark. One of the cadets told me. He was on line behind her when she was getting her photo ID yesterday. He heard everything. She was telling the clerk she’d just got hired in the English department. That she moved from New York. Has to be her.” Logan shrugged.
“Hmm. Guess so.”
“The kid compared her to some actress I never heard of but all the guys apparently think is smoking.” Logan pulled open the door to the building and held it while Tuck let that information soak in.
An English professor who was hot enough for a still wet-behind-the-ears cadet to notice. Hmm. Too bad Tuck wasn’t interested. Hot women were nothing but trouble. Take his ex-wife for example. And Becca—one night with her had left him waking up in the middle of the night hard and unhappy for weeks now.
He followed Logan down the hallway of the air-conditioned building, happy at least to be out of the sun. Maybe some of that wine wouldn’t sit so badly after all—if it was cold.
Once inside the room, he decided he might need more than wine to endure this event. He stifled a groan and then glanced at Logan, unhappier about this than before. It was even worse than he’d imagined.
One old man who looked freakishly like Santa Claus was stationed next to the cheese platter, where it looked like he was trying to eat enough so he wouldn’t need dinner. There were two women of indeterminate ages, heads bent low as they whispered to each other. They were both dressed in sweaters even though it was August. The pinched expressions on their faces made the mean librarian from Tuck’s high school look warm and fuzzy.
He swiped his patrol cap from his head and shoved it into one of the pockets in his pants as he looked around at the other attendees. At first glance, they seemed no better than cheese guy and the two conspiratorial librarians.
“Uh, Logan, how long do we have to stay?” It was like a nursing home in here, which made the reports of the new English professor being hot even more ludicrous.
“At least until the guest of honor gets here and Mark sees me.”
Ha! Judging by his tone and that answer, he could tell Logan was no happier to be here than he was. Good to know, since misery loved company. Misery also loved alcohol. “I’m getting a drink. You want one?”
Logan let out a snort of a laugh. “Oh, yeah.”
“Be right back.”
He forgot to ask Logan what he wanted, but when he got to the table with the ice and glasses set up, there wasn’t much of a selection anyway. It looked like some sort of fancy bottled water and wine were the only options. Well then, that made the choice easier, except for whether to get white or red.
Tuck made the decision all on his own to get the white wine since it seemed closer to the beer he really wanted and he was still hot from the walk. He’d get Logan the same. It wasn’t as if either of them knew or cared anything about wine anyway.
Hell, while he was there, he grabbed two bottle
s of water for them, too, and shoved them both in the crook of his arm. Double-fisting wasn’t considered bad party manners if one was nonalcoholic. Right? Besides, the importance of keeping hydrated was a lesson troops learned well during any deployment to a hot region in summer.
Hands and arms full, he headed back to Logan and handed him his half of the refreshments. Logan would have to go up and get the cheese his own damn self if he wanted any. Tuck wasn’t about to wrestle Santa for it.
“They’re late.” He glanced around the room one more time, hoping to see Ross and the guest of honor so they could say their hellos and good-byes and get the hell out of there.
“No, we’re early.”
Great. Nothing like arriving early at a party he didn’t want to go to in the first place. “So you mean some more new and exciting guests might still show up? I don’t know if I can handle any more excitement than this.”
“We could stay for the whole thing . . .” Logan’s veiled threat put a gag on all future smart-ass remarks.
For lack of anything better to do, Tuck chugged the bottle of water in one go and then tossed the empty into the nearby recycling can set up next to the trash. One down, one to go. The excitement never ended around this place. He raised the wine to his lips and was about to take the first sip to determine if it was even worth drinking, when he saw her walk in the door.
He had to stare to make sure he was really seeing who he thought he was seeing. But staring didn’t change a thing. It was her. “Holy crap.”
“What’s wrong?” Logan laid a hand on his shoulder when he didn’t respond. “Tuck? You all right? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
A short laugh escaped Tuck at that comment. Seeing Becca here and now when he’d figured he’d never see her again was almost like seeing a ghost. His focus never strayed from the doorway, where Becca smiled and shook hands with whomever Mark Ross was introducing her to.
“Tucker.” Logan’s voice knocked Tuck out of his shocked silence.
“Yeah. I’m fine.” He finally remembered to respond to Logan. “Uh, do you happen to know the name of this new English professor from New York?”
“I think Rebecca something. Why?”
Close enough. While he considered exactly how to go about explaining the situation to Logan, his friend had already followed the direction of his gaze.
Now Logan was staring at the doorway as well. “There’s Mark. And that must be her. Phew. Now I know why you look like you’re in a trance. The kid wasn’t wrong. She is smoking. Judging by your uh, shall we say, reaction, you agree.” Logan glanced at him. “So, you still not interested in meeting her?”
Tuck let out a snort. “You’re way too late for that.”
He knew the moment Becca saw him. She frowned, looking almost as if she couldn’t place him. Even if she did recognize him, the uniform and his being here at the university would have thrown her. It didn’t fit her memory of him in chaps and his cowboy hat at the rodeo. Or later on of him naked and in bed.
After a few seconds recognition must have hit her. Her eyes opened wide. Her boss had to touch her arm to get her attention, but even when she did manage to shake hands with the woman he was now introducing her to, she kept glancing in Tuck’s direction.
“Tuck, what’s going on?” Logan asked.
How should he put this? “Um, you know how I told you I’d gotten back on the horse recently? Well . . .” Tuck cocked his head in Becca’s direction.
“Her?” Eyes wide, Logan couldn’t have looked more shocked if he’d tried.
“Yep.”
“When?”
“Couple of weeks ago.”
