Saving Easton (Oakside Military Heroes Book 2)(6)

Noah has shared his story with me. He was in an IED blast and saved Lexi's brother, but in doing so, he ended up with burns on the right side of his body from his hairline down to his foot. He had some plastic surgery to smooth out the scars on his face, but I've seen him in short sleeves a few times, and the scars on his arm are still pretty twisted from the burn.

"I had given up and wanted to be dead, and then in bounces Lexi, who wouldn't let me. When you find the right person that you can talk to, that you can share all your demons with, and she helps you fight them? Then you hold on for dear life."

I just nod. I know what he’s saying, but I don't think Noah realizes how lucky he got with Lexi.

"Rumor has it you know Paisley."

"Rumor?"

"AKA my wife." He says with a huge smile on his face.

Noah and Lexi recently got married in a small ceremony. They flew to his hometown, got married one weekend, and then came back. He told me he plans to take her on a honeymoon, once Oakside is up and going a bit longer.

"Yeah, Paisley was my best friend, Leeland's, younger sister. I lost touch with Lee once I joined the service." I tell him.

"And..." Noah prompts.

"And what?"

"What are you leaving out?"

I sigh, "I always had a crush on her. She’s strong, independent, and beautiful. Too beautiful to let all this touch her." I say, resting my head in my hands and stare at my feet.

"But she's already helped you more than you realize."

"What?" I lift my head to look at him.

"I'm standing in your room."

I look over at him. He’s a good four feet inside my room, and the anxious feeling hasn't set in.

"This is the first time you’ve let me in your room. Don't block her out just because she's Lee's sister, or you feel you need to protect her. She's been around here and around the hospital, so she's seen worse than you. I've seen a lot worse, too. Just be open to her."

I shake my head.

"Okay, let me ask you this. When you woke up from your nightmare tonight, who was the first person you thought of?"

I look at Noah but don't answer. I don't have to, because he knows the answer. It's always her.

"That's all you need to know. Your bedside clock has an option for white noise with several different versions. Try it out and see if you can get some sleep." Noah says, before turning to walk out, closing the door behind him.

Noah is one of those friends who is blunt and honest, and he doesn't sugarcoat things, which I like. That also means he tells you things you don't always want to hear.

I go back to bed and mess with the white noise machine. One of the sounds is ocean waves. Turning off the lights, I go back to sleep with the sounds of the ocean, and this time my dreams are filled with Paisley in a little bikini.

I know I need to talk to Paisley about Leeland, but right here, right now, I can pretend it's just her and me for a while longer.





Chapter 5





Chapter 5


Paisley





I'm on my way to visit Easton today, and Molly is so confused why we’re going through the front door, instead of the side door and not stopping to see Lexi.

I head into Easton's room, and Molly goes right to him. Like always, she stands in front of him, until he pets her, and then she climbs into his lap. Though today, his chair isn't facing out of the window, it's facing the couch, putting his right side facing the window and his back to the wall.

He watches, as I close the door behind me.

"Shh. I have contraband." I say, smiling huge.

I set my bag on the coffee table, pull out the lunch I made for him, and then hold it up.

"What is it?" He asks.

"My meatloaf, mashed potatoes and gravy, and a few rolls," I say, as I slowly walk over to him and hand the bag to him, careful not to touch him.

"There’s silverware in the bag," I say, as I sit on the couch.

Easton opens the bag up and pulls the containers out, placing them on the table next to the chair.

"You want me to take Molly? She won't go for the food, but she does make it kind of hard to eat."

"She's fine." He says, taking a bite.

He closes his eyes, as he chews. "This is better than I remember it."

A few bites in, he looks over at me.

"This won't get you in trouble, will it?"

I just shrug, "I might get the Lexi face, but nothing else."

"The Lexi face?"

"She has this stern 'do as you’re told and don't argue with me' face. I've seen her use it on a few patients. It's kind of scary."

He eats a bit more, and then holds up a roll. "Can she have some of this?"

"Yep, and she’ll love you even more than she does now for it," I say.

After a few more minutes, he looks at me again, and then finally addresses the elephant in the room.

"Does Leeland know you are here?"

"Nope. Does he know you joined?"

"Yeah, we lost contact after my first deployment."

He finishes eating and starts putting the containers away.

"How many deployments were there?"