Chapter Seventeen
Blane woke with a start, his arm reaching instinctively for Bea.
She was there—she was safe. He’d disturbed her, but all she did was give him a sleepy smile before snuggling closer against his side and drifting off again.
It was still early. There was light coming in around the curtains, but the sun wasn’t up yet.
He lay there for a few minutes, trying to get back to sleep, but it wasn’t going to happen. Eventually, he pressed a gentle kiss to Bea’s temple before sliding out of bed, pulling on his jeans, and picking up his phone from the nightstand.
He could go downstairs and make coffee but if he did that, he’d miss the sunrise, so instead he quietly opened the doors onto the balcony and went to sit on the stone bench.
As he settled against the cushions, it occurred to him that he should get some like these for the bench he’d bought Bea from the garden center.
He’d found the right spot for it, but it hadn’t occurred to him until now that she’d be more comfortable if she had cushions too.
Maybe she’d want to go to the market in the village today.
She’d talked about it often enough. Apparently, the Friday market was a big thing, and from what she’d told him, it wasn’t just produce and clothes.
There were stalls selling all kinds of stuff.
Maybe that would stretch to cushions, and even if it didn’t, he’d enjoy going—it was fun to watch her shop.
He unlocked his phone, and his heart sank a little when he saw a message from Cash.
Not because he didn’t want to hear from him, but because he’d kind of been burying his head in the sand.
The days here were ticking by, and he wanted to make the most of every one of them, but that didn’t mean he could neglect his life back home.
Cash, the company, his job—they were all still there waiting for him.
Cash: Hope you’re having fun, bud. Didn’t want to call. Figured you probably don’t need to hear from me yet, but I wanted to remind you all the teams are coming in after you get back. Let me know if that’s going to be a problem.
Cash: Only other thing on the horizon is I just signed us a couple contracts. Whichever team we send is going to need some specialized training. No hurry. Client has regular jobs for us through the rest of this year, but next year we’ll be sending guys into different terrain.
Blane scowled as he read. Cash didn’t tend to use terrain as a vague description.
When he said it, he meant it literally—desert, mountains, jungle, whatever the hell the job required.
He checked the time. It was early enough here that it wouldn’t be too late at night in Montana, so he tapped out a reply.
Blane: Yeah, no worries. I know when I’m needed back. What kind of terrain are we talking about?
Cash replied almost immediately.
Cash: Hostile. ??
Blane: No shit. Tell me more.
Cash: Scrubland. Mountains. Dry country.
Blane: Montana works.
Cash: Yeah, you’d think. But training’ll be in winter. Snow won’t help us for this one.
Blane: Sierra Vista?
He frowned at his phone while he waited.
It should be an easy yes or no. He’d taken teams down to the area southeast of Tucson before.
He had contacts at Fort Huachuca, and there was plenty of decent land around there—desert, scrubby mountains.
From what Cash had told him, it sounded as though it’d fit the bill.
Cash: Might not work this time, bud. We may have to get creative.
Another message appeared almost immediately.
Cash: Didn’t expect to hear from you yet. You’re up early. Everything all right?
Blane stared at the screen, wondering how much he should admit.
Blane: Everything’s great.
He clenched his jaw, expecting a barrage of questions.
Cash: Glad to hear it. About time you started enjoying life. You talk to Brooke again yet?
Blane: Gonna call her today. Tomorrow to you.
Cash: Good. Hope you meant what you said about taking her out there sometime. She likes that idea a lot.
Blane looked away from the phone and stared out at the olive covered hillsides.
He liked the idea too. Taking her anywhere with him would be a big deal after all the years he’d spent telling her no, but there was something else buried inside the idea that caught at him now.
If he brought Brooke to Crete, he’d have to come back himself.
His gaze went to the open doors and the bedroom beyond them, where Bea was still sleeping.
Yeah, it felt good to think about coming back.
But first he had to deal with the fact that, in just over a week, he’d be leaving. He looked back down at his phone.
Blane: I’ll call her. Talk to you soon.
When he went back inside, Bea peered at him through sleepy eyes. “Is everything all right? Are you going out for your run?”
He sat on the edge of the bed and ran his hand over her hair. “I’m going to make us some coffee before I do anything else. And then…” He smiled. “What do you think? Want to come with me this morning?”