“Since it looks like I’m going to have to drag every word out of you, I’ll move on to my next two questions. How and where?”
“They were in the audience at the rodeo back in July. She and her sister were here from New York for a couple of days. She said she had some meeting.” Tuck let out a laugh as it all started to click in his head.
The important meeting Becca couldn’t miss—it had to have been about this job. So the entire time they were together she knew there was a chance she’d be moving to Oklahoma, if she hadn’t already been hired by then. Yet she never told him. Didn’t give him her number. Didn’t ask for his. Never said a damn word. Like there was no chance she’d ever want to see him again even if she was living in spitting distance from him. That made Tuck feel pretty damn shitty.
“Wow.” Logan’s gaze was back on Becca as he shook his head.
Wow was as good a word as any for his surprise at not only seeing her but finding out all she’d kept from him after the kind of time they’d had together. Apparently he’d been good enough for Becca for one night, but she wasn’t interested in a repeat. If she had been, she would have told him about the job. They would have exchanged phone numbers. He would have been meeting her for dinner, not at this damn wine mixer.
“You gonna be okay?” Logan glanced at him again. “You’re not looking too good.”
“Oh, I’ll be fine.” He downed the wine before the thin plastic cup became the victim of his clenched fist.
This was going to be one hell of an introduction, and judging by the beeline Ross was making in their direction, it was happening sooner rather than later. Jaw set, he lobbed the empty cup into the garbage and turned back for the big introduction. Widening his stance, he folded his arms and braced himself.
“Logan, glad you could make it.” A smiling Mark Ross grasped and shook Logan’s hand, then turned to Becca. “Dr. Rebecca Hart. This is Lieutenant Colonel Logan Hunt, battalion commander of our ROTC program. He’s the military science department head and a good friend of mine.”
As she extended her hand, Becca’s gaze shot to Tuck before she dragged it back to Logan. “Nice to meet you.”
“Pleasure’s all mine, ma’am.” Logan glanced sideways at Tuck.
In a normal situation, it would be polite for Logan to make the introductions between him and the new arrival since it was doubtful Ross remembered Tuck’s name from the one night they’d played poker. But there was nothing normal about this situation. Logan looked a little lost as to how to proceed, and Becca looked like she’d rather be anywhere else but here, under Tuck’s scrutiny. The bitter, spiteful side of his personality took great pleasure in Becca’s obvious discomfort.
“Mark, you remember my friend Staff Sergeant Tucker Jenkins?” Logan turned to include Tuck in the happy group.
“Of course. Nice to see you again, Sergeant. Glad you could make it. Let me introduce you to Dr. Rebecca Hart.”
Becca had a frigging doctorate. She had really been slumming with him that night. This just got better and better.
“Doctor.” He extended his hand and waited to see what she’d do, but he’d be damned if he’d say “nice to meet you.” Forget about that crap. They’d done way more than meet that night in July.
“Sergeant.” The tension in her voice was clear to him. It might even be evident to Logan now he knew. Her boss, however, blissfully ignorant of the situation, looked happy as a clam they were all getting to know each other.
The muscles in her throat worked as she swallowed hard and extended her arm. Becca’s hand in his was as small and soft as he remembered it. That night he’d loved every second he’d held her hand. But to hold it again now, knowing what he knew about her and that night, hurt.
Damn, that was a surprise. Sure, he expected his pride to sting from her slight, but this? This felt like more. It felt like sadness. Regret. Pain.
Crap. He should have stuck to bending buckle bunnies over the bumper of his truck. It was too soon to be with a woman he’d actually wanted to spend more time with. A woman he had really liked.
Damn Jace and his pushing. He’d forced Tuck into it. It was his fault. Logan’s, too. All that get back on the horse talk was about one more friend trying to push him into something he wasn’t ready for. Getting on the horse was a damn good way to get knocked back down to the ground and tramp
led on, if you asked him.
He realized he’d been holding Becca’s hand for far too long and dropped it. He finally brought himself to look her in the eye and found her watching him, but when their gazes collided, she yanked hers away.
“Logan, are you going to hang around for a little bit? I have a few more folks I’d like Rebecca to meet, but I wanted to talk to you about next week’s game. I might have a scheduling conflict.”
Ross had directed the question to Logan, but all Tuck could hear was that he and Logan would be sticking around here longer, when he would really rather not.
“Sure. No problem.” Logan nodded to Becca. “Nice meeting you, ma’am.”
“Uh, you, too.” Her gaze cut to Tuck before her boss steered her off toward cheese man, who’d now moved on to the cut fruit display.
“You can stay, but I’m not.” He glared at Logan while yanking his cap out of his pocket.
Logan pinned Tuck with a stare. “Yes, you are.”
What the hell? This was ridiculous. “Why do I have to stay?”
“Why do you want to leave?” Logan cocked a brow.
“Because it’s obvious the guest of honor isn’t interested in socializing with me. Jeez, she nearly fainted when she recognized me. She didn’t even admit we knew each other.” Forget about how they knew each other in the biblical way.
“Yeah, you’re right.” Logan bobbed his head. “But that’s a good thing actually. With the non-fraternization rule and all.”
That got his attention. What kind of shit was Logan trying to pull here? “The what?”
“Non-fraternization rule,” he repeated.
Tuck’s brows rose. “Uh, you do know Becca’s a civilian. I don’t think the military’s rules about fraternization apply in this case.”
“Oh, so she’s Becca to you, huh?”
Tuck shot Logan a look that said he might just get punched if he continued on that tangent.
“Okay, moving on.” Logan cleared his throat. “I’m not talking about military rules. I’m talking about OSU rules. Didn’t you read the notebook human resources gave you when you got hired?”