Chapter 6

Landry’s apartment was the typical bachelor pad, complete with a comfy looking couch, a ridiculously huge flat-screen TV mounted on the wall with a Blu-ray player on a shelf underneath it, and the requisite surround sound system. But there were also framed posters hanging on every available wall, as well as a big bookshelf stuffed full of the largest collection of comic books and graphic novels she’d ever seen in one place. She wandered over to take a closer look at the posters and realized they weren’t reprints of comic book covers, but original paintings. Her artist’s eye told her they were expensive too. Landry had spent some serious money on them.

“Water okay?” Landry called from the kitchen.

“That’s fine,” she called back.

She could definitely use another bottle, she thought as she picked up a thick graphic novel from the stack and flipped through it. She’d gotten quite a workout rappelling. She’d never done anything that crazy in her life. Her heart might have been racing a thousand miles an hour as she’d stood on the edge of the roof and looked down at the ground below, but bounding down one wall after another with Landry beside her had been exhilarating. No wonder he liked it so much. Of course, she would never have been able to do something like that if Landry hadn’t been there. It was insane, but when they were together, she felt fearless and protected. Safe.

And aroused as hell. She couldn’t believe how turned on she’d gotten when Landry helped her into the rappelling harness. From the way her whole body hummed at the casual feel of his hands on her inner thighs, you’d think a guy hadn’t touched her in forever. The memory of how close his mouth had been to her pussy while he kneeled before her was enough to make her wet all over again.

And the kisses while they’d been rappelling? If she could have figured out how to do it safely, she would have jumped him right there on the wall.

“I see you found my collection,” Landry said, coming into the living room.

Everly turned to see him gesturing to the book in her hand with the bottle of water. She glanced down at the cover featuring a bunch of shambling zombies and the title The Walking Dead inked in lurid red across the front.

“Yeah, it’s cool,” she said. “I don’t think I’ve seen so many graphic novels in one place.”

He smiled. “Thank you for not calling them comic books.”

She made a face. “Anyone can see these aren’t comic books.”

He shook his head. “You wouldn’t believe the flak people give me for reading them.”

She laughed, carefully placing the book back on the shelf. “Actually, I can believe it. I can’t tell you how many times people ask me when I’m going to get a real job after I tell them I’m an artist.”

“You know what they say. Haters gonna hate.” He chuckled as he handed her one of the bottles. “You want to hit the shower first? I have some extra towels in the linen closet in the bathroom. I think there’s even some fruity bodywash I bought by accident a while ago.”

“Maybe you better go first. It will take me longer, and that way you don’t have to stand around sweaty for so long.”

Not that she minded him all sweaty or anything. On him, it was sexy as hell.

“Okay. Feel free to grab something to eat while I’m in the shower, if you want,” he said. “I have to warn you though—I don’t have a lot of variety. It’s mostly chips and junk food.”

She smiled at the almost sheepish look he gave her. Like he was embarrassed he didn’t have any girlie food in his place. It was adorable. It also confirmed he didn’t have a lot of women stay over. She and Landry might have just started dating, but she already felt proprietary about him.

Everly headed into the kitchen as he sauntered across the living room.

“I’ll keep the bathroom door open a crack in case you want to talk,” he said over his shoulder. “No peeking.”

She halted in mid-step, leaning back so she could see down the hallway. Just to check if he’d left the door open. Of course, he had. And the view was drool worthy. Luckily, he was facing away from her, so he didn’t catch her staring as he stripped off his T-shirt and dropped it in the hamper. What could she say? She was an artist. God had made her curious about the human form. And Landry was just about perfect. His back was broad and defined, and his shoulders were thick and powerful. If the models in art school had looked like him, she never would have graduated.

Everly’s breath hitched as he reached down to unbuckle his belt. Face coloring, she hurried into the kitchen. As much as she wanted to stay and enjoy the show, she’d be mortified if he looked over his shoulder and caught her.

She heard him turn on the shower as she opened the cabinet beside the built-in microwave.

“Do you like Mexican?” he asked over the spray of water. “There’s this place that has great food and killer margaritas.”

“That sounds perfect,” she said.

