His Girl Next Door: The Army Ranger's Return / New York's Finest Rebel / The Girl from Honeysuckle Farm. Trish Wylie
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СКАЧАТЬ stepped back, clipped the dog onto the leash hanging from her hand and put him down.

      “How about we head back to your place? Get him out of trouble?” he suggested.

      Jessica nodded, still flushed.

      He didn’t know what was happening here, but one thing he did know was that somehow they weren’t behaving like long lost pen pals. When she’d held him before, it had felt too warm. Like someone had shone the sun itself between them. Like they were the only two people in the world.

      And if it had been another time and another place, he’d have been tempted to never let her go.

      But he was only here for a few months. Maybe less. He’d come looking for her because she’d been such a wonderful support to him. Helped him talk about his feelings, open up.

      Without her, he doubted he’d have ever have had the strength to come home, to face his demons once and for all.

      There was no chance he was going to stuff this up by letting his emotions get the better of him. Jessica was off limits romantically.

      And that was nonnegotiable.

      He had to maintain their friendship, repair his relationship with his son and summon the strength to open up to his own parents. Tell them how much he appreciated them and what they’d done for him.

      He grimaced at the thought of what the coming months held.

      He’d just have to take it all one step at a time.

       CHAPTER THREE

       Dear Ryan,

       I know you feel like you can’t come back home, but that’s just fear talking. I’m not going to tell you that soldiers shouldn’t be fearful, because a soldier is nothing more than a brave human being and you can’t help how you feel. But you need to repair your relationship with your son while you can. And you need to face the fact that he will want to talk with you about his mother.

       I don’t know what you’re going through, but I do understand pain and loss. I know what it feels like to grieve, and to want to hide away, but in the end you have to be honest with yourself. It’s the only way forward.

       Remember I’m here for you. If you need someone to hold your hand, that person can be me. No questions asked. Jessica

      JESSICA HAD BEHAVED like a brainless airhead. Since when could she forget her dog? And the way she’d shut out Ryan after he’d opened up to her was unacceptable. He must think she was some kind of a nutcase. Not the level-headed pen pal who was full of wisdom that he’d come to rely on.

      Nothing about today had gone as planned.

      Jessica smiled as he walked back into the room. She swallowed away her fear and pinched her hand.

      “Ryan, I’m so sorry.”

      He looked confused. One eyebrow raised slightly higher than the other. “What about?”

      She sighed. He was either really good at pretending, or men actually were incredibly good at just letting things go.

      “About before. Can we just start over? Go back to when you arrived?”

      Ryan chuckled. He actually chuckled, while she stood there all breathless and red-faced.

      “Whatever you say.”

      Argh! Men could be so irritating. He was just like her brother. Or worse. Acting like something hadn’t happened when it had. But if he wanted to forget about it then she wasn’t going to argue with him. She’d behaved badly and now she had a chance to make things right.

      “Okay, how about we actually have a cup of something hot and make some lunch then?”

      He grinned and walked right up to her, stopping a few feet back. Ryan held out his hand.

      “I’m Ryan, it’s so good to finally meet you.”

      She glared at him and stuck her hands in her pockets.

      “Not funny, Ryan.” The expression on his face didn’t change. It was so serious he almost made her laugh, but she felt like too much of an idiot to shrug it off. “I made a fool of myself back there and it wasn’t me. I mean, I don’t even know how to explain myself.”

      He smiled at her again, but this time she didn’t feel mocked.

      “I thought you wanted to start over?”

      Jessica turned away from him.

      “Look, I took you by surprise, that’s all. Now let’s have some food, okay? I’m starving. Unless you want to meet all over again, again?” he teased.

      Jessica sighed and walked back into the kitchen. Her face still felt flushed, but she was starting to relax. Lucky this was a friendship where they already kind of knew one another. If it had been a first date she’d have been toast.

      “Can I do anything?” he offered.

      She shook her head.

      “I’ll make some sandwiches and meet you outside.”

      When he didn’t move she made herself look up at him.

      “Hercules would love to play ball if you’re up for a game in the yard,” she suggested.

      He winked at her and sauntered out the door.

      Jessica had to force her mouth to stay shut. It was in grave risk of dropping down and hitting her on the chest.

      Something about that man had her all twisted in knots, and that wink hadn’t helped. She was all hot, like she needed a fan, but she gulped down a glass of water instead.

      And it didn’t help her any.

      Ten minutes later, and still hot under the collar, Jessica found Ryan sitting back on one of her chairs, eyes closed, basking in the sun. A very put-out-looking Hercules lay nearby, ball neglected between his front paws.

      She leant over to put the tray of food and drinks on the table when Ryan’s eyes popped open. He looked lazy, comfortable.

      Gorgeous.

      She pushed the thought away as he ran a hand through his hair and then down his face, as if to wake himself up.

      “You’ve got no idea how good this is, just sitting here.”

      “Sandwich?”

      He took it happily and started eating. Jessica made herself do the same, even though swallowing was like forcing large chunks through a sieve.

      They sat in silence for a bit. Eating. Watching the dog chase his tail then start stalking a bird.

      “Don’t СКАЧАТЬ