Her eyes widened. “Blane, you run. I don’t run.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, I know. I’m not trying to sign you up for boot camp. I was thinking…” He ran his hand over her hair again. “It’s beautiful out there in the morning. You should come with me. See it. Get to know it.”
When she continued to stare at him, he shook his head with a smile. “I mean I’ll walk, Bea. I know you don’t want to run.”
Her hand came to rest on his thigh. “I’d love to go for a walk with you, but I don’t want to stop you from getting your morning exercise.”
He covered her hand with his own and moved it a little higher. “Maybe when we get back from our walk, you can give me a different kind of workout.”
Her eyebrows shot up.
“We’ll probably be sweaty by then anyway. Might as well start in the shower.”
“Oh.” Her eyes widened as her fingers climbed higher still.
He reluctantly caught her hand and took it away before getting to his feet. “But first, coffee.”
She chuckled. “Okay. I’ll see you down there in a few minutes.”
She was true to her word, and that was one of the many things he liked about her. He was only just pouring the coffee when she came into the kitchen wearing shorts and sneakers, looking ready for their walk.
“You don’t have to come,” he said as he set her coffee in front of her.
“No, I know. But I want to.”
When she met his gaze, he caught the trace of sadness in her eyes and knew she was seeing it the same way he was. Before too long, they wouldn’t have the opportunity to go for walks or do anything else together. It’d be crazy not to make the most of the time they had.
After their coffee, they set out up the lane hand in hand. Blane didn’t even realize he’d taken hold of hers at some point. He only noticed when she squeezed his fingers and pointed across the field.
“Do you think that’s the same goat we keep seeing? It looks like him to me.”
Blane narrowed his eyes. “Pericles.”
She laughed and looked up at him. “I don’t know whether to say excuse me or bless you.”
He laughed with her. “It’s the goat’s name—Pericles.”
“How on earth do you know that?”
“Had a run-in with him the other morning. Woman who owns him rescued me.”
Bea laughed out loud. “Oh my goodness, I wish I’d seen that. Did you lose the staring match?”
He lifted one shoulder. “Would’ve won if the woman hadn’t come out. Pretty sure, anyway.”
He was surprised by how comfortable it felt to walk with her like this.
He didn’t have to deliberately slow his pace; he matched hers without thinking about it.
He’d run this route pretty much every morning since they arrived, and yet Bea pointed out a dozen things he hadn’t noticed.
It turned out the flowers growing along the roadside were oleander.
“I thought about picking some of those for you the other day.”
She stopped walking and stared at him. “You did?”
“Yeah. Figured you liked flowers.” He shrugged. “Then I thought you seem to prefer the ones you can grow, so I left them alone.”
“Well, thank goodness for that.”
His brows drew together. “Why?”
“Oleander is poisonous.”
He looked from her to the mass of pink flowers beside the road and back again. “They’re everywhere. They have poisonous flowers growing all over the damn place?”
“They’re very pretty.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
She laughed and squeezed his hand. “I know. But look at them.”
“I’m looking.”
“You’re looking horrified. They really are pretty.”
“Yeah, I’m still glad I didn’t bring you a bunch.”
“So am I. Although it would have been very romantic, right up until the poisoning.”
He gave her a long look. “Think I’ll stick to baklava.”
“Probably safer.”
As they started downhill, he found himself questioning the wisdom of going all the way down to the bakery. He didn’t know how Bea would feel about having to climb the hill again afterward.
She tugged on his hand. “You seem to be thinking awfully hard. Are you at work in your mind, or is something bothering you?”
He turned to her with a smile. “Trying to figure out how you’d feel about walking back up the hill if we go all the way down to the bakery. Couldn’t decide if you’d think it was worth it.” He paused. “But then I figured it out.”
She raised her eyebrows. “And what conclusion did you reach?”
“That I don’t need to reach a conclusion. I can just ask you.”
There was no mistaking the way his answer pleased her, and seeing her smile, he understood why. She didn’t need him—or anyone else—making her decisions for her.
~ ~ ~
Bea would have happily skipped their afternoon trip to the market if Blane hadn’t been so strangely enthusiastic about it. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to go, more that she was exhausted after the morning they’d had.