She closed that cabinet and opened another. Wow, he hadn’t been kidding about the junk food. All he had were bags of chips and cheese in a can. How the heck did he stay in such amazing shape eating this stuff?

She tried the fridge next, thinking she might have better luck there. But all she found was beer, soda, bottled water, and jars of two-hundred-year-old condiments.

In the bathroom, Landry turned the shower off. Everly closed the fridge. She knew men could clean up fast, but that was ridiculous. He’d been in there for less than five minutes.

She walked into the living room in time to see Landry come out of the bathroom. He had one towel wrapped around his waist and was drying his hair with another. She stopped and stared again. It wasn’t her fault. While his back had been amazing to behold, his front was downright godlike.

His chest was broad and muscular, his abs looked like they’d been chiseled from stone, and there was a little happy trail of hair leading from his belly button downward until it disappeared into the towel wrapped around his waist. The urge to walk over and pull that towel away and see what he was hiding down there was almost irresistible.

She took the top off the bottle and downed half the water, afraid she’d give in to the urge if she didn’t give herself something else to do.

Cooper finished toweling off his hair, then casually draped the damp towel over his shoulders. Did he know she’d been checking him out?

The smile curving his mouth as he came toward her made her think he had.

Everly’s pulse quickened, sure he was going to pull her into his arms and kiss her. But then she realized his bedroom was on the other side of the living room, and he was heading there so he could get dressed. Honestly, she could get so goofy sometimes.

She forced herself to focus on the wolf-head tattoo on his chest with the word SWAT underneath, hoping it would distract her. It didn’t. The water droplets running down his chest and abs had to work hard to get past all that muscle in their race to the towel at this waist. Her fingers itched to reach out and wipe them away, but she controlled herself. If she put her hands on him right now, she didn’t think she’d be able to let go. She was already aroused—and they weren’t even touching.

“Shower’s all yours,” he said softly, coming to a stop in front of her. “I put some extra towels and the bodywash on the counter. Sorry I don’t have much in the way of shampoo selection. I usually buy whatever’s on sale.”

She tried to answer, but couldn’t tear her attention away from his bare chest and abs long enough to get the words out. Not only were all those muscles drool-inducing up close, the faint round scars that dotted his pecs and stomach were strangely fascinating. They reminded her of the bullet holes in his Jeep, but that was obviously impossible. Nobody could get shot that many times and live. They didn’t even look like they’d been stitched up. It was like someone had poked him with an ice pick then let the wounds heal on their own. The funny thing was, the scars weren’t ugly. If anything, they added to his overall perfection.

She reached out to trace her fingertip along one of the scars when Landry’s soft voice stopped her.

“All-in-one shampoo and conditioner good for you?”

She jerked her finger back and mentally shook herself until her head was back on the same planet as her body.

“What? Oh! Don’t worry about it. I brought my own shampoo.” She wet her suddenly dry lips. “I’d better get into the shower, or we’ll never get out of here.”

“I’ll be waiting.” His mouth curved. “Feel free to leave the door open a crack if you want to talk.”

Everly picked up the weekender she’d brought with her, almost stumbling as she walked toward the bathroom. Her legs felt weak, like she’d pushed herself too hard rappelling and succumbed to heat exhaustion. But she didn’t feel ill. She felt fantastic.

She stepped into the bathroom, leaving the door open a few inches. As she rummaged in her bag for her toiletries, she tried to make sense of this crazy attraction she felt to Landry. It was more than just physical. When she was around him, she felt a sense of bliss unlike anything she’d ever experienced.

She stripped off her shorts and T-shirt, then stepped into the walk-in shower and turned on the water. She gasped as the spray hit her breasts. Yikes, her nipples were super sensitive. Being turned on for most of the day would do that. Unable to contain her curiosity, she slipped her hand between her legs to run her fingers over her folds. She was wet all right, and if she hadn’t been in Landry’s shower with him right outside the partially open door, she would have touched herself until she came.

If she was this excited from seeing Landry in a towel, she could only imagine how much more aroused she’d be when she saw him completely naked. She stifled a moan and reached for the shampoo. Not even her imagination was that good.

