The Military K-9 Unit Collection. Valerie Hansen
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And this is mine.” As he began to lick the cone, Zoe decided it was best if she looked away. Everything Linc did, every word he spoke, every shadow of a smile he displayed sent her heart racing and made her hands tremble. Had he asked what was bothering her, she intended to blame her unrest on her stalker. That would be partially true. But it wasn’t an adversary who had her nerves in knots and filled her stomach with butterflies. It was her new friend. Her protector. The one man she had finally decided wasn’t half bad.
That conclusion made her grin. Rather than giggle, she started to eat. The ice cream was delicious. “Mmm.”
“Glad you like it,” Linc said. “For a minute there, you looked so strange I was afraid I’d got the wrong flavor.”
Zoe hid behind the cone and bided her time by systematically licking all the way around. “No problem. It’s wonderful.”
What drew her attention back to Linc was not his words or actions; it was the lack of either. Instead of continuing to eat, he had stopped and was staring across the table at her. There was the tender look again. She wasn’t imagining it. She couldn’t be. He wasn’t smiling. He wasn’t frowning. But his concentration was so complete, so absolute, she almost shivered.
“Yeah,” he finally said, continuing to have eyes only for her, while patrons of the ice-cream parlor came and went past their table and Freddy slapped his hands on it as if playing a drum.
Zoe held her breath, hoping against hope that Linc was ready to express his personal feelings, to perhaps say something romantic. Judging by his fond expression, it was certainly a possibility.
She was left guessing what he had meant when he stared into her wide eyes, smiled and quietly said, “Wonderful.”
If they had not been surrounded by a crowd and accompanied by her lovable but nosy child, she might have asked for clarification.
Oh, sure, and have Linc tell me he was talking about the ice cream? No way. There was no reason to chance making a fool of herself. There would be plenty of time to stick her foot in her mouth again, as she had when she’d mentioned marriage and scared him silly. After all, they hadn’t even dated, let alone admitted serious intentions.
Except that we’ve already spent more hours together than some couples have managed after months of dating, particularly those in the military, she added to herself. It was possible to fall in love, even when a significant other was stationed half a world away, wasn’t it?
Suppose that was Linc’s problem? Suppose the beautiful woman who he’d admitted had betrayed him still held a place in his heart? Could his reticence be caused by that? Did Zoe have a rival who had achieved special status merely because she was unattainable?
Further thought led her to decide against that theory. Linc was a patriot, a straight shooter, an honorable man who would never be able to forgive someone who had betrayed his comrades-in-arms and threatened the well-being of his homeland.
That thought led her directly to John Flint. She had revealed his treason as soon as she’d learned of it. Was that enough for Linc to see her as the red-blooded American that she was? Or did he paint her with the same brush of evil that some of her fellow airmen had?
Chagrined, Zoe almost wished Linc’s hang-up, if he had one, would be her first marriage, because that was over. John Flint was no more. Her familial connection to her brother, however, would never go away, and she wondered if her reputation would always be tied to his, however tenuously.
Deciding to redirect her own thoughts and Linc’s, Zoe asked a question she thought was fairly innocuous. “What’s the latest on that pesky blogger? Any success finding him?”
Her companion’s negative expression surprised her. She frowned. “What are you not telling me?”
Linc shook his head. “Not important.”
“It is if it bothers you,” she countered.
“I take it you haven’t looked.” Using his phone to open to the web, Linc passed it to her. “See for yourself.”
Zoe peered at the small screen. “This blames everything Boyd did on me. How dare they!”
“Doesn’t matter. We know you’re innocent.”
“We? You and I, maybe, but not the rest of the base.” She passed the phone back to Linc. “I’ve seen enough.”
“Okay. Sorry, but you did ask.” Zoe saw him briefly glance at the screen before raising it to read more carefully.
“What’s the matter? More accusations?”
“Not exactly. I paged down, hoping someone would defend you, and look what I found.”
She leaned closer to read with him, head to head, and almost gasped. Someone had posted a rebuttal, all right. It read “Leave Baby Sister alone. Or else.”
By the time he had contacted headquarters and reported what he’d seen on the anonymous blog, Linc was fighting a terrible headache, probably partially due to his injury. He hadn’t intended to tell Zoe he felt ill, but she must have sensed something off about him.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” she asked for the third time when they got to her apartment.
“I told you I’m fine.” The rebuttal came out stronger than he had wanted. “Sorry.”
“See? That’s what I mean. You’re not acting like your normal self.”
Arching a brow, he immediately regretted it because the pain intensified and he winced. “Oh, yeah?”
“Yeah.” She came back from her kitchen with a glass of water and painkillers. “I’m not giving you aspirin in case your head damage is worse than the doctors thought. Take these and maybe your mood will improve.”
Reluctantly, he did. “Thanks. I do have a slight headache.”
“It’s more than slight, but I won’t argue as long as you take care of yourself.”
Nodding carefully, Linc got to his feet. Star stirred, lifted her head, then relaxed again and closed her eyes as if planning to spend the night.
“I probably should go,” Linc said.
“Not on your life.” Zoe was adamant. “Your relief is already parked out front. You’re staying right here with me and Freddy so I can watch you for signs of a serious head injury.”
“You’re a doctor now?”
“Nope. A mother. We come with built-in sensitivity training. One look at you and I knew you felt rotten.”
“I should be out looking for the RRK, not resting.”
“Look.” Facing him, Zoe placed a hand on his forearm. “I feel responsible for what happened to your head. And for what happened to Star the time before. You won’t gain anything by chasing a mystery blogger’s invisible fan in the middle of the night, even if he did sound like the RRK. Star can stay right where she is, and I’ve promised Freddy he can bring his blanket and pillow in here to camp out with the two of you. He’s gone to pick out a stuffed animal to share with Star, too.”
“Suppose there’s a problem during the night?”
“With Security Forces visible outside and Star in here, I strongly doubt anybody will try anything. But I can tell Freddy that if the dog barks or growls, he has to come get me right away. He loves to have important jobs, so I’m sure he’ll follow orders.”
“Maybe I will rest here for a little while,” Linc said. He sank onto the overstuffed sofa and laid his head back. “I am feeling pretty lousy.”
“You may be hungry. All we had this afternoon was ice cream and cold pizza.