Caleb: Military Heroes (The One I Want Series Book 3)

by Ellie Masters

  He disappeared with Drake, leaving her to help Abby. Not that Abby needed any help. As the only doc in a town full of ranchers who were always getting cut up, stitching skin came as naturally as breathing to her friend. Caitlyn held Bear’s fur out of the way, giving Abby what she called a clear field of view. Other than handing Abby supplies and dabbing up blood, she simply held Bear as he suffered through.

  He acted like a champ, a true hero, and only whined at the very beginning. It was like he understood she and Abby were trying to help and allowed the humans to make him better despite the pain. When not staring into his trusting eyes, her attention shifted to the double doors leading to the kitchen.

  "Bear is going to be just fine." Abby took another bite of Bear's skin with her needle and drew the suture through. "Draven will be by in the morning with the antibiotics he'll need and to check out my work. He says he’s sorry for not being able to come.”

  “I appreciate that, and I’m so grateful you could help.”

  “Stop. Of course, I’d help. We take care of our own. Speaking of, you'll stay here tonight.”

  "Oh, I couldn't possibly put you out."

  Abby gave her a look. "Don't even start with that. You're family and that's that."

  "I just don't want to be a burden."

  "You're not. My only question is one room or two? What's up with you and Mr. Hottie?"

  "His name is Caleb."

  "Well, what's between you and Caleb? I'm a little confused."

  "How's that?"

  "From the way you're checking out those doors, I'd say you couldn't wait to jump his bones. But when I walked in, there was a definite chill to the air."

  "It's complicated."

  "All the best ones are.” Abby gave a soft laugh. “Means they’re worth it.”

  "It shouldn't be." She shrugged. "There's not much to tell. We want different things."

  "And yet?" Abby pursed her lips as she stitched a four-inch gash in Bear's belly. "You know, this came really close to puncturing the peritoneum."

  "The what?"

  "His belly. It's called the peritoneal cavity, where all your guts are."

  "And that's a bad thing?"

  Abby gave a nod. "It can be very bad. Bad for infections, but Bear was lucky."

  "I was so scared. The mountain lion came at me. Bear knocked it out of the way. I tried to shoot it, but..."

  Abby gave a tight nod. "I can imagine."

  "Well, I got a shot off. It was enough to separate them. Caleb actually killed the mountain lion. Clean through the heart.”

  "What does he do for a living?"

  "Marines."

  "Ah, well that explains it. Their weapons are practically attached to their hips."

  "Drake was in the military too, wasn’t he? Does he ever talk about it? You know, the things he did?”

  “Drake never talks about it."

  "Why did he leave?"

  "He was injured and they boarded him out."

  “What does that mean? Boarded out? I’m not up on all the lingo." Caitlyn admitted her lack of knowledge.

  "It takes time, but you'll be an expert in no time."

  "I don't think so."

  "But I thought, you and Caleb?”

  "We are star-crossed, ill-fated, call it what you will. All the sparks are there, but there's no future."

  "And why is that?"

  "He wants to travel the world. I don't. I'm happy where I am." She rocked back and shifted the weight off her knees. "Does that make me sound selfish? That I won’t give that up to be with him?”

  "Why do you say that?"

  "Well, everyone else I know couldn't wait to leave Bear Creek. I’m the only one who never wanted to leave."

  "Are you afraid of traveling?"

  Yes, not that she would admit it.

  “I just prefer staying where I am. Besides, building a business doesn’t lend itself to taking time off."

  "And that’s what keeping you apart? If it weren’t for that, what would happen?“

  Her eyes misted and she refused to answer. Abby’s question was too direct, because Caitlyn knew exactly where they’d be right now; happily married with a kid or two, or three.

  "He doesn't want to stay. I don't want to go. So, it doesn’t really matter.“

  She crossed her legs and took Bear's paw in her hand. He loved when she rubbed between his toes. Bear gave her a soulful look, then his lids bounced closed as she rubbed the webbing between his toes.