* * *

When Everly came out of the bathroom, she found Landry standing by the bookcase flipping through a graphic novel. He’d traded in his towel for a sexy pair of jeans, black work boots, and a skintight T-shirt. From where he was standing, he would have gotten a good view of her standing half-dressed in front of the mirror as she put on her makeup. If he’d peeked, of course.

Everly liked to think he had…at least a little.

“Ready to go?” she asked as she walked over to him.

Landry glanced at her, his eyes catching the light and reflecting gold. But while the flash disappeared a split second later, the heat and hunger lingered. The way he looked at her was almost predatory, and she was more than happy to be his prey.

“You look beautiful,” he said softly.

Everly looked down at her flirty boho dress. It was cute, comfortable, and swirled around her legs when she walked. But the real reason she’d picked it was because it was prewrinkled. She could shove it in her tote bag and no one would ever know it.

She opened her mouth to thank him, but she completely lost her voice. In the few moments it had taken her to glance down and back up again, Landry had moved all the way across the living room and was now standing in front of her. And that hungry look he’d had before was now ravenous.

“Thank you,” she finally said, her voice barely above a whisper. He was so close she could feel the heat pouring off his big body. “I’m glad you like the dress.”

He leaned in even closer, his mouth now only an inch or two from hers. “I wasn’t talking about the dress. I was talking about you.”

She opened her mouth to thank him again, but instead, leaned in to kiss him. He met her halfway, his lips coming down on hers.

Everly heard people talk about a kiss taking their breath away. She’d always thought that was crap—or poor technique. But when Landry’s other hand slid down to cup her ass through the material of her dress while his tongue had its way with hers, she actually went light-headed. But there was no way in hell she was going to stop kissing him. She didn’t care if she passed out. So, she wrapped her arms around his neck and gave as good as she got.

Landry buried his other hand in her hair, holding her captive as his mouth ravaged hers completely. She responded in kind, pushing her tongue back against his, determined to give him as much pleasure as he was giving her.

Her body was on fire, the almost constant throb she’d felt between her legs all day erupting into a rapid drumbeat. Her tender nipples stiffened even more, and she knew Landry could feel them against his chest. She was aware of his arousal pressing against her. He wanted her as much as she wanted him.

Landry’s hand glided over her ass, searching for the hem of her short dress and sneaking underneath. She moaned against his mouth. It looked like they weren’t going out to dinner after all. That was okay. She could make do with Doritos and cheese in a can if it got her into bed with him.

But as he pushed her back against the bookshelf, she thought maybe the bed would have to wait until later as well.

His fingers were moving up her thigh to the edge of her panties when a ringing sound echoed around them. Everly tried her best to ignore it, but the ringing came again, more insistent this time. It was immediately followed by a knock that made Landry jerk back with what sounded like a growl.

Everly didn’t blame him. She wanted to scream herself. Who the hell knocked on a door after already ringing the bell twice? Didn’t they know she was trying to have sex here?

“I’ll get rid of them,” Landry said in a husky voice, his eyes glinting gold in the light again.

If she hadn’t been so turned on at the moment, she might have thought more about how he was doing that, but right then, she didn’t care.

When Landry unlocked the door and jerked it open, she thought he was going to punch the person on the other side. If so, Everly would have helped hide the body.

But the moment Landry saw the man standing there, his whole demeanor changed. “Jim? Holy crap, is that you?”

The man grinned. Shorter than Landry, he was thin with graying hair cut military style. “Yeah, it’s me. Who the hell do you think it is?”

Landry chuckled. The next thing Everly knew, he and Jim were locked in a man-hug and slapping each other on the back so hard they were going to leave bruises.

“Damn Coop, did you get bigger?” Jim asked, pulling away to eye Landry. “You were always tall, but you look like you’ve put on a good four inches and added a ton of muscle since I’ve seen you last.”

“I’ve added a few pounds of muscle here and there,” Landry said. “But what the hell happened to you? You look like shit.”

Jim laughed and slapped Landry on the shoulder, not offended by the frank words. “Army years are like dog years, you know that.”

Landry shook his head, but didn’t say anything. Instead, he turned and motioned her forward. “Everly, I want you to meet the man who saved my life in Iraq four years ago—Sergeant Jim Wainwright. Jim, Everly Danu.”

