The Hot Sergeant (Second Chance Military Romance) (Hargrave Brothers - Book #2)

by Alexa Davis

  The work had been the best part, for him. Learning how to make me smile when I was angry with him, fixing up my ridiculous, old house together, helping me make it mine, even though I never invited him to live with me. No. Work had never been the problem. Watching his friends go home in boxes had been the problem. Knowing that the career in the military that he’d chosen was likely to be brief, with a sudden stop, that’s why he had run from me. I’d lost the battle to his damn patriotism.

  “Don’t suppose you have something big and scary on the outside, warm and cuddly on the inside, do you?”

  I laughed at him, a clear, bright explosion of joy that took both of us by surprise. I certainly hadn’t meant for him to know how good it was to see him.

  “Just like you, huh, G? I don’t have any tattooed cuddle bears for adoption today. But…I do have some at the shelter as part of a program I’m running. Maybe next week you could come by and, I don’t know…audition a couple, see if one fits.” I wondered if he’d be mad once he found out that the program was for service dogs for vets like him. As long as I’d known him, he’d held himself apart from others, like he didn’t feel pain or get scared. But, before he left, I’d been there for the nightmares. I’d seen him wake up sweaty and screaming from what he’d seen, or done, maybe; he’d never told me which.

  We stared at each other, neither of us knew how to end it. I looked into his hazel eyes and knew I was never going to stop loving him. What I hadn’t expected to see was the same love in his eyes that had kept me going through some of the hardest times of my life.

  I smiled and schooled my face into as pleasant a blank expression as I could manage. He rolled through the door as I held it open. Tucker had finally come looking for him, so I waved and winked at him, making him chuckle.

  George had no idea what was coming, I thought to myself. I wasn’t afraid of work, either. The only thing that scared me was the possibility of growing old without George knowing how I really felt.

  “It’s time to woman-up, little girl,” I muttered under my breath as I handed out one last round of treats. A pretty beagle named Lucy, who had been my shadow all day, sat on my feet and kept the bigger dogs off me the whole time. “Let’s go get you adopted, pretty lady.” I reached down and scratched behind her ears. “Let’s go find your gentle heart a forever home.” And mine, too, I added silently as I attached the leash to her pink, shiny collar.

  I took a deep breath and braved the happy throng of people gathered by the adoption tables. Shaylen was glowing as she rushed from application to application, and Tucker waved one in my direction with a grin. I gave him a thumbs up and walked my little shadow over to the fenced-in play area, where she wriggled and played with her fellow adoption-hopefuls. The lines of new pet owners already stretched back from the cash registers all the way to the litter boxes and scratch posts piled at the back of the store that I had yet to organize.

  Relieved of my furry friend, I jogged over to the registers to help bag “new pet” accessories. I hadn’t seen this kind of success in an adoption fair before, and I was ecstatic. I saw a void in the crowd and knew that was where George was in his chair. Today, of all days, I would’ve liked a quiet shop. Timing was everything with the two of us, it seemed. Too bad it was never on our side.

  3. George

  I waited three days before looking for Callie again, just so she’d know I wasn’t desperate to see her. In those three days, I ate, slept, hell, I breathed that damn woman. No, desperate wasn’t even close to how I bad I needed to smell her skin again, see her smile. Forever grateful that Tuck couldn’t read my mind, I let him try to distract me with beer and baseball. We both pretended it worked, and he didn’t ask.

  When Daniel called me the morning of day three, I knew my quiet hiatus was at an end. My eldest brother was as straight an arrow as they came, and there was no way he’d be able to keep a secret from our parents for long. Sure enough, when I listened to the voicemail, Danny-boy was urging me to make an appearance before Mom found out from someone else in town that I was home.

  I locked the wheels on my chair, set the timer on my phone, and set it down. I was already standing more smoothly than I had been, and this time was my personal best sit-to-stand time, of three seconds. I held myself in a standing position for as long as I could, straining to carry my weight on both legs. My left gave out first, noodling and rubbery after forty seconds, but I held on for almost a full minute, until the sweat beading on my forehead started to run into my eyes.

