He pondered her question for so long she didn’t think he’d ever answer her. “Jealousy consumes me when I watch the way Dee looks at Dom, the way she interacts with him. I want that.?
?
Shifting so she was facing him more, she had to know the answer to her question. “Do you have feelings for her?” If he did, she didn’t think she could handle the heartbreak.
His bark of laughter made her jump a little. “No. She’s like a little sister to me. It’s the love and respect, the bond they share that I want. After everything I’ve been through, I didn’t realize how much I wanted that until Dom brought her home.”
“What have you been through?” she wondered. Instinctively she knew it was bad.
It was his turn to be startled by her question. “What have I been through?” It was rhetorical, more like his own disbelief forced the question from him. “I was a soldier. An Army Ranger for seven years.”
“That was brave. Thank you.” She began rubbing his thigh in encouragement.
Casey looked confused by her words, and asked, “Thank you? For what?” He was genuinely puzzled.
“Your service.”
“Oh.”
“Has no one ever thanked you before?”
“Honestly, I don’t think I’ve given anyone a chance to.” Deep in thought, it looked as if he were trying to remember if they had or not.
Feeling brave like they were finally getting to know each other on a deeper level, she asked him, “Why did you leave?”
A harder look than she’d ever seen before crossed his face. It was almost anger. “I’m not sure you’re ready for that answer yet.” Fury laced his tone. It wasn’t exactly directed at her, more at the memory of why he left.
“Ok.” She told him not wanting to push more than he was ready to give. Not when she wasn’t able to give all of herself yet, either.
Literally shaking his anger away, he replied, “Your turn, tell me a secret.”
She had to think. There were so many. It was hard to distinguish which he wouldn’t get angry over. Deciding to go with a semi-fun one she told him, “When Lacey and I were younger, we used to climb the neighbor's tree and steal her plums and apples.” The recollection was silly, but it was the only time she remembered with any fondness before her sister slowly began to morph into their mom.
“That’s it?” he asked. She shouldn’t be hurt by his easy dismissal of one of her few good memories, but it stung a little.
“I guess. It was the only thing we did together that didn’t involve drugs, alcohol, or pimps. We didn’t have an easy life. I was forgotten more often than not. Stealing that fruit was the only thing we ever got to eat. We would pretend we lived in the jungle or somewhere tropical instead of the shitty streets of Baltimore where we were two forgotten girls left behind by a drug addicted mother.”
Tears swam in her eyes and clogged her throat as he pulled her closer, whispering in her ear, “I’m sorry, Kitten, so fucking sorry.”
“It’s okay. You couldn’t have known.” So much emotion from the stress of the past few weeks had built up inside her, and she felt like a dam about ready to break.
“You’re right, but I shouldn’t have tossed your secret away. I didn’t mean to make it any less significant than what it is to you. Never let the bad push out the good, Ev, never.”
Needing to leave the heavy stuff alone, she asked him, “What are you showing me?”
He had a look of relief and mischief in his eyes as he told her, “Lay back here with me and watch.”
Laying down, he pulled her to his chest so her ear lay over his heart. She listened as every pounding beat told her of his impeccable strength. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on the rhythm of his every breath, the rise and fall of his chest. It wasn’t long before it lulled her into a sleep-like state. She felt the arm underneath her move to draw lazy circles on the small of her back just above her pants. She tried to concentrate on what Casey was drawing but kept coming up blank.
“It won’t be long now,” he whispered into her hair.
“Mmhmm,” she moaned. Completely content in never moving again if only he would keep drawing on her.
She must have fallen asleep because the next thing she knew, he was lightly shaking her awake, saying, “Kitten, look.”
Opening her eyes, she glanced at him to see he was pointing off in the distance just as the sun crested the tree line. The shades of yellow and orange making it into the perfect golden hue. Small lines of bright red slithered through the trees as it rose through the branches and leaves.
She’d never seen anything like it. Sure, she’d seen sunrises before but nothing so glorious. It was the most beautiful promise of a new day. “It’s gorgeous!”