Battles Abroad: The Norsemen's War: Book Two - Tor & Kyle (The Hansen Series 2)

by Kris Tualla

  “You’re limping.”

  “I know. It hurts.”

  Kyle slid her arm around his waist. He thought it was cute that she thought she could hold him up.

  “These boots are only ankle high,” he said pointing at his feet. “They don’t offer a lot of support for edging purposes. When I hit the fence one of my skis slipped.”

  She peered into his eyes. “You aren’t going to ski again, are you?”

  Tor flashed a resigned expression. “No. I’m done for the day. No slalom for me.”

  “You’re in first place right now,” Kyle offered.

  He nodded. “Then I have a chance of placing. I think Pfeifer is the only one who might beat me.”

  Tor limped with Kyle to the organizers’ tent. One of the medics there wrapped his swollen ankle in an ACE bandage. He pulled his sock and boot back on, thanked the man, then hobbled back to the bleachers with Kyle.

  “You stay here,” she ordered her commanding officer. “I’ll get your skis and poles.”

  “Thanks.” He watched her walk away and wondered at her sudden change in mood. Was it because he was injured, even slightly?

  Ever since she kissed him she had been more subdued in his presence. Not cold, not grouchy. Just more quiet than usual. He wanted to know her thoughts but was afraid to ask. He didn’t want to embarrass her and figured that if she wanted to talk about it, she would.

  But since arriving at the tournament today, Kyle was back to her former self. She even tucked the handkerchief into his shirt herself with an impish smile and a, “Good luck, Captain.”

  It might have been his imagination, but he thought she almost kissed him again.

  Kyle came back with his skis and poles over her shoulder and waved to him. “I’ll take them to the bus,” she called out in Norsk.

  “Thank you,” he called back in English.

  When she returned from that task, she climbed to their seats with two steaming cups. She handed him one, smiling.

  “We have to keep you warm, sir.”

  Tor stared at her, confused but very pleased. “Thank you, Lieutenant.”

  “You’re welcome.” Her eyes smiled at him over the rim of her cup as she took a sip.

  *****

  In the end, Tor took second to Friedl Pfeifer just as he predicted. Pfeifer beat him by two seconds.

  Tor accepted his prizes—a small trophy and a new pair of civilian skis and boots.

  “I appreciate the gifts,” he said to Kyle on the way to the bus. “But I can’t take the skis or boots to Italy. The skis and poles aren’t white, and the boots aren’t any good for mountain climbing. But that doesn’t mean I won’t enjoy them while I’m training.”

  “After your ankle is healed,” she reminded him.

  “That should only take a few days.”

  Kyle doubted that, but the stubborn Norseman was going to do whatever he wanted to do. “Just don’t make it worse.”

  “I won’t.” His expression was confident. “I’ve had plenty of sprained ankles before.”

  The men of Camp Hale boarded their buses with tournament food in hand. The drive back was almost four hours long and waiting until nine o’clock for supper was more than their audibly rumbling stomachs could handle.

  Kyle settled in front of Tor again so she could turn sideways in her seat to talk to him but not start rumors by sitting in the same seat as he.

  If she did propose a fling, those rumors would probably surface at some point. There was no point in hurrying them along.

  The sun sank behind the mountains as the bus wound it’s way back to the camp. Conversation was lively at first, but as the sky grew dark it seemed to prompt snores.

  “Are you tired?” she asked Tor.

  “A little,” he admitted. “It’s the adrenaline mostly.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “The challenge of making it down a slope as fast as you can sends adrenaline throughout your body. A man named Walter Cannon from America’s Harvard University discovered it about twenty-five years ago. He called it fight or flight.”

  “I’ve heard of that.” Kyle pulled faint facts from her memory. “The adrenaline enables your muscles to work fast and hard.”

  “Exactly,” Tor said. “And afterwards, you feel drained. The more physical you are, the more you drain your reserves.”

  “Go ahead and nap if you want,” she offered, grinning. “I promise I won’t let them leave you on the bus.”

  “That’s what friends are for, right?” He settled into the corner of the seat, stretched his legs into the aisle, and crossed his arms.

  In less than five minutes he was snoring.

  Chapter

  Twenty Six

  May 21, 1944

  Kyle sent a letter to Heidi the day after the Pikes Peak tournament. She started it with general news, including the gossip (which was how Heidi would see it) about the three nurses and their love affairs with the German prisoners of war.

  Kyle went ahead and spiced up the telling a little so it would hold Heidi’s attention, but she was sure to point out that the women were arrested, sentenced to a year in prison, and would be dishonorably discharged once they were released.

  She decided not to talk about the escaped POW because she didn’t want Heidi to panic. People who’d lived their whole lives in tiny Viking tended to worry about the outer world more than Kyle ever would again.

  Then she casually mentioned that Erik’s birthday was coming up and she was thinking about requesting leave so she could come home and celebrate.

  The thing I can’t decide is whether or not to try and surprise him if I do get leave. I’d have to have my parents pick me up in Fargo and ask Erik to drive me back afterwards… What do you think?

