What Part of Marine Don't You Understand - By Heather Long Page 0,10

go for it.” And thus Charlie proved why he earned the title of her favorite brother.

“So I can ask him out?”

“Hell, no. You make him do it. If he isn’t Marine enough to see what a fine catch you are, he can suffer.” Pride and affection mingled in his voice, but he relented. “Just let him know you wouldn’t mind an invitation and then go out with a dozen other people. I gotta go, someone else is waiting to call home. I just wanted to check on you.”

“I love you.” She picked up the phone. “Be safe, okay?”

“You, too.”

The call disconnected and she sighed. Ten years and she always had a brother serving in a war zone—sometimes more than one. She never let them know how worried she was, or how grateful for their calls, or how terribly she missed them. They needed her bright, cheerful, and keeping the home fires burning. She played her part so they could play theirs….

And the song she wrote crystallized for her.

Playing Our Parts.

***

He rearranged his schedule to meet James early and skipped his workout. Damon came through with a lunch delivered to the apartment, so all he had to do was carry the picnic basket with its cold salads and hot sandwiches down to the park. He might not be up for activating his profile at the 1Night Stand service, but lunch—lunch he could handle. Jethro waited patiently next to the door, leash in his mouth. The dog knew his schedule better than Matt did.

Fidgeting, he hesitated to rush out to meet her and fought the eagerness vibrating through him at the same time. Wracked by the indecision, he paced away from the door and sat down on the sofa. Closing his eyes, he focused on his breathing exercises. The Labrador abandoned his post and came over to lean against his leg. The combination of contact and deep breathing eased the constriction in his chest.

“It’s just lunch, right? We’ve gone to hang out with her a few days now, so why is lunch hard?” He stared into Jethro’s eyes, but the soulful mutt didn’t offer up any ready answers. “Food. Company. Easy stuff, right?”

Maybe he wasn’t ready. He didn’t want to leave her waiting. Like she’s expecting me? I’m the one going all stalker on her composing spot…. Still, it didn’t stop her from showing up day after day. If she didn’t want him to listen, would she bother?

Clenching his fist, he rose. Breathe in. Breathe out. Pick up the basket, get Jethro’s leash, go for a walk. Offer to share lunch with her. Talk about her music. Talk about the weather….

Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he stared at it. He didn’t want to bother James with this, but maybe…he scrolled through his contacts and hit call on Logan’s number before he could over-think it.

“Hey Matt, what’s up?” Logan Cavanaugh was the type of Marine Matt always imagined being, the ideal he wanted to live up to. Despite his injuries—or maybe because of them—Logan remained one of the toughest men Matt knew. In addition to his job as a counselor for incoming vets at Mike’s Place and a volunteer therapist, he worked on finishing a degree specializing in everything he already did.

The man didn’t stop and didn’t allow anything to stop him.

“I need a favor.”

“Name it,” Logan said.

Noise echoed in the background, weight machines, muted voices offering encouragement and the faint thrum of music. The clanging rattled Matt. Closing his eyes, he forced another noisy exhale.

“Hey, Matt…just breathe through it, man.” The noise faded. Logan must have moved away from it. A door thudded closed and cut it off completely. “In for four and out for four. You know the drill.”

“Yeah.” Dammit, he was better, why couldn’t he act it?

“You know there was a guy once who fell in a hole and he shouted for help. This doctor comes by and writes a prescription, throws it in the hole. The guy is still down there and he shouts again, and a priest comes by. The guy asks for help and the priest writes him a prayer and throws it down. He even promises to light a candle for him.” Logan’s voice took on an easy cadence, and with every word, Matt’s breathing grew easier. “But the guy, he’s still in the hole and he’s getting hoarse from shouting. His buddy comes by and the guy yells up to him. His buddy jumps down in the hole with him. The guy can’t