A Question of Honor Read Online Free

“You’re taking a week off, Kit. Go home and get some sleep. And I mean deep, uninterrupted sleep. Lie in the sun. Learn how to relax. Consider this a minivacation in order to pull yourself back together again.”
    She sat stiffly, unable to speak. Who was this man? He’d just probed her from top to bottom and discovered a truth she’d been avoiding for a long time. Drawing in a ragged breath, Kit became achingly aware of him as he released the grip on her arm. “And then?” she rasped, looking up into his face. Noah’s eyes glittered with anger and a frown creased his forehead. He was angry with her, she thought in confusion, and disappointed.
    “I’ll call you sometime next week and we’ll go over the details of your new job. We’ll begin your integration into my unit slowly, provided we’re given the time.”
    “I’ve never failed any assignment I’ve undertaken.”
    His mouth tightened, as if he were experiencing her pain. “That’s not what’s at stake here, Kit,” he countered less harshly.
    “Then what is?”
    Noah’s eyes softened momentarily. “You.” He got to his feet. “Come on,” he coaxed, “I’m taking you home. You need the rest.” And then he added to himself, I need time to think this thing through. Maybe when he got back to the office, he could objectively evaluate Kit Anderson, her role and their assignment with each other. Like it or not, Noah had to acknowledge how powerfully he was drawn to her.
    Noah had no sooner gotten back to his desk at headquarters than the phone rang. Muttering an oath under his breath, he picked it up.
    “Coast Guard Headquarters, Lieutenant Trayhern speaking.”
    “Noah?”
    He sat down. “Aly?” It was his younger sister, Alyssa, and she sounded depressed.
    “I’m sorry to call you at work, Noah, but I just needed to hear a friendly voice.”
    “I know what you mean.”
    “Thank God for our family,” Aly said fervently.
    “Yeah,” Noah agreed. The Trayherns were as tight as a family could get. They had to be. Since the events of 1970, Noah had watched his own blossoming military career go sour. Alyssa, who’d just entered the naval academy in 1970, had been given the silent treatment. Now she was in flight school at Pensacola, in northwestern Florida. “So how’s it going, ace? Are you flying the wings off those planes up there?”
    Aly’s voice was low. “I’m trying to, Noah.”
    He gripped the phone a little tighter. “Pretty bad?”
    “Yeah, really bad. God, Noah, I’m getting the silent treatment from the students all over again. I’ve got one instructor who does nothing but scream at me for an hour in the cockpit. He’s trying to wash me out, make me quit. I—I don’t know if I can hold it together….”
    His throat tightened. “Hang in there, Aly. The Trayherns are made of tough stuff. We’ve got a two-hundred-year family military tradition to uphold. There’s too much riding on both our shoulders to let go of that honor.”
    “I’m getting tired, Noah. And I didn’t want to tell Mom or Dad what’s happening here at Pensacola. They worry too much about us, anyway.”
    Noah tried to smile. “I’m glad you called. Any chance you might cut free for a weekend soon and visit me? Getting away from the name-calling and stares might help.”
    “That would be wonderful, Noah. I really need a break. And I know Mom and Dad would die if they saw me right now. You know how they expect a monthly visit from each of us. I have dark circles under my eyes and I’ve lost a lot of weight since starting the flight program. These instructors really want me out, Noah. They want to disgrace me in retaliation for Morgan.”
    “I know,” he said softly, hurting for her. “Look, you get down here at the first opportunity, okay? My house has two guest bedrooms, and one of them has your name on it.”
    Alyssa’s tone was strained. “Thanks, big brother. I owe you one. I’ll drop in to see you just as soon as I can.”
    “Do