  At one minute, two seconds, I took a step with my right foot, managing to hold steady while my left foot dragged forward to meet it. Cursing, I kicked out with my left knee and slapped my foot down flat on the floor. My breath was trapped in my throat as I held my hands away from my body for balance and attempted to hold my weight and step forward with my right.

  Pain screamed through my leg as I locked my knee and fought to keep from falling, wind-milling my arms like an idiot. My right foot found solid floor and the air whooshed into my lungs. About five minutes later, Tucker found me stranded in the middle of the room with a grin splitting my face.

  “Goddamn, man, that’s a good five feet further than yesterday.”

  He came and helped me to my feet. I slung an arm over his shoulder and limped back to the new, better-padded wheelchair he’d bought me about two hours after he had finished cussing me out for not warning him that I was coming and for not telling anyone in the family about my discharge. All it took to calm him down was a cold beer and an abbreviated recap of my last tour, without talking about how it ended. Now, he was helping me with the physical therapy I had promised I’d keep up on and acting as my chauffer and in-house chef, as well. I loved seeing him again, and couldn’t wait to get the hell out of his apartment and into a place of my own.

  Tucker knew I was chomping at the bit. I figured that’s why instead of the pet store, he drove us up the long, lonely road to Lagos Colina. I tried to ignore the feeling of “home” that whispered in my ear and made my pulse jump. Every turn in the road was a long-lost friend, and I rolled the window down to let in the fragrance of green and growing things, with an undercurrent of the cattle and horses that helped keep the land fertile and strong.

  I wasn’t nervous until I saw the big carved sign looming over the gravel drive. It was then that I realized I hadn’t come up with an excuse for waiting so long to visit. Cussing myself out mentally, I glanced over at Tuck, who was quietly whistling along to some of his old bluegrass music.

  “Hey, Tuck, what do I tell Mom?” He snorted at me and shook his head.

  “You tell her the truth, that you didn’t know when you were leaving until it happened, and I suggested a surprise when you called me first.” I nodded and cracked my knuckles. Wheelchair be damned, it was good to be home.

  Tuck had called ahead that he was heading out for a visit. After a dozen hugs (and kisses from Patty and my gorgeous, new sister-in-law Rachel), I let Tucker bring out my chair. I tried to ignore the looks on the faces of men who had helped me grow up, my eldest brother and the men who had worked our land for almost as long as I’d been alive. The new faces mostly just looked with curiosity, and strangely enough, the newest Mrs. Hargrave didn’t look with pity or curiosity. She just beamed and cried, happy to be meeting another member of her new family. I liked her even more for it.

  My brothers had worked out another surprise for me. While I was waiting on Patty for more of her perfectly-brewed sweet tea, my phone sounded off in my pocket. I was going to ignore it, but watching my brothers exchange glances as it played “Crazy Train” made me wonder what I was missing.

  It didn’t take long to figure out. I had a missed call from Callie, which was strange since I hadn’t had her number in a couple of years. Tuck refused to meet my eyes, and Danny gave me the world’s worst blank face, so I knew they had set me up. Truth was, they didn’t need to. I already had a plan to see her again.

  We’d just gotten comfortable when a dust cloud started windin
g its way up the gravel drive. Rachel and Patty scurried away into the house to put the finishing touches on the expected gargantuan supper they put on for the men fresh in from the fields. My mother cried when she saw me, and cried again when Danny helped me into the chair to wheel me around to the big veranda around the back of the house. By the time we’d made it to the edge of the garden, the smell of roast beef, garlic, and fresh-baked bread made my stomach gurgle and complain as anticipation sent saliva pouring down the back of my throat.

  I looked up at the big deck, hung with lights, fairy lights, my mother called ‘em. It was still light enough to see without them, but I knew Mom loved the ambience of the little lights, twinkling and winking down grandeur on the feast, turning every cowpoke into a gentleman by their glow. Mom and Dad hustled down the stairs before I could figure out if I could make it up to the table on my own steam.

