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“I only saw Cap being decimated when he found out you’d run. We looked hard for you and I could see his hope diminish every day. It was painful to watch.”
“I understand that. But maybe you should know the whole story before you consign me to perdition, Marshall. If anyone was the offended party it was me,” she told him bluntly.
He looked at her then…really looked at her, and what he saw must have made up his mind. “Maybe you’re right, minx,” he said calling her by Holland’s nickname for her.
“Let’s go eat something,” she encouraged.
They walked into the cabin together and made their way to the kitchen.
“What’s on today, Ray?” Marshall asked.
Ray was the cook of the bunch. He swore that when he retired from the SEALs, he was going to become a chef. But when the time had come to leave, he’d obviously followed Cap. And the team took advantage of his cooking skills.
“Leftovers,” Ray said with a small laugh.
Marshall rubbed his belly. “We’ll take it.” To Ava he said, “Let’s eat and then head out to the passes to see if you can hit a target in the wild.”
She nodded and took the bowl Ray handed her. She dug in. Firing weapons was big-hungry work.
“How’d she do?” Cap asked as he came into the kitchen.
“She’s decent. We’re going to head out once we finish eating and see if she can hit what she aims at in the passes.”
Cap nodded and looked at Ava. She looked back, and the heat flared between them. She glanced down at her bowl, unwilling to let everyone in the room see it.
“Good.” Cap grabbed a bowl of leftover stew.
They ate in silence, and Ava was glad for the lack of banter.
She finished and took her bowl to the sink to wash it. Cap finished his and met her there. Of course, he made sure to leave no room between them when he walked by her. Her body responded as she was sure he’d intended. He wrapped an arm around her and lowered his head to her shoulder.
“I missed you,” he said and there was a certain longing in his voice.
It hit her right in the feels and she relaxed against him. He kissed her behind her ear and she shivered. She wanted to stop him. She also wanted him to continue.
He didn’t though, stepping away from her and washing his bowl. “There is a sheepskin coat, some gloves, and a hat on the stairs for you. I’d dress as warm as you can because I’m sure Marsh will have you lying on the ground.”
“She needs a ghillie suit,” Marshall told them.
“What’s a ghillie suit?” she asked Cap.
“It’s a suit that’s comprised of camouflage. When you wear it, you blend into the landscape. It hides your presence.” Cap turned to Marshall. “Make her one.”
Marshall nodded and smiled.
“What’s so funny?” she asked the man.
He pointed between her and Cap and said nothing.
She shook her head and walked out of the kitchen. Men were sometimes worse than women.
Ava found the coat, gloves and hat Cap had left for her. She grabbed them and headed upstairs.
“Meet me back here in fifteen minutes,” Marshall called out at the bottom of the stairs.
“Okay,” she called back.
Once she entered the room, she took a really good look outside. It was still snowing. She sighed. She’d noticed the cold when she’d stepped outside to make her way to the inside shooting range. It’d been bitter so she left on her jogging pants and pulled a pair of jeans over them. Melody had packed both long-sleeved and short-sleeved t-shirts, so she paired a long-sleeved one with a short-sleeved one and put on her coat. It was a little loose but nothing she couldn’t handle. The most important part? It was warm. Seriously warm.
