Lara Lacombe - Her Lieutenant Protector

“I don’t know what to say.” Her eyes glimmered with unshed tears—of happiness? Or was she truly sorry about the way things had worked out? Hopefully the latter. He liked to think the woman he’d planned his life with would at least mourn the death of their future. But maybe she simply felt relieved.

“You don’t have to say anything,” he told her gently. “Goodbye is traditional, but not required.”

“Why are you doing this?” She frowned at him, her features twisting in confusion. “I don’t understand.”

Everest ran a hand over his head, distracted by the feel of his hair against his palm. He hadn’t had a haircut in weeks. One of the perks of being in the hospital, he supposed.

“Do you want to stay?”

Leah blinked at him, as if he’d asked the question in a foreign language. “What?”

“Do you actually want to stay here?” he repeated. “Do you really want to deal with my recovery and all that it entails? It’s going to be a long, drawn-out process. And we both know I’m not the same man I was before, mentally speaking.” He paused, letting his words sink in. “The war changed me, Leah. I’m still figuring out how. I just don’t think we’re the right people for each other anymore.”

She sighed, her shoulders slumping as the breath left her body. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered. “I thought I could handle it...” She trailed off, shaking her head. “But it’s too hard. I don’t think I can do it.”

“You don’t have to.”

“How can you be so nice about it? Why aren’t you angry with me?”

Everest searched his heart for an answer that would make sense, but came up empty. “I don’t think I have the energy for that right now.”

She stared at him, her blue eyes wide as she digested his response. Finally, she nodded. “Okay.”

He tried to smile, but his mouth wouldn’t cooperate. Leah stood and gathered her sweater and purse. She twisted the ring off her finger and held it out to him. He hesitated a moment, then took it from her and placed it in the drawer of his bedside table. “I guess this is goodbye?” she asked.

“Looks like it,” he confirmed.

Leah leaned over his bed and pressed a chaste kiss to his cheek. “Promise me you’ll take care of yourself?”

Everest felt like he was having an out-of-body experience. This situation was so strange—they were breaking up, and yet he still cared about her and she still cared about him. Maybe this is how adults end things, he mused. All his previous experiences had been full of hurt feelings and a few tears. It was a novelty for him to end a relationship on such a positive note.

“I’ll be fine,” he assured her. He didn’t know if it was the truth, but he knew that’s what she needed to hear right now.

She straightened and tucked her hair behind her ear again. It was a nervous gesture, something she did when she was feeling uncertain or uncomfortable.

She didn’t know how to leave, he realized. And he didn’t know what to tell her to ease the way.

He was saved by the entrance of Scott, his physical therapist. The man charged in wearing a big grin, but stopped short when he saw Leah standing by the bed. “Oh, excuse me,” Scott said, taking a step back. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“You didn’t,” Everest said. “It’s okay.”

“I was just leaving,” Leah said. She gave Everest a small smile and squeezed his hand. “Have a good session,” she said.

He nodded, and she turned to go, nodding at Scott as she slipped past him and out the door.

Scott was silent for a few seconds after she left. “Please tell me I did not see what I think I just saw.”

“Depends,” Everest said lightly. “What do you think you saw?”

Scott rocked back and forth on his heels, clearly uncomfortable. “I know this is none of my business,” he began, “but did you two just break up?”

“How’d you guess?”

Scott’s face fell. “Oh, man. I’m so sorry.” He walked to the bed and perched on the side of the mattress. “Do you, uh, want to talk about it? I can get a psychologist or something if you don’t want to talk to me.”

Everest shook his head, touched at the other man’s concern. “I’m okay. But thanks.”

Scott looked at him dubiously, clearly doubting his words. “Really. It’s fine,” Everest assured him. “It’s for the best. She wasn’t happy. I wasn’t happy. It was time to end things.”

Scott snorted. “No one is happy to be here.”

“Except you,” Everest said slyly. He appreciated Scott’s efforts to help, but he didn’t want to wallow in the aftermath of Leah’s departure. He’d thought now that he was back in the States the war couldn’t take any more from him. But he was wrong. It was time to move forward, to reclaim some control over his life.

The physical therapist grinned. “Well, yeah. But that’s because I get to give you a hard time.” He stood and placed his hands on his hips. “Do you want to push your session back a bit, in light of what just happened?”

Everest shook his head. “Nope. Let’s get to it.” The pain would be a welcome distraction and would keep him from dwelling on Leah.

“I’ll get your chair,” Scott said. “We can have a light day.”

“No,” Everest said. “Taking a break isn’t going to help me walk again. I can’t stay in this bed forever.”

Scott nodded at him, a glint of respect in his eyes. “That’s the spirit, man. We’ll have you back on your feet in no time.”

“You mean foot.”

Scott arched a brow. “They don’t pay me enough to laugh at your bad jokes.”

“I thought that one was pretty good,” Everest said.

Scott shook his head. “You’ve got a long way to go before you’re funny.”

Everest smiled at the memory of Scott’s words. The image of Leah faded back into the recesses of his mind as he focused fully on the present. It was funny he’d thought of her now, when his mind was so preoccupied by Mallory. The two women were nothing alike, physically speaking. Leah was petite and blonde, her hair always styled, her makeup always perfect. Mallory was tall and had a no-nonsense quality to her appearance he found appealing. Both were beautiful women, but he found himself drawn to Mallory.

She was a study in contrasts, he mused as he headed back into the depths of the ship. Mallory’s looks made her seem very approachable, but she had a do-not-disturb manner about her that he was certain she used to keep people at arm’s length.

“Why is that?” he murmured to himself. What had happened to the good doctor to leave her so skittish around people? She had a story, he was sure of it.

And he wanted to hear it.

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