Chapter 4 Forest
FOUR
Forest
The room quieted with the new arrivals, but her shriek brought the place to a standstill. That silence might have something to do with seeing a major running across the room and launching herself into the arms of a man who towered over other men.
Forest Summers wasn’t someone people ignored.
Rooms quieted. Crowds parted. The man was monolithic with tree-trunk legs, arms nearly as thick, a chest to break men, and piercing ice-blue eyes to soften the hearts of women.
His glacial features cracked upon seeing her, and those powerful arms of his spread wide and caught her in his embrace.
The firmness of his lips curled upward as a smile lifted his face into an expression of joy.
“Tia!” he boomed. “What in the love of God are you doing here?”
She ignored the stunned looks of the colonel standing beside her good friend. The fact that the room had gone quiet barely registered.
“What am I doing here?” she countered. “What are you doing here?”
As women went, she would be considered tall.
Standing a few inches shy of six feet, she had the musculature to hold her own with men much taller, broader, and stronger than she.
Being male or female didn’t matter in her line of work.
There were men doing her job who were the same height or smaller.
If they were physically capable of performing the rigors of the job, they should have it.
She worked out to keep pace with the men in her unit, but none of them made her feel physically small.
Encapsulated in Forest’s arms, she felt tiny and diminutive.
What had brought Forest to Bagram? He wasn’t involved in the military. Or rather, he wasn’t involved in the US military. Forest had fingers in nearly every industry, tech being his favorite, but she’d heard from his sister that he ran a private security company as well.
“I’m scouting for the band,” he said.
There was only one band Forest could mean. “Angel Fire?”
He gave a nod.
“They’re coming here?”
His grin widened, flashing his pearly-white teeth.
“You a fan?” he asked.
“Not nearly as much as you,” she teased.
She had to push him away. That was the thing with Forest. His hugs could last forever. It was like, once he got a hold of someone, he rarely ever let them go. Unless that person happened to be Skye. Those two never touched.
“I’m not a fan anymore,” he said. “I’ve taken over management.”
She poked him. “Liar. That might be true, but you and I both know you’re totally still a fan.”
He laughed. A deep rumble spilled through the chow hall, and in its wake, excited whispers flew.
Angel Fire wasn’t just a band. It was the band of the century.
Legends back home, their concerts sold out within minutes to venues packing in tens of thousands.
For them to be coming here wasn’t just news. It was extraordinary.
“So,” she said, asking the question everyone in the room wanted to hear, “when are they coming?” Her crew would be shipping out in two days. “I’m afraid I’m going to miss them.”
Forest glanced down to his right and gave Colonel Vane a look. “Hmm. They’re coming in late tonight, and they were going to take a down day while the roadies set up. They’re on a USO tour. We’re either going to have to move that up or keep you here.”
There was no way her team would be granted an extra day in Bagram. They had a special ops unit to support, and missions constantly headed out.
“Hmm,” she said, “I don’t think keeping me here is possible.”
Someone approached from behind and to her right. Lyons’s presence couldn’t be denied. He had an uncanny ability to set her nerves firing and the fine hairs on her arms lifting. Had he come over because he recognized Forest? Or had he come over, full of his protective instincts?
“Who is this, T?” he demanded.
She shook her head. Lyons positioned himself a little too close and crossed his arms over his chest, puffing out as he faced Forest. Lyons was a tall man in his own right. Six-four, he towered over her, but he had to crane his neck to stare at Forest.
Forest’s eyes narrowed, and then he arched a brow. “Name’s Forest.” He shoved out his meaty hand.
Lyons gave Forest a shake and then greeted the colonel after taking a quick read of his name tag. “Good evening, Colonel Vane.”
Colonel Vane gave Lyons a nod, making her feel like an ass for ignoring the senior officer.
“Good evening,” Colonel Vane said.
“Tia and I go way back,” Forest rumbled. “I’ve known her since she was a kid.”
“Really?” Lyons turned to her. “Somehow, I can’t imagine T ever being a kid.”
“Oh, she was scrappy and full of spitfire. Barely kept her out of—”
“Hey,” she interjected. “No need to be spilling my secrets. I have to work with this guy.”
Forest ran his fingers through his shocking white-blond hair. “Um…”
She turned to Lyons. “Suffice it to say, Forest and I crossed paths when I was having trouble with a certain foster family. It’s because of him that I went into nursing school.”
“And Skye,” Forest asserted.
“Well, it was because of Skye that I became a CRNA.”
“Skye?” Lyons asked.
“My sister,” Forest answered. “She and Tia used to work together in the emergency department in DC.”
“Skye encouraged me to apply for CRNA school.”
“And join the military?” Lyons asked, glancing between them.
Lyons was fishing for pieces of her past, making her realize how little she shared with the men in her team.
Not that she could fault him for asking.
She was a part of them yet apart from them.
Joining in with their male banter was awkward for all involved.
Men simply thought and interacted differently than women.
“Scholarships,” she answered. “I was broke and didn’t like the idea of a few hundred thousand in debt when I got out of school.”
