I searched my memory. “She likes Captain America. Sandra said she’s into all the Marvel stuff.”
There were noises of approval from my friends. “She’s got good taste,” observed Jake. “Too many girls go for Thor or Hulk. Cap’s the intelligent choice. Also, he’s the patriotic choice.”
“Yeah,” agreed Max. “Plus, Cap’s a soldier, so he gives you an in. Work that angle.”
I considered all of it. “You three aren’t as dumb as you look. I think that’s some good advice. I’ll give it a try.”
“Great.” Kade stifled another yawn. “I’m going home and see if I can sneak in a nap before I shower. See you guys later.”
“Yeah, and I’m going to see if I can convince Samantha to wash my back for me.” Max winked. “If I’m late coming back, don’t send out a search party.”
Jake sighed as the other two took off for the parking lot. “Ever think we’re missing out, Shaw? Being the single guys?”
I frowned. “If you’d asked me that yesterday, I’d have said hell, no. But today . . .” I shrugged. “Not so sure.”
* * *
After PT and my shower, the rest of my morning and much of my early afternoon were spent with the dreaded paperwork. I was just about to start pulling out my own short hair when one of the other company commanders wandered into my small office and dropped his ass into my single visitor chair. Derek McTavis and I had gone through both officer basic and the advanced course together. He was a first-generation American, and every now and then, I could hear traces of Scotland in his voice, thanks to his parents.
“Yo, McTavis.” I turned in my chair. “What’s up, dude?”
“Not much. I was thinking about driving into Richmond tonight to hit some clubs. A couple of the guys from Belvoir got in touch this morning to see if we wanted to meet up, have some drinks.”
I tapped the top of my pen against the desk blotter. “Is Hughes one of them?” Owen Hughes had been stationed at Fort Carson, Colorado with both Derek and me prior to our assignment at Lee.
“You know it. You in?”
I considered briefly. For the first time in my memory, I wasn’t sure how excited I was to drive up to Richmond, hang out with the guys and pick up women. The idea made me a little weary. Fuck, was I getting old? On the other hand, when I thought about Max and Samantha, Kade and Leah . . . and, yeah, Delia Rollins, I got a warm fuzzy feeling that made me want to burrow down and be domestic.
Oh, yeah. No doubt about it . . . I was getting old. Bring on the pipe, the smoking jacket, the slippers and the medicated muscle cream.
Before I could come up with a good excuse, there was a quick knock at the open door, and our battalion commander, Colonel Debbings, stuck her head into the room. “Kincaid, do you have a moment?”
Both Derek and I stood up. I beckoned the colonel into the office. “Of course. Come on in, ma’am. McTavis was just leaving.”
“No need to rush off. Actually, I can kill two birds with one stone if you stay. I just had a call from Colonel Edwards, from the air assault school at Fort Campbell. They have three slots open for the next session, and I know that’s something you’ve been looking at, Kincaid.” She glanced at Derek. “If you’re interested, McTavis, I can forward your name, too.”
“Definitely, ma’am.” I already had the silver Airborne wings pinned onto my chest, and I’d long wanted to add the Air Assault insignia as well. The timing hadn’t worked before now, but if Colonel Debbings was in favor of the idea, I knew it would happen. This was just one reason she was an excellent commander; she made it a priority to keep the goals and strengths of her company commanders in mind and tried to do whatever she could to help us advance our careers.
“Yes, ma’am,” Derke echoed. “I’d really like to go.”
“Excellent.” She smiled. “The session begins next month, so we’ll get the ball rolling on this end and arrange for coverage for your companies during those ten days. Luckily, it’s a short course, so it won’t require you to be away too long.”
“Thanks, ma’am.” I nodded. “I appreciate you thinking of us.”
She smiled. “Hey, if you enjoy rappelling out of helicopters that are hovering 200 feet in the air, who am I to deny you that pleasure?” She shook her head, but I saw the gleam of interest in her eye, and I had a feeling that our fearless colonel wouldn’t have minded taking one of those air assault slots herself. “I’ll send you both emails with the details. Have a good weekend, gentlemen.”
