Corpsman and the Nerd (14 page)

He spent too much time in
the desert, apparently. Of course, part of the problem is he’s
never engaged in water battles before. (You people without multiple
siblings are sorry excuses for human beings. )
We’ll have to train you better. Had I been in combat with any of my
siblings, including the pregnant ones, and there’s always a
pregnant one, the fight would have been fairer.

Although I think Lainy’s
been giving Mitch tips. One thing I do have to say for him is he’s
quick to catch on. Must be the military bit in him, because he soon
learned my strategy and used it against me, so I had to keep
switching tactics. Mom finished her talk with Ryan and we had to
stop the fight and pretend we were actually working. (I hate when
that happens!)

One good outcome, though,
Mitch and I got fired from dishwashing duty. We went and watched
the football game. A pretty good strategy on our part.

Lainy, of course, figured
out what happened, but Mitch pulled her into a room for a few
minutes and when they came out, she had even more stars in her eyes
than usual. (We’re going to have to watch them closely, or they’ll
produce eight kids too.) Let’s just say it’s a good thing she’s
already pregnant...

Course, he claims after
the year he spent in Kuwait, he deserves what he’s got now. I
didn’t argue with him. I’m certainly not willing to go
there.

Ryan and I are consulting
with the bakers on a regular basis on your likes and dislikes. He’s
pretty savvy on what you like. I’m amazed with the kid, actually.
For instance, he knew you don’t like nuts of any kind, and he told
Millie that. So, you shouldn’t get cookies or brownies with
nuts.

Lainy doesn’t like nuts
either, so you’ll probably see a lot of her favorites. Ryan also
remembered that you do like molasses, but stated his favowite are
chocolate chip. (We’ve got about three containers of them now. Good
thing I’m so easy going... and don’t mind chocolate chip myself.)

I have a meeting in a few
minutes. Quality Control has outdone themselves in finding a new
needle supplier. And now the supplier sales people are outdoing
themselves to push us to contract. So, QC and I are meeting to
determine which company they think we should chose. I really wish
you were here to do this. I’m capable, but I’d feel a lot better
with your input. (But since that’s not going to happen, I’ll
deal.)

Everyone here misses you
too, and I’ve heard no complaints about the added work. Actually,
most of us feel proud you’re in Kuwait saving lives. Morale is high
here, pride is high, and so far, nearly everyone has come forward
to ask what they can do to help with General Emma’s Bent Rock
Foundation.

We have more volunteers
than donations so far. (And we have a mind-boggling number of
those.) It’s awesome! Oh, gotta go. My meeting started.

Love,

Max and Ryan

KC blinked at the screen. Had he
really signed off love? Yes, indeed he had.

“
How ‘bout lust, Max?” she
muttered, but grinned at this latest, knowledgeable, upbeat e-mail.
It was so Max she felt homesick for him. And for Ryan. She wanted
to be there to see everything they instigated.

At least Ryan wasn’t in school yet. He
had only just turned five, so next year he would start. KC prayed
she’d be home to watch him climb on the bus for the first time. She
wanted to strap his backpack on him. And help him remember to take
his lunch. She wanted to meet with his teacher and maybe even be a
volunteer mom. Max would move mountains to see she had the
time.

Max. The one man on earth who would
drop whatever he was doing and come to her aid. The one man on
earth who would gladly drop his life to take her son, and count
himself privileged. The one man on earth who loved sharing his
family, home, company, and life with her.

And now she was lusting after his most
delectable body. Did he deserve her racy thoughts? Were sexual
thoughts about someone you loved racy? He was her best friend, so
she definitely loved him. But were such thoughts good for their
relationship? Or even appropriate? Did she love him in the man –
woman way? Or was she merely thankful to him for what he was
currently doing for her?

When no answers scrolled across the
screen she stared blankly at, KC reread his e-mail. And laughed out
loud, because she could tell he was in full brat mode when he wrote
it. One of her favorite Max Morrison modes. He wasn’t moody, but he
did have several different dispositions.

She liked his serious mien, and his
bratty one. And his compassionate side was useful when she had
meltdowns. Or got scared. She had called him in the middle of the
night already. Never once had he ever raised his voice to her in
anger. They had play fights, especially when they started to get on
each other’s nerves, and needed to work the tension out, fighting
like siblings.

Max had a quiet way about him
sometimes. His thinking mode. She liked that one too. The typical
result from that mood brought about brilliant deductions and
productive changes. There were so many aspects to Max, but she’d
never sat and thought about them. Until now. But she truly did love
them all.

KC wondered if she had fallen in love
with Max. That would certainly explain why she started having
unfamiliar thoughts about him.

The only problem was, if she had
indeed fallen in love with him, what was she going to do about
these new feelings? Would he accept her love? Could he return it?
Did he find her attractive? When no answers came, KC dropped her
head on her folded arms and thought long and hard.

Chapter 18

To:
[email protected]

From:
[email protected]

Subject: A
quickie

Hey Max,

Thinking of you and I have
a minute, hopefully, before they bring in the next batch of
wounded. Fortunately, these guys aren’t as badly hurt as some we’ve
seen. I don’t remember this much blood from my practice but then I
haven’t been doctoring for some time. And I’ve never doctored those
who’ve been in active combat. War is such an ugly thing when
experienced up front and personally. I guess I never thought about
it before. Now I know.

I’m so thankful for the
Bent Rock Foundation. I hear military and medical personnel speak
of it often here, so I’m willing to hear (and wanting - needing!)
all the information you have about the foundation. What an
excellent morale booster for those of us working here. When a
military person knows his or her family will be taken care of, they
fight better...