  "I get the appeal of small town living,” Abby said. “My family is from these parts, as you know, but I grew up in Los Angeles. I don't miss busy, but I can see why someone raised here would want to see more of the world. What's keeping you in Bear Creek? Because I would think the sparks would be enough to have you consider leaving."

  "I know. It's not fair to Caleb, but I don't want to head down a path I know will leave me miserable. He wants a career in the Marines. There are literally no bases anywhere nearby. He has seven years in, with too many more to go..." She accidentally pinched the sensitive tissues between Bear's toes and he jerked his paw out of her hand. "Sorry, Bear."

  "I see."

  "Yeah, I'd be giving up everything and, as much as I hate to say it, I'm too selfish to give up on my dreams. I'd resent him, and then that spark would turn into something ugly. I'd rather he found someone else who could love him like I do, but who was willing to share his dreams with him."

  A throat cleared behind them and Caitlyn gave a start.

  “Um, the food’s ready.” Caleb held the door to the kitchen and she gave a gasp, wondering how much he heard. From the tight set of his jaw, he heard the most damning part.

  "I don't envy you." Abby kept her voice low and gave a slow shake of her head. “I’ll make up two rooms, although I have a feeling…”

  “Shut up.” She gave a low hiss. “He’ll hear you.”

  Caleb’s sturdy steps approached. “Killer hearing is both a curse and necessity. Cat, can I have a word?”

  “Not now. Abby’s not done with Bear.” She cast her gaze to the floor, anything not to have to look at Caleb.

  “Actually, I just finished.” Abby tied off a knot in her suture and gave Caitlyn a wink.

  She was going to kill Abby. Friends were supposed to protect each other, not leave them to a hungry wolf. Caleb had conquest on his mind and she didn’t know if she had the strength to resist too much more of him. Just being in the same room made her heart speed up.

  Her traitorous friend put away her instruments and stood. “I think I’ll…um…” She glanced between Caleb and Caitlyn. “Yeah, I think I hear Drake calling.”

  “I don’t hear anything.” Caleb shoved his hands into his front pockets and glanced toward the kitchen.

  “Oh, I’m pretty sure I heard him.” Abby cocked her head and cupped her hand over her ear. “Oh yes, he’s definitely calling my name.” She brushed by Caleb on her way out. “Good luck.”

  Caleb watched Abby leave, which gave Caitlyn a moment to curse under her breath. She wasn’t interested in being alone with him. He would be the one to make the first move. She both dreaded it and anticipated it with more eagerness than was wise.

  The log popped and sizzled in the fireplace, but that was nothing next to the crackling in the air because of him. The fine hairs on her arms lifted with the energy buzzing between them. When he turned his fiery gaze on her, he seemed to grow larger, his presence more dominating. She swallowed against a sudden lump in her throat.

  There was something about Caleb, something new and something old. He held himself with the same confidence she knew so well. He had always been able to hold his own against the other boys in school while making the girls crazy as they fluttered their lashes in a vain attempt to snag his interest. Now, a cold lethality seeped out of him, a fearlessness and wildness she didn’t remember in the Caleb of old.

  He turned the full weight of his stormy gaze on her and the world shifted beneath her feet. She licked her lips a
nd tried desperately to generate enough moisture to swallow past that lump in her throat.

  There was no smile on his face. His determined expression had her taking a step back. Slowly, he drew his hands out of his pockets and cracked his knuckles one by one. It was as if he were taking his time deciding what course of action he would take.

  Their attraction had always been powerful, undeniable, and a true force of nature. It was as natural as breathing and as intoxicating as it was addictive. He looked at her with that same intensity, as if she were the only person in the world and belonged solely to him.

  She was the shy and sweet girl in school, but with him, she’d always been strong, capable, and outspoken. He brought out her strengths and encouraged her to be whatever she wanted. Not once did he see her accomplishments as something which diminished his, unlike all the other boys. From an early age, he’d been the rock she leaned against, the boy she relied upon, and eventually the one with whom first love flourished and grew.