“Ma’am.” We waited until she’d had time to move down the hall a little, out of earshot, and then we both broke into grins.
“Dude.” Derek held out his hand for a high-five. “We are going to be so badass with those wings.”
“Yeah, we are.” Excited anticipation filled me, making me reconsider turning down the fun for tonight. After all, how many more years would I have to go crazy this way?
But before I could say as much to Derek, my cell began to buzz, and I saw Sandra’s name on the screen. Holding up a finger to my friend, I answered.
“Hey, Sandra. What’s up?’
“Shaw.” I heard a hint of frustration and exasperation in her tone. “I’m so sorry to bug you at work. My car is dead. I just came out to try to start it up—I have a conference with Colin’s teacher in twenty-minutes—and it won’t turn over.”
“Do you think it’s the battery?” I’d given her old compact a jump before, and I had a feeling that the battery was close to being done for.
“Yeah, pretty sure. I know, I know . . . you told me to replace it, and it’s on the list.” She sighed. “On the very long list.”
I felt bad that I hadn’t just taken care of this for her. Here I was congratulating myself on being such a great buddy, helping out Jeff’s family, and I’d dropped the ball on something pretty damn important.
“I can run over now and get you a new battery.” I pushed my chair back and stood up, reaching for my car keys.
“That’s really nice of you, and I appreciate it, but at the moment, I just need a lift to the school. I don’t want to be late for the conference. Colin’s teacher this year is strict, and I’m not afraid to admit that I’m a little afraid of her.”
I chuckled. “Got you. Okay, I’ll tell you what. I’ll get you to the school, and then after the conference, we’ll replace the battery.”
“We could do that.” She paused. “But you know, if I can get a ride over there, Chelle Jennings works in the library there, and she lives right next door to me. She can probably drive me home after, so you don’t have to waste any more time than you need to. And then we could worry about the battery this weekend. But meanwhile, you’d be over at Park Elementary, right around the time all the teachers are getting ready to leave.”
I followed her line of reasoning, and a smile curved my lips. “Sandra, you didn’t sabotage your own car, did you? Just to give me a reason to be in the parking lot when a certain first grade teacher comes out of the school?”
“Absolutely not.” Sincerity rang in her voice. “But it did feel a little serendipitous. And if it works out, then you can fix my battery and we’ll call it even.”
Grinning, I scooped up the keys. “On my way over to get you. But you know, Delia made it pretty clear that she isn’t interested in me. I’m not sure showing up to surprise her is the best plan.”
“Trust me, Shaw.” Sandra sounded certain enough that I figured she had a plan. “Would I ever steer you wrong? Now stop talking and get moving. I’ll be waiting out in front of my house.”
I hit the end button and dropped the phone into my back pocket. “Derek, sorry. I think I’m going to wimp out on tonight. Tell the guys . . . hell, tell them what you want. I’ve got one lady to help out, and another one who I think I’m going to, uh, woo.”
He cocked an eyebrow at me. “Am I missing something? The great Shaw Kincaid is going after a chick who isn’t interested in him?” He shook his head in mock sorrow. “The end times are upon us, buddy.”
<
br /> “Maybe.” I picked up my cap from where it lay on the desk. “But hey—nothing ventured, nothing gained, and I have a feeling this is the girl who is worth the risk.”
Chapter Four
Delia
It was a rare day when I left school before five in the afternoon, even though teachers were technically off the clock by three-thirty. As I locked my classroom door behind me on the way out, I had a guilty sense of playing hooky, as if I were sneaking out when I was meant to be still working.
But it was a beautiful day, and I’d done the nearly-impossible by catching up on paperwork during my free periods. I had no meetings or calls to make, and there was nothing to keep me inside. Today was the perfect afternoon to finally start training for that pesky half marathon that was looming in front of me.
I dug into my purse to find my car keys, biting the corner of my lip as I felt around for them, making a mental note to clean out the dang handbag when I got home. Walking as I searched, I nearly ran into the bumper of a black Jeep parked two spots over from my own sensible sedan.
