Fight For Her (Soldiers in Arms Book 1) (8 page)

But it had been so worth it. Waverly was the most fucking extraordinary woman he’d ever met. Hell, he was getting hard just thinking about her and they’d spent most of the night enjoying each other.

He sucked in a breath to quell his erection and tried to distract himself from thoughts of slipping into that tight ass again. She needed a rest and she certainly didn’t need him fucking her ass again so soon.

Walker finished washing up and dried himself off on a towel. Slinging it around his waist, he peered out of the bathroom at Waverly. Sprawled on her front, she slept with her head burrowed against the pillow and her hair a wild mess about her. He smiled. She was exhausted.

Opting to dress quick and not disturb her, he quietly closed the door and tiptoed downstairs. His stomach grumbled and no doubt Waverly would be hungry too. He’d go grab them some coffee and something to eat and then talk about their plans for the day. Because he sure as hell wasn’t willing to lose out on any more time with her.

He grimaced to himself. The realization had hit him during the night. He was meant to let her go. That wasn’t new. But the idea that actually, no matter how damned hard he tried to tell himself that he would, there was no chance he could let her go had struck him like a hammer over the head. How could he have been so dense to think he could let her move on?

So he would have to do something to persuade her to stay.

But first he’d get breakfast.

He strolled down the road and greeted a few of the early risers. Walter Morgan, the owner of the local drugstore, was sticking up a notice in the window and stopped to say good morning.

“You’re up a little early, aren’t you?”

“Just getting some breakfast.”

“No doubt you’ve been spending some time with that pretty little waitress over at the Fox Hole.” The old man winked.

Walker lifted a shoulder.

“I don’t blame you. I was the same in my day.”

Walker peered at the poster. “You’re renting out the flat?” He glanced up at the flat above the store.

“Yup. Old tenant is leaving soon. Didn’t give us much damned notice about it either. Gotta to fill it quick or it will cost me a pretty penny to keep it.”

Walker was an idiot if he thought it was a sign.

Yeah, he was an idiot.

“I might have someone who’s interested. I’ll let you know.”

“Great, have a good one, Walker. Enjoy your morning.” Walter gave him another wink. Apparently the whole town knew about him and Waverly.

He stopped by the bakery to grab some coffee and pastries and headed back to the bar. Justice was likely still asleep too, so all was quiet. He found Waverly bundled up in bed.

“Morning.”

She grumbled and lifted her head out of the duvet. “Where did you go?”

He placed the coffee and the pastries on the side. She shifted to sitting.

“Smells good.”

“Thought you could do with some sustenance.”

Her cheeks colored a little. “I am hungry.”

“Stomach feeling good?”

She nodded. “Much better. I’m only feeling a little queasy in the evenings now. Hopefully the worst of it is over. Well, at least sickness-wise.”

Walker cleared his throat and sat beside her. He handed over the coffee and let her cradle it for a moment. Fingering a strand of her tousled hair, he drew in a long breath. Why the fuck did he feel like he was on the frontline of a battle? He’d been in the thick of the action in Afghanistan, had travelled to warzones all over the world. Yet he didn’t think he’d ever felt as nervous as he did right now.

“You know the drugstore?”

She took a sip of coffee. “Yes.”

“The apartment above is up for rent.”

She paused, cup held halfway to her mouth. “So?”

He swallowed for about the fifth time in five minutes. Couldn’t see that she needed to stay? That she was damn well his and he wasn’t letting her go?

“Well the bar isn’t exactly the sort of place to raise a baby. It’s a decent apartment. Plenty of space for you both.”

Waverly lowered the coffee onto the side table. “But I won’t be raising a baby here. You know that.”

He pushed a hand through his hair. “So where will you go? Because you and I both know you have no plans for the future and no way of taking care of that baby. At least here you have work.”

“As a waitress, yes. It’s fine but it’s hardly enough to raise a baby on. I need a better job and there’s hardly many around here.”

“We’ll find you one. It won’t be that hard. Walter doesn’t charge a ton for that place, and it would be perfect for you.”

Her body stiffened. She clutched the sheet around her. “Sounds like you’ve already decided I’m going to live there.”

“I don’t see why you wouldn’t. It’s close to work, and I know Justice was doing you a favor by letting you stay here, but it’s not exactly baby-proof.”

Snatching up the sheet, she shifted off the bed, keeping it tight around her body. “I don’t really think it’s up to you to decide what is good for my baby, Jake.”

“I’m just trying to help.”

Her eyes flared. “No, you’re trying to control me. First about the doctors and now about this. If I want a new place to live, I will find one. I don’t need you deciding these things for me.”

Walker backed off the bed and tried to come around to take her arms but she retreated from him.

“I’m not trying to decide anything, Waverly. I’m just being practical. I don’t want to see you or the baby suffering.”

“I don’t need you to be practical for me. I’m a grown woman. God, I’m going to be a mother soon. I have to make my own decisions.”

“Then make the right damn ones,” he snapped.

He heard her draw in a breath and saw the fury on her face.

“I think you should leave,” she said quietly.

“No way. We’re talking this out.” He folded his arms.

“Leave,” she said determinedly. “I don’t want to talk about this. I won’t let you treat me like my father did, I won’t let you control me.”