“Ah,” Lyons said. “Why am I only just now finding out about this?”
She shrugged. “Guess it never came up.” Stopping suddenly, she realized they’d been carrying on a conversation while the colonel stood silently, watching the exchange. “Sir, please forgive me. I didn’t mean to intrude.”
Colonel Vane clasped his hands to his front and rocked back on his heels. “I think it’s great. What are the odds that Angel Fire’s manager would know someone here?” He turned to Forest. “This could be a great PR angle. What do you think?”
“Hmm, there are possibilities,” Forest answered in his low rumble. “We’re just finishing up a tour of the base. Colonel Vane was showing me where the food was.” He turned to the colonel. “Do we have anything else to discuss? Or would it be okay to share a meal with my friend?”
Colonel Vane glanced around the chow hall. “It’s seldom anyone gets to see someone from home. How about we send someone for you in an hour?” He glanced at Tia.
“Yes, sir,” she said. “And thank you, sir.”
Colonel Vane excused himself, and Forest surveyed the room. “That chow line doesn’t look that inviting.”
“Are you kidding?” She grabbed his arm and pulled him to the end of the line.
Several of the enlisted tried to let him cut to the front, but Forest gave a sharp shake of his head and planted himself at the end. Lyons returned to the table in the back corner. He sat beside Warren rather than across, clearly intent on watching her with Forest.
“Who’s lover boy?” Forest asked.
“Excuse me?”
Forest jutted his chin toward Lyons. “The one who didn’t like me hugging you.”
“Don’t be silly. Lyons is the RT on my team. We’re all a little protective of one another. He’s more like an overprotective brother.”
“Really?” Forest and Lyons seemed engaged in a stare-down. “Because brothers don’t look at their sisters the way he’s looking at you. Not to mention, he’s sizing me up like I’m competition.”
“I seriously doubt he’s sizing you up. Besides, I have a fiancé—one Lyons kind of hates, to be honest.”
“Fiancé?” His brows climbed up his forehead. “Why is this the first I’m hearing of it?”
“Because you’re super busy being all badass; that’s why. I don’t run to you with every little detail of my life.” She’d stopped doing that after she graduated high school and got over a ridiculous crush on the man who’d saved her from hell.
“Why not?”
“Um, because you’re worth, like, a gazillion dollars, manage I don’t know how many billion-dollar companies, and—oh, yeah! I guess you’re now the manager of the most popular rock band in recent history. You’re simply not a man people bother with simple things.”
He slung an arm over her shoulder. “That doesn’t apply to you. Getting engaged isn’t exactly a simple thing. I’m hurt.”
“I can’t come to you with every little thing, Forest. I’m just one of your rescues.”
“Well, you make me sound like shit when you say it like that, but so what? You’re one of my rescues, but that makes you family. You know what that means to me. Unlike your friend, I have legit big-brother status.”
“You saved my life. I’ll always be grateful for that.”
“I did what needed to be done.”
She lifted on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. He had to stoop down, so it wasn’t as spontaneous as she would have liked. “And you’re an amazing human being because of it.”
“Lover boy is about to blow a gasket. Doesn’t like it when I touch you. Hates it even more when you kiss me.” He removed his arm from her shoulder with a chuckle and moved forward with the line. His eyes narrowed and lips pinched when he glanced at the offerings. “Ugh, what is this slop?”
“It’s called food,” she said. “I’d suggest the meatloaf or the hamburger mac ’n’ cheese. We call it chili mac. Those are my go-to foods.”
“Looks like you need to go to the food more often, Tia,” Forest said. “You’re thinning out. You’re nearly skeletal.”
“You shouldn’t be checking me out.”
“Not checking you out, but you’ve lost weight since I saw you last. How long has it been?”
It was right after she’d received her acceptance into CRNA school. “A few years.”
“Wow. That’s too long.”
“It’s what happens.”
“And how much longer do you have with the military? I wish you’d taken one of our scholarships, but you were always an independent shit.”
“I could’ve, but you know me.”
“Don’t I? You always have to do things yourself.”
The line cook slapped overly cooked broccoli next to Forest’s serving of chili mac. He scrunched his nose.
“Not sure I’ll ever look at broccoli the same again.”
“You’ll get over it.”
“So, how long do you have left with the military? Will you be staying in? Or heading back to the States and civilian practice?”
“My commitment is up at the end of this tour. I have a month to go.”
“And?”
“I love my job. I can’t see doing anything else. Until they kick me out, I’m here to serve.”
“That’s the Tia I know,” Forest said with a smile. “Now, let’s go have fun with lover boy.”
“Can you please stop calling him that?”
“Hell no! I’ve got two days to tease the shit out of you and few years to make up for. I’m totally going to have fun with this.”
She rolled her eyes and led Forest back to her table.
Her food was probably lukewarm by now and non-palatable.
With Forest breathing down her neck, she’d have to shovel it all down.
She wanted to gag, and that sick feeling in her gut wasn’t all due to thoughts of the food.
Forest’s comments about Lyons had her mind in a tailspin.