Page 36 of Operation Rescue
“I’ll never forget when you told him no matter who got their wires crossed the buck stopped with him.”
She grimaced. “You mean when he laughed at me?”
She’d thought that? “He wasn’t laughing at you. That was approval, not judgment.”
She was staring at him now, shock clear in her face. “How could you know that?”
“Because he told me. Told me how lucky I was to have a wife who had no fear of staring down the officer in charge if it would help me.”
Her eyes widened. “But I was afraid.”
“And you did it anyway,” he said softly. “Honey, what do you think bravery is?”
She stared at him wide-eyed for a moment before she said, “Bravery is what you did, all the pain you went through and never giving up.”
“I never gave up because I couldn’t, not when you were still there, fighting for me every step of the way. Literally and figuratively.”
“Funny thing about bravery,” came Rafe’s voice from behind them. “It comes in all kinds of forms, and they feed off each other.”
He was a little embarrassed that the rugged sniper had clearly overheard at least part of the personal discussion, but after a moment, remembering what the man had been through, putting his own personal life back together, he decided maybe he could learn something from that. He’d have to have a talk with the man. After this was over and Ethan was home safe.
As Rafe joined them in the sitting area, Blaine refused to consider any other possible outcome for this. Ethan would come home, and he would be safe and unhurt when he did.
The rest was merely cleanup.
Chapter 19
Honey. He’d called her honey.
The word opened up a flood of memories, all tangled up with that word. For a moment she could barely breathe.
“—whole bag of it.”
She was startled back into the present. “Mouse and rat food?” Erin asked. “That’s what he took?”
Rafe nodded.
“Maybe he got that pet he always wanted,” Blaine muttered.
She winced inwardly, although he didn’t seem to be aiming that at her. That didn’t stop her from feeling guilty. She’d worked so hard, tried so hard, to provide a stable home life for Ethan, one where he didn’t have to pack up and move all the time. But what he’d really wanted was…a pet? A creature to be responsible for, that he’d have to feed and take care of and who might not like the constant moving any more than she did? An animal who would always need attention, care and feeding—
She felt a nudge, realized Rafe’s dog had moved, and was now right next to her. He’d done it so quietly she hadn’t even realized it. The moment their eyes made contact the dark head came to rest on her knee. The animal kept looking up at her with those gold-flecked eyes. Because it seemed like the thing to do, she reached out to touch the dark fur. And there it was again, that soothing warmth, as if somehow the dog had the knack of infusing calm, comfort.
A thought struck her suddenly and she went very still.
“What?” Blaine asked, observant as always.
“I just…had a thought.”
“About what?”
“That…maybe I was looking at the whole pet thing all wrong. I was looking at it as another responsibility, another weight to carry.”
“Like an adult, not a kid.” Blaine’s voice was quiet, almost understanding.
She stared down at her fingers, still stroking that soft, black fur. It was as if the dog had brought the idea with him, and had somehow given it to her. That was silly, but she couldn’t deny the notion made sense.
“I never really thought about it from Ethan’s point of view. That maybe…maybe he just wanted a companion he wouldn’t lose every time we had to move.”