Jim smiled and extended his hand as he stepped into the small foyer. “Nice to meet you, Everly. If you’ve gotten this guy’s attention, you must be special. All he ever did when he was back in EOD was work, work, and work some more.”

Everly laughed. She had no idea what EOD was, but assumed it was the job Landry did when he was in the army. “Well, he’s still all about work. We met in the middle of a bank robbery.”

Jim looked at Landry. “You’re shitting me.”

Landry shook his head. “It’s a long story, but enough about that. What I want to know is why the hell you didn’t tell me you were coming into town. Are you in Dallas doing a VIP detail?”

First EOD, now VIP. She was going to need a military acronym guide.

“Nah.” Jim stuck his hands in his pockets. “I’m out of the army now—I bailed about three weeks ago. I’m in town job hunting. I had your address, so I figured I’d stop by and see you.” He glanced at Everly. “Probably should have called first, but I didn’t think about it.”

“You don’t need to call first. You’re always welcome,” Landry said. “Why the hell would you get out of the army now? No one bails on a military retirement with less than six years left to go. Crap man, you had a good shot at making sergeant major. Why the hell would you just walk away?”

Jim snorted. “Life in EOD isn’t what it used to be, not with deployments starting to slow down and the battalions sending all their techs on every field training exercise they can find just to keep them occupied. There’s way better money to be made in the contractor world than staying on active duty anyway.”

Landry frowned. “I’m glad you told me you got out. I would have been worried as hell if I tried to email you at Fort Bragg, and it bounced back as undeliverable.”

Jim glanced at her again before looking at Landry. “I stopped by hoping we could go out to dinner, but that was before I realized you had company. I’ll give you a call later once I find a job and get settled. I’ll let you know what my new email is.”

Landry didn’t say anything, but Everly could see he was torn. She knew he wanted to spend the night with her, but he clearly wanted to hang out with Jim. The guy had saved his life. While she didn’t know Jim, she felt like she owed him a huge debt for saving the man she was falling for so fast.

“We were just about to head out to a Mexican place for dinner,” she said impulsively. “You should come with us.”

Jim shook his head. “Thanks, but I don’t want to intrude.”

“You’re not intruding,” Everly insisted. “I’d love to hear all the stories you have about Landry. He hasn’t told me much of anything about the army. In exchange, I’ll tell you how he saved me from bank robbers.”

Jim hesitated. “You sure I won’t be a bother?”

“Of course you won’t.” She smiled and grabbed her purse from the couch. “Come on, we need to get to the restaurant before it gets too crowded. You can follow in your car or come with us. Whatever works for you.”

Jim nodded. “Okay. I’ll follow you guys.”

As Jim walked out, Landry took her hand.

Thank you, he mouthed.

Everly smiled. It wasn’t the evening she’d envisioned. That one had involved her and Landry getting naked. But their white-hot romance could handle a little time on simmer for one more night at least. Something told her that Jim needed a friend right now, and she was okay if that friend was Landry.

* * *

Landry hadn’t said a word since they’d dropped Jim off at the Doubletree Hotel near Love Field twenty minutes ago. Everly understood why. Dinner with Jim had been…well, emotional was the word for it, she supposed.

It started out lighthearted and fun when Landry and Jim had explained all the acronyms they’d thrown at her earlier. It turned out EOD was short for Explosive Ordnance Disposal, which was a long-winded way of saying Landry and Jim had been in the army’s bomb squad. A VIP detail was when an EOD team was sent to work with the Secret Service or the State Department to provide bomb search expertise for protection of high-level American and foreign dignitaries, like the president.

Everly couldn’t believe Landry had failed to mention the fact that he’d worked security details for people like George Bush, Dick Cheney, Colin Powell, and some well-known foreign big shots. Landry had immediately downplayed his part in what he said was a huge, complex operation, saying that EOD’s only job on VIPs was to search any area where the protectee would be for bombs and explosives. But still, it seemed like a big deal to her, and she told him so.

As they ate, Jim regaled her with stories about all the crazy things he and Landry had found while working VIPs together. She’d laughed so hard she could barely eat.