  Heidi’s answer took two long weeks to arrive, and when it did it was frustratingly vague:

  I think the idea of surprising Erik is so cute and romantic. But I’m not sure he would appreciate the surprise since he’s so busy getting the farm going for the season. Maybe it would be better if he knew you were coming.

  Kyle thought about that for a couple days before she decided to go ahead and request leave. Three days was the minimum that would get her to Viking and back with a full day to spend with Erik, but she requested four. When the four days were approved, she sent a letter to Erik.

  Only then did she tell Tor.

  “I’ll be fine, don’t worry about me,” he insisted with a little more enthusiasm than felt right. “You go and spend time with your fiancé.”

  Kyle had been holding back on her plan of enjoying a fling with the captain until she had some sort of answer about her possible visit to Viking.

  Now she wondered if his overly bright reaction might be an attempt to hide a jealous streak.

  I hope so.

  “I might not go,” she said. “It’s not set for sure.”

  His expression shifted but she couldn’t read its meaning. “Why wouldn’t you go?”

  She tried to sound unconcerned. “He might be too busy to take time off.”

  Tor lifted a brow. “I’d make the time.”

  Kyle met his gaze. “You’re not a farmer.”

  He didn’t reply verbally, but his expression made his opinion of that excuse very clear.

  Yesterday Erik’s answer came.

  Kyle tore open the letter not wanting to wait until she got back to her barracks.

  Dear Kyle,

  Thank you for thinking of my birthday. That means a lot to me.

  Unfortunately, your plans have come too late…

  Kyle stopped reading. She refolded the letter and stuffed it back in the envelope.

  She said nothing to Tor and pretended like everything was fine. She didn’t retrieve the letter until she was alone in her room and had gotten ready for bed. Only then did she feel like facing Erik’s words.

  Unfortunately your plans have come too late for me to take any days off for weeks to come. If you had written two weeks ago and had made pla
ns to come then I might have been able to find the time. As it is now, it’s just not possible.

  Kyle put the letter in the desk drawer without reading the rest. There was no point. And today, after she dropped Tor at the gun range, she would go back to headquarters and cancel her leave.

  Her first reaction to Erik’s words was guilt. She was a terrible fiancée. Was she going to be a terrible wife as well? She didn’t deserve Erik, who was working so hard to keep his farm productive so that he could provide for her and their children.

  But when she went to headquarters to cancel the leave, she started to get angry.

  I’m serving my country, damn it. Our country.

  She wasn’t free to come and go at will. She’d joined the WACs and her schedule was at the mercy of the United States Army. She made that choice willingly.

  One of us should serve.

  We are at war, after all.

  Kyle never begrudged Erik staying home. She understood that as the only child and sole support of his aging parents he was needed at home. Not to mention the food he provided in place of the farmers who were able to go off and fight.

  But it seemed to her now that he felt bad that he was still at home, and he was taking that resentment out on her.

  I don’t deserve that.

  “Are you sure?” the clerk asked Kyle. “You want to cancel your leave?”

  Kyle nodded. “My fiancé isn’t able to take time off to be with me, so there’s no point in my going home.”

  “Why don’t you go somewhere else?” she pressed. “Go to Denver for a couple days. Get away from this place for a while.”

  “By myself?” Kyle made a face. “No thanks.”

  “Well I’m not going to file this until tomorrow, in case you change your mind.” She opened the center drawer of her desk and dropped the cancellation form inside. “You have until tomorrow at four.”

  Kyle gave the gal a polite smile and then left the office.

  It’s time to talk to Tor.

  *****

  When Kyle picked him up from the munitions range Tor felt nervousness radiating off of her with palpable force. He considered her expression carefully, wondering what had happened since he saw her this morning.

  “Kyle?”

  She glanced sideways and flashed a nervous smile. “Yes?”

  “Is everything okay?”

  She bounced a quick nod, her eyes staring through the jeep’s windshield. “Uh huh.”

  Her silent fidgeting screamed its contradiction of her words. “Kyle, what’s going on?”

  “I, um, have something I want to talk to you about.”

  “Go ahead.”

  She glanced sideways again. “Can we go somewhere and talk?”

  Tor waved at the landscape around them. “Pick a place. The weather is beautiful. We should enjoy the moment.”

  Kyle drove the jeep to the bottom of the mountain. No one was there since the snow had melted and the recruits’ training had shifted from skiing to mountain climbing. She parked the jeep and opened her door.

  Tor opened his and got out of the jeep. “Want to sit on the bench by the T-bar?”

  “Sure.” Kyle jammed her hands into her pockets and walked toward the base.

  Tor followed with absolutely no idea what she was about to say. He sat next to her on the bench and turned sideways on the bench to face her.

  “Sorry if I smell like sweat,” he offered. “It was a hard day.”

  She waved a hand. “You’re fine.”

  He waited a minute while Kyle chewed her lower lip and took deep, gulping breaths.

  Finally he reached for her hand. “Just say it, Kyle.”

  Her words came out in a rush. “I’m not going away on leave after all.”

  That surprised him. “Why not?”

  “Um…” She swallowed thickly and stared at her knotting fingers. “Erik can’t take any time off right now, what with getting ready for the spring planting.”

