new leg!”
Rafa’s ebullience turned back to doubt. “I did.”
“Oh, I’m so happy for you.” She came at him fast, and for a moment he worried that she’d knock him over, but she slowed and caught him in a hug.
Her blonde hair pressed against his face, soft and curly. She smelled faintly of perfume. Pure woman. Pure sex. It made his loins stir in a way that was becoming wonderfully familiar.
“It’s just temporary,” he said. “The doctors are getting me a more formal attachment so I can switch them out, but they let me take this one so I can keep exercising.”
Emily kissed him full on the lips, holding it until he thought he’d have to take her upstairs and ravish her immediately. “Good.” She stepped back, appraising him. “How do you feel about skiing?”
“Skiing?” He looked down at his leg. “I don’t know...”
“Well, if you don’t have plans this weekend, Christa and Paul offered to let us use her parents’ cabin. I thought it might be nice to spend some time together. And there are the most amazing slopes.”
Rafa scrubbed his hands on his pants. He was excited to be able to walk without pain, and she wanted to go skiing? Carajo , but this woman wasn’t the sort to stop for a breath. “I don’t know how. And I don’t have any skis.”
Her smile paled for a few seconds, then returned as strong as ever. “I can teach you and we can rent equipment. If you want to go.”
“Can we talk about it?”
“Of course.” She held out her right hand, letting him catch it with his left, then they headed toward her car together.
Rafa smiled back, easing the worry that ached within her. She so desperately hoped they could find a way to make it all work.
#
She stopped at a sporting goods store that had a parking lot full of trucks and SUVs with ski racks on the roof.
“Are you sure?” she asked again.
He wasn’t sure, not really, but he’d long since learned that the best way to handle fear was to face it head on. “I’m sure. If I fall down the mountainside I don’t have to worry about breaking both my legs. I can just replace the right one.”
Emily’s eyes went wide, as if she wasn’t sure whether she should laugh or not.
“It’s a joke,” he said.
She shook her head. “You’re a weird duck sometimes.”
“It’s the PTSD.”
“That you don’t have.”
“Right. But don’t tell the clerk. I bet we get an even better discount if they think I’m crazy in addition to being a wounded veteran.”
They trooped into the store, catching a few looks of surprise when the other shoppers saw his foot. Let them be surprised. He was just happy to be walking without pain.
“Back this way,” Emily said, angling for the back corner of the store. Skis hung from the rafters. Ropes and carabineers hung in a display with goggles and crash helmets.
“We used to use helmets like that.” He pointed to a black helmet. It had the same general shape as the tactical gear he’d used for house to house missions.
“In Afghanistan?”
“In Iraq.” He picked it up, inspected the interior. It had a foam core, and it felt lighter than what he was used to. “It’s not quite the same, though. Ours had Kevlar.” He set it back on the rack.
“I didn’t realize you were in Iraq, too.”
“I was for a while. I can’t talk about most of it, though.”
“Too painful?”
“Too classified.”
That made her laugh. “Well, I won’t ask then. I’d hate if you had to kill me.”
Rafa leaned over, winked and gave her a peck on the lips.
A salesman wandered toward them. He had the easy lope of an athlete and the bored expression of a college student. No situational awareness, though, so certainly not a threat. The way he looked at Emily stirred Rafa to jealousy far more intense than Paul’s comment earlier in the week.
He mentally stepped back, surveying the situation and his own emotions. It was a skill he’d learned through hard years of training, and he liked what he
Rafa’s ebullience turned back to doubt. “I did.”
“Oh, I’m so happy for you.” She came at him fast, and for a moment he worried that she’d knock him over, but she slowed and caught him in a hug.
Her blonde hair pressed against his face, soft and curly. She smelled faintly of perfume. Pure woman. Pure sex. It made his loins stir in a way that was becoming wonderfully familiar.
“It’s just temporary,” he said. “The doctors are getting me a more formal attachment so I can switch them out, but they let me take this one so I can keep exercising.”
Emily kissed him full on the lips, holding it until he thought he’d have to take her upstairs and ravish her immediately. “Good.” She stepped back, appraising him. “How do you feel about skiing?”
“Skiing?” He looked down at his leg. “I don’t know...”
“Well, if you don’t have plans this weekend, Christa and Paul offered to let us use her parents’ cabin. I thought it might be nice to spend some time together. And there are the most amazing slopes.”
Rafa scrubbed his hands on his pants. He was excited to be able to walk without pain, and she wanted to go skiing? Carajo , but this woman wasn’t the sort to stop for a breath. “I don’t know how. And I don’t have any skis.”
Her smile paled for a few seconds, then returned as strong as ever. “I can teach you and we can rent equipment. If you want to go.”
“Can we talk about it?”
“Of course.” She held out her right hand, letting him catch it with his left, then they headed toward her car together.
Rafa smiled back, easing the worry that ached within her. She so desperately hoped they could find a way to make it all work.
#
She stopped at a sporting goods store that had a parking lot full of trucks and SUVs with ski racks on the roof.
“Are you sure?” she asked again.
He wasn’t sure, not really, but he’d long since learned that the best way to handle fear was to face it head on. “I’m sure. If I fall down the mountainside I don’t have to worry about breaking both my legs. I can just replace the right one.”
Emily’s eyes went wide, as if she wasn’t sure whether she should laugh or not.
“It’s a joke,” he said.
She shook her head. “You’re a weird duck sometimes.”
“It’s the PTSD.”
“That you don’t have.”
“Right. But don’t tell the clerk. I bet we get an even better discount if they think I’m crazy in addition to being a wounded veteran.”
They trooped into the store, catching a few looks of surprise when the other shoppers saw his foot. Let them be surprised. He was just happy to be walking without pain.
“Back this way,” Emily said, angling for the back corner of the store. Skis hung from the rafters. Ropes and carabineers hung in a display with goggles and crash helmets.
“We used to use helmets like that.” He pointed to a black helmet. It had the same general shape as the tactical gear he’d used for house to house missions.
“In Afghanistan?”
“In Iraq.” He picked it up, inspected the interior. It had a foam core, and it felt lighter than what he was used to. “It’s not quite the same, though. Ours had Kevlar.” He set it back on the rack.
“I didn’t realize you were in Iraq, too.”
“I was for a while. I can’t talk about most of it, though.”
“Too painful?”
“Too classified.”
That made her laugh. “Well, I won’t ask then. I’d hate if you had to kill me.”
Rafa leaned over, winked and gave her a peck on the lips.
A salesman wandered toward them. He had the easy lope of an athlete and the bored expression of a college student. No situational awareness, though, so certainly not a threat. The way he looked at Emily stirred Rafa to jealousy far more intense than Paul’s comment earlier in the week.
He mentally stepped back, surveying the situation and his own emotions. It was a skill he’d learned through hard years of training, and he liked what he
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