Sharp Shootin' Cowboy (Hot Cowboy Nights, #3)(14)

“No, but it makes one more aware. More enlightened.”

“Enlightened? So you think I’m ignorant because I want to be a pastry chef?”

“Of course not! Everyone should do what makes them happy…as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone else.”

“We can’t expect to go through life without ever hurting anyone, Haley. It’s going to happen whether we intend to or not. Did you know Rafi went to college?”

“He did?”

“Yeah. Three years at UCLA on a full scholarship but he quit to join the Marines.”

“Why would he do that?” Haley asked.

“He said college bored him, and he couldn’t stand the thought of wearing a suit and working a desk. That kind of life doesn’t fit everyone. He joined the Marines because he wants to protect people. I really liked Rafael.” Yolanda’s eyes misted. “There was something with him. I thought maybe when he gets back…” Her lips quivered. “If he comes back…”

“They’ll get through this, Yo.” Haley wrapped her arms around her best friend. “He’ll come home.” But even as she comforted Yolanda, her thoughts filled with Reid. It was true that she didn’t believe in the war, but that didn’t mean she didn’t care about Reid.

Later, after Yolanda left, Haley opened her books again but still couldn’t concentrate. His jacket still hung in her closet. She pulled it off the hanger and put it on, shutting her eyes and breathing hints of leather and male musk. His scent evoked the memory of the night he’d driven her home and initiated stirrings of unsated lust deep in her belly.

She didn’t understand why he’d held back that night. She also didn’t know why she’d hung on to his jacket. She could have mailed it back to base long ago but hadn’t been able to bring herself to part with it. Maybe just smelling him made her believe he’d stay alive?

She still couldn’t understand her powerful attraction to him. It was as if they were the north and south poles of a magnet—and just as drawn to each other.

She’d tried to put him out of mind, but every week or two a random message appeared in her inbox. Sometimes it was just a captioned photograph, like the one of him and Garcia fishing at Lake Baharia, a place the Marines had nicknamed Dreamland. Sometimes he only sent a short line meant to make her chuckle. The emails were never very long or overly personal, but just enough to keep him in her thoughts. She supposed it was his way of laying a quiet siege.

Still unable to study, she scrolled through the half dozen emails she hadn’t been able to delete.

*

Temperature topped 120 today. With flak & helmet on a sauna would have been cooler. Our mission is to win Fallujah peacefully, but the prospect is less than optimistic. Thinking about you, Haley Cooper. —Reid

Peacemaking with tanks and rifles seems contradictory to me. Thx for the pictures. The mustache doesn’t work for you. Looks more like a caterpillar on your face. —Haley

Spent two days building a soccer field for the Iraqi kids only to have the insurgents destroy it. It’s an uphill battle at best. Still thinking about you, Haley Cooper. —Reid

I’ve been accepted to UC Davis. Heading to Sacramento in a few weeks, so I won’t be here when you return. Should I send your jacket to Camp Pendleton?—Haley

Negative, Haley Cooper. Will collect it in person…along with something else I promised myself. —Reid

In your dreams, Marine. —Haley

Every single night, sweetheart. —Reid

*

Over time she’d come to look forward to his messages. The last email had been a photo of a desert sunset with no message attached. Her chest tightened. That was almost three weeks ago. She hadn’t heard from him since.





Chapter 6


Camp Pendleton, Southern California coast

Garcia was sacked out on his rack watching Reid pack. “You going back to Bum Fuck for the holidays?”

“Yeah. I haven’t been to Wyoming in over two years.”

When their time had come up, he and Garcia hadn’t balked about staying on, but following back-to-back tours and all the post-deployment bullshit, he now had an eighteen-month-long promise to keep to himself.

“’Sides,” he added, “seventeen hours alone in my truck is better therapy than any of that mandatory decompression the government provides.”

“You need a hand with anything?”

“Nope.” Reid slung his duffel over his shoulder. “Got it covered.”

Garcia cocked a brow. “You’re gonna drive to Wyoming dressed like that?”

“You got a problem with it?” Reid challenged. Although he rarely wore his dress uniform, he was proud of the fresh stripes he’d earned and the gold chevron that marked his promotion. He was pulling out all the stops. Few women could resist a U.S. Marine in dress blues. He hoped Haley Cooper didn’t prove immune.

“No man.” Garcia chuckled. “I guess you’re taking lessons from me now…along with a detour.”

Garcia was right on both accounts, but Reid refused to comment and headed out the door. Although his final destination was Wyoming, a stop in San Jacinto wouldn’t be out of his way. He hadn’t heard from Haley in months, but his combat duties hadn’t allowed email access. He’d debated calling her first, but then decided the element of surprise might work in his favor. In all likelihood she was involved with someone else by now, but, one way or another, he was determined to find out.