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“Powerful.”
He laughed. “I’m no philosopher, just a man hoping to find himself like every other human on this planet. Like you.”
My thoughts drifted to what I’d been thinking on the beach. “You’re right. Once we find peace within ourselves, then we can shed the chains, accepting happiness.”
“I think you’re the philosopher.” He took my hand once again, kissing the tip of the finger I’d used then pulling it into his mouth. There was nothing quite as sensual as the act itself, the way he savored the moment, several slight growls erupting from his throat.
Every cell in my body tingled, every muscle relaxed. I was almost the happiest I’d ever been, except for the dark cloud hanging over us. “Thank you for bringing me here.”
“My pleasure, Doctor.”
“Not yet. I have to stay alive long enough to take two finals.”
“We’ll get you there and on the day you graduate, I’ll be the loud asshole in front screaming your name. I might even wear a costume just to irritate the hell out of you.”
I was so surprised I burst into laughter. “I have a feeling you’ll do everything in your power to ensure you embarrass the hell out of me.”
“You bet I will.”
When a shadow suddenly encroached the beautiful area, we both glanced at the sky.
“I knew there was a storm coming. I could feel it hours ago. I thought it would hit tomorrow.”
“Now you’re a weathergirl. You’re mighty useful, Dr. Cavanaugh.” He grinned then pulled away.
“Can you tell me how you got the scar? Was it during the war?”
He lifted his eyebrows then settled back down. “Nothing so glamorous, I’m afraid. It was in a bar fight.”
“What?” I couldn’t have been more surprised. “You’re kidding me?”
Grinning, he rubbed his face. “Nope. I was out with my brother during a leave. He’d just turned twenty-one and I took him out for drinks. My brother is a lot like me and when you get a few beers in him, well, he doesn’t keep his mouth shut. A wild kid. I should have known better.”
“Hmmm… I’ll have to remember that when I want to find out more about you,” I teased.
“You get a spanking if you do.”
His answer allowed me to laugh. “We’ll see. The two of you got into a fight?”
“For once not with each other and it was for a good reason. Some dudes were hassling a girl and Manuel told them to get the fuck off her. One thing led to another and one of the assholes broke a bottle on the edge of the bar. That started a brawl. Eventually, the son of a bitch managed to cut my face and I didn’t even know it. I was dripping blood all over the floor as I was punching the dude. Anyway, the police were called, and my brother and I ended up in jail overnight. Thank God we were given reprimands since the owner of the bar refused to prosecute.”
“You were both heroes for caring about the woman.”
“It’s funny, my superiors didn’t see it that way. I was given a warning when I returned to duty. How they found out, I don’t know, but it was just the beginning of a downward spiral.”
“How’s your brother?”
A cloud crossed over his face.
“I don’t know. We haven’t talked in a long time.”
I rubbed my fingers on his hand, able to tell it was something else that bothered him. “Is there a reason?”
“We argued about our father. He hated the man for the way he’d treated Manuel growing up. My father was all military and since Manuel didn’t like to follow rules, Dad was harsh in his methods of punishment. I defended our father because of what he’d done for me after the war. Manuel was so fucking pissed, he walked out of the house after telling me to fuck off. When my parents were killed, Manuel didn’t go to the funeral because of his hatred for our father. I haven’t tried to mend the fence, instead wallowing in my personal pain. That makes me a shit brother.”
“No, that makes you human, although you do need to have a talk with Manuel at some point. You’re both angry and sad at the same time. Don’t allow too many years to pass. You’ll regret it.”
“Yeah, I know. I keep saying I will at some point.”