But then, Jim’s stories had turned more introspective and somber. Maybe that had to do with all the beer he’d been drinking. Or maybe, it was simply because it was hard to talk about their work without thinking about friends who hadn’t made it back from Iraq and Afghanistan. Neither of them would get into specifics, and Everly hadn’t pried, but as they talked, she realized why Landry hadn’t mentioned his time in the army on their first date.

If half the stories about what he’d done for those six years were true—and something told her they were—EOD made SWAT look positively safe by comparison. Landry had been on at least three deployments she had counted, plus a lot more trips overseas for something they called TDY. She knew it had something to do with temporary assignments, but hadn’t bothered to ask what it actually meant. She’d quickly figured out that military acronyms were stupid, and as long as she got the general gist of what they were talking about, she didn’t bother digging any deeper. The bottom line was that Landry and Jim had spent a lot of time in really dangerous places doing really dangerous things.

Something had gone horribly wrong on Landry’s last deployment in Iraq though. From the hushed way Jim said the names of the people who’d been with them, Everly knew a lot of their fellow soldiers had been killed. And while Jim wouldn’t go into detail, she knew Landry would have died too, if Jim hadn’t risked his life to save him. She wanted to know what had happened, but neither could seem to talk about it, so she didn’t push.

Everly had watched the news, waved flags for Veterans Day parades, and knew people who had family members in the military. But hearing Landry and Jim talk about it and the price people paid, it suddenly felt a lot more real.

By the time they finished dinner, Jim had switched from beer to hard alcohol. He downed so many whiskeys that Everly was surprised he was still upright and able to talk coherently. Then again, maybe Jim drank like that all the time. But from the way Landry frowned at his friend, she didn’t think so.

When they’d left the restaurant, Landry refused to let Jim drive, saying they’d drop him off at his hotel and that he could take a cab to get his car tomorrow. Fortunately, Jim hadn’t fought Landry on the issue.

“Give me a call, and we can get together again while you’re in town,” Landry said when they got to the Doubletree.

Jim’s eyes teared up, and for a moment, Everly was sure he was going to cry. Instead he man-hugged Landry tightly, mumbling how good it’d been seeing him again but that Landry had Everly, and he didn’t want to be a third wheel. Everly had felt her own eyes well up.

“Jim, you’re not a third wheel. You guys are friends who haven’t seen each other in a long time—I get that. I don’t need Landry all to myself,” she said, adding with a smile, “just the parts you’re not interested in.”

Jim had laughed, then squeezed Landry on the shoulder and told him he’d call. As Everly watched him make his way to the hotel’s entrance, she got the feeling he walked like a man who wasn’t quite sure where he was going. But was it thanks to all the alcohol he’d consumed, or something else entirely?

“You want a beer or something?” she asked Landry as they walked into her apartment.

Mia wasn’t around, but Everly kept her voice low in case her roommate was sleeping. She turned on only one light, which left the living room in deep shadows cast by the glow of the streetlamp coming through the living room window.

Landry hesitated. “No, thanks. I’ll take a bottle of water, if you have it.”

She grabbed two bottles from the fridge, then carried them into the living room. Handing one to Landry, she sat down on the couch beside him.

“You okay?” she asked. “You’ve been quiet ever since we dropped Jim off.”

Landry took a swig of water, then put the cap back on the bottle. “I guess. Jim and I have talked on the phone, and emailed a few times since I got out of the army, but…” He shook his head. “He’s changed so much since the last time I saw him.”

She kicked off her sandals and curled her legs under her. “When was that?”

Landry sighed and leaned back against the cushion. “Four years ago as he was dragging my partially paralyzed ass out of a burning building in Iraq. But he’s changed so much since then that I barely recognized him today when I opened the door. He’s gone gray and gotten thinner. He looks like he’s the one who got screwed up over there—not me.”

Everly stared. A few hours ago, she’d almost begged him and Jim for details about what had happened, but hearing Landry using such succinct words to describe something as awful as that… The thought of him being hurt so badly made her feel like she couldn’t breathe. Part of her didn’t want to know any more, but the other part needed to hear it.

She sat there silently, hoping he would tell her, but dreading it at the same time.

