Riordan (3 page)

nodded again. “I’m not trying to be a bitch—well, I am, but I don’t want to think about it

anymore. The nightmares plague me as well.”

“Yes, sir, I’m betting that they do. If you, you know, need to talk, I can listen to you. Won’t

say a word, just be here for you.” He took another healthy bite, then continued. “I might need

you, too. I won’t mean to, but I might just need to…I get them willies I was telling you about,

and you might have to talk to me. About nothing if you want, but I get myself scared to death

sometimes. I won’t hurt you, but I do get scared.”

“I’m here.” He nodded, and she walked to the board. She had no idea what it said at that

moment; her eyes were filled with tears. Storm wasn’t the whiney kind of woman. She wasn’t

even one to lean on people, even if she was falling over on her face with the need to. But there

were times that hot tears could make her feel more alive than anything.

After a bit, she heard the water at the sinks turn on and Danny start to hum to the music that

was playing in the front of the shop…soft country music that her aunts both loved to hear, and

sometimes even sang to. Storm pulled the first of the orders down just as Aunt Lynn came into

the back room. She had the nightly list of things that they were running low on up front.

“We’re taking what is left to the shelter.” Nodding, Storm made a mental note to save some

food for Danny to take home with him when he left. But her aunt handed her a sack that she

could smell the bread in. “How’s your back, sweetie? Want me to stay and help?”

“I’m going to go up in a bit and take a little nap.” Storm was pretty sure her aunt knew it

was a lie. “Then I’ll work on some of this and the front stuff.”

“Don’t work too much, honey. We’ll make do with what we have, and tomorrow is a half

day too, so we might be able to make it.” Storm nodded and locked up after her aunts left. Going

to the back room, she started measuring things into the big mixer. It was going to be a very long

night.

Ordan Harrison waited in line to get his morning Danish. When he’d told his lovely wife,

Bri, that he was going to check in on the girl, she’d told him that Mac had been in to see her last

night. He’d known that she’d done it…the bread and dessert that they’d had last night could have

only come from here.

“I had to know that she was all right. He’s a big brute of a man to be tossing her around.”

Ordan asked her if she meant the girl or Riordan. Her grin had him laughing. “I would have

loved to have seen that. Her throwing him over her shoulder like he was nothing more than a

bothersome flea. And to have her tossing food at him? Why, it was everything I could do not to

laugh right in his face when he sat there all covered in it.”

“He was a sight. I laughed so hard on the way home that I near hurt myself. But I’m going to

go by and see her anyway. Might even tell her how sorry I am that we raised him up to be such a

fool.” And now here he was, next in line, and he’d yet to see her. The woman at the counter

winked at him when he told her what he wanted in the way of food this morning.

Sometimes it embarrassed him to no end when a woman flirted with him. Ordan had aged

well, he knew, and he’d taken care of himself, but he still was never quite used to woman doing

things like this to him. But he gathered his tongue up and told the woman what he was there for.

“Last I seen her she was in the back decorating some cookies for a party.” He nodded and

said he’d come back then. “You can go on back and talk to her. Don’t be put off if she’s a might

short with you. She’s not had the best of mornings, and I don’t think she’s been sleeping too well

lately.”

Ordan was assured that it would be fine, and he’d had the choice taken out of his hands

when Lynn—according to her name tag—asked if he’d be so kind as to ask the girl if she had

any more chocolate chip cookies hiding back there. Ordan moved through the opening into a

land as foreign to him as another country. As far as he was concerned, the kitchen was a place to

have a meal and to talk to someone if the boys were in there. But he had no more idea of how to

cook an egg than most people knew how to overhaul an engine. Which he had no idea of how to

do either. He was what his boys called mechanically miss-inclined.

She was sitting at a table with bags of colored things all around her, and it took him a

moment to realize it was frosting. He itched to pick one of them up and squirt some onto his

finger to see if it tasted as good as it looked on the cookie she had in her hand. When he moved

to stand beside her, Ordan touched her gently on the arm to warn her that he was there. He didn’t

want to startle her too much.

Ordan had never seen someone react so quickly in his life, but he lay as still as he could as

she held the gun to his forehead. He had no idea how he’d gotten down on the floor, nor how

she’d managed to land atop him like she was, but he wasn’t stupid enough to ask her that right

then. Her hand not holding the gun was at his throat, and her legs were gripping his ribs tight

enough to hurt. His cat was screaming to be let loose.

“Don’t move.” He didn’t even look at the woman who spoke from behind him. “She don’t

know it’s you just yet. Or even where she is. Just lay there and I’ll talk to her.”

Ordan thought that was a wonderful idea. Then Bri touched his mind. She must have felt his

fear and was making sure he’d not hurt himself or no one else had hurt him. He wasn’t sure he

could have calmed her and his cat, too, so he asked her, very politely, if she’d let him get over

this first.

I will not. Tell me what is going on right this minute, Riordan Harrison, or so help me I’m

coming there and tearing up some behinds.
He told her where he was and what he was currently

doing.
She’s going to kill you? Over what our son did to her? That’s not right, Ordan; you have

to tell her we tried.

I don’t think she knows what she’s doing. The woman with her, an aunt I think, is talking to

her. But I can see her face, Bri, and she’s not here. There is…fear. She’s terrified out of her mind

right now.
She asked him if he was in any danger from her.
No. I don’t know why I know that,

but if she had wanted me dead, I’d be dead.

That’s not very soothing, love. Just…don’t hurt her. And don’t let her hurt you. Riordan

would never forgive her.
He told her it might be a good thing if they didn’t mention this to him.

Yes, I can see that you’re right. Just…will you call me when she’s better? I worry about you both

now.