  There was the implicit truth between them. He calmed her fears, nurtured her dreams, and made her world better simply by being by her side. She trusted him with her heart and had once believed he would never hurt her…until he turned his back and walked away.

  That pain had been a constant ache for the past several years, but with him home, her heart forgot about the pain and raced headlong to oblivion. She was lost before she had a chance to fight.

  He took a step toward her.

  She shifted back.

  “You’re not running from this.” The muscles of his jaw bunched and he gave a slow shake of his head.

  “Caleb…”

  “You’re more beautiful than freshly fallen snow.”

  She held out a hand, trying to stave him off, and took a step back.

  He took another step forward. “You’re mesmerizing like a spring rain and more vibrant than the flowers poking up through the snow. You’re wild like fall leaves blowing with wintery gusts. You’re my eternal summer, my endless fall, the warm embrace of winter, with all the hopes of spring to carry me through. You can’t run from this. You can’t run from us.”

  She stared at him, defiant and afraid. He wasn’t letting this go.

  Their gazes locked in a silent battle while he advanced and she retreated. A war raged between them until tears rose in her eyes when she could no longer deny the truth.

  “Why did you have to come back? Why couldn’t you stay away?” Tears rolled down her cheeks as he heaved a deep sigh.

  They stood for a moment, simply feeling each other’s presence. For what seemed an eternity, she could feel the beating of her heart. It wanted to run to him, but she held it back. Not exactly sure when he moved, or how he crossed the remaining space, she gasped as he grabbed her arm. Her heart skipped a beat and she tried to yank free.

  He cupped her chin and backed her against the heavy front door. There was nowhere to run, not that she could. He forced her to look at him, to breathe him in, and absorb every detail, every nuance of his expression. In him, she saw the boy who grew into a powerful man. His determined stare, blue eyes blown out by the dark depths of his lust, and the hitch in his breath, told her everything she needed to know.

  He loved her too.

  Pressing her against the door, he leaned down and kissed her. It was nothing like any of their previous kisses, closed-mouthed explorations of kids who knew nothing about love. And he didn’t hold her hands with the bumbling of an uncertain teen.

  Caleb gripped her and pinned her to the door. He devoured her with a full-on, open-mouthed kiss meant to claim and own.

  And she loved it.

  She loved the way her small body melted into his. The way their lips fit together like two pieces of a puzzle. Her body remembered his, easing back into the memories of lovers who had been separated for far too long.

  He released her hands to grab at her neck, tilting and angling her face as he desired. Then he threaded his fingers through her hair and held her tight.

  She forgot to breathe as he swept her away, and after what seemed like forever, he broke the kiss and looked down at her.

  “Now, we’re talking.” He grinned at her. “I should have done that in the mountains. God, I’ve missed you.”

  She wanted to wipe the smugness out of his tone and off his face but found herself swept away beneath another toe-curling kiss. Her body stirred beneath the heat of his lips as long slumbering nerves awakened and sparked with a needy hunger. Her eyes closed and she granted him full access, no longer pushing him away.

  Their breaths came together, and she took in his essence, something wholly unique to Caleb.

  “God, you taste like sin.” Low and husky, his voice shook with his shallow breaths.

  They pulled apart, far enough for another intense stare, then he leaned his forehead against hers. She couldn’t focus on his eyes, but he stared at her and she at him.

  “Caleb…” Her voice was little more than a whisper.

  “Don’t tell me we shouldn’t have done that. That was long past overdue.”

  Fear and excitement coursed along her nerves. Slowly, she draped her arms over his shoulder and rubbed at the tight cords of muscles twining up his neck. Those were new, a part of the man Caleb had become.

  For a moment, she thought he’d let her go, but then it was like he could no longer contain himself. He pulled her into a fiery and passionate kiss, hands working up and around as he reacquainted himself with her body.

  “I’ve wanted to feel you in my arms from the moment I saw you on the mountain. Tell me you want the same.”

