Page 60 of The Soldier and the Cowboy

“Your hair is down today,” he noted. “It’s the only time sinceyou’ve been here, except for the dance.” They stood on the porch in each other’s embrace. His fingers sifted gently through her tresses.

“I’m not working today,” she explained.

“Why do you take your coffee black some days and others not?” he asked.

She gave him an enigmatic smile. “I’m going to leave you to puzzle over that one.”

“You understand that I want you here,” he said when he could put off the inevitable conversation no longer.

But Bailey understood nothing. How could he let her go with what was between them? Unless what was between them wasn’t what she thought. It was that possibility that held her back and kept her silent.

“It’s been a rough week, a rough couple of years, a rough decade. I feel like I need to get myself together,” he said.

“I understand. But you need to understand I’m not the kind of woman who waits around.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked.

“I’ve been using Jinx’s mom’s blood pressure cuff to keep track of myself while I’m here. Every day my numbers have been perfect. If I can get clearance from a doctor, I can re-up my commission. If and when that happens, I can’t guarantee where I’ll be in a week, a month, a year. Surprisingly, the marines don’t much care about my love life.”

“Did it occur to you the reason your blood pressure is down is because you’re here and if you go back it’s going to go back up?”

“Yes, but now I know all I have to do to fix it is to spend a couple of weeks in the country. So I’ll actually use my vacation time and get away somewhere. Problem solved.”

She was frustrating him with her stubbornness, but he didn’tsay so. Spending fifty weeks of the year on a job that brought her to death’s door was no way to live, in his opinion. But as he wasn’t able to offer her an alternative, he had no say in the matter.

“Sully’s going to be here soon,” she said and stood on her toes to kiss him. “Definitely going to miss those lips,” she added when the kiss was over. They’d had so little time to explore what was brewing between them.

“I do love you, Bailey. You know that,” he said.

“I think I do,” she replied, and he frowned. Did she not understand this was something he had to do? His wife of a decade was murdered mere days ago. It wasn’t the right time to start a new relationship. If only she would stay a while longer, give him more time…

Sully’s car turned up the long lane. They turned to face him, arm in arm.

“Y’all look like we’re about to play Red Rover,” Sully announced as he stepped form his truck. “You still going today?”

“Sure enough,” Bailey said, imitating his gentle twang.

“Well all right then. Say your goodbyes.”

“We already did,” Bailey said. She shouldered her duffle and stepped away from Cal. It would do no good to prolong the moment. They had said all they would allow themselves to say. She hopped up into the truck, without assistance this time, and faced forward, not allowing herself to look back as the truck wound its way back down the long lane.

Chapter 23

Cal wandered back into the kitchen where Cam and Maggie stood talking and laughing. Maggie had finally woken all the way and was back to her cheerful self.

“There’s one piece of bacon left,” she announced. “I’ll arm wrestle you for it.”

“She cheats,” Cam whispered in a loud aside.

“Everybody cheats for bacon,” she returned.

“I’m good, you can have it,” Cal said. He sat, feeling sore and tired for no reason he could figure.

“Did Bailey get off okay?” Cam asked, his tone bordering on tentative.

“Yep.” Cal drummed his fingers on the table and stood. “Think I’ll go for a ride.”

“What is it with you cowboys?” Maggie asked after he’d gone. “Every time one of you gets upset you go off on a horse somewhere?”

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