Survivor's Remorse: Brothers of Ink and Steel by Kathryn Thomas Read Free Book Online Page A

Drinking alone like that is a bad sign.”
     
    “By myself.”
     
    Jamie paused and looked at Leo. “You know, if you ever need someone to talk to, my door is always open.” She took the two offered bottles of Southern Comfort and added them behind their mates.
     
    “Thanks, Jamie. I appreciate. I do. It’s just…”
     
    “Just what?”
     
    “Just… I don’t know.”
     
    “Ghosts?”
     
    Leo offered her a half-hearted grin and two more bottles. “Yeah. Ghosts.”
     
    Jamie stepped down off the ladder. “Leo, talk to me. Tell me what’s bothering you. Maybe I can help.”
     
    “I doubt it.”
     
    “Look, it’s just the two of us here. Whatever you tell me will go no farther than these four walls. You have my word.”
     
    He looked into her eyes for a moment. “It’s nothing really. Yesterday was the fifth anniversary of my discharge.” Technically that wasn’t true as he had spent another eighteen months in uniform after the ambush.
     
    “It’s been tough? Why did you leave?”
     
    “Medical condition.”
     
    “Medical condition?” she asked as her eyes widened. Leo looked pretty damn healthy to her.
     
    “Yeah. My left lung doesn’t work right, and that… limited... my career opportunities.”
     
    Jamie could tell he was dancing around something, but she didn’t know what. “They didn’t know that when you enlisted?”
     
    “It happened after I joined.”
     
    “Oh. An accident?”
     
    “Something like that.”
     
    “But you’re okay now?”
     
    Leo grinned. “If by okay you mean, can I hump a fifty pound rucksack twelve miles in under three hours, the answer would be no. But short of running a marathon or something like that, yeah, I’m okay.”
     
    “And that is what has you down? The accident and the discharge?”
     
    “I guess you could say that.”
     
    She smiled at him. “I’m sorry, Leo. I really am, but if it makes you feel any better, I’m glad you’re here.”
     
    He returned her smile. For some reason, having her say that did make him feel a little better. “Thanks, Jamie. I appreciate that.”
     
    Feeling like she was making a little progress with him, Jamie looked at the mess in the storage room. “I’m starving. How about that lunch? My treat for all your hard work. Then I will come back here and finish up.”
     
    “Okay, thanks, but you don’t have to buy.”
     
    “Hey, it’s a business expense!”
     
    “Okay. I’ll let He’s Not Here buy my lunch. You want to go in the van or ride on the back of my bike?”
     
    “Let’s take your bike. It’s such a nice day.”
     
    Leo didn’t know if he would agree that almost ninety degrees was ‘such a nice day,’ but he wouldn’t mind Jamie hanging onto him on the back of his bike.
     
    Jamie locked up before she stepped up to his bike. He handed her his helmet. “I didn’t think about you not having a helmet,” she said as she took the offered helmet.
     
    “Don’t need one. My head is hard enough.”
     
    She snickered as she plopped the helmet on her head and tighten the strap. “Oh, right. Army.”
     
    Leo chuckled as he mounted the bike and waited for Jamie to get on. When the bike sagged under her weight, he sat down and thumbed the hog to life. “Where to?” he shouted.
     
    “How about Kirklands? I’m in the mood for barbecue.”
     
    ***
     
    “What did you do in the Army?” Jamie asked after they had placed their order, picking up the thread of the conversation from the bar.
     
    “Nothing special. I was just a grunt.”
     
    “So what happened to you?” The moment she spoke the words she saw Leo stiffen. Ah… there’s the sore spot, she thought.
     
    “It happened in Iraq,” Leo said softly, “on a convoy protection detail.”
     
    “What happened? You get hit by a truck or something?” she asked playfully. She knew she was pressing, but she could sense there was something important in this.
     
    “You could say that. Here’s our food,” he said,