Chapter 11 #2
She felt him squeeze her hand, and she closed her eyes and rested her head on the back of the seat.
As if knowing how tired she was, Kane didn’t say anything else. He turned up the music a bit, and between that and the smooth ride, Aspen was soon dozing off.
She woke up when Kane squeezed her hand. “We’re here, kallis.”
Aspen raised a brow in the now-familiar silent question.
“Estonian,” he told her.
Smiling, Aspen nodded and climbed out of the car. As soon as he came around to her side, Kane took her hand again. He was always reaching for her. Holding on to her. Touching her. She’d never dated anyone who was so touchy, and she had to admit she loved it.
They went into the VA hospital where Holman was being treated and found out which room he was in from the lady at the reception desk. They took the elevator up in silence, and it gave Aspen time to stress about what she was going to say to her teammate.
“Stop worrying,” Kane ordered.
Aspen shook her head. “How’d you know that’s what I was doing?”
“You have a worry line right here,” he said, running a finger between her eyes.
“Great, now I’m worrying about wrinkles,” Aspen muttered, but she smiled when Kane merely laughed.
When they got to Holman’s door, she knocked, and when he bade them to enter, Aspen pushed the door open.
She stopped in her tracks upon seeing the number of people in the room.
A pretty woman maybe a few years older than Aspen was sitting in a chair next to Holman’s bed. A young teenage girl was leaning against a wall, fiddling with a cell phone, and a boy—probably around six or seven—sat cross-legged at the end of the bed.
“I’m sorry to interrupt,” Aspen said quickly.
“Mesmer!” Holman exclaimed. “Come in!”
She stepped into the room, the feel of Kane’s hand on her back giving her more confidence than she might’ve had if she’d arrived by herself.
“What a surprise! This is my wife, Lynn, my daughter, Laurie, and my son, Max.”
Aspen greeted each person with a smile and a nod.
“And this is Sergeant Mesmer. Aspen. She’s the one who saved my life.”
With those last seven words, everyone in the room stared at Aspen.
She did her best to shrug off his statement. “I’m not sure I’d say that. All I did was wrap some gauze around your hand.”
“Max, hands over your ears,” Holman ordered, and Aspen smiled at how the little boy immediately did as his father ordered.
The second his son couldn’t hear him, Holman said, “Bullshit. I’m not an idiot, Mesmer.
You were as calm as a cucumber. You gave me your rifle, dealt with Vandine, all while keeping the enemy from entering that alley.
Then you threw the sergeant over your shoulder like he weighed nothing more than a sack of potatoes and got us all the hell out of there. ”
“Daddy, can I listen again now?” Max asked a little too loudly.
Holman smiled at his son and nodded. Then he turned his attention back to Aspen. He held out his good hand and gestured with his fingers for her to come closer.
Surprised, Aspen shuffled forward and took her teammate’s hand. He’d never touched her before, not like this. They’d had to touch each other in training, but this was way different.
“They shouldn’t have left us,” he said quietly, and Aspen knew he was referring to their teammates. “But what sucks the most is knowing that if it had been Buckland, or Hamilton, or anyone else who’d been injured instead of me…I would’ve done exactly what they did. I didn’t realize, Mesmer.”
“Realize what?” she asked quietly.
“How vital you were to our team. That you were actually the most valuable person there.”
Aspen felt her throat close up and she was literally speechless.
“I’ve done a lot of thinking while I’ve been laid up,” Holman went on.
“None of us were happy when you were assigned to our team. We thought you’d slow us down.
That we wouldn’t be able to do our job as effectively.
We were so pissed about what you didn’t have between your legs that we didn’t consider what you had between your ears was so much more important.
I know I’m a day late and a hell of a lot of dollars short, but I’m asking for your forgiveness. ”
“Done,” Aspen said immediately.
Holman nodded at her in relief.
“How’re you really doing?” she asked.
He shrugged. “I’m okay. Losing my hand is gonna take some getting used to though.”
Aspen winced.
“Nothing could’ve been done, Mesmer. I knew from the moment I looked down and saw there wasn’t much left, I’d lose it. You couldn’t have saved it, so don’t even go there.”
Aspen nodded.
“Thanks to you, I’m here,” Holman said. He glanced over at his wife, and the look of love that passed between them was so intense, Aspen was almost embarrassed to be witnessing it.
“I get to see my beautiful Lynn’s face every day, hear my daughter sass me, and listen to my son tell me all about the frogs and snakes he’s found out in the yard. ”
Aspen glanced at Holman’s family again, and it occurred to her that she hadn’t even known they existed until right this second.
She had no idea if the others on the team were married or if they had kids.
They’d never talked about them. But then again, she hadn’t asked.
She’d been so concerned with trying to fit in as part of the team that she hadn’t attempted to connect with her teammates on a personal level.
She realized some of the distance between them was her own fault.
Not all of it, not by any stretch, but she’d made plenty of mistakes too.
Holman’s gaze moved from her to Kane, still standing in the doorway. “I know you, right?”
Aspen dropped Holman’s hand to gesture to Kane. “This is Sergeant Temple. He helped us get to the truck, remember?”
Holman gave Kane a chin lift. “I do. Thank you.”
Kane shrugged. “We didn’t do much. I’m sure if we hadn’t shown up, Mesmer would’ve hot-wired a truck, thrown both you and Vandine inside, and run over anyone who dared get between her and the hospital.”
Holman chuckled. “I have no doubt, but thank you all the same.”
Kane nodded.
“So…what’s next?” Aspen asked Holman.
