The Second Chance Hero (4 page)

That was a little too close for comfort. Nervous suddenly, as the urge to bolt overcame her, Kim’s foot started tapping frantically. Tom was in Intelligence. He did a lot of recon, went on a lot of missions he couldn’t talk about. She remembered when he made the move from the infantry and she couldn’t figure out why. It was always something with him. Something harder, something more dangerous. The man was all about the adrenaline rush.

Look where it got him?

Time for her getaway. “I’d better find a place to put her down for a nap.”

With the gentlest touch, Owen reached out and ran his hand over Anna’s head and down her back. When the tips of his fingers accidentally brushed against Kim’s skin, she calmed. Just like that, Owen’s touch reassured her.

For a split second there was a flash of something, a memory or a piece of it . . . something similar to the déjà vu she felt earlier when he took her hand. She froze, scared, one side of her wanting him to go away and the other side wishing he would hold her. It was bad enough that his scent, a musky combination of soap and man, was making her a little drunk, but now there was something else, something that was spooking her more than anything ever had. She was drawn to Owen, inexplicably so, but at the same time, she wanted to run.

“Hey,” he said, rubbing his hand on her forearm. “You see another ghost?”

“It’s so weird. I can’t put my finger on what it is. I don’t know.”

“Any idea? Is it a flashback?”

“No, not that. I’m not sure what’s going on.”

He kept his gorgeous blue eyes fixed on hers and it was there again. A niggling feeling that she was missing something. Something big. The corner of his lips twitched up and he turned his attention back to the baby.

“You can’t just hold her while she sleeps, huh? You look so comfortable with her against you like that.” He was still stroking the baby’s hair.

If only she could. Kim loved having the baby in her arms, and loved the way she felt with her. Now, the way things were going, she’d never have kids of her own because she was too afraid to open herself up to anyone.

“She’ll wake up way sooner than she should, and a cranky Anna is not fun.”

“She sounds like her mother’s daughter.”

He was so sweet, so tuned in to the people around him. How could it be that she liked him already? “She is.” Sweet or not, she had to put the baby down. “It was nice talking to you, Owen. Thanks for listening.”

“Anytime,” he said. With that, she rose and walked toward the house, glancing back once to see the very handsome marine was still watching her. Kim didn’t know what to think about Owen Kent. He seemed perfect, but that’s what everyone said about Tom.

She was fully aware of how that turned out.

There was a point where the day just got to be too much. Kim loved the Campbells and the Rossis, but just like her own family, there tended to be a bit of overload. There was too much concern, too much meddling. So when Anna had settled in for a nap, Kim decided to take a walk around the grounds. On the far side of the property, behind a row of trees, was an old barn.

It wasn’t in bad shape, but currently there were no residents, and seeing that Meg had her hands full with two kids, a cat, a puppy, a flaky software executive husband, a job, and her pregnancy, she didn’t have time for a pony, no matter how much Molly begged.

Perching herself up on the split-rail fence, she breathed in the clean spring air. After being in the middle of a desert for a year, she’d never again complain about rain. People could say all they wanted about dry heat, but until someone had experienced the blast furnace conditions of the southern Afghan desert, they could keep their comments about dry heat to themselves.

She’d been home for ten months and she was still reliving her days in the hospital there. Still dealing with everything she lost. Talking to Owen earlier had brought on a couple of flashbacks she could have done without, and she didn’t know how she was going to get past the memories. Quite frankly, she was tired of herself.

Taking care of Anna had been a blessing and a curse. She loved the little girl with all her heart, but Kim knew she was using her to hide. Hide from her career and hide from her problems. Finding the job through an old friend of her mom’s had been a godsend.

“You look like a woman with a lot on her mind.”

Well, if that didn’t stop her breathing, nothing would. Owen was approaching her, looking sweet and sexy, his long fingers wrapped around the necks of two bottles of beer. Every nerve ending fired just looking at him.

When he got close enough, she managed a deep breath and reached out when he offered the beer. “Not really. Not if you count admiring everything here that’s green as something important.”

He chuckled, the rumble resonating in his chest. He understood. He’d just left a place that was barren and brown. Here, everything was green and lush. It was paradise for her and she’d been home a whole year.

“There’s a lot to be said for green,” he said as he surveyed the trees surrounding them. Taking a long pull on the bottle, he considered her quietly. “You might be admiring the green and the quiet, but your brain never shuts down, does it?”

No. It never did. It was one of the reasons she took the nanny job. Anna took her as far away from the navy as she could get. Caring for her was peaceful. But when she was alone, she relived everything.

“Maybe I have a lot to think about.”

“I think we all do.”

Kim sipped her beer. “Where were you based?”

“Helmand Province.”

“Ah, we were neighbors.”

And in her mind, that wasn’t a good thing. Helmand and Kandahar had proved the most deadly places for U.S. servicemen and women. She was glad the military was reducing their presence. Less people would die.