  Dad and Danny each loaned me a shoulder and between them, I walked up the steps, taking each one gingerly so I didn’t fall on my ass and risk taking them down with me. Dinner was better than any happy memory I’d taken with me to the red zone.

  I nearly cried when the first bite of flaky pie crust hit my lips, the sweet of strawberries and the tang of rhubarb coating my tongue as I savored my gargantuan slice of dessert to the very last crumb. Patty watched over every bite like a proud momma and immediately served up a second slice despite my protests. Course I ate it, and enjoyed every bite of it, too, even though my stomach was already fit to burst after all the TLC from the women of my family.

  Finally, I explained to my parents that I needed to get back to take the medicines I was still on, and Tucker and I headed out. I promised my mom I’d be back soon, shook my dad’s hand, and then I was on the road again, a little sadder for leaving, but glad I’d got to see everyone. Rachel put her arms around me and made me promise I’d go riding with Danny and Pete. I missed seeing our old horse master, but the word on the street was that he’d gone and fallen for his jockey and was taking his first vacation in ten years, just to take her to the coast.

  I was exhausted by the time I rolled myself into the guestroom I’d laid claim to in Tuck’s condo and threw myself out of the chair across the bed, planning to pass out without undressing.

  My phone dug into me as I lay face down on the mattress, and I yanked it out of my pocket, lighting it up. The notification reminded me that Callie had called, and I listened to the message again and again, just to hear her voice before I went to sleep. It didn’t matter what she said; it was the sound of her voice that calmed me and after two years of trying to forget her, it still made my ribcage feel too small for my heart.

  4. Callie

  George hadn’t returned my call or texted by the time I went to bed, so I wasn’t expecting him to bother. Even if he had still wanted to be with me, he’d never been one for technology or much of a communicator, both during his military stint and before.

  Seeing him in a wheelchair had unnerved me, and I wasn’t sure how to handle the need I felt to wrap him up in my arms and stand between him and the world. So, I dragged myself out of bed at four a.m. and did the one thing that made sense: I put in my headphones and ran. The first mile was hell, and I hated every step, just like every morning. Then I hit my stride and the endorphins kicked in. I ran my usual five miles, then added an extra mile, just to make sure it was worth the cold shower I’d have to take once I got home and was naked under the running water with plenty of time to spare thinking of George’s broad, tan shoulders under my hands before I had to join my early morning crew for kennel cleanup and dog-walking duty.

  When Tucker had called me the previous morning to talk about George still having night terrors, I had given him the number of the therapist who worked with us at TADSAW (Train a Dog, Save a Warrior).

  As soon as I’d seen George, I’d begun envisioning him with a sweet boy I hadn’t been able to match with anyone else. A Pit bull mix, my furry friend Xavi had just not been able to make a connection with any of the vets we’d paired him with and time was running out for him.

  I had called George to give him a chance to meet Xavi and see if I couldn’t help both my favorite boys at once, and if not, at least give George a chance to feel like he had someone to take care of. Tucker had texted me to let me know they’d finally made it out to the ranch, and I should try again when George wasn’t preoccupied with his large and boisterous family.

  I’d been a part of that once, and it hurt that I wasn’t anymore. There was something about the Hargraves that got unto your soul, made you feel at home with them. I knew it wasn’t just me. Formerly transient workers had settled down for year after year, working the land elbow-to-elbow with the Hargrave men. I didn’t just miss George. I missed home.

  I tried not to let my sad mood rub off on the dogs I was walking and put all thought of the Hargraves out of my head. So, when I herded my happy walking companions through the door, the last thing on earth I was expecting was to see George standing there. Or standing at all, for that matter. He leaned against the wall casually, watching me with a look I would’ve described as predatory on anyone else. Even from him, it gave me goosebumps.

  “Hey there, good-looking. Whatcha up to?” I crimsoned at the familiar greeting. It wasn’t fair for him to treat me like nothing had changed, but my body reacted as though no time had passed since I’d seen him last.

