Basic Training

Instead, she pulled the curtain aside and held her breath as Travis unfolded himself from the backseat of his father’s car—with Ethan’s help. She frowned as the green camouflage uniform stiffly straightened itself to take the shape and form of the man whom she’d always cared so deeply about.

Travis was a leaner, harder version of his more muscular brother. The athleticism that had fine-tuned his body for battle was still evident, but his balance was off. Travis hauled himself up by the car frame, plopped a cloth cap over his short, burnished hair. Then he held on to Ethan’s arm while he retrieved something from the backseat.

A cane.

“Poor Travis,” Amy whispered in sympathy. “I had no idea.”

Tess’s hand fisted around the edge of the curtain, betraying the concern and compassion that gripped her chest just as tightly.

Once he was free of the car door, Travis shook Ethan off and proceeded up the driveway to the front door under his own power. But Tess’s sharp eye for physical weaknesses and pain could tell that, despite the unwavering set of his shoulders, Travis was relying heavily on that cane. His left leg was stiff—probably from the long drive from the Quantico military base near Washington, D.C. And she suspected that if he didn’t have the hardheaded determination of the Corps drilled into him, he’d be limping.

That perfect body had taken a few more hits than she’d been led to believe.

He wasn’t even smiling.

Whether playing a joke, flirting with a woman, or striking out a batter, Travis McCormick almost always smiled.

Splaying her fingers against the glass at her window, cool from the air-conditioning, Tess reached out to her friend. Ashton’s hometown hero had come home, all right. But he hadn’t made it in one piece.

“Trav,” she whispered, her warm breath close enough to fog the glass.

Travis paused on the front sidewalk, almost as if he’d heard her soft plea.

By the time he turned and looked up, Tess had swiped the pane clear and ducked away from the window, letting the curtain fall back into place. Somehow, it seemed wrong to be spying on her childhood friend and longtime hero when he wasn’t feeling up to snuff. He’d always been so strong. So sure of himself. So perfect.

Tess retreated another step, pulling Amy with her toward the center of the room. “Did you come up here for a reason?”

She had to change to subject, focus her mind on something else, before she ran downstairs and across the yard to see Travis face to face. To hug him, touch him, ensure with her own two hands that his body hadn’t been damaged beyond repair—and that the scars and weakened leg didn’t mean that his fighting spirit and wicked charm had been wounded as well.

“Mom wanted your opinion on the cake she’s baking for tonight. She said you’d know Travis’s tastes better than either of us. Does he like chocolate? White?”

“Lemon.” Travis had always had a taste for food with a little attitude. Just like his women. “He’d want a lemon cake.”

At least the old Travis would. Now she was beginning to wonder how much of the old Travis still existed—and wonder how she could help heal this newer, harder, humbler version of the man who had always been her best friend.

“I’ll tell her.” If Amy had any inkling of the turmoil spinning inside Tess’s head, the only sign was the teasing tug on her younger sister’s ponytail. “Come on down when you’re done unpacking. We could use your help before the party. Mom’s fixing enough food to feed the entire town.”

Tess nodded. “I’ll be there in a sec.”

By the time Amy left and Tess dared to return to the window, Travis had gone inside the house with his brother.

She’d been patient for twelve long months, ever since she’d first gotten the news that he’d nearly died in that accident.

He was hurt. He was her responsibility as his therapist. He was her friend.

Screw waiting until tonight.

Tess tucked her T-shirt into her denim shorts and dashed down the stairs.

“Tessa, I need…Where is that girl going?”

“Give her a few minutes, Mom.”

Her mother’s and sister’s voices were cut off by the noise of the screen door slamming behind her. Tess jogged across the lawn separating the two houses, and tucked a few stray waves into her ponytail as she slowed to a walk to climb the steps to the McCormicks’ front porch. She knocked, then fixed a grin on her face as Hal McCormick answered the door.

The older gentleman’s welcoming smile reminded her of her late father, who had died the same year Hal had lost his wife to cancer.

“Hey, Hal.”

“Tess Bartlett. Come here.” He scooped her up in a bear hug and set her down inside the tiled foyer of his home. “Is it girls’ week at the Bartletts’ again? I swear, Tess, you look prettier every time I see you.”

She waved aside the compliment. “And you’re more full of the blarney every time I see you. Did you have a good trip?”

He shrugged. “As good as could be expected. You and your family are coming tonight, right?”

“We’ll be here.” She let her gaze scan up the stairs to the second floor where Travis’s old bedroom was located. Surely, with his injured leg, they’d prepared a room downstairs for him. But she didn’t see anyone else moving about. “I know I’m early. And I promise I won’t stay long. But I saw the car and wanted to welcome Travis home. I’ll give him a hug, then get out of your hair so you guys can rest up.”

“He went to the guest room, and I don’t—”

A king-size belch, starting deep and covering a variety of pitches, dramatic in its longevity and loud enough to tickle her funny bone, erupted from the back of the house. An instant later, Travis materialized in the archway leading to the kitchen, holding a can of soda.

Tess grinned and gave him a thumbs-up. “Nice one.”

Clear blue eyes swallowed up her seeking gaze from across the room. “I’ve been practicing.”

“Travis Harold McCormick. There’s a lady in the house.”

She’d never envied Travis and Ethan for getting the double whammy of a superior officer’s tone and a father’s voice rolled into one. But the McCormick boys didn’t seem to mind.

“It’s cool, Dad. It’s just Tess.” He downed the last of the soda and reached around the archway frame to set the can on a counter. “Hey, T-bone.”

Tess shook her head at the goofy nickname, but her eyes never wavered as she studied him from head to toe. The killer smile was still there, bemused and sexy, even if it looked a little ragged around the edges. But there were other subtle changes. There was a gauntness to his chiseled features that hadn’t been there before, a tension, a maturity. And a wash of pale beneath his golden tan indicated that the deepening web of lines beside his eyes had more to do with stress and fatigue than with time spent outdoors.

“Keep it short, son. The doctor said you need to get off that leg as soon as possible.” He held up a stern, paternal finger. “And mind your manners.”

“I’ll make sure he follows orders, General.” Tess smiled with reassurance.

Hal gave her a wink, then excused himself from the foyer.

“Good to see you.” Travis had tossed his hat onto the living room couch beside his cane, and with a nonchalant defiance, he closed the distance between them. The stiff set of his jaw told her what it was costing him to hide his limp without the aid of his cane.

Tess hurried to meet him halfway.

“It’s good to see you, too.” Her words caught in a strangled whisper as she fought the sudden tears burning in her throat. “Welcome home, Captain.”

She reached up to touch the tight lines of strain beside his mouth. She brushed her fingertips across the pale pink scars that lined the left side of his square jaw and dotted his neck. She caught his chin and turned it from side-to-side, inspecting every mark.

The eyes were as blue as she remembered, the nose the same sharp blade. The amusement on those firm, flat lips was genuine. “You just gonna stare?” he teased, spreading wide his welcoming arms. “Or am I gonna get some action?”