Moonlight Road by Robyn Carr Page B

“I’ll bring the beer out to the deck,” she said.
    He chuckled to himself as he turned around and came back toward the cabin. But when he got to the deck in front of the pretty, open French doors, he didn’t choose one of the chaise lounges. He was dirty and smelly; he’d dug around in the garden for a while. His hiking boots were muddy, his hands dirty, he was sweaty and smelly in general. Instead, he perched on the step, leaning back against a railing, and stacked his things on the ground in front of the deck.
    She brought him a beer and, surprise of all surprises, one for herself. And she was smiling. She was looking real good in her fitted khaki capris, white T-shirt and sandals. She obviously got up and did her hair and makeup every morning whether she had somewhere to go or not, but then he’d already established she was a dish. Prissy and feminine.
    He rubbed his index finger at his hairline in the middle of his forehead. “It’ll grow back before you know it.”
    Her finger went there, as well. “Looks pretty awful, huh? Well, I can’t do anything about it now, except be patient.”
    “It doesn’t look bad at all.” He took a long pull from his beer bottle. “Nice,” he said. He held it away and examined the label. “Good beer.”
    “My brother-in-law left it.”
    “Your brother-in-law was here?”
    “The hospital called my sister and brother-in-law and said they’d release me if I had a driver and wasn’t going to be alone all night, otherwise they wanted me to stay overnight in the hospital.” Erin shrugged. “Marcie knew I’d hate that. They drove up from Chico. Bailed me out.”
    His grin was huge. “I heard you in the E.R., Erin. You really know how to throw your weight around.”
    “I had a headache,” she said, looking away.
    He chuckled. “Any more head pain?”
    “No, it’s fine now.”
    “Why are you here? At this cabin?”
    “Vacation,” she said. “I haven’t had a vacation in a long time. Like years.” She smiled slightly. Twenty-five years , she thought. Until Mel said it earlier, she hadn’t really added it up.
    “But why here?” he pushed. “Why not some spa in the islands? Or a resort somewhere exotic where there would be lots of singles to mix it up with?”
    She shrugged. “Marcie, my little sister, age twenty-nine, is expecting her first baby, a boy. Our parents are gone, I’m the oldest, and this is the first baby, due the end of summer. I really don’t want to be too far away, just in case she goes early, but I still wanted to get away.”
    “Ah,” he said. “Now, I can relate to that. My brother’s wife, Shelby, is expecting their first around the middle of July. Luke is the oldest. I could sit out this transition anywhere, but I don’t want to be too far away.” He smiled again. “Also a boy.”
    She tilted her head. “What did you do in the navy?”
    “I was in the medical corps. Fourteen years.”
    “Why’d you get out?”
    “The reason most people get out—the next assignment didn’t look so good. It was a big boat for two years. I already did that once. Like I said, I want to be around for the next baby.”
    “But you’re not married?”
    “Divorced eight years ago. Short marriage, quick divorce, no children. You?”
    She shook her head quickly. “Single.” Never married, never engaged, never lived with anyone, never very involved. “This is embarrassing. I’ve forgotten your name.”
    “Don’t be embarrassed. You had a head injury. It’s Aiden.”
    “Well, Aiden, what do you suppose you’ll do next? After the little nephew is born?”
    He shrugged. “Same thing as before, I guess. Thing is, I’m really enjoying doing nothing. I hadn’t been on leave in a while—that’s vacation to you civilians. I’m in no rush. I could get used to this.”
    She didn’t smile at that. “Doing nothing isn’t as much fun as I thought it would be.”
    He lifted an eyebrow. “That so? What did you do for fun and relaxation in