from the moment their eyes first met?
He kept following her around in search of answers, not out of lust.
John gave a grunt that might have been a rusty laugh. Well, not entirely out of lust, he amended.
The sound hed made brought her head around,although neither of the girls seemed to hear. When Fiona saw him leaning against the wall, she smiled. As if glad he was still here.
There, he thought in shock, might be his answer. She saw him. Really saw him. Not as a Heathcliff she was bent on seducing as part of a weekends adventure, but as if she were interested in him as a person. As if she might even like him.
In fact, she was the only person outside family and old friends whod ever bothered to wonder if he suffered from PTSDand he could tell she had been curious, even if she hadnt meant to ask. Hed only admitted to having served in Iraq to a couple of other veterans whod stayed at the lodge over the past year. They had recognized each other. If others had speculated after seeing his scar, theyd kept the speculation to themselves.
What he didnt know was whether Fiona MacPherson looked at everyone the way she did at him. Why that mattered, he didnt know. In a few days, shed be gone.
But he still wanted to know.
CHAPTER FOUR
F IONA COULDNT BELIEVE John Fallon had thought she would come right out and ask if he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. She didnt know him anywhere near well enough to be that personal. The embarrassing part was that she had wondered, and he could probably tell.
In the privacy of the laundry roomwhere she was shifting loads again perhaps an hour latershe groaned aloud. He must think she had no better manners than Amy! She couldnt even blame him.
Should she apologize once more? Or would it make things worse if she brought the subject up again?
Definitely worse, she decided.
Folding towels in the same style he did, lengthwise in thirds, she couldnt help thinking about what hed said. He needed to decompress, which must mean he was having trouble withShe didnt know. People, noise, nightmares? Of course, there was his limp, too. Shed seen how much his leg hurt him on occasion. Hed go utterly still, his jaw muscles locking, and a sheen of sweat would break out on his face. Was he continuing to do physical therapy, or had he recovered as much as he was going to?
Gee, why dont I just ask him? she said aloud, rolling her eyes.
His voice came from behind her, mild but impossible to ignore. Ask him what?
Fiona froze. Her fingers tightened on the towel in her hands and she said the first thing that came to her. Oh, um, whether you have more laundry soap.
Why? Are we running low? He came closer to her and peered into the tall plastic bucket. Which was half full.
Even more flustered by his nearness and the woodsy scent that clung to him, she babbled, No, no, Im just afraid well use it up. I thought maybe we should start hanging the towels after baths instead of washing them incessantly.
We have plenty of soap. He nodded past her, where half a dozen plastic buckets were stacked against the wall.
Oh. She gave a weak laugh. Im practically tripping over them. Well, now I feel dumb.
Dont.
Her laugh became slightly more genuine, if a touch hysterical. There he went again. Anybody else would have said, Its okay, you were being considerate. Or, Anybody could have missed seeing them. But if John Fallon could compress twenty words into one, he did.
She grabbed almost at random for something to say. You must get sick of laundry during your busy season.
He reached for a towel from the basket and folded with quick efficiency compared to her more deliberate efforts. He was reaching for another by the time she washalf done with one, even though his hands looked too large to be so deft.
If youre here for long, well put the kids to work on laundry, too.
Her embarrassment was fading, thank goodness. She chuckled. The beauty of unpaid guests.
Maybe I should lower my rates in exchange for labor.
You
He kept following her around in search of answers, not out of lust.
John gave a grunt that might have been a rusty laugh. Well, not entirely out of lust, he amended.
The sound hed made brought her head around,although neither of the girls seemed to hear. When Fiona saw him leaning against the wall, she smiled. As if glad he was still here.
There, he thought in shock, might be his answer. She saw him. Really saw him. Not as a Heathcliff she was bent on seducing as part of a weekends adventure, but as if she were interested in him as a person. As if she might even like him.
In fact, she was the only person outside family and old friends whod ever bothered to wonder if he suffered from PTSDand he could tell she had been curious, even if she hadnt meant to ask. Hed only admitted to having served in Iraq to a couple of other veterans whod stayed at the lodge over the past year. They had recognized each other. If others had speculated after seeing his scar, theyd kept the speculation to themselves.
What he didnt know was whether Fiona MacPherson looked at everyone the way she did at him. Why that mattered, he didnt know. In a few days, shed be gone.
But he still wanted to know.
CHAPTER FOUR
F IONA COULDNT BELIEVE John Fallon had thought she would come right out and ask if he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. She didnt know him anywhere near well enough to be that personal. The embarrassing part was that she had wondered, and he could probably tell.
In the privacy of the laundry roomwhere she was shifting loads again perhaps an hour latershe groaned aloud. He must think she had no better manners than Amy! She couldnt even blame him.
Should she apologize once more? Or would it make things worse if she brought the subject up again?
Definitely worse, she decided.
Folding towels in the same style he did, lengthwise in thirds, she couldnt help thinking about what hed said. He needed to decompress, which must mean he was having trouble withShe didnt know. People, noise, nightmares? Of course, there was his limp, too. Shed seen how much his leg hurt him on occasion. Hed go utterly still, his jaw muscles locking, and a sheen of sweat would break out on his face. Was he continuing to do physical therapy, or had he recovered as much as he was going to?
Gee, why dont I just ask him? she said aloud, rolling her eyes.
His voice came from behind her, mild but impossible to ignore. Ask him what?
Fiona froze. Her fingers tightened on the towel in her hands and she said the first thing that came to her. Oh, um, whether you have more laundry soap.
Why? Are we running low? He came closer to her and peered into the tall plastic bucket. Which was half full.
Even more flustered by his nearness and the woodsy scent that clung to him, she babbled, No, no, Im just afraid well use it up. I thought maybe we should start hanging the towels after baths instead of washing them incessantly.
We have plenty of soap. He nodded past her, where half a dozen plastic buckets were stacked against the wall.
Oh. She gave a weak laugh. Im practically tripping over them. Well, now I feel dumb.
Dont.
Her laugh became slightly more genuine, if a touch hysterical. There he went again. Anybody else would have said, Its okay, you were being considerate. Or, Anybody could have missed seeing them. But if John Fallon could compress twenty words into one, he did.
She grabbed almost at random for something to say. You must get sick of laundry during your busy season.
He reached for a towel from the basket and folded with quick efficiency compared to her more deliberate efforts. He was reaching for another by the time she washalf done with one, even though his hands looked too large to be so deft.
If youre here for long, well put the kids to work on laundry, too.
Her embarrassment was fading, thank goodness. She chuckled. The beauty of unpaid guests.
Maybe I should lower my rates in exchange for labor.
You
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