Thanks for your email,
you’ve comforted me. As usual, you made me laugh too! Rather full
of yourself sometimes, eh, Mr. Morrison?

How I wish I could be with you in
person. I can’t believe how much I miss you. It’s disgusting. And
if you bring this up in conversation...I’ll deny it. grin> But I actually miss your brattiness. We have fun here, but
not like you and I do.

I’m missing Ryan fiercely
of course. And Spuds. I hope the three of you are having fun. I’ve
been thinking about your nice big yard. I may have trouble
convincing the boys to move. You know this, right?

Ah, here comes the next
batch of wounded requiring our attention.

I miss you!

Love,

KC

She deliberately signed off with the
love, because she wanted him to love her. Of course, she knew he
did, but she wanted the in-love, romantic, forever kind. She
couldn’t imagine Max in love, but she would take whatever he could
give. Even if it was only the friendship-love type.

*****

Max downloaded his mail while he waded
through the snail mail on his desk. He flipped through the various
envelopes before his computer chimed and he set them
aside.

He saw an email from KC and clicked on
it, eager to see what she had to say. As he read, he laughed while
her bittersweet wish to be with them left an ache in his
heart.

How he’d love to have her here in
person too. Just to pick on. To touch her. Leaning back in his
chair, he closed his eyes and remembered the feel of her warm
weight in his lap. Her slender arms wrapped around his neck. He
could still smell her unique feminine scent.

In fact, he wanted her back on his
lap. With her arms clinging again, only he rather wanted her to not
be in despair this time. Feeling much passion for him would be
ideal. Feeling some passion would be ideal. Heck, he would settle
for her thinking about passion, so long as she did so while perched
on his lap.

With a snort he returned to
his email. Right now, he better settle on simply getting her back,
period. Eventually, he might be able to convince her to take a
chance on passion with him. But he needed her safely home first. He
didn’t even care if she didn’t return exactly as she left. He
wanted her alive. He’d take her alive and any way he could get her.
If it was as best friends – fine
– as he
could do a whole lot worse.

“
Max, Lainy on line three,”
Jean bellowed from her desk. Why she was so afraid of the intercom,
he still couldn’t figure out.

Deliberately, he used the intercom.
“Thanks, Jean.” She yelled something he didn’t catch, but he was
certain it was snarky and well deserved. He grinned.

Reaching out, he snagged the receiver
and pressed the line three button. “What do you want?”

Lainy laughed, as he intended her to.
“You called me.”

“
Did not.” They had been
playing this game for so long, he couldn’t even remember who
started it.

“
Oh, that’s
right.”

“
So, what do you want?” He
couldn’t keep the grin out of his voice, even though he
tried.

“
I finished the
phones.”

“
The phones?” Max frowned as
he tried to remember what that meant. He sat up abruptly when his
brain caught on. “The phones? The one where I can talk to KC
without international rates?”

“
Yep, they’re local numbers
so you should be fine. They’re finished. And you shouldn’t have any
trouble with them. Hers will hopefully withstand heat and sand.
Yours is hopefully kid proof. The operative word there, of course,
is
hopefully
. I
suspect we’ll have some bugs to work out.”

“
Lainy, you are the best
sister ever.”

“
Nah. I simply know what
you’re going through. I’ve been there, remember?”

“
Yeah. The kid’s going to be
super excited. I’ll have to sit on him to feed him
supper.”

“
You might want to wait to
call her until she actually gets the phone. I haven’t even sent it
yet.” Her tone was tongue-in-cheek. Max ignored her.

“
What are you waiting for,
Lainy? Hang up the phone and drive,
really
fast
, to the post office.”

“
Yes, sir,” she said so
snappily he knew she saluted him. He could also hear the huge grin
in her voice.

“
You’re a brat.”

“
I know!” she crowed, then
laughed.

Max shook his head, before remembering
she couldn’t see him. “I’m not sure if being in love is such a good
thing for you. You’re not quiet and sweet anymore.”

Lainy laughed – a feminine, loving
sound. “I love being in love. I love being married. Well, I love
being married to Mitch. The most wonderful of men.” She ended her
affectionate spiel with a sigh.

“
You’re
disgusting.”

Lainy laughed again. “I’ll go now. I
have to send the phone off to KC. Um, and Max?”

“
Yeah?”

“
No phone sex.”

He didn’t even try to stop his snort
of derision. Or was it wishful thinking? “Oh, right. Like KC thinks
of me in that way. Get real, Lainy.”

“
Trust me, she’s starting
to.”

“
What?” Max stared at his
computer screen without seeing it. “Would you care to repeat that,
please?” If he could have, he would have reached through the phone
to yank the information out of her.

“
I could tell after she
moved in with you that she had a new... I don’t know... awareness
of you. Like she hadn’t really seen you, the man before. Which
happens. But by the time she left, I think her perception shifted
and she does see you as a man now.”

“
I see,” even though he
didn’t.

“
No, you don’t. But I helped
the process along.” And Lainy’s voice was so smug Max closed his
eyes in horror.

“
What did you do?” He wasn’t
certain he wanted to know.

“
I sent her pictures,” his
sister said in a far too innocent voice. This could be worse than
he feared.

“
What pictures, Lainy?” he
managed through gritted teeth.

“
Oh, just of you and the
boys sleeping. You didn’t have a shirt on, because you never wear
one to bed. It was a great picture. You really do have a fantastic
body, Max. If you dressed in clothes your size,” she cleared her
throat, “a certain woman
would
notice you’re a man. And then she
would
definitely be
interested in you, sexually too, which is really the only thing
missing from your relationship in my opinion.”