Page 10 of Healing Her Cowboys
“Is it because of the things you saw over there?”
“I guess you could say that.” Atlas pulled her closer into his arms. “I oversaw my squadron. We were supposed to have a set destination, but something didn’t sit right with me. I changed course, but my team was still attacked. My men died, but somehow, I survived. I found out later that I was right. Bombshad been planted on our initial route, but we still got ambushed anyway.”
“That sounds like it would give anyone nightmares, but at least you tried to protect them. I’m sure they knew that.”
“They all supported my gut feeling. I think that’s what bothers me the most. One of my men even said that they had my back no matter what. He was a good friend too, not just a fellow soldier.”
“What was his name?”
“Brendan Oliver. He was a good guy. All of them were good men.”
Her hands stroked his arm as if it were the only way she could think to comfort him. “You can’t change the past. You can only adjust how you move on from it.”
They both stayed connected in silence, still supporting each other with body contact even though words were hard.
Atlas thought about what Reese said. Would he ever be able to move away from his past? It didn’t feel possible, but at least she kept the shadows of it at bay by being beside him.
Reese broke the quiet first. “I should probably head back to my room.”
He reluctantly let her slip out of his arms, but if he had his way, she would be back in them sooner rather than later.
After a long shower, he finally headed downstairs for breakfast.
Brik was already downstairs taking in the day’s sports section. “Morning,” he said without looking up from the paper.
Atlas could already tell Brik was in one of his moods. He just hoped it didn’t spill over to Reese.
“Look,” Atlas said, “if you’ve got something to say, just say it. Don’t drag her into it. Not today before she’s even started to work with you.”
“You two seemed like you were getting pretty cozy last night.”
“Nothing happened. She helped me out. That’s all.”
“She seemed more than happy to stay in your bed after helping you.”
When Reese slammed her hand on the table, Atlas knew she’d already heard everything.
“I don’t know what you’re hinting at, Brik,” she said through gritted teeth. “I don’t like when people assume they know me. If you have a question, ask. I’ll decide if you deserve to hear my answer.”
Atlas couldn’t hide a little grin. The woman had some fire in her, and he liked it a lot.
“Listen,” Brik said, “I know Atlas comes off as a people’s man, but you’re here to do one job. We don’t need added complications.”
“Brik!” Atlas chastised.
“It’s fine, Atlas. Let him think what he wants. Maybe you should worry less about what Atlas and I are doing and focus on getting your strength back. If you’re serious about me being here to help you, I’ll be in the gym waiting.”
Reese didn’t give him the chance to respond before storming out of the kitchen.
From the looks of it, Brik was in deep shit, and he deserved every moment of it.
Chapter Six
Reese was getting under Brik’s skin in all kinds of ways. He knew he was being a dick, but when he saw her go into Atlas’s room the previous night, his anger just flared up.
“Ready to get to work and stop being an asshole?” she asked him as he walked into the ranch gym room.
Brik’s jaw tightened. “Do I have a choice?”