She wondered if he knew Tom, but decided not to ask. The last thing she needed was one more person telling her how sorry they were that she lost such a great guy.

“So, did you come and find me because you needed a drinking buddy to look at all the green together or to talk about the war? I can handle the first two, but I’m not into talking about the last one.”

Talking with him earlier was more than enough. Between the emotions he dredged up and the attraction, Kim’s senses were on overload. The beer was good, though cold, as she took another sip. She focused on little things: the breeze, the feel of the cold bottle in her hand, but not the man who was becoming part of her space very, very quickly.

“A drinking buddy works.”

He was so full of shit. He wanted to talk.

“Come here often?” he joked.

“Are you serious,” she laughed. “That is the worst line.”

“It never works, but I keep trying.”

“Maybe you need a new line.”

“Not my style. And I don’t think any line would work on you, anyway. You’re too astute. You’d call bullshit in a second.”

“Wow, that’s a pretty big assumption considering we just met.”

“Am I wrong?”

That wasn’t the point. The guy was getting inside her head and she wasn’t sure she liked it. She glanced over and he was watching her with those damned electric blue eyes, waiting her out. “Okay. Lately, I’ve been more inclined to tell people what I think. Life’s too short to play games. So, I’ll ask you again. Why are you here?”

“Has Harper told you much about me?”

“Not really, why?” She knew some, but it was pretty superficial. Just that he was in Afghanistan, it was his third tour, but not much else.

“I generally get in trouble for one of two reasons. I try to fix everything. I mean
everything
.”

“And the other reason.”

“I have rotten timing.”

“You’ve already apologized for teasing me. It’s fine.”

“I know.”

“And I don’t think I have to be fixed? Do I?”

“I don’t know. Do you?” He took a long pull from his beer and trained his gaze on her again.

Seeing the way his polo shirt spanned his broad chest, the way his bicep and forearm muscles flexed when he moved, she’d love for him to fix what was ailing her. But that wasn’t what he was interested in. He was fishing for information. About her. And she had no intention of giving it to him.

“I’m all right.”

“But you’re not working as a nurse.”

“Nope. Needed a break.”

“I bet you were good at it.”

“What? Nursing?”

He picked at the label on his beer bottle. “Yeah.”

“I really don’t want to talk about this.”

“Why? I bet you miss it. You love that baby, but being a trauma nurse—that calling is something that’s burned in your soul.”

“Wow, I guess I am a project. You’re trying to fix me, aren’t you, Owen?”

“Come on, it’s not that. But can you tell me the work isn’t part of who you are? I saw you with that baby, sure, but you have an edge.”

“Maybe I’ve changed.” A baby wasn’t a soldier or marine with a hole blown through him. A baby wasn’t a double amputee. There was something to be said for keeping things on the happy side of life.

“Nobody changes that much.” He drained his bottle and challenged her to argue with him.
So, Mr. Wonderful could be an asshole? Great.

What he said might have been true, but she didn’t need to hear this. She didn’t need to be analyzed by a guy who she’d known for a few hours. People always presumed things about her, about what was in her heart and her head. Everyone thought they knew what was best for her. Her mother told her to get right back in the saddle and go back to nursing. Tom’s family wanted her to grieve forever. Everyone had an opinion and it pissed her off. Owen was pissing her off. “I’m going to walk back.”

She wiggled her butt and jumped off the fence, but the ground was rutted. Kim, never being graceful, stumbled, landed flat on her behind, and splashed her beer. Not only was she on the verge of losing it because Owen had started to push every button, she just fell right on her ass in front of him. Getting away before this got worse was now the only thing she could think about. But before she could get up on her own, he had her hands in his and was helping her up. Then, Kim lost her footing for a second time, and landed with her butt in the dirt.
Again
. “Oh, jeez,” he groaned. “Are you okay?”

Not really. She looked at him. Her eyes burned with the tears she’d been forcing down in the name of a strong front. She couldn’t care. Not about herself and certainly not about others. When she did, it ended disastrously. Owen was on one knee in front of her, looking wonderfully gallant, checking to make sure there were no cuts, no other injuries.

“You need to stop running away from yourself.”

His voice, his touch, what he said, all forced the emotion to spill over. Kim’s response was strained, small. “But I’ve gotten so good at it.”

“Are you hurt?” Owen helped her up, and Kim couldn’t resist not only the physical pull, but the emotional one. He was like a magnet, and she found herself turning her face into his chest and absorbing the warmth and strength there.

“I don’t like you very much right now,” she said as he rubbed her back. “Besides, I’m a basket case. You should really keep your distance.”

“That’s exactly why I’m not keeping my distance.” He didn’t mean those words the way they sounded, but something niggled inside her and made her wonder what it would be like to be wanted by a man like this. So smart, so gentle. He kept going. “I told you this fixing habit gets me into trouble.”

