Hold On (Delos Series Book 5) by Lindsay McKenna

off his strength to women, and this was a refreshing change for Callie.
    She began to doze off, and it wasn’t until Beau placed her shoe back on her foot that she roused herself.
    “Feel better now?” Beau asked, gently tapping her ankle.
    “Like night and day,” she admitted, her voice husky as she sat up, rubbing her eyes. “I must have dozed off. I never do that!”
    “Only for about ten minutes,” Beau said. He eased off the stool, walked over to retrieve his rifle, and snapped it back into his chest harness. “The kids will be down for another fifteen minutes. Would you like a cup of coffee? I’m having one,” he said, gesturing at the freshly made pot sitting on the back shelf in the office.
    “That sounds good,” she said, still trying to wake up. “My feet feel wonderful. I guess I owe you,” she offered, feeling suddenly shy.
    “Uh-oh,” Beau teased her mercilessly, pouring her a cup and then adding the sugar and cream she liked. Stirring it, he turned and walked across the office, handing her the mug.
    “What?” Callie demanded, thanking him for the coffee. Her eyes moved upward, meeting his. There was such merriment in their gray depths that she felt embraced by an invisible energy coming directly from him to her.
    “Well,” he drawled, returning to the coffeepot, “you said that you owe me. Now, what am I to think about that?” He sauntered to another chair that sat near hers.
    Callie rolled her eyes. “What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream?”
    “I’m kind of ordinary. I like chocolate.”
    “Not Rocky Road? Chocolate almond fudge?”
    Shaking his head, he enjoyed seeing Callie relaxed and not tense or on guard. “No. But I do like nuts and whipped cream on it when I can get it. Does that count?” His lower body went on red alert as she rewarded him with that luscious smile of hers. It lit up her whole face, her green eyes radiant.
    “Well,” Callie continued, “I happen to be friends with a gal who’s in my B-hut. Carrie works over at the ice cream parlor on restaurant row. She knows I have a weakness for ice cream and usually stores my favorites. I go over once a week, usually on a Saturday afternoon, and get a cup of Rocky Road slathered in hot fudge.”
    “I see,” he said. “It’s nice getting to know a little more about you. What else do you like to do if you have a chance?”
    She sat back, holding the mug in her lap. “When I get home, I get thirty days’ vacation, and I head straight for my grandparents’ ranch. I pull on my jeans, my cowboy boots, my cowboy hat, and a long-sleeved white blouse, and go out and get my favorite mare and go riding.”
    “What does it do for you?”
    Callie was struck by the depth of his question. “Peace. Quiet. A chance to heal myself from all I see over here, every day.” She gestured around the room. “I love my family very much, and just getting to be home with all of them heals me, too.”
    “This work could suck anyone dry,” he agreed quietly.
    “My parents taught us to make a difference, Beau. Be something positive. Dara was inspired to go to medical school and become a doctor. I wanted to work in a more grassroots capacity, I guess. I wanted to effect changes, one person at a time. I signed up with Hope Charity out of Los Gatos, California. I have an apartment there, and when I get done with my thirty days at my parents’ ranch, I go home to that city. I work as an office assistant for Hope until it’s time for me to do my six months overseas here, at Kabul.”
    Nodding, Beau added, “Saving one child at a time by giving each a hug?”
    Callie gave him a long, studied look, and felt her heart begin to truly open to this man. He wasn’t like the others, she realized from their unexpected conversation. Never did he talk about himself, what he had accomplished or done in his life. If he talked, he talked in terms of his team. Or his family. It was never about him as an individual.
    “You know,” she began,