Page 259 of Rangers Last Promise

“Five.”

“You got five Rangers out. You came out too.”

“That didn’t feel like saving anyone.”

“It does to me.”

He looks at me again.

Something painful moves through his expression.

I step closer and place my palm against his chest.

Grant’s dog tags are beneath his shirt.

I can feel their shape.

“You carried him for fifteen years,” I whisper. “Maybe you can let the rest of us help now.”

His hand covers mine.

“I don’t know how.”

“We’ll figure it out.”

“We?”

“We.”

His forehead touches mine.

No heat this time.

No hunger.

This is quieter.

Deeper.

A promise neither of us says aloud.

From the hallway, Trigger shouts, “Are you kissing again?”

Doc closes his eyes.

I raise my voice.

“No!”

Trigger answers, “That sounded suspicious!”

Doc looks at me.

“I’m going to kill him.”

“You’ll have to get in line.”

We walk out of the bathroom together.