Back in the Soldier's Bed

“Put your coat on, Emma. It’s raining.”

She was helping with the zipper when she heard the slam of the truck door. “He’s here. Best manners, now.”

“Oh, Mama,” Emma lamented at the reminder, making Shannyn laugh.

That was how Jonas saw them when she opened the door. Giggling like two girls sharing a secret. Shannyn’s hair was pulled straight back into a ponytail and the remembrance of wrapping that tail around his hand and pulling her close slammed into him, making him catch his breath. Emma looked up at him expectantly as she stepped outside and on impulse he reached down and scooped her up.

He held her on one arm as he smiled at Shannyn. “Let’s go. First one to the truck gets extra large fries.” He shamelessly used the old taunt from their dating days.

Shannyn shut the door and took off at a run. He couldn’t follow, and they both knew it. He was handicapped twice over, once with his leg and the other with the extra weight of Emma on his arm. She reached the vehicle and placed one pointed finger on the hood before snapping open the door and hopping in out of the rain.

Jonas leaned his head close to Emma’s and whispered, “Your mama was always a pig about French fries.”

Emma giggled and Jonas bounced her on his arm. It was probably wrong to tease Shannyn so, but he couldn’t resist. Not when she opened the door looking exactly like the girl he’d fallen for long ago.

His heart told him that a date with his daughter and her mother was the perfect way to spend a lonely Sunday.

His head was another matter. Because it came through his consciousness loud and clear that encouraging Shannyn was a big mistake for both of them.

Chapter 7

The buzzer sounded for the second time. Jonas lowered the towel from his head and anchored it around his waist with a hand. Whoever it was wasn’t going away. He might as well answer it.

“Yeah.” He barked it into the intercom.

“It’s Shannyn.”

He paused, sighed. He’d thought the voice mail he left was clear enough. There was an air show this weekend and he wanted to take Emma. Shannyn too for that matter, if she still wasn’t comfortable with him taking Emma on his own.

Their lunch had been fun, devoid of all the atmosphere from his first meeting with Emma. Perhaps it was getting away from home, being in a neutral location. Or the fact that it was a brief outing with no purpose beyond lunch. Whatever it was, he’d enjoyed it. Enough that the air show seemed like a great opportunity. He could show them some of the birds he’d flown in.

Apparently his message hadn’t been clear enough, because she was here now.

Shannyn would press him about things he didn’t want to talk about. She wouldn’t have forgotten his last episode. But it wasn’t something he cared to discuss—ever.

He had to expect to talk to Shannyn now and again if he planned on being a part of Emma’s life. He had to keep his thoughts away from what had been between them, because letting their past spill over into the present would only cause complications. If he could keep the topic of conversation away from his past, they might be able to come to some sort of understanding on how to navigate their way through co-parenting.

He pressed the white button when it rang again, telegraphing her impatience. “Yeah, sorry. Come on up.”

Shannyn stomped up the stairs to his apartment. Jonas didn’t have any right to simply make demands where Emma was concerned. He hadn’t even asked if they were busy on Saturday. He’d just left that infernal message stating he would be picking them up. She didn’t take orders. It was time to set him straight on that.

Jonas held the door open, only his arm visible as she approached from the stairwell. When she came around the corner, everything in her body froze.

He was naked except for a white scrap of cloth that might, in some circles, have passed for a towel. It hung low, delineating the hollows of his hips and leading to tapered abs all the way up to deliciously muscled arms and shoulders.

There was no way she could hide the shock or frank admiration from her face. Jonas Kirkpatrick was physically stunning. Full stop. And her body was on high alert, appreciating every square inch.

“Sorry I took so long. I was in the shower.”

“So I see.” Shannyn halted

in the doorway, avoiding his gaze. Her eyes remained firmly fixed on the centre of his chest. The sight of the narrow band of white was arousing at the very least. As she stared at his pecs, he inhaled, and they expanded before her eyes. She had to do something besides gawk like a nitwit! Her fingers itched to touch him, so she clasped them in front of herself to keep from doing something stupid.

“Come on in.” He finally stood aside, leaving her room to pass by him into the apartment.

Compared with her house, the living arrangements were sparse. The living room held a small drop-leaf table and two chairs, a home gym, and a battered sofa in front of a stand holding a flat-screen TV and cable box. It was meager accommodation, even for a bachelor. She glanced around the corner, seeing doors to what presumably was a bathroom and bedroom, and she’d passed the tiny galley kitchen on the way in. She’d stayed in hotel suites bigger than his apartment.

“It’s not very big. But with only me here…” His voice trailed off and he shrugged, making no move to excuse himself to get dressed.