He felt like he’d been punched in the gut. “You think I’m like your father?” She opened her mouth. He held up a hand. “You know what? Fine, I’ll leave. And I won’t come back. I’ve been tangling myself up in knots over you, Waverly, and I’m done. All I wanted was to make sure you and the baby were safe.” He blew out a breath. “Christ, I was ready to be a damned father to it.”

Her mouth dropped open. “Jake…”

“I won’t beg and I won’t make your decisions for you.” He snatched up the jacket he’d discarded the night before. “Have a good life, Waverly. I really do want the best for you.”

Walker strode out, slamming the door behind him. He shouldn’t have but he couldn’t help himself. As he stormed down the stairs, he slammed is fist into the wall. A shard of pain speared through him and he grimaced at the dent he’d left. Justice would have his ass for that.

Eyeing his tattered knuckles while he strode back to his bike, he grimaced. That woman messed with his head too much. He didn’t know what he wanted anymore. Was he really picturing some happy family with her? She had too many issues from the past and him…? Well, he was just a soldier. He’d seen war and bloodshed and had spent too little time even trying to understand what made a good relationship. How did he really expect things to turn out?

It was better this way.

He pressed his knuckles against his shirt.

Now he had to figure to how to live without Waverly.

“Waverly.”

Waverly paused, several glasses in hand as her boss called to her. She placed down the glasses on the bar and strode over. It was busy in the bar, just like any other Friday night.

Except Walker wasn’t there.

“What’s up?”

“I need to go see Mom again tomorrow. We’ll be fully staffed, but can you take the reins until Wednesday? She’s got a hospital appointment I need to take her to on Tuesday.”

“Sure. Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, I just need to make sure she’s not doing too much. Damned woman is stubborn.”

Waverly grinned. “So that’s where it comes from.”

Justice propped her hands on her hips. “I don’t know what you mean.” Her returning smile said otherwise. “Besides, I can think of someone else who falls into that category.”

“Me?”

“Uh huh.”

Waverly frowned. She wasn’t stubborn. Surely if she was, she would never have let her father and fiancé dictate her life?

“I don’t think anyone would call me stubborn.”

“I bet Walker would.”

A pang struck her chest. She’d thought of nothing but him all week but work had kept her busy tonight and she’d almost managed to keep her mind off him. Almost.

“Jake wouldn’t call me anything. He wants nothing to do with me.”

“See? Stubborn.”

“I’m not the one being stubborn. He’s staying away, not me.”

“You’re the one refusing to let him help.” Justice leaned back against the bar. “And for that matter, you’re not letting me help either.”

“You’ve helped me enough.”

“Just as you’ve helped me.” The bar owner shook her head with a smile. “You know full well you’ve got a job here for as long as you want, yet you won’t agree to it. Hell, Waverly, I’d give you a new position if you wanted it.”

“What do you mean?”

“Assistant manager. I sure as hell need one and you’d be perfect for it. You’ve more than proved yourself.”

Waverly blinked. No one had ever said anything like that to her before. Justice actually thought she was good at her job? When she’d worked for her father, all her colleagues had steered clear of her, fearful of being friends with the boss’s daughter and convinced she only had the job because of who her father was.

Which was pretty much true.

“I-I’ll have to think about it.”

Justice shrugged. “If you keep on thinking, honey, you’ll never do anything. You took a risk by running away, why not take a risk by staying?”

Justice turned to serve a customer giving Waverly time to back away and think. She
was
being stubborn, Justice was right. But what if she did stay and let Jake into her life—no—
their
life. Would she just be letting another man tell her what to do?

She glanced over at his friends and drew in a breath. Even if she did decide to stay, it could be too late. She snatched up a tray and headed over to clear the empties.

They all greeted her with friendly smiles and a few questions about how she was. She smiled back, even as her heart hurt. They were all gorgeous in their way but reminded her too much of Jake with their confident air and muscular physiques. There was no doubting they were soldiers through and through and that had appealed to her about Jake. He was strong, determined, and confident. He would never feel the need to control a woman.

“No Walker tonight?” she asked, aware of a wobble in her voice.

Rocco shook his head.

“Do you think he’ll come in soon?”

“I don’t know, Waverly. He’s hurt pretty bad.”

She grimaced. “I didn’t mean to hurt him.”

Locke chuckled. “He might look tough but inside he’s pretty soft. He’s currently cursing himself for breaking his own rule.”

“What rule is that?” she asked.

Locke peered up at her. “Getting in deep with a local woman. Before you, Walker never even considered getting involved with anyone in town.”

She gulped. Did that make her important? She knew how Jake felt about obeying the rules. After all, he was a soldier. If they didn’t obey them, someone could get hurt. What was so special about her that he had broken them?

“Do you…do you think you could persuade him to come see me?”

Rocco shrugged. “He’s like a big ol’ wounded bear at the moment. All he wants to do is hide.”

“You must be able to do something,” she pleaded.

They all shared a look. Knox leaned forward, took a swing of beer and set down the bottle. “We can probably get him to you, but it means we’d have to lie.”

“I’ll do whatever it takes.”

Waverly glanced around at all the grinning, determined faces. If what she suspected was true, they’d have no problem getting Walker to see her. But would she be able to convince him to forgive her? And would telling him she loved him be enough?

Walker snatched up a towel and swiped the sweat from his face. He glanced at the reelection of himself in the gym mirror as he sat on the bench. He liked to work out but he hadn’t pushed himself this hard in years. His body was hurting.