“Whoa there.” A warm and vaguely familiar voice startled me. “You better watch where you’re going, or you could end up roadkill.”
Frowning, I squinted at the tall figure leaning against the Jeep, although I was beginning to have a sneaking suspicion about who it was. Regulation Army fatigues stretched over broad shoulders? Check. Short black hair? Check. Piercing blue eyes? Hmmm. Impossible to see behind the tinted sunglasses, but I was going to assume they were there. Impossible smirk on those full lips? Oh, yeah, check.
The little spring of happy that had been bubbling up in me suddenly went dry.
“What are you doing here?” I hadn’t meant to sound quite so hostile and accusatory, but there it was. “Please don’t tell me you were waiting for me. This is bordering on stalker status now.”
Shaw Kincaid slid his sunglasses down the bridge of his nose a little way, just far enough for me to be able to see his quirked eyebrow.
“Feeling a little self-important, are we, Delia? Did you ever think there might be another reason I’d be out here?”
I put my hand on my hip. “Oh, really? And just what would that be? Were you called here on a special mission?”
He resumed his position against the vehicle, crossing his arms over his chest . . . which, holy God, was probably a work of art, judging by how it appeared even under the loose BDUs. I pulled my gaze away with no small amount of difficulty.
“It just so happens that yes, I was called here on a special mission. Sandra has a parent-teacher conference this afternoon, and her car wouldn’t start. I happened to be available to give her a lift, because I’m a good friend and all around terrific guy. I’m waiting here to see if she needs a ride home.” As if on cue, his phone chimed, and Shaw leaned forward a bit, reaching into his back pocket to retrieve it. He scanned the screen. “Which she doesn’t, as apparently one of the other moms from post is here and offered to drive her back.” He slid the cell phone back into his pants, and I tried hard not to ogle the curve of his ass as the cloth was pulled tight over it.
“Oh.” I felt horribly small all of a sudden. When had I started being so full of myself that I’d assume a guy who just happened to be in my school’s parking lot was actually here to see me? Before Dane and I had begun dating back in high school, I’d been terribly shy, riddled with self-doubt. It had taken years of his love and constant assurance of my worthiness before I’d started to bloom. Apparently now I’d gone the other way.
“I’m sorry,” I managed to squeak out. “I shouldn’t have . . . it’s just that you texted yesterday, and I figured maybe you hadn’t taken no for my answer.” I cleared my throat. “Anyway, again, my apologies, and if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to drive home and pretend the last five minutes didn’t happen.”
“Wait a second there.” Shaw stood up and closed his hand around my arm before I could walk away. “I said I hadn’t come to see you particularly, but don’t you think it’s a funny coincidence that we happened to bump into each other?”
“Coincidence? Maybe. Funny? Not so much.” I tried to move away from him without making a big deal about it, but Shaw’s fingers were secure on me—not squeezing or hurting anything, just . . . there. Five bands of steel ensuring I didn’t get away.
He grinned, and I was pretty sure all my nether regions went to mush. Damn. What was it with this guy? If I had a button, he definitely knew how to push it.
As if he knew what I was feeling, his eyes swept down over my body, lingering on my boobs long enough to admire them without it getting super creepy. When his gaze wandered lower, it was as though I felt the heat of his stare spreading through my veins.
“I think it’s kismet,” he murmured. “And I think it also means we should go . . . uh, get a cup of coffee. What do you say?”
I sighed, wishing I could tell him yes. I wished like hell that he was an ordinary guy, someone with a nine-to-five desk job, where the biggest risk he faced was a papercut. I wished that the hot body standing in front of me was dressed in anything but a military uniform. As tempting as he was . . . and as much as I wanted to give him a chance, I couldn’t risk my heart on another man who lived for danger.
“I can’t.” I kept my voice soft but definite. “What I said before still stands.” I smiled at Shaw, just to show that I didn’t have any hard feelings. “Actually, even if you weren’t in the Army and thus off-limits to me, I’d have to take a rain check. I have to do something this afternoon that I’ve been putting off way too long.”