  They pulled apart and she tried to salvage the wreckage of her heart. There would be no recovering from this if she let it continue. With the slightest shove, she pushed against his chest and found the courage to look up at him and speak her mind.

  She refused to give her heart a voice.

  “I don’t. I don’t want…this.”

  It was a lie. He knew it and she knew it, but it was an inevitability they couldn’t escape.

  “We can make this work.”

  She shook her head. “No, we can’t.”

  He stared at her, deep into the parts where her soul lived. His eyes filled with passion and love.

  She returned his look with a heart full of betrayal and sadness. No words needed to be spoken. They would do no good. She placed her hand on his chest, feeling the hard planes of muscle and then ducked to the side, escaping his embrace.

  “I need to get Bear something to eat.” With those words, she ran to the kitchen, wiping tears from her cheeks.

  Chapter 15

  Caleb

  Caleb let his head fall forward until it thudded against the carved wooden door. He had Caitlyn in his arms and his lips on her mouth. The universe shifted beneath his feet, then she ran. If he could get her to remember the spark they once shared, that it was as undeniable as breathing, then maybe he could convince her to give them another shot.

  His heart shattered with her retreat. Only Caitlyn could wound that deep. Cut to the very core, his emotions bled out into the empty room. What would be left after his love hemorrhaged on the floor? He could barely breathe and had never felt more exposed.

  Not that he was done fighting.

  Heartbreak was the kind of grief which came in waves, but his training, and the very core of the man he’d become, refused to accept defeat from any source. Whether that was on a battlefield with an enemy staring him down the barrel of a gun, or waging war to claim the one he wanted, he wouldn’t sleep until he won. He’d fight until he was dead.

  But her rejection felt like death.

  It choked the breath from his body and short-circuited his mind. Where there once had been peace shattered emptiness remained. The echoes of their love washed through him only to slip through his grasp.

  They’d lost too much time, but he would bridge that divide. No matter what it took. He would win her heart and cleave her back to him, because there was a spark left between them.
/>   Caitlyn didn’t return and he pushed off from the door. It was time to eat and suffer through the awkwardness that would bring. He didn’t know these people, although Drake seemed nice enough. All he wanted was to get Caitlyn alone and show her why making a life with him was the only thing which made sense.

  It would be much easier if he could simply sling her over his shoulder, take her to his cave, and keep her there forever. Sometimes, cavemen had things easier.

  Shoving his hands deep into his pockets, he released a sigh and headed to the kitchen. When he walked in, Caitlyn stood by the kitchen counter, cutting steak into small bites for Bear. She looked up at him, then stared at the plate in front of her. She would see to Bear before eating herself. Drake and Abby sat at the table. Four plates had been set, and they’d already served themselves.

  He avoided Caitlyn, knowing it was too soon to push, and settled in the seat across from Drake. Caitlyn disappeared into the Great Room, carrying a plate of food for Bear. Caleb shifted in his seat, then reached for the larger of the two steaks left on the serving platter.

  “So, Caleb, Caitlyn tells me you’re in the Marines?” Abby tried to cut the tension, asking about his work. He kept his conversation minimal, giving only the basics of what he did without appearing rude.

  Slowly, he relaxed, not realizing how tense he had been. He opened up to Abby’s gentle questions, telling her more than he’d ever shared with his mother. It might have been due to Drake who kept the conversation rolling, tying in his experiences with the Green Berets. The three of them were nearly halfway done with their meals when Caitlyn returned.

  Abby served Caitlyn the last steak. “How’s Bear? I’m surprised he didn’t follow you in here.”

  “I told him to stay. I didn’t want him pulling out any of the sutures.”

  “He should rest, but he can get up and move,” Abby said. “I wouldn’t want him running outside, but he can get up and go out to relieve himself. The sutures I put in won’t pull out.”

  “Oh, I didn’t realize, but honestly I think he’s tired. I sat with him while he ate. He doesn’t get steak often.”