Surrender: A Little Harmless Military Romance by Melissa Schroeder Read Free Book Online

we panicked, and during all the yelling and screaming, not to mention the smacks to the back of our heads, she never cried. Not once did she shed a tear in front of us. So I had to get the next flight back or you would have been dealing with my mother, and believe me, the no crying doesn't extend to Mom."
    Mal smiled. "If you want to go back to your place and clean up, I can wait."
    He shook his head. "I'll take care of that later. Maybe I can talk her into staying at my house in Arlington."
    "Yeah, good luck with that, Major."
    "Just what are you two plotting in here?" Amanda asked sleepily.
    Both of them turned at the same time, but Mal knew Dylan's heart didn't turn over at the sight of her. Her hair was a mess, a tangle of silky locks tumbling over her shoulders. She was rubbing her eyes as if trying to wake herself up, and he could imagine she was having a hard time doing so. The pain killers were strong.
    "What are you doing up?" he asked.
    She frowned. "You guys aren't really quiet."
    "Yeah, like you can talk," her brother said as he rose from the bed and hugged her. "Mom wants to talk to you today. And I'll warn you, unless you want both of them here, you will make sure to ease her worries. She was halfway packed before Dad and I convinced her to stay in San Antonio."
    She smiled as she kept her arms locked around her brother. They had a family much like Mal's. They were close, closer than most families, and he knew that came from being a military family, but there was more there. The love they felt for each other was never hidden.
    "I can take care of her now, Dupree," Dylan said. "I was already scheduled for a few days after the TDY, so I'll stay here and take care of the invalid."
    That earned him a punch from Amanda. "Suck it, Dylan."
    He studied her for a second, a frown marring those movie star looks of his. "Get in bed or I will call Mom and tell her you want her here."
    Amanda matched the frown. "You fight mean."
    "You should know that by now."
    She smiled at him. "Thanks again, Mal, for taking care of me."
    “Anytime,” he said. “Call if you need anything.”
    He didn’t want to leave. He wanted to stay and make sure she was cared for. He knew that Dylan would look out for her. Still, there was a part of him that wanted to make sure that everything was taken care of, and for some reason, he was the only one who had the right to watch over her.
    He said nothing else as he stepped around the brother and sister. He just needed to remember the woman wasn’t his for the taking and he would be fine.
    But as he was driving back to his room, he wondered just when his body would start listening to him.
     
    * * * *
     
    "What's going on with you and Dupree?" Dylan asked her.
    Amanda had just taken a sip of water and choked on it.
    "What?" she asked and tried to cover her dismay by patting her lips with a napkin. She didn’t need her brother embarrassing her with Mal. Sure, she had a little crush on him, but it was no big deal. Really.
    Dylan was studying her like he was trying to put a puzzle together. And that was bad. Really bad. Dylan loved puzzles. "There's something going on there, and I’m not too sure I’m that happy with it."
    "All those slaps to the back of your head Dad gave you must have knocked something loose. There's nothing going on. Mal thinks he needs to take care of me."
    "No. Well, okay he does, but it has more to do with the fact that he wants to be here. When I told him he could go, you should have seen the look on his face."
    She frowned. "What do you mean?"
    "He was going to argue. I could sense it."
    She shook her head and was happy that for once that day, it didn't send the room spinning around her. It meant that she should be able to handle work tomorrow.
    “He wasn’t going to argue. He just disagrees with me that I can go back to the shop tomorrow.”
    Dylan crossed his arms. "No."
    "What?"
    "You are not going back to work until at least Wednesday. Addy's orders."
    She made a