Ordan listened to what was being said by the older woman. “You’re not Sergeant Major

Storm Browning anymore, darling. You’re home. Listen to me, Stormy, and come on back.

Sergeant Major Browning isn’t going to hurt this man because you’re home and safe. Do you

know where you are?”

Ordan saw the moment when the girl realized what she was doing. She didn’t move off him

right away, but she did ask him if he was all right. He nodded slowly before answering her.

“The gun is biting into my head. Do you think you could ease up on it a bit?” She didn’t

move, and he started to ask her again when a tear rolled down her face and hit him on the cheek.

“I can’t move.” He nodded again and waited for her to explain, her voice only a whisper of a

sound. “I’m hurting so bad right now that if I try to move, I’m going to scream. I’m very sorry

that I’m hurting you, but my back is twisted up and I can’t make any other part of me work right

this minute. If it’s any comfort to you, I’ve moved my finger off the trigger a little.”

No, that didn’t ease him in any way, but he nodded to her. Ordan lay as still as he could for

as long as he could until he felt a shadow fall over him. The woman moved, then cried out, and

Ordan wanted to tell her it was all right when the man spoke.

“Sir, I can lift you up if that’ll help.” The woman moaned at the man speaking. Ordan didn’t

take his eyes off the girl. Not because he was afraid she’d hurt him, but because he was afraid

that she’d hurt herself more. “I can pick you up like those men did me when I first come out of

my coma. I can do it if you let me.” He actually put his hands on her shoulders.

“Don’t touch me.” He knew that it had cost her to scream at the man. He could see it all over

her face. “I’m going to move my hand, and when I do, I’m going to see if I can roll to my back,

all right?”

“Just stay still until this passes.” Her laughter had him thinking she was rusty at this, at

having any humor in her life. “I’m not going anywhere, and my wife is aware of what is going

on. Do you know what I am?”

“Cat. Tiger.” He nodded, impressed that she’d known. “You’re the father of the idiot from

yesterday. And if I’m not mistaken, related to the man who came in last night wanting to help

me.”

“Another of my sons, Mac. My wife sent him in. I have six sons, and only one of them is an

idiot, as you’ve figured out. I’m not sure that the others won’t be too when their time comes to

meet their mates. Women can make us men do the dumbest things when our cat finds you.” The

gun moved, and he could feel it bite deeper into his skin, then the trickle of blood as it moved on

his forehead. “Don’t think about that right now. Just keep talking to me, all right?”

“I hurt.” He knew that she did, and his heart twisted in pain for her. “I’m really sorry. I’ve

been…I have a few demons that I’m working on.”

“You’re doing fine. Just fine.” When the gun moved again, it was moved off him, not deeper

into his flesh. “Your breads were a hit at dinner the other night. Too bad that Riordan wasn’t

there to enjoy them. His momma sent him home without his supper. She was in a fine spirit when

she heard what he did to you. We were just laughing at how you’d sweetened him up with all

those pretty things.” He wasn’t really babbling, he told himself, just trying to talk her down.

Ordan thought it was calming him as well as his cat, but he kept an eye on her, too.

“I’m going to move now. Don’t try to help me.” Ordan nodded and felt her shift slightly

above him. The gun was still there, he could feel it on his shoulder, but it wasn’t pointed at him

any longer, just there in her hand. When she closed her eyes, he could feel her tense up and

wondered if she’d be able to make it. Then he was suddenly free.

The scream made him think they were under attack. He leapt up quickly to defend her when

he realized nothing he could do would help the child. Her body was curled into a tight ball; her

screams were bouncing off the walls until she just suddenly stiffened and lay still. It was then

that he noticed that one of the older women who had worked the counter was shoving a needle

into her bottom.

Checking for her pulse when she stopped screaming, he found it to be beating faster than

that of someone running a marathon, and she was clammy to the touch. He wondered what was

in the syringe.

“Pain killer, triple dose. I hated to do that to her, but she won’t take it unless we make her.

She’s going to be mightily pissed off when she wakes up.” As the medical kit was packed up, the

woman continued talking. “I’m Lynn Payne. This is my sister, Sally Eaton. Stormy is our niece.

In the event you didn’t notice, she’s been hurt something awful, and I don’t just mean her body,

either.”

“You called her Sergeant Major Browning. Is she a vet?” Lynn said that she was. “I take it

she’s been hurt while in the line of duty. And recently, too, I’m thinking.”

“Tore her up. They thought for sure she was dead when they pulled her out of that tree days

after her Humvee was blown up.” The man who had offered to pick her up handed him a cup of

tea. “PFC Gunning, sir. But you can call me Danny. I heard all about her last tour. She’s a hero

to most of those boys she helped out before she was bombed.”

“She’s not going to thank you for telling on her, Danny. You go on back to those pots and

I’ll make you a sandwich here in a bit. ” He nodded at the other woman as he moved away. Sally

smiled at him. “I’m very sorry about this. She’s going to be very embarrassed when she wakes,

and will want to make it up to you.”

“You said she was hurt. Badly. Is she going to be all right?” Neither woman said a word, nor

would they look at him. “Did my son hurt her yesterday when he took advantage of her?”

“Yes.”

Lynn said she was going to lock up now as it was after one. He’d forgotten that they closed

early on Tuesday, and started to gather his things. His shoe had been knocked off him and had

landed across the room. And he’d not gotten his Danish.

“You won’t say anything to him, will you? She’s going to be upset enough that she’s done

this to you.” He started to ask Sally why she’d be upset when she continued. “You have to

realize that she’s not over this. Not any of it. For over two months they told her she’d never work