  Why—does the man work twenty-four hours a day?

  Stop it.

  “Will you go later, then?”

  She shrugged. “Maybe. We’ll see how things go.”

  Something about her tone made Tor ask, “What things?”

  “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.” Her eyes lifted to his. “I’m still going to marry Erik and you’re still going to Italy.”

  Tor waited. There was nothing he could say to contradict either one of those statements.

  “But—and please tell me if I’m wrong—I think we still share an attraction…”

  The tentative way her sentence trailed off made her statement a question. His pulse stepped up its cadence.

  “Yes, Kyle. I believe we do.”

  She seemed to gain some confidence from that. “I still think you’re handsome and interesting and smart.” Color rushed into her cheeks until they were as red as berries. “And you kiss really well.”

  Tor smiled self-consciously. The compliment was not one he’d heard before. “What are you suggesting?”

  She drew a ragged breath. “I’m suggesting a fling.”

  Tor’s veins fizzed with the thought. “How—intense—of a fling?”

  “I absolutely draw the line at giving you my virginity.” The berry red in her cheeks deepened. “That belongs only to Erik.”

  “I agree…” Tor was stunned by her suggestion. Happily stunned. “What… why…” He couldn’t even make a sentence.

  “Because I don’t want to regret you for the rest of my life.” She pounded a fist on her thigh. “There. I said it.”

  He watched her carefully. “Regret me?”

  Kyle smiled at him with trembling lips. “I think could fall in love with you, Tor. If there wasn’t Erik.”

  “But there is Erik.”

  “Exactly. So in the meantime, I want to be your girl.”

  Tor’s smile grew without him thinking about it. “I’m honored. I mean that.”

  She looked like he slapped her. “Only honored?”

  “No! I mean, yes. To everything.” He grabbed her hand and unfolded her fist until he could kiss her palm. “I would like nothing more than to spend my remaining time in America with you as my girl. My only girl.”

  Kyle stared into his eyes. “And you agree. My virginity remains mine.”

  Tor crossed his heart with his free hand. “I’m a gentleman, Kyle. You know that.”

  “I do.” Her lips curled slowly. “Kiss me.”

  He frowned. “I’ve been training all day.”

  “I don’t care.”

  She didn’t need to ask him twice.

  *****

  After a shower, clean clothes, and supper, Tor snuck Kyle away like they were errant teenagers. They left the jeep outside the mess hall and walked to the camp’s perimeter behind it. If he had been thinking clearly, he’d have brought a blanket.

  But he wasn’t.

  He was still in shock and wondering what this fling thing would be like.

  Kyle stopped walking and turned to face him. The three-quarter moon peeked between the pine branches above them, adding slices of blue light to the yellow glow of the camp’s lamps.

  She lifted her chin and stared into his eyes. “What now?”

  Tor slid his hands under her arms and lifted her from the ground until her face was in front of his. Kyle wrapped her legs around his hips and looped her arms around his neck.

  “Hi,” she whispered.

  “Hi,” he murmured back.

  His lips claimed hers in a tender trap, searching, teasing, and testing. He wanted to make the moment last—like Christmas Eve, knowing that the next day was going to bring happiness and extending the anticipation.

  He pulled away and sighed. “You taste wonderful.”

  “It’s cinnamon,” she teased breathlessly. “I had the apple pie.”

  Tor laughed softly. “That must be it.”

  He kissed her again, this time going deeper. Her lips opened and his tongue met her
s.

  She moaned a little. Her breath was warm on his cheek.

  It was intoxicating.

  Tor turned slowly and leaned his back against a tree, so consumed by the feel of her mouth against his that he was afraid he might lose his balance.

  Kyle’s legs tightened around him and she pushed herself upward until her face was above his. She took control of the kiss and he let her. Her passion was almost aggressive.

  His arousal was inevitable.

  She pulled away and looked down at him, breathing heavily, her eyes lidded. “I’ve wanted to do this for so long.”

  “So have I,” he admitted.

  She sighed and relaxed a little until her face was even with his. “It’s going to be hard, isn’t it?”

  He flashed a rueful smile.

  It already is.

  “I care for you, Kyle. You know that.”

  “And I care for you.” She gave him a soft kiss. “And we know how this will end.”

  “Don’t fall in love with me,” he warned.

  She chuckled. “And don’t you fall in love with me, Captain.”

  Tor felt his chest tighten and he wondered about the wisdom of their new game. Would he be able to walk away from her when the time came? To blithely hand her over to the farmer who couldn’t make time for her now?

  Maybe she’d change her mind. Maybe she’d wait for him to come back for her.

  Even as the thoughts formed in his mind he knew they were futile. He was the one who was going to get hurt in the end.

  At least he’d be the one leaving. He’d board a transport and travel back across the Atlantic Ocean to fight his battles abroad in Italy. There wouldn’t be time for him to miss her, he rationalized.

  Thinking these things, and accepting them as inevitable, released Tor’s fears. He would fully enjoy his time with Kyle for the months they had left here in this valley. The risk she was taking demanded that of him.

  Because I don’t want to regret her for the rest of my life either.

  Chapter