“I fell for a stupid trap I should have recognized,” he said finally. “My team and I blew up an IED—improvised explosive device—in an old abandoned building outside this city called Samarra in Iraq. Standard operating procedure is to check to make sure the IED is completely destroyed after you blow it and that the area is safe. As the team leader, that was my job. But there was a second bomb waiting for me when I went into the building. I didn’t realize it until it was too late, and I couldn’t get out in time.”

Landry’s voice was flat and emotionless, like he was reading a book he’d read a hundred times…or reliving a movie that had been playing over and over in his head since that day. Everly almost told him to stop, that she didn’t want to hear any more. Yet something told her he wasn’t telling her the story because he thought she wanted to hear it. He was doing it because he needed to say it out loud.

“I was hit really hard,” he continued. “Broken back. Bleeding out from a half dozen wounds. Choking to death on smoke from the fire the blast had started. I was sure I was dead. Then Jim showed up and dragged me out.”

Tears filled Everly’s eyes, but she ignored them, letting them pool up and run down her face. She couldn’t in her darkest nightmares imagine having to live through what he was describing. He hadn’t said a single word about the pain, but she knew that it must have been beyond horrible.

Landry swallowed hard. “The bomb going off was a signal to the local insurgents to launch an assault. Bullets were flying everywhere, but Jim ignored them and dragged me all the way back to the safe area where our vehicles were set up. He and the other members of my team cut me out of the bomb suit and plugged up the holes in my body, then got me on a spine board and called in a medevac bird. And the whole time, Jim was right in my face telling me over and over that I wasn’t going to die. Turns out he was right.”

Thank God. “What happened after you…got better?”

“It took a while before I did, and by the time the army realized I was actually going to be able to walk again, they’d already medically discharged me.” He blew out a breath. “To tell the truth, I wasn’t in the right frame of mind to stay anyway, not after everything that happened. Finding the SWAT team was a godsend. After getting blown up, there was no way I could ever go back into EOD work full-time again.”

Landry turned to look at her then. Everly quickly tried to wipe the tears from her cheeks before he could see them, but he lifted one big, gentle hand and softly did it for her. His touch was so tender she almost started crying again.

“I’m sorry to dump all this depressing crap on you,” he said softly. “But I’ve never been with anyone I trusted enough to talk about it until I met you. I never even realized how much it’s been weighing on me, not until I saw Jim tonight. Thank you for listening.”

She reached out and took his hand, giving it a squeeze. “Of course. I’m glad you feel comfortable enough with me to talk about it. I’ve never had to deal with anything like what you went through, but I know what it’s like to have stuff inside your head you can’t talk about.”

Landry lifted her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to it. “Like your mom, you mean?”

Everly blinked. “How do you know about my mom? Did you do a background check on me or something?”

He smiled. “No. I just guessed. Since you didn’t mention her even once in all the time we were at dinner last night, it wasn’t much of a leap. I figured you’d tell me about it when it seemed like the right time.”

Everly relaxed against the cushions embarrassed she’d accused him of doing something as underhanded as a background check. She shouldn’t be surprised he’d picked up on the fact that she hadn’t mentioned her mom. She’d already figured out he was amazingly perceptive.

“It’s not like it’s a big secret or anything,” she said quietly. “It happened a long time ago, so I don’t think about it that much now.”

He lifted a brow as if to say that was a bunch of BS.

She sighed. “Okay, maybe I do think about it.”

Actually, she thought about it every day.

“What happened?” he asked.

She took a deep breath. “When I was little, we lived on a big farm in the French countryside. I don’t really remember much about it, but my parents had a huge winery. Dad grew the grapes and made the wine, and Mom took care of the business side. She and I were in the house one day when a worker Dad hired came in and attacked Mom.”

“Oh God,” Landry breathed. “How old were you?”

“Seven.”

She bit her lip, digging through the few memories she had left of her mom—and that day. It had always made her mad that she could barely remember her mother, or what had happened.

“I only remember bits and pieces,” she said. “I was helping Mom bake a pie when he came into the house. He was angry about something, and Mom pushed me down behind the kitchen counter and told me to stay there. I can’t remember much after that. I don’t know exactly what he did or how she died. All I know for sure is that he killed her, then left without ever looking for me.”

“Did the police catch the man and find out why he’d done it?” Landry asked.

