The Military K-9 Unit Collection. Valerie Hansen
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what finally brought him to his senses. Zoe wasn’t the only one breathless when he let her go and set her away by gently cupping her shoulders. Oh, man, he was in trouble. Deep trouble. This was no simple crush, at least not on his part. He wondered if her responses to him had been because she felt their connection as strongly as he did or because she’d been so frightened lately and had latched onto him as a port in a storm. After all, she had compared him to a parachute. If that was all he was to her, then he was probably going to get his heart broken. Big time.
Linc managed a smile. “I told you we were going to be sorry.”
“We? Personally, I liked it.”
“That’s it? You liked it?”
She grinned up at him, her cheeks rosy, her eyes glistening. Linc cupped her cheeks. “I liked it, too.”
“Good.” She sniffled.
“If you expect me to be poetic about it, you’re going to have to give me time to gather my wits. You scattered them really well just now.” He eyed the desk. Star had made herself at home in the kneehole and was starting to snore. “Do you think you’re up to starting our search or do you need a few more minutes?”
“If you could give me a year, it probably wouldn’t be long enough,” Zoe quipped. Squaring her shoulders, she said, “Come on. Let’s get to digging. We don’t know how long we’ll have before Sergeant James wants his office back.”
Linc agreed. “I’m glad he didn’t walk in a few minutes ago.”
“Me, too. He might have reassigned you and spoiled everything.”
“We’d still have been stationed on the same base.” Linc circled the desk, pulled up the swivel chair and checked the password Blackwood had given him.
Standing behind him, Zoe rested a hand on his shoulder and watched the monitor. He knew she didn’t mean to be distracting but after that extraordinary kiss, even the simple touch of her hand on his uniform was enough to drive him crazy.
His fingers stopped typing. All movement ceased.
Zoe’s hand remained where it was. “What’s wrong?”
“You are,” Linc admitted ruefully. “I’m afraid I can’t think straight when you’re so close.”
“That’s too bad,” she said, pulling away and choosing a nearby chair.
When Linc looked over at her, she was grinning from ear to ear. Already uneasy, he scowled. “What?”
“Nothing.” She crossed her jeans-clad legs and held out a hand. “Give me the list and I’ll read you the names from way over here. Did I go far enough?”
“It’s not funny,” he insisted.
Zoe sobered and took the list from him. “I know. It just struck me as hilarious that the two of us were forced together when we both hate the idea of marriage.”
“Whoa! Who said anything about that?”
“Nobody. Just thinking aloud. I didn’t mean to scare the stripes off you, Sergeant Colson.”
Her nonchalant shrug seemed innocent enough, but Linc wasn’t convinced. One kiss and already she was hearing wedding bells. Well, that wasn’t going to happen. Not with him. Sure, Zoe was attractive. And that kiss had shaken him all the way to the waffled soles of his combat boots. But he’d promised himself a long time ago that one, the influence of his dysfunctional family was nothing he wanted to pass on to future generations, and two, he didn’t deserve marital bliss when his buddies’ wives and girlfriends had buried their dreams with their mates.
Uh-uh. Linc Colson was staying single. He might be too romantic for his own good, but he knew where to draw the line. Lifelong penance for his errors in judgment was necessary. There was no escape from his past, nor was he looking for one.
By the time Linc had completed his survey and cut the list down to the likely suspects, Zoe’s neck was in knots and her head throbbed. She knew why. Spending all this time with him was very trying. If he hadn’t been on duty, it might have been different, although she doubted it.
Standing, she stretched. “I should go get Freddy soon.”
“Right. We will. The boy comes first. We don’t want him to be worried about you.”
We? Zoe wondered if noticing every little nuance of Linc’s behavior was something new or if she had been doing it all along and had overlooked her own interest. Until now. Moreover, did he realize he had begun referring to them as a couple? Whatever. She certainly wasn’t going to be the one to point it out.
One concern she was going to mention however, was the safety of her beloved child. “Do you think, considering everything that’s happened, that I should send Freddy away?”
Linc whirled, scowling. “What brought that on?”
“Reality,” she said flatly. “He’s all I have. I love him so much it hurts. There must be some way to protect him.”
“Better than I can, you mean.” It wasn’t a question.
“I didn’t say that.” She was adamant. “But you can’t be around all the time. And at night, when he’s home with me, you’re not there at all. Somebody else is.”
“With a K-9 partner.”
“I know, I know. And that is a plus. But those guards keep changing. I never know who’s going to show up. When I see you, it’s very reassuring.”
“Thanks, I think.” He drew his fingers and thumb down the sides of his jaw, meeting at the point of his chin. “I suppose it’s possible I could convince Sergeant James to switch my assignment to the overnight shift, but that may be a bad idea.”
“Why? If you’re still worried about rumors about being in my apartment, I assure you, I trust you completely. Besides, Freddy’s there. I can let him bunk with me and you can have his room.”
Linc held up both hands, palms out. “Whoa. Is that where your other night watchmen sleep?”
“Well, no. I’ve offered something more comfortable, but they’ve all turned me down.”
“As they should have,” Linc said forcefully.
“You don’t have to raise your voice. I’m the victim here, remember? I’m just worried about protecting my son the best way possible. As I said, maybe I should send him away.”
“Where? Where would you send him? You’ve already told me your family is unfit. What about the Flints, John’s parents? Would they take him in? He is their grandson.”
“Not one they choose to claim. They disowned me and mine long ago after I reported John’s crimes. They never did believe he could be guilty of espionage and insisted I had framed him.” She sighed. “I think they suspect me of being behind the accident that killed him, too.”
“Sad. They’re missing out on meeting a great kid.”
Linc’s praise restored Zoe’s smile and lifted her spirits until he added, “You can’t leave him with Maisy overnight. Not with her father being one of the RRK’s victims.”
Zoe knew he was right. Maisy’s father, Chief Master Sergeant Clint Lockwood, had been one of her brother’s first victims on CAFB.
She made a face. “Him again.” She began to pace. “You have no idea how much I wish I had been an only child.”
He chuckled wryly. “I used to, too, until my sister, Georgia, became an adult. Now we just fight over which branch of the service is the best, hers or mine.”
“She’s an army major, right?”
“You