A Soldier for Keeps Read Online Free

walked a common path. He knew what it felt like to fall in love with someone and then discover they were someone else. That kind of deception was brutal.
    “What happened to you?” She inched forward. “Wait, you aren’t going to tell me. You are the type of guy to keep your heartache where no one can see it.”
    “True.” He kept at her side. He liked the way she crutched forward doggedly, although the stone floor had to be tough going.
    “That’s it? You’re really not going to tell me.”
    “There’s not much to tell.” He waited while she crept around the overstuffed chair before he took her crutches from her. “I thought Cindy would be supportive of my career, but she wasn’t.”
    “Do you mean she was worried about you? Or that she wanted you to be something you weren’t?” She eased into the chair slowly, watching him with her wise eyes.
    It was like taking a blow to the chest. She understood. He wanted to argue it away or deny it, but no one—not Cindy, not his family, nor even his buddies—could see what had wounded him. Why he’d ended their engagement.
    “That’s it exactly.” He leaned the crutches against the wall. The heat of the fire blasted him as he crossed to the chair beside her. “She knew that I wanted a long Army career. She knew it came with a lot of sacrifice and time spent apart. But as soon as she got the ring on her finger, she started needing more than I could give her and found someone who could. She left me—” He stopped short of saying the words.
    But she knew them. “For another guy?”
    “Bingo.” He stared into the fire. “She said the Army didn’t pay enough. That I wasn’t enough.”
    “She actually told you that?”
    “Oh, yeah. And I had been the fool who loved her.”
    “Then she hadn’t loved you, not if she could leave you.” Lexie winced as she lifted her foot onto the ottoman. Pierce leaned forward with a pillow and placed it under her cast. He had a gentle touch. With the firelight on his face, he looked harsh as raw steel. She relaxed into the chair. “I don’t know about you, but I felt pretty dumb.”
    “Yep. Like I’ve been taken for a ride. But the truth is, I wasn’t around enough. She had a point.” He handed her the cup he’d been carrying. “This is for you. I figured a hot cup of tea would make you feel better. It’s chamomile.”
    “Chamomile?” She stared at him in shock. How had he known? With the warmth from the fire, the comfort of the chair, the heat from the cup seeping into her hands, it was the very image that had kept her going through the pain and cold on the ride down the mountain.
    “I can get you something else if you want,” he offered.
    “No, this is perfect. Thanks. Where’s your friend?”
    “Hawk is out clearing off and warming up my rental truck. You’re going to need a ride home.”
    “Oh, I’ve got it covered.” She took a sip of the steaming brew. The steamy, herbal goodness warmed her all the way down. She felt better. Infinitely better.
    “I’m afraid that means you’re going to try to drive with your left foot. I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
    “Neither do I.” Why wasn’t she going to confess her plan to him? Because she knew deep down he would point out all its flaws, and there were many. She took another sip, hoping inspiration would strike. She couldn’t think of another solution, at least one that didn’t depend on someone else.
    “Maybe I should make sure you get home.”
    “Why are you doing all this?”
    “You’re my sister’s R.A. Isn’t that enough of a reason?”
    “But you don’t know me. I don’t know you. I’m grateful, don’t get me wrong, but you’ve gone beyond all duty. I don’t want to trouble you anymore.”
    “That’s a strategic and polite way of saying that you don’t want to be beholden to me. I help you and then who knows what I’ll expect?”
    “Something like that.”
    “I’ve known people like that, too. No worries.” He