She shook her head. “Dad told me that the police found the man dead several days later, but they didn’t say who had killed him or why he murdered my mother. But once Mom was gone, Dad couldn’t live in the house anymore. It was too hard for him. Too hard for all of us. So…he sold the farm and the winery and moved us here.”

“I’m sorry you lost your mom,” Landry said gently.

“Me too.” She wiped a tear from her cheek. “The worst part is that I was so young when it happened. I barely remember her at all. I mean, I have photos of her, but it isn’t the same thing. Sometimes, it feels like I lost her twice.”

Another tear escaped, and this time, Landry wiped it away.

He put his arm around her, and she rested her head on his shoulder, sad at the reminder of her mother’s death, but glad she had told him. They talked some more about what she did remember about living in France—the farmhouse, playing hide-and-seek with her brothers, running through the vineyards in a yellow sundress, stomping around in a vat of grapes. The memories made her cry all over again, but in a good way.

“I should probably get going,” Landry said softly against her hair.

Everly wanted him to stay the night, but after having dinner with Jim and talking about what Landry had gone through in Iraq, not to mention what had happened to her mother, she wasn’t in the mood to pick up where they’d left off at his apartment. She suspected he wasn’t either.

“Landry, do you think Jim might have a drinking problem?” she asked as they walked to the door. “It could be why he looks so much different than you remember him.”

She expected Landry to deny his friend had a drinking problem. The guy had saved his life, after all. But Landry surprised her.

“As much as I hate to say it, yeah.” He sighed.

“Was he already drinking a lot before the accident in Iraq?”

She hated to even ask because she didn’t want Landry feeling guilty, but seeing his best friend broken and bleeding must have been horrific for Jim.

But Landry shook his head. “Jim drank for years before seeing me get blown up. I don’t think it was a big problem back then, and it never interfered with his job, but he could always knock ’em back. Hell, if you ask around, most people will tell you that EOD actually stands for Every One Drunk. But seeing me get screwed up may have pushed him in that direction. Unfortunately, what happened to me wasn’t the worst situation Jim had to deal with on that deployment to Iraq.”

“What do you mean?”

“You heard us talking during dinner about those other soldiers in our unit who died, right?” At her nod, he continued. “He feels responsible for their deaths.”

Everly listened in shock as Landry described what happened in Samarra after he’d been injured and medevacked out of Iraq. From what Jim had told him, he had responded to a large IED call along with five other members of his unit. A device had gone off in the safe area while Jim had been downrange, and three EOD techs had died.

“I saw a copy of the final report,” Landry added. “There were implications that someone had made a poor decision in selecting the safe area where all the other team members had been waiting, but the conclusion was that the deaths were due to hostile action, something that couldn’t have been foreseen or prevented. Yet the official report didn’t stop the rumors. EOD techs are people, and people talk. The conspiracy theory is that someone screwed up badly. Most people think it was Jim because he was the senior EOD tech there.”

Everly didn’t really understand the details of what had happened. She just knew Jim had been blamed for it. “Do you think he did something wrong?”

“Definitely not,” Landry said firmly. “Jim is the best tech I’ve ever worked with. Hell, he’s forgotten more than I’ll ever know. If someone screwed up, it wasn’t him. Unfortunately, not everyone knows him as well as I do. I imagine he’s had to put up with people whispering behind his back ever since the accident.”

“No wonder he drinks,” Everly muttered.

Landry shook his head. “Seeing your friends and teammates die, and knowing people blame you for it is bad enough, but then there’s the guilt of surviving when those you were responsible for didn’t. Jim is probably dealing with some PTSD. He’s going to need help whether he wants to admit it or not.”

She noticed Landry didn’t mention he’d gone through some traumatic ordeals of his own. No doubt he was dealing with serious issues from his past as well. But at least he’d been surrounded by his friends on the SWAT team. And now, he had her. It didn’t sound like Jim had anyone.

“If Jim gets a job in Dallas, maybe we can convince him to get help,” she said.

Landry regarded her for a time, then reached out and pulled her into his arms for a long, languid kiss.

Regardless of the serious discussion they’d been having for the past few hours, all it took was his lips to make her feel better.

He pulled away to rest his forehead against hers. “Do you know how amazing you are, Everly Danu?”

That made her feel even better.