“I’ll be medically retired, then spend the rest of my life playing the role of a pirate with a hook hand.” He said it in jest, but she could hear the pain behind his words.
“Why did the one-handed man cross the street?” Max asked.
Aspen looked at the little boy in surprise, but Holman smiled huge and said, “I don’t know, son, why?”
“To get to the second-hand shop.”
Everyone laughed, but Laurie rolled her eyes. “That’s rude,” she told her brother.
“You laughed,” he shot back.
“Whatever.”
When Aspen glanced back at Holman, she saw he was looking at his kids with love in his eyes.
He met her gaze and said quietly, “I don’t know what I’m going to do.
All I’ve known is the Army. Joined right out of high school after Lynn and I got married.
But I’ll figure it out. I’m alive, and I have a family who loves me. Everything else is secondary.”
Aspen nodded. Holman had a good attitude. She wasn’t surprised to see moments of doubt and uncertainty in his eyes, but he had everything to live for…and he knew it.
She spent another thirty or so minutes in the room talking with Holman and his family, but when she saw his eyes drooping, she knew it was time to go. She turned to Lynn. “If you need anything, anything at all, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me.”
“Thanks,” the other woman said.
Aspen scribbled her number on a whiteboard in the room. “I mean it. Holman’s part of my team, and that means you are too. Whatever you guys need, just let me know.”
“I appreciate it. We’re good for now,” Lynn assured her.
Aspen wasn’t surprised by her answer. It wasn’t as if they knew each other, which made her a little sad. She smiled at the other woman and gave Holman a chin lift. “See ya, stumpy.”
For a second, she was appalled at the words she’d blurted without thought, but when Holman burst out laughing, she relaxed.
“See ya, Mesmer.”
She left the hospital room and felt the familiar weight of Kane’s fingers on the small of her back. When they got into the empty elevator, she turned and rested her forehead against his shoulder. Kane didn’t say anything, just lifted his hand and massaged the back of her neck.
When they got back to his car, he took her into his arms before she could get inside.
How long they stood there, hugging each other in the parking garage, Aspen had no idea. But by the time she pulled back, she felt a lot better.
Kane studied her for a long moment, then nodded. “Hungry?” he asked.
“Starving.”
“Mexican?”
Aspen’s eyes lit up. “Uh…duh.”
Kane smiled. “How ’bout Torchy’s Tacos?”
“Oh, yeah,” Aspen said. She’d eaten at the popular Austin restaurant a few times and had never left unsatisfied.
What had started out as a very weird and unsettling day was turning out to be pretty darn wonderful…and she had Kane to thank for it.
Hours later, Aspen once more stood in her doorway saying goodbye to Kane.
They’d eaten some amazing tacos then driven back to Killeen, where he’d brought her to his house.
They’d talked, made out, made out some more, then he’d reluctantly told her that he needed to get her home since they both had to be up the next morning.
Even though Kane still had another day off, he was meeting his team for PT bright and early.
Aspen had wanted to protest, but she knew he was right, they both needed to get some sleep. “When will I see you again?” she asked as they stood in her doorway.
Kane frowned. “I’m not sure. The team and I are headed down to San Antonio after PT to help some firefighter acquaintances with a fundraiser thing.”
He blushed when he said it, which piqued Aspen’s curiosity. “What fundraiser thing?”
Kane shrugged. “They’re raising money for firefighters and other public service members who suffer from PTSD.
It’s a carnival-type thing, where kids get to try to dunk firefighters and other volunteers into a dunk tank, throw pies in our faces, things like that.
There’ll be three-legged races and even a petting zoo.
Several organizations with emotional support animals will be there too. ”
Aspen felt her heart melt. “You’re a good man, Kane Temple.”
“I’m glad you think so,” he said. “But to answer your question, I don’t know when we’ll see each other again. I’ll be sure to text though. Okay?”
“More than okay,” she told him with a smile.
“Go get off that leg,” Kane ordered. “You’ve been on it most of the day.”
That wasn’t exactly true, as she’d been in the car for a lot of the time, and when they’d gotten to his house, they’d been on his couch, making out or talking, but she nodded anyway. It was nice to be fussed over.
“Drive safe tomorrow.”
“I will. Come here,” Kane said, even as he was pulling her into him.
Ten minutes later, and feeling out of breath from his kisses, Aspen finally shut the door, making sure to lock it up tight. She ran to the window and waited until Kane had pulled out of the parking lot before heading to her bedroom.
As she lay in bed, in the dark, staring at the ceiling, Aspen thought back to what both the major and Holman had said earlier in the day.
She wasn’t happy with the Army anymore. When she’d joined, she’d been gung ho and excited about making a difference.
Paving the way for other women to be in special forces.
But now she was just tired. She wasn’t sure she’d paved anything, and it was time to do something she enjoyed.
Time to find the team she’d been searching for.
She wasn’t going to find the same kind of camaraderie Kane had with his team, not while still in the Army. But maybe she could find it elsewhere.
And a little voice inside her head whispered that she could slip into the team Kane and his friends had already made.
He’d talked about Gillian and Kinley, how important they were to Trigger and Lefty, and, in turn, the rest of the guys as well.
She wanted that. Wanted girlfriends she could trust. Wanted a job she loved, working with people she enjoyed spending time with.
But more than all that, she wanted Kane. Wanted him in her bed, or to stay with him at his house. She wanted to cook with him then not have to go back to her lonely apartment because it was getting too late. Kane made her happy, and it had been way too long since she’d felt that way.
She didn’t know what would happen in the future with her team, the Army, and some unknown career, but she hoped she’d have Kane by her side through it all.