comedies.”
The fog acted like a blanket, keeping them wrapped in a small cocoon of silence. Only their own footsteps sounded out, like twin heartbeats, thumping in time. The grip of her hand on his arm was strong and warm and damned if Kevin wasn’t enjoying it. It had been too long since he’d taken a walk with a woman. And even though this was strictly business, so to speak, that didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy it.
“Me,” he mused aloud, “I’m more of an action-adventure movie person.”
“Gee,” she said with a half laugh, “there’s a surprise.”
He chuckled, too. “Nothing better than a few good explosions and a couple of firefights.”
“Ah, the romance.”
“Ah, the glory.”
They walked on in a companionable silence for another minute or two and then she spoke. Kevin had been wondering just how long she could go without talking. Clearly, not very long.
“So what do you do when you’re not being Gunnery Sergeant Rogan?”
“When am I not?” he wondered aloud.
“Vacations,” she supplied, “days off. R and R.”
It had been so long since he’d taken any personal time, he couldn’t remember what he’d done. Of course, before the divorce, he’d had plenty of plans for vacations and even retirement. Maybe buy a boat and run a charter fishing service off one of the islands in the Caribbean.
But then, his neat little world had dissolved and so had the plans.
Her question was still hanging in the damp air between them though, so he found an answer that would satisfy her curiosity. “I go see my sister and brothers. And my new niece.”
Lilah heard the pride in his voice and smiled wistfully to herself. As an only child, she would never get to be Aunty Lilah. And at the rate she was going, she’d never get to be “mom” either. Suddenly, she saw herself thirty years from now, curled up in her same apartment in San Francisco, surrounded by cats and peering through the curtains at the world going on without her.
Not a pleasant prospect, by any means.
“You know,” he said, “when you’re quiet, it’s a little scary.”
She chuckled. “A Marine? Scared? I don’t believe it.”
“Worried more than scared. What are you thinking about?”
Since the image of her older self alone with cats sounded a little too “pity-party,” she said, “Just wondering what it was like to grow up with brothers and sisters.”
“Loud,” he said.
“And fun?”
There was a long pause while he thought about it. Then he said, “Sometimes. Most times, it was work. I’m the oldest, so I was usually left in charge and—”
“So giving orders really comes naturally to you.”
“All right…”
“Sorry,” she said. “Go on.”
“Not much more to tell.” She felt him shrug. “I have one younger sister and three brothers. Triplets.”
“Triplets. Wow. Identical?”
“Oh, yeah. Almost no one can tell them apart.”
“But you can,” she said, enjoying that hum of pride in his tone again.
“Sure. They’re my brothers.”
“And your niece?”
“Ah,” he said, his voice warming, “Emily’s a heartbreaker. And since she’s walking now, she’s driving Kelly, my sister, nuts.”
Lilah enjoyed hearing about his family. Love filled his voice when he spoke about them and as he painted word pictures, she drew their images in her mind. The brothers looked like Kevin, she guessed, although she was willing to bet they weren’t as handsome. After all, what were the odds of having four gorgeous men in one family?
She imagined Kelly and her baby and—
“What’s Kelly’s husband like?” she asked, assuming the woman was married. She couldn’t imagine Kevin Rogan, master of all he surveyed, allowing his sister to be a single mother.
Beneath her hand, the muscles of his arm tensed slightly before relaxing again. Hmm. Not too fond of the brother-in-law, was he?
“Jeff’s a Marine. He’s on duty now. Somewhere.”
“Somewhere?”
“He’s Recon. Kelly doesn’t even know where the hell he is.”
“And you’re not happy about that,” she said.
He shrugged again and Lilah wished she could see his expression, but the fog was still too thick, sliding past them like phantom fingers.
“Marines make lousy husbands, that’s all.”
“Kind of a generality, don’t you think?”
“Personal experience.”
Ah. She remembered what her father had had to say about Kevin’s ex-wife leaving him a mess, so Lilah trod carefully. She didn’t want him to know she’d heard anything about his past. He didn’t seem the kind of man to enjoy knowing that his private life was still being talked about.
“So you were a lousy husband?”
His footsteps faltered slightly, then he went on and if she hadn’t been paying such close attention, she might not have noticed the hesitation at all.
“My ex-wife must have thought so,” was all he said.
“Was she a good wife?” She probably shouldn’t have asked that, but Lilah’s nature was something she couldn’t fight. She didn’t mean to be nosey, exactly. It was simply that she couldn’t keep herself from trying to help. Whether that help was wanted or not.
“I’d rather not talk about it.”
“It might help,” she said. “Sometimes telling a stranger your problems makes them easier to solve.”
“There’s nothing to help,” he said, his voice low and sharp as a knife. “It’s over. My marriage ended a couple of years ago.”
Maybe, she thought. But there seemed to be a part of him that hadn’t let go. Though she doubted he’d admit that under threat of torture. And, since she’d been enjoying herself up until this minute, she let the conversation end. No point in starting a fight.
She stumbled over something in the dark and would have pitched face forward into the dirt if he hadn’t caught her.
His
