No Going Back. Karen Foley
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is the best the USO could provide for sleeping quarters,” he explained. “I hope you don’t mind bunking with the troops for one night.”
He watched as Kate pushed back the flap that covered the entry. Two dozen or more army cots were lined on either side of the interior. Several female soldiers were stowing their gear in foot lockers, and the floor was covered with duffel bags and military gear. The women gave Kate a nod, but otherwise ignored both her and Chase. One cot was conspicuously free of gear, with only a pillow and a tightly rolled sleeping bag placed at the foot.
“I’m assuming that’s where I’m sleeping?” Kate asked Chase, eyeballing the empty bunk.
“You would assume correctly.”
Kate gave him a helpless look that went straight to Chase’s protective instincts. He silently cursed Colonel Decker for giving him this assignment, because he was within two seconds of telling her she could bunk with him in his CHU. Or without him in his CHU. He’d pretty much give her whatever she wanted if she would just stop looking at him like that. He reminded himself that he was an Army Ranger, a member of an elite force able to operate in any environment. Unless it was within fifty feet of a woman like Kate Fitzgerald.
Kate put her hands together and drew in a deep breath. “Okay. This is okay. I can definitely sleep here. Can you tell me where my client and her band will sleep when they arrive?”
“The concert will be held over at the parade field. There’s an administrative building nearby that the USO will use to house the bands while they’re here, but it hasn’t been converted yet.”
“Would it be possible to see it?”
“Absolutely,” he assured her. “Why don’t you stow your gear, and then we’ll grab something to eat at the dining facility before we head over there? I don’t know about you, but I could use a good meal.”
Hefting her pink duffel over her shoulder, Kate walked into the tent, and Chase could almost read her thoughts as she stared around her. The walls were reinforced with plywood, and army blankets hung from the roof supports between several of the cots, providing a minimal amount of privacy. As she stepped inside, Kate’s footsteps echoed on the plywood floor.
Seeing it through her eyes, Chase had to admit that it looked pretty bleak. Overhead, a large, flexible tube ran the length of the tent and pumped in cool air, but it couldn’t compete with the blistering temperatures outside and the interior was stifling hot and smelled like musty canvas.
Dropping her duffel bag onto the empty cot, she turned to him with an overly bright smile. “This will be great,” she assured him. “After all, it’s not like I’ll be doing anything except sleeping, right?”
He had another decadent vision of her, this time straddling his hips as he lay on one of the narrow cots. Oh, yeah. He’d been outside the wire for way too long. He’d told Kate point-blank that he had no intention of sleeping with her.
He’d lied.
4
KATE TRIED NOT TO LET Chase Rawlins see how completely horrified she was by the sleeping quarters he’d secured for her. Clearly, he belonged in this kind of Spartan, militaristic environment. He probably thrived on danger. He certainly looked as if he did.
Casting a dubious eye around the tent, she wondered how many spiders or other multilegged critters waited in the shadows.
Two soldiers lounged on their cots, chatting idly. Neither of them seemed concerned about eight-legged bunkmates, and Kate decided that if they could sleep in this tent, so could she. Pulling her small handbag out of her tote, she determinedly joined her chaperone outside the tent.
“So, can I call you Chase, or is there some kind of military protocol that demands you be addressed by your title?” she asked as they began walking across the base to the dining facility. “I’m sorry. I peeked at the mail on your desk. That is your name, isn’t it?”
He slanted her an amused look. “It is. I have no objection to you calling me Chase, unless there are uniforms nearby, and then I would prefer you address me as Major Rawlins.”
“Well, you can call me Kate even if there are other people around,” she said, unable to resist the urge to tease him just a little. He was much too serious. “I prefer it, actually. I feel old when you call me Miss Fitzgerald.”
Chase swept her with an all-encompassing look that missed nothing and caused heat to bloom low in her abdomen.
“I find that hard to believe,” he finally said, “considering you’re like … what, twenty-five?”
“Ha!” Kate gave a bark of laughter. “Thank you, but now I know you’re trying to flatter me. I just turned thirty-one.”
She could see by his expression that she’d surprised him.
“Really? I didn’t think you were much older than your client. Maybe it’s the freckles.”
Kate couldn’t suppress the pleasure she felt at knowing he had thought she was younger than she actually was. Unless he figured she was immature? He’d already implied she was nuts for having come over here by herself, when clearly no other celebrity representatives had felt the need to do so. But what he didn’t know was that her relationship with Tenley went beyond business. Tenley was more than just a client, more than just a sister. Tenley was like her own child, and she’d do whatever she needed to do to ensure her comfort and safety.
“I used to hate my freckles for that exact reason,” she said ruefully. “People always thought I was younger than I am.”
“I don’t know,” he said, studying her face. “I like them.”
To her dismay, Kate felt herself blushing. “That’s because you’ve never had them or been teased about them. Just how old are you?”
He grinned. “I’ll turn thirty-one next month.”
So they were essentially the same age. Kate felt a wave of relief, which was ridiculous. It wasn’t as if she had any interest in Chase Rawlins, regardless of his age. But a little voice whispered that she was a liar.
“When do the dining facilities open in the morning?” Kate asked, in an effort to move the subject to safer ground. She so did not need to be thinking about him in a romantic way. “Please don’t tell me I have to be up at some ungodly hour or risk going without breakfast.”
“For the most part, the peak hours are during the traditional meal times. But we also have a midnight chow, and then the dining facilities open for the day at 4:00 a.m.” He slanted her a quick grin. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure you don’t go hungry.”
Kate felt her pulse leap at his smile, and wondered how he would react if she told him she wasn’t hungry for food, but for him. Shocked by her own thoughts, she focused her attention on her surroundings. As they walked between the rows of tents and housing units, Kate’s feet kicked up dust and despite the fact the sun was dropping lower on the horizon, the intense heat hadn’t yet begun to abate.
“How do you tolerate the climate?” she murmured, passing a hand over her eyes. “I’ve never felt so hot.”
“Believe it or not, you do get used to it. In fact, it gets surprisingly cold at night.”
Kate cast an appraising eye toward the mountains, where the sun was just touching the peaks. She’d heard that the desert grew cold at night, but right now she had a hard time believing it. “I’ll take your word for it.”
Chase stopped in front of a long building constructed of corrugated metal. “These are the female facilities. The men’s showers are just on the other side. If you’d like, I’ll wait for you here.”
Kate stepped inside the women’s bathroom, relieved to see there were plenty of shower stalls. Traveling for forty-eight hours had left her feeling sticky and uncomfortable, and she couldn’t wait to get back here with a bar of soap and a change