His eyes narrowed a little, and then he pushed his glasses back into place. “Oh, yeah? What’s that?” He’d dropped his fingers from my arm, and now he stepped away slightly. “Is it, uh, a lady thing?”
I laughed. “If I said yes, you’d be out of here so fast, I’d be eating your dust, wouldn’t I?” Men were men, no matter how big and hunky they were.
“Hmph.” Shaw folded his arms again. “No. I can deal.” Still, his lips twitched, and if I were really thinking about pursuing this guy, I’d have totally called him on it.
As it was, I let him off the hook. “No, it’s not anything like that. I have to start training for a half marathon.”
He cocked his head. “Uh, okay? Are you a runner?”
“No. I mean, I never have been. It’s sort of a long story.”
When Shaw made a rolling motion with his hand, I sighed and went on. “Last fall, one of the other teachers was recruiting people for a team to run this race for charity. She was all excited about the money we could raise for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and I don’t know what got into me, but somehow, I thought it sounded like a good idea for me to do it. It seemed so far away back then. And I kept thinking . . . well, I’ll start training for it soon. And then it was the holidays, and then it was too cold to think about being outside.”
“Ah. Uh huh. What about going to the gym and running on the treadmill?” Shaw shifted his weight to the other foot.
I wrinkled my nose and stuck out my tongue. “I don’t belong to a gym, and yuck. Gyms are smelly and gross.”
“Have you ever been inside a gym?” Shaw inquired. “Or are you making this judgement call based on old television shows and boxer movies?”
“I don’t need to go inside. I can just tell. Anyway, you’re missing the point, and I’m burning daylight. I need to go. If I don’t start today, I never will, and I’ll be the loser—literally—at the end of the pack, and everyone will be standing there giving me pity claps.” I’d had actual nightmares about being the last runner across the finish line, the one everyone felt sorry for as they waited for me to finally be done.
“Okay.” Shaw pushed himself off the side of the Jeep. “When is this race?”
I swallowed hard. I’d been hoping he wouldn’t ask that. “Six weeks,” I mumbled.
He leaned down closer to me. “What’s that? I thought you said six weeks.”
“I did.” I gnawed my lip again.
“I used to do the track thing during PE at school. You know, where they make you run and the gym teacher times you with a stopwatch. But otherwise? No. I’m not really an athlete. I’m more of a sit and watch the athletes.”
“All right.” Shaw rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, it’s not going to be easy, but if you’re committed and stay focused, I think we can do it. I’m not going to promise that you’ll set any records, but you’ll finish.”
“Wait . . . what?” I stared up at him. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m saying that I’m going to help you train for this.” He coughed a little. “Actually, you’d be doing me a favor. I could use a little work on my own running. I’ve been slacking lately.”
Now I had a dilemma. I couldn’t possibly commit to spend time with Shaw Kincaid on a regular basis. It wouldn’t be good for either of us. For me, it would be an exercise in frustration. For him, it would be a waste of time.
But there was no way I could ask him if he was offering his help just to spend time with me—not after I’d made a fool of myself a few minutes ago, assuming he was stalking me in the parking lot. I wasn’t going to make that mistake again.
“Delia.” Shaw took off his glasses completely this time and smiled down at me. It was the first time he’d uttered my name, and somehow the way his tongue caressed the syllables went straight to my center, making me throb and want. The expression on his face made me catch my breath as my heart took off, thumping against my ribs. “Come on. This isn’t rocket science. I’ll meet you every day after work, and we’ll train together. That’s it. I don’t have an ulterior motive. I’m just making an offer that works out for both of us. You can’t turn that down, can you?”
“Not when you put it that way, I can’t.” At least, I couldn’t say no without sounding like a bitch. I tapped my foot on the pavement. “All right. Fine. As long as we both understand—no funny business, no innuendo or flirting, and no pressure. Right? Are we both clear?”
Hitting the Silk: A Career Soldier Military Romance Page 4