Page 19 of A Wilderness Within

“Weare fighting for the world,” she said and smiled when he chuckled. “You’re not the only hero out there.”

“No, I’m certainly not. You’re the one who believes, the one with hope. I’m believing inyou.”

They stayed like that for a moment longer, sharing the warmth and comfort that only such an embrace could give before she turned her thoughts toward finding her family.

“When do we leave for Missouri?”

“The day after tomorrow,” Lincoln replied. “We need supplies. More maps, food, water, and gas.”

“What do I need to do?” She hoped he wouldn’t leave her here. What if he never came back? What if he got hurt? What if…? She didn’t want to think about it anymore. “Food’s on short supply inside the city, but I know of at least one place where we can fill up the gas for the SUV.”

“Good, we can start there.” Lincoln nodded in approval. “We’ll go together, but if I tell you to stay in the car at any point, you do it. Got it? I’m in charge now, kid.” His stern expression firmed his mouth into a hard line. For some reason, after having kissed that mouth, she wasn’t quite as afraid of him when he looked so grave. She raised a hand in salute.

“Sir, yes sir.”

“Smartass,” he growled, but she could see him smirk.

“That’s Captain Smartass to you.”

His lips twitched. “Then I’m afraid I outrank you, Captain, seeing as I’m actually a major.”

At this Caroline laughed. “Okay you got me there, Major Bossy.” God, she hadn’t felt this good in months. It was the first time she’d felt safe—well,safer—and she had hope for the future.

“So what are we going to do until nightfall?” she asked.

“Clean my guns. You know how to shoot?”

Caroline shook her head. “Not really. I played paintball once with some friends from work for a team-building exercise.”

Lincoln rolled his eyes.

“Hey! It could be worse. At least I didn’t say I played laser tag or something.”

“God help me if you had.” His grumble was good-natured as she followed him toward the basement stairs.

“Come upstairs and I’ll show you how to clean the guns. I’ll walk you through the basics of gun safety, but we won’t fire anything. I’m worried those men we heard last night are still nearby. If they hear us firing shots, they might come sniffing around.”

Lincoln headed upstairs, and she followed behind. She didn’t like guns, but right now guns meant safety. If he could teach her, she’d feel a hell of a lot better going to sleep at night.

Two hours later, she sat back exhausted in her chair at the kitchen table. Six different guns, including handguns and even an assault rifle, lay spread out on a beach towel covering the wood surface of the table. Lincoln had walked her through all of them until she understood how to clean and load each one, getting the feel of their weight and how she should stand to fire them. It was unsettling to hold them in her hands, to feel the life-ending power under her fingers. She could see why some men loved guns. But her? Knowing with one tiny squeeze she could kill a man was not a happy thought.

“You hungry? It’s around dinnertime, isn’t it?” she asked as she pushed the last gun away on the table and heaved a sigh.

Lincoln chuckled. “Is that your way of saying you like my cooking?”

She couldn’t deny she felt spoiled by the fact that he was able to make a decent meal out of what he had on hand. She was terrible at cooking at the best of times and was next to hopeless without stocked grocery stores.

“It’s better than my diet of Hostess cupcakes and saltine crackers.” She had discovered early on that those two products had a long shelf life.

“Jesus…tell me you weren’t really eating those. Even the rats don’t eat that stuff.” He was laughing now, and she couldn’t help laughing too.

“They never expire. Don’t judge me.”

The corners of his eyes crinkled, and he smiled as he got his laughter under control. “How about mac and cheese?”

“I might kiss you again if you make that.” She was teasing, but she saw the heat in his gaze in response, and her own body began to hum. Whenever he looked at her like that, like he wanted to devour her, she seemed to vibrate like she was a wineglass half-full and he was stroking his fingertip around the rim, making her sing.

“Promise me that kiss?” he asked. His low, rumbling voice was whiskey rough. Her throat burned as she imagined that kiss.

---