Saving Easton (Oakside Military Heroes Book 2)(2)

"Molly, you can't run off like that." I scold her, as I take a quick assessment, making sure being in his lap isn't causing any issues. He doesn't seem to be missing any limbs or be in any pain.

At the sound of my voice, the man slowly turns his head, and my heart skips a beat. It can't be him, it just can't be.

"Easton?" I ask, my voice shaky.

This man in front of me just stares at me, while he pets Molly. I take a few steps into his room to get a better look at him, and sure enough, this is Easton Mathews, my brother's best friend growing up.

This is the boy I had a crush on all through my school years, and the boy who chased all the other boys away without even trying, because they didn't compare to him. Only he isn't a boy now, he’s a man. He's bulked up, and even through the t-shirt, I can tell he has some serious muscles. His black hair is a few inches longer than he normally wore it, and he's grown out his beard enough to hide most of his face. But his ice, gray eyes are still the same.

Why is he here? If he's here, that means he was injured during his military time, which I didn’t even know about. What did Lexi say downstairs? Noah has been visiting him, even if he didn't want it? I need to get back to Lexi and find out why he's here.

"Hey, um, I need to use the restroom, and she won't go in there. Will you watch her for me for a few minutes?" I ask.

It's a lie. Molly will go wherever I go, but he’s doing well with her, and I need to go see Lexi now. I also want an excuse to come back.

Easton looks at me like I might be crazy, but gives a small nod before I turn and flee the room. I run back through the lobby and downstairs to Lexi's office.

"Room four. It's Easton." I say a bit out of breath, and Lexi and Noah both look at me like I've grown two heads.

"Yes..." Noah says.

"Where’s Molly?" Lexi asks.

"Molly is with Easton. Easton is my brother's best friend. Well, he was growing up." I say, and Lexi and Noah look at each other. "Why is he here?"

Neither says anything.

"Molly has never met him, but as soon as we got to the door, she ran right to him. The moment he started petting her she crawled up in his lap."

"He let her?" Noah asks, looking shocked.

"Yes, she's still there. I used some lame excuse of needing to use the bathroom to come back down here," I say.

Lexi sighs, "He's fine physically, but Easton was a prisoner of war for a year. We don't know much other than what’s in his file. He doesn't let anyone in his room. Other than to his doctor and to Noah, he doesn't really talk either. When he was a POV, he had no human contact for a year, except for the fully masked men, who tortured him. So, Easton having Molly in his lap is huge. If you knew him before, you might be able to push him to finally heal."

"But don't push too hard," Noah says.

I nod. "I should get back up there."

Lexi and Noah follow me up. We stand quietly in the doorway and watch Easton stare out of the window while petting Molly, who is still in his lap.

When I look over at Noah and Lexi, they both nod, so I take a step into the room, which perks Molly's head up. Easton turns his head to look at me, before staring back out of the window. I sit on the couch at the opposite end of the room and look back at the door to find Lexi and Noah gone.

I'm not sure what to say, but since I had no idea he even joined the military, I think that’s a good place to start.

"What branch of the service are you in?" I ask him.

"Was." He says, and even in the one word, I can tell his voice has gotten deeper.

Just that one word has my body tingling. How the hell did he do that?

"What?" I ask, trying to clear my mind and focus.

"What branch was I in. This happens, and they were pretty fast to discharge me." He says with a hint of anger in his voice.

"I'm sorry I didn't know," I say softly.

The last thing I wanted to do was anger him.

"Marines." He says at the same time he turns his head to look at me.

"I didn't know you joined.”

Only he doesn't look at me, he's looking past me.

"How long have you been bringing Molly in?"

"Well, this is only our second time here, but we have been visiting the hospital for almost three years now. Lexi and I met when Noah was in the hospital." I give him more info than he asked for, but it's better than the silence before.

He nods and keeps petting Molly, who has her head on the armrest of his chair and is looking at me.

"You know, she's never taken off on me like that, much less climbed into anyone’s lap, even mine," I tell him.

"Why me?"

"I think she can sense you need it. It's what she’s trained for."

More silence. I've never been good with silence, especially with how my nerves are on overdrive. For something to do, I take a look around the room. Easton sits in a brown leather chair he has pulled over to face the window in front of his bed.

The room is long, and Easton and his bed are on the far wall. In the middle, is a living room area with a dresser and TV on top, a second chair to match the one he’s sitting in, and a matching leather couch, where I’m sitting. The door is on the opposite wall of the bed, and there’s a small desk on one side and the bathroom on the other.