Snowbound with the Soldier

Just let it go. That was then, this is now.

* * *

Minutes later, a thump followed by a crash sent Kara scurrying to the door. After shooing the cat away, she reached for the handle, but before she could grasp it, the door swung open.

A gust of frigid air swirled around her, sending goose bumps racing up her arms. Jason stood there with a layer of ice on his hat as well as his coat. Purple tinged his lips while his lashes and brows were caked with snow. But it was the dark scowl on his face that had her worried.

“What’s the matter?”

He shook his head, then he handed over his armload of wood, before exiting back into the stormy night with a pronounced limp. She wanted to call after him to stop and rest, but she knew he wouldn’t listen. Kara ran to the side of the fireplace and dropped the split wood in a heap. They continued working together until all the wood was piled on the floor. With the door locked, barring Old Man Winter, Jason limped to the chair by the door.

“Here, let me,” she said, rushing over to help him with his boots. “You obviously aggravated your knee. And it’s my fault. If I hadn’t insisted on you retrieving my belongings from my car, you wouldn’t have...done whatever it is that you did.”

He reached down, grabbing her hands in his. “It’s not your fault.”

“Of course it is.” She yanked free of his hold and continued her fight with the iced-over knot.

“Kara, you aren’t listening to me. The limp. It’s permanent.”

This time she stopped fiddling with his laces and stared up at him. “What are you saying?”

“Remember how I told you I have a medical discharge?” She nodded and he continued, “Well, it’s because of this injury to my leg.”

A sickening feeling settled in her stomach. “How bad was it?”

“Bad enough.”

She needed more than that. The pile of secrets and omissions between them was unbearable. She wouldn’t stand for any more. She lifted his wet pant leg up to his knee, revealing an ugly red line snaking down his calf.

The breath locked in her lungs. Her vision blurred. It tore at her heart to think of him bleeding and alone in a foreign country, miles from home. He’d had no family by his side in the hospital to talk to him, to hold his hand. No one should ever be that alone.

Jason lowered his pant leg. “It’s an ugly mess farther up. So much for those sexy legs you used to go on about.”

She dashed her fingers over her eyes. “Tell me what happened?”

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He shook his head, once again blocking her out. “Just write it off to ‘shit happens.’”

Sensing he hadn’t opened up about it to anyone, Kara pressed on. After seeing the sizable wound, she knew keeping the memory all bottled up inside wouldn’t allow him a chance to heal. “I’d like to know, if you’ll tell me.”

He rubbed his injured knee as though unearthing those memories increased his discomfort. “It wasn’t anything spectacular. Just a normal day in the Middle East. Our unit was out on patrol....”

He paused and his gaze grew distant, as though he were seeing the events unfold in front of his eyes. His jaw tensed, as did the corded muscles of his neck. She wanted to reach out to him, but hesitated.

Jason cleared his throat. “My buddy Dorsy was on foot patrol with me. Earlier that day, he’d spotted a Christmas card addressed to me. The return address had a girl’s name on it and he jumped to the conclusion that I had a secret girlfriend.”

The thought of Jason in another woman’s arms left a sour taste in Kara’s mouth. But she had no claim over him. Who he chose to spend his time with shouldn’t matter to her.

“Were you and this girl serious?”

He swiped a hand over his face before rolling his shoulders. “No. I didn’t even know her. Besides, I don’t get involved in serious relationships. Not anymore.”

“I noticed,” Kara muttered under her breath. His arched brows let her know her slip hadn’t gone unnoticed. “Sorry. Please go on.”

“The card was from a high school student whose class had sent them to deployed soldiers. But Dorsy wouldn’t drop the subject. He kept pushing, wanting to know... It doesn’t matter now. The thing is I couldn’t take his digs any longer. I told him to shut up, but when he wouldn’t, I lost control—I shoved him.”

Kara placed her hand over his cold fingers. “Yelling and giving him a push isn’t so bad. I’m sure he forgave you.”