  “I’m pretty good, tough guy. What’s up? You look pretty vertical all the sudden. Don’t tell me the wheelchair was a pity ploy to get me to talk to you.”

  “You got me, beautiful. That claymore was just a dirty ruse.”

  He winked as he said it, but my breath whooshed out and an elephant crash landed on my chest. I tried to stop the tears as I rushed to him, but by the time I had my hands on his face, I couldn’t see because of the flood of briny fluid from my eyes. I cried and choked on the apology that refused to form in the garbled ugly crying soaking the front of his shirt. He guided us to the floor and held me in his arms, stroking my hair and back until I was cried out and searching for a cloth to wipe my runny nose on.

  He pulled his shirt off over his head and pressed the soft cloth into my hands. I hesitated, but unable to find anything else, I blew my nose into it, shamelessly and loudly. I looked up when I heard him bark out a laugh.

  “Honey, you can just keep that one. I’ll get by without it.”

  I felt the tears well up in my eyes again, and he saw it. He took my face in his hands and kissed me, softly at first, as chaste as the very first kisses he’d stolen under the bleachers when we had skipped chemistry together. When the palms of my hands connected with his skin, every thought of making him work to get me back fled from my mind. I ran my fingers through the light tangle of hair on his chest and up to his neck as I opened my mouth and slid my body against his.

  Wordlessly, I begged him to devour me, sliding my hands over his bare skin while I tortured myself with the taste of his tongue. He groaned as I pulled his bottom lip into my mouth and sucked on it, so I pulled away just enough to slide one of his fingers into my mouth, teasing it and sucking it as though it was another part of his body, the part currently getting harder as it pressed against the inside of my thigh.

  He pushed back with a gasp, and I came to my senses abruptly. I crab-walked back from him and sat with my back against the wall, panting. He inched forward until he was barely brushing my bare leg with his cargo pants, and I hazarded a glance in his direction. Just above the belt of his pants was a thin webbing of scar tissue. I wondered how far down it went, and if I had any right to ask. Obviously, it hadn’t made him any less a red-blooded male, a small fact I was eager to prove empirically, vigorously, and soon.

  I glanced toward the swinging door that separated the kennels from the rest of the shop. No peering eyes peeked in through the small fiberglass windows, no nose prints to give away a curious teen catching me making out with my ex on the floor of my business. God. I was such a mess. Red and blotchy from crying, my mouth swollen and sore
from attacking his mouth, aching for his touch. I couldn’t even look him in the eye.

  “I shouldn’t have done that. I’m really sorry. It started with me being a stupid bitch and ended with me embarrassing myself.”

  “Oh, gorgeous. It’s your fault all right, but not like you said. If I could ever get you out of my system, it would be a chilly day in Hell.”

  “Is that it, then? You’re suffering from want of me?” I scoffed, staring at the gray laminate floor between my raised knees.

  “That’s right. I’ve been in a bad way for a long time, since I can’t seem to get in the mood for any lovely body under me that isn’t you.” I shook my head and made a rude noise at his sarcasm. “God’s truth, Callie. You get under a man’s skin and make it impossible to get you back out.”

  I glanced up furtively at the serious tone of his voice. He was watching me, the same sadness in his eyes that I’d seen the day he told me to move on and walked away without looking back.

  “I have a hard time believing that. You seemed to walk away just fine.” I sniffed, but held my chin up and refused to let fresh tears fall. I felt him nod, even though I refused to look at him.

  “You didn’t see the aftermath, and I’m glad my brothers never told you how bad it got. Not that there’s any excuse, but you saw how I was. It’s worse now. There’s things you can’t unsee. Things that crawl out from under the bed when you sleep and dig their claws into your head until the images are just all blood and bombs and body parts. You deserve a man who can give you more than that.”

  “I deserve to have the chance to help the only man I ever loved be happy and healthy one day. I deserve to at least be included in decisions that have the potential to destroy my life, or my ability to ever love again.” I stared at the wall in front of us as we sat there, almost touching, but worlds apart.