Chapter 21
Link had already had his first mug of coffee when he heard Ansley in the bathroom. He was glad she was awake. He planned on taking her out for a walk, something to get her muscles moving. Long drives across country were hard on him, and with her recent injuries, he knew she had to be hurting.
She stumbled into the main room, looking much more refreshed than she had the day before. She’d pulled on a T-shirt and shorts, along with pink fuzzy socks that didn’t match anything else she was wearing.
Ansley flashed him a warm smile. “Good morning.” Her smile seemed to light up the room.
“Good morning.”
"I need to move some this morning. I'm a little stiff."
"Cool. After coffee and something to eat, how about we go for a walk on a nice path?"
"Sure. And yes, for coffee. I need something to get me going."
"The group is having a cookout at one. So we can go for our walk, come back and eat a snack, then head over at one."
She nodded and grabbed the mug, then poured some coffee in. "Milk or creamer?"
“Sure, in the refrigerator.”
“Thank you.”
“So you don’t take it black?”
She shook her head. “No. When I decided to leave, I decided to stop taking it black.”
“Makes sense.”
She took her first sip and moaned. “This is good. Thank you for inviting me out here.”
“Sure. I know it’s weird, but I wanted to spend more time with you.” He rubbed the back of his neck, feeling a little strange. “I’ve never met anyone on a mission who I wanted to spend more time with.”
She nodded. "Yeah. It's different. I've spent time with thousands of people since becoming a Marine, from being on a Navy ship to postings at various bases, but I've never really connected with any of them like I connected to you."
The connection was obvious to him, and he was glad it was obvious to her. "Connection, hmm. I wonder if we would have ever met if I hadn't been on that mission."
She shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s weird that we did meet.”
“True. But I’m glad we did.” After holding her in his arms yesterday, he had little doubt that they were meant to be. Maybe he was jumping the gun, but being with her felt so right, like she fit into his life.
Ansley wanted to strip off her clothes and press her body up against Link’s. It would feel good to get close to this man. Heck, just the few kisses they’d shared felt better than other kisses she’d experienced.
She should take it slow. Jumping into bed with Link right now would feel good, but she wanted to get to know him. Could they actually make a life together?
She needed to move her body. Her muscles felt abused from driving for four days. She’d stretched and walked around at each stop, but sitting in any car for that length of time was draining.
Before they left his house, Link insisted on emptying her truck. She tried to help, but he told her it would be better for her to stretch so they could go out for the walk. She relented at the stubborn look on his face.
Link drove his car, which she was thankful for, and they ended up at a small parking lot. “The trail starts not too far from here.”
She glanced around, taking in the area. “Cool.”
“You okay with walking, or do you want to jog?”
She exited the car and stretched her hands over her head, bending left then right. “Maybe jog and walk. How about two minutes walking and one minute jogging?”
“Sure. Do you want me to keep time on my watch?”
She shook her head. "No, I have an application. Let me stretch a little more, then I can set it up. I'll put in a twenty-second stretch after each jog."
"Oh, nice. That sounds great."
She set up the application with the correct times and then did a little more stretching. "You ready to start?"
“Sure, walking first, right?”
“Yes.”
North Carolina was different from California. Not just the lower population but also the taller trees. The air smelled different. She was used to the ocean breezes, but here, the scent of pine and dust filled the air.
Once they were on the path, tall trees blocked her view of the horizon. It would take some getting used to, but it wasn’t awful.
“I’ve got to say that the trees make me feel a little claustrophobic.”
Link nodded. "Moving here was different. Before being stationed here, I was in Texas. Being able to see for miles, then coming here and having the trees block everything took some getting used to."
The timer rang for them to jog, and they took off. Link slowed to her pace, so he didn't get too far ahead. She was still getting used to the new reality from her leg injury, and her pace was slow. They stretched after the jog and started walking again.
“How is your leg doing?”
She shrugged. “Good. I’m glad I can jog, but I’m so slow compared to how I was before.”
"Yeah. Are you still doing physical therapy exercises?"
Laugher rose, and it came out maybe a little harsher than she wanted it to. “This week, no. I should do them, but after driving, I was tired.”
He nodded. “You should do them.”
“I know.”
The timer rang, indicating they should jog.
She tried to go faster, but the muscles in her calf pulled, and she had to slow down.
Though she'd been a badass Marine for years, she had little doubt that Link was even more of a badass than she could ever be.
Jogging wasn't winding him, and she got the feeling he could run twice as fast as they were going and last all day.
“You’re smirking,” Link said as they slowed to stretch when the timer rang.
“Just thinking about you and how much of a badass you are.”
Link was stretching his quads and had to drop his foot as he laughed. “Well, the job demands it.”
“Yeah, the Recon guys I knew were an upgraded badass level from regular Marines.”
“Same with any special forces group.”
It was time to jog again, and they took off. This time, she didn't try to go faster. At least she wasn't having a hard time breathing.
When they stopped to stretch, Link reached out to steady her as she wobbled. "Thanks."
“How are you feeling?” Link asked.
“A little tight.”
"Let's walk."
“Are you sure?”
Link nodded. “I can work out later if I feel the need.”
“Are you sure?”
He met her gaze and held it. She liked how he looked at her. His eyes warmed when they landed on her, and that warmth spread through her.
“Yes. I want to spend time with you. I can work out later.”
“You are stronger than I am.”
He shrugged. “Maybe.”
She rolled her eyes at his words. “Please. Look at you.”
He ran his hand over her shoulder to her biceps. “You’re pretty strong yourself.”
"I have no idea if I'm going to keep up with the workouts. Staying fit is a lot, but I'll probably keep lifting weights. The long marches and runs, I think, are a thing of the past. Biking might be good."
"At one point after basic, I swore I'd never do another pushup."
Ansley laughed and shook her head. “That’s too funny. But I do understand. I never wanted to do another pull-up after basic.”
"I hated pull-ups at first. I had such skinny arms. Honestly, I was one of the smallest guys in basic, and everyone made fun of me."
“Oh, I’m sorry. That had to have burned.”
Link nodded. "It did. But it pushed me to do more.
I worked harder than other guys, and I made it as a Green Beret.
When I first indicated I wanted to become one, they laughed so hard they almost fell out of their chair.
I was scrawny and overlooked in a big way.
They allowed me to take the course for special forces, and then I passed the physical requirements tests with good scores, and I met the rest of the requirements. "
“I bet it was difficult.”
“It was, but I pulled through and did it because it was what I wanted.”
“I’m impressed.”
“How about we turn back now?” Link asked.
“Sure. I should stretch more once we get back to your place.”
“We have a few hours before we need to leave for the cookout.”
She nodded, but didn't know how she felt about meeting his buddies. Were the other guys married? She didn't have a great track record of getting along with women outside the military.
Maybe it was because she'd been in high school the last time she had to do stuff with civilian women, and she'd been poor and angry back then.
Not having money in high school to buy the cool clothes and bags meant that the other girls had tried to humiliate her quite often. Maybe these women weren't like that.
In the Marines, there'd been a few bad apples, but for the most part, everyone was just trying to survive.
The other women helped with hair. Heck, she'd learned to braid all kinds of hair with different textures and volumes just to make sure their entire unit looked great. None of them wanted any punishments handed down because someone’s braid looked like shit.
"So these guys, are any of them married?"
Link shook his head. “No, none of them are with anyone.”
She was embarrassed that relief was the first thing she felt. “So no other women there?”
Link’s eyebrows shot up, and she knew she would have to explain. But most guys didn’t get it. At least from what she’d experienced, they didn’t get it. Maybe this would be the first rift in their relationship.