Page 7 of Healing Home

Chapter 2

Link pulledup into his driveway, a little surprised at how happy he was to be home. All the way from base he’d watched BB drive behind him. The sporty little silver-blue Mercedes suited the woman, and she drove competently, if a little fast.

Curiosity nibbled at him, chasing away his fatigue as he slid from the cab of the truck. He wondered what she would do next. This whole situation was bizarre, but something kept him from firing her and making her move on down the road. There was an intrigue that he couldn’t deny. BB was everything he wasn’t, and he was completely mystified by her.

When he pulled up to his house near the beach, he had to blink. There were flowers in the little pots that hung off his front windows. He’d never done anything with the things because it didn’t seem worthwhile. He wouldn’t be home to water the things because he was deployed so often, and it wasn’t worth hiring someone to do it for him. That was a little too… he couldn’t think of a word. It felt like he was opening himself up too much relying on someone like that.

The flowers looked good, though, and he stopped on the walk as he waited for BB to join him.

Frankie was grumbling as she walked on the lead toward Lincoln.

“Is she always that noisy?”

BB grinned, her bright teeth gleaming. “Oh, this isn’t noisy. You ought to hear her snore.”

He shook his head, laughing softly to himself. “Thank you for the flowers. I never took the time to do anything with those planter things. I hope they don’t require a lot of water.”

She gave him an odd look. “Well, I chose these ones specifically under the assumption that you wouldn’t be able to take care of them much.”

Good. They would probably still die. He didn’t have much experience taking care of anything like that.

Lincoln led her up the walk and up the steps. He unlocked the door, pushed it open and waved her inside. As she brushed by him he drew in the fragrance swirling around her. His groin tightened with need, and he wanted to grab her and just pull her to him to inhale. It had been a long time since he’d smelled anything that fresh, and inviting.

But no. No sexual services implied, he reminded himself. He seriously doubted he would be her type anyway.

Stepping into the house behind her, he slammed to a halt in the doorway. What was that smell? He drew a heavy breath. Damn, the neighbors must be cooking something.

Then, as BB dropped Frankie’s leash and moved into the kitchen, he realized the scent was emanating from somewhere much closer. Like, his kitchen. Shoving the door shut he dropped his pack to the floor and followed BB. She had moved to an oblong crockpot sitting on the counter near the sink. She lifted the lid and fragrant steam wafted into the air. Link stepped close and leaned over to inhale the steam, his mouth watering.

“Is that a roast? Like meat?”

“Yes. I dropped the potatoes and carrots in before I left for the base so they should be nice and tender.”

She moved to the silverware drawer like she’d lived here for weeks and he suddenly realized she’d been in his house.

“When did you get here?”

“Yesterday,” she said, stirring the juices he could see around the roast. “Mrs. Black overnighted your house key to me.”

Lincoln blinked, wondering how he felt about having her in his house without him there. He supposed he didn’t really care. She didn’t seem the criminal type, so he doubted she’d do anything to what few things he had in here. The important stuff, his legal papers and weapons, were in the gun safe. There was no way she could get into it. He glanced through the living room, looking at his sparse furnishings. There was a burnt orange colored candle on his bare coffee table, as well as a stack of magazines on the corner of the end-table near his recliner.

It looked like she’d added just a few things here and there to try to make his place a little more homey.

“If you give me half an hour I’ll have fresh biscuits to go with it. You could go shower or something,” she suggested, giving him a smile.

“I think I’ll do that.”

She drew a chunk of meat out of the steam on the end of the fork and blew on it for a few seconds, then held it out to him.

Lincoln blinked, shocked at the intimacy of the moment. He opened his mouth and took the meat inside, chewing without thought. Then the flavor hit him and he groaned. “Thirty minutes? You give me a bite like that then tell me I have to wait?”

BB grinned, then gave a giggle that totally disarmed him.

“You can wait. Go get clean,” she ordered, then turned away as if she expected him to listen. Well, if he wanted food he supposed he should do what she said. A little bemused, he left the kitchen, wondering at the surreal turn his life had taken in the past hour.

As he walked through the house he saw other little touches she’d added. There was a rug on the floor of the hallway he’d never seen before, a stunning collage of colors that should have been too much for the generically painted house, but it really wasn’t. When he entered his bedroom, he automatically glanced at his safe. It was secure, as always, but there was a new magnet on the front of it that made him grin. It was a donut with pale blue icing and sprinkles. The magnet held a note. In a world full of ugly muffins, be a pretty donut!

Lincoln laughed, shaking his head. The woman had a sense of humor, that was for sure. He closed the bedroom door and crossed to the bed to take off his boots. He groaned as the heavy things fell to the floor, allowing his feet to breathe for the first time in almost twenty-four hours. Stripping the rest of his uniform off, he kicked it into the corner and headed for the attached bath.