One Man's War. Lindsay McKenna

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СКАЧАТЬ Although Tess wore baggy clothes, in his opinion barely suitable for a beggar, nothing could hide her obvious femininity.

      Perhaps it was her shoulder-length red hair—now caught up in a haphazard ponytail with tendrils touching her high cheekbones—that made her so beautiful. Pete blinked, and stared at her as she approached. Back Stateside, a buxom chick in a miniskirt always got his attention. Now this woman, who wore Third World garments and no makeup, somehow looked more beautiful than any of those women he’d ever chased and caught.

      “I’ll get my knapsack and be with you in just a second,” Tess promised. She saw a confused and penetrating look in Pete’s eyes as she walked past him. There was something going on between them, and Tess wasn’t sure what it was. As she went into her hut and picked up the olive green knapsack that had literally been around the world with her, she wondered what it was about this cocky, narrow-minded pilot that touched her heart. One moment he was such a hard case, yet the next he seemed an angel of mercy.

      As Tess walked with Pete back to where the jeep was parked, she asked suspiciously, “So what’s in this for you if you get me the medical supplies I need?”

      Pete grinned. “You.”

      She shot him a withering glance. “I’m off-limits.”

      “Not to me, you’re not.”

      With disgust, Tess muttered, “You can’t demand a person do or be something you want, Captain.”

      Pete laughed and opened his hands in a peaceful gesture. “But look at me: here I am, twenty-eight years old, a bachelor, handsome as hell and unattached. What more could you want, Tess?”

      Inwardly, Tess offered grudging agreement. He was terribly handsome, and when his mouth lifted into his boyish grin, his dimples and smile lines deepened, giving his face a wonderful character. “I would think an intelligent man would want a woman to come to him of her own volition, not because she was blackmailed.”

      “Some women just don’t know what they’re missing until they get it.”

      Tess halted next to the jeep and tossed her knapsack in the back. She climbed in. “`It’ being a roll in the hay?”

      With a shrug, Pete climbed in and started up the jeep. The vehicle coughed, sputtered, then roared to life. “I can’t think of anything better than sharing my bed with a woman. Can you?”

      Tess gazed at him in utter shock. The jeep jerked twice, then they were off down the rutted dirt road, heading toward Marble Mountain, only a few miles south of Da Nang.

      “Are you for real? I mean, are you serious about this trade-off—medical supplies for me?”

      Pete backed off at the angry fire in her verdant eyes. He was an artist of sorts when it came to manipulating a woman into his arms. Too much pushing and Tess would tell him to take a walk. “Well,” he hedged, “let’s just say I’d hope you’d entertain the thought of letting me into your life a little.”

      “Going to bed with someone isn’t a `little’ thing, Captain.”

      “Couldn’t you call me Pete?”

      Tess crossed her arms. “I guess...if you want.” She scowled at him. “Where I come from, women save themselves for marriage, and engagements are in order.”

      Chuckling, Pete said, “Hey! Now, I’m not getting that serious, honey.”

      “I didn’t think so.”

      For some reason, Pete winced inwardly at her bitter tone. For some reason, he wanted Tess’s respect, not the disgust written so eloquently on her lovely features. “Look, don’t take this so seriously. Just let me get to know you a little better.”

      “What does `better’ mean?”

      “A date at the officers club? Maybe we could do some dancing? It’s not much of an O club yet, just a couple of tents, but we’ve got a plywood dance floor and a mean jukebox. We could have a couple of drinks.”

      “I don’t drink. And I haven’t danced in years. I’d probably step all over your feet and break one of your toes. At the very least, I’d break your healthy ego.” Tess looked at the surrounding vegetation, in every shade of green ranging from yellows to nearly black. “And as for partying, I’m a stick-in-the-mud. Back at Texas A & M, I was one of those girls who stayed in the dorm and studied. I wasn’t out every night with the frat boys.”

      “Well, let’s just start with a talk over some ice water at tonight’s party. Fair enough?” Pete gave her his best little-boy look, guaranteed to get him an affirmative response. This time, however, he felt a bit guilty, because he knew Tess was leveling with him, and he wasn’t with her.

      “Tonight?”

      “Why not? You’ll be at the party at our squadron. I’ll requisition a jeep and drive you back over to Da Nang. You can return to the village tomorrow morning.”

      “I was hoping you’d get me the medical supplies and I’d hop a ride back to Le My with a convoy going this direction tonight. Or maybe Gib could authorize me a helicopter ride back to the village. That little girl needs the tetanus shot and antibiotics as soon as possible. My conscience would eat me up alive if I stayed overnight, knowing she could die without the medicine.”

      She was right. Pete realized Tess was extraordinarily sensitive to those around her, not necessarily to herself. “Man, we’re complete opposites,” he muttered as the jeep bounced along the road. “Every time I get off a chopper flight, I hit the bar and have a good time. There’s no guarantee I’m coming back from any one of those flights, and I’m not putting my life on hold because of it.”

      “What I do is relatively safe,” Tess said. “So that kind of good time isn’t high on my list of important activities.”

      “Like hell your job’s safe. It isn’t. The VC are getting aggressive, and Intelligence says they’re gonna start getting real nasty real soon. You’re a white American woman, and you’re gonna be in their sites.” Pete glanced over at her profile, wildly aware of the innate gentleness of her mouth and the softness in her eyes. “Don’t ever think you won’t be a target, Tess.”

      With a shrug, she said, “Listen, everyone knows me—friend and foe alike. They know my work. I’ve helped the Vietnamese increase rice yields, gotten them more food and improved their existence. I’m here as an AID advisor in an agricultural capacity. No, Pete, I’m safe. They won’t hurt me.”

      “Brother, are you an ostrich with your head in the sand.” Shaking his own head, he looked both ways, then turned onto the asphalt of Highway 1. Gunning the jeep on the smooth road, he relaxed slightly, knowing there was less chance of VC attack on the highway, too.

      Tess smiled absently and leaned back against the less-than-comfortable jeep seat. “So, will you get me the supplies as soon as we get to Marble Mountain?”

      “Yeah, I suppose.”

      “I’ll go over and see Gib about a chopper flight back while you do that.”

      “No, don’t. I’ll fly you back.”

      Tess stared over at Pete in surprise. His mouth flat, the corners СКАЧАТЬ