She let out a watery laugh. “I’m getting that.”

She stepped back, trying to get some space between them, but his hands stayed on her upper arms. Moving. Up and down. Up and down. Pressing the heels of her hands against her eyes, she tried to get her mind off what was upsetting her. Of course Owen was touching her, so there was that to think about.
Oy,
she had to focus.

And that’s when Kim zeroed in on the fact that she’d had this conversation while she was standing in Owen’s arms. It was as normal and natural as anything she ever felt. Like she belonged there.

But she didn’t belong, and started to step back. Owen, on the other hand, didn’t want to let go and pulled her in.

“Not so fast,” he said, tilting her face to his. Well, this was humiliating. Using the pad of his thumb he wiped under her eyes. “I didn’t mean to upset you. I push too hard. Forgive me? Friends?”

Getting involved with Owen was something she should avoid, even as friends, but there was so much about him that appealed to her.
He
appealed to her, even the part that was an asshole because the guy cared. He really cared. “Sure, friends.”

He smiled down at her, all that gorgeous Black Irish making her insides clench. “You’re not very convincing.”

“I’m sure. But don’t do it again.”

“No promises.”

His body dwarfed hers in every way there was. It was hard, honed by battle, and she was sure, a strict regimen of exercise. How they interacted, though, was way too familiar considering they’d just met. But it felt like she’d known him a lot longer. Like he knew her and her secrets.

“This is so beyond inappropriate,” she whispered.

“Yeah.” But even that didn’t stop him. Owen reached around her with one arm, pulling her close. “Don’t I know it? If Harper sees us, I’m a dead man.” His words came out on his wonderful laugh. She could get used to hearing that laugh. Growing quiet, the flat of his hand made circles on her back. “It’s okay to let people help you, you know?”

It had been almost a year since she’d come home. A year since everything she’d believed in had been taken away. But no one, not her family, not Tom’s family, no one thought about her. It was all about Tom’s death, all about what
she
lost because he wouldn’t be there to love her. None of the concern ever focused on what Kim was going to do with her life, how she was going to cope. And here was Owen, a virtual stranger, understanding what the people close to her had failed to recognize. She should step away. No, she should
run
, but she didn’t. She stayed in his arms because he made her feel safe. And Kim never felt safe.

Still, she fell back on her standard line, she deflected. “What makes you think I need help?”

“Come on, Kim. Be honest with yourself. I know you’ve been through hell, when are you going to admit it?”

Kim shrugged, hanging on to the last thread of her control. She’d already fallen apart once today. That was her quota. The only thing left was for her to tell the truth, and she wasn’t giving away how much Tom’s death cost her.

“I’ll ask you again. Why aren’t you working as a nurse?”

“You don’t quit, do you?” she responded. That had Owen raising his eyebrows when she avoided the question. He waited her out. So friggin’ annoying. “Fine. I don’t think I’m ready. I’m a critical care nurse. It’s pretty intense work and I can’t handle it. Maybe that makes me weak, but that’s it.”

God, it killed her to say it out loud.

She could see the wheels turning in Owen’s head and then it looked like he’d decided to let it drop. Kim was thankful because she didn’t want to think about the job offer from the county medical center that was sitting on her kitchen counter. It was a good offer. She’d be a charge nurse in the burn unit. Definitely not ready for that.

God knew Owen was right, she hadn’t done much to help herself. Finally finding the courage to wriggle free of Owen’s grasp, Kim stepped back and gave him a long, hard look. There was a sense of command there. A sense of power that only came with a deep, inborn confidence. She envied him. What must it be like to know exactly the right thing to do? Well, she had to look like she had it all pulled together.
Fake it till you make it, baby.

“I should get back.”

“Now you’re running away from me?” It wasn’t an accusation, but more of a challenge.

“I don’t know if I’d call it that.” She felt herself grin. God, he was so cute and he knew he got to her. The bastard.

She started walking, hoping he’d stay put so the fire he’d ignited would cool down. That was too much to hope for. Within seconds he was next to her. “You know, I think this thing between us has potential.”

“There’s no thing, Owen.”

“No? I don’t know. The way we were going back by the barn . . .”

Kim stopped and turned. “Look, you’re adorable, and I think you know that. And yes, I find you very attractive. But I don’t think we’re a good idea.”

He stared at her for what felt like forever. “Why?”

“Well, if I’m going to be honest, I think you’re just looking to get laid after being away for so long. I’m not interested in being a booty call.”

“If that’s all I wanted there are ten women I could call right now.”

Son of a bitch
. “On that note. . . .” She started walking again and he caught up, grabbing her hand.

“I did it again. I’m sorry.” Frustrated, he rubbed his free hand across the back of his neck. “Shit. I meant that I like you. It’s not that I’m just looking for sex.”