Broken Hero

I’m not entirely sure that’s the way I want to be described, not by Lucy, but I’ll take it.

Sophia looks up at me. Her face is scrunched in an intense look of concentration. “You do have really pretty hair.”

“Ge-ne-tic,” Nora murmurs.

“I had a buzz cut for many, many years. It used to be this short,” I tell them, holding up my thumb and index finger barely a hairsbreadth apart.

Sophia’s eyes are huge. “Really?”

“Yes.””What did it feel like?”

“Like a carpet. Maybe I should cut it again, actually. It’s getting long.”

There’s a chorus of protest from the girls-from all three of them.

I look up at Lucy. “No?”

There’s a faint blush on her cheeks. “No. This suits you.”

“Alright, then. I won’t cut it.”

Nora sags in relief and Sophia shoots me an approving thumbs-up, the cutie.

Lucy asks the girls about their summer and the fair, and I listen to her soft voice. She might not be talking to me, and I haven’t been able to ask for her forgiveness yet, but still… being near her is like a balm to my soul.Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

Sophia is describing her new scooter when Nora starts squirming in my lap.

“Look! Look!” She slides off and races down the path. Austin is bounding towards us, just as eager as she is.

Lucy laughs. “I was just wondering where your constant companion was!”

Sophia puts her ice cream wrapper down carefully on the bench before she runs after her sister. Lucy and I watch as they take turns petting a very happy Austin. He’s on his back, mouth open and his tongue out, getting belly rubs.

He’s in heaven.

Lucy smiles. “They’re wonderful.”

“They are.”

“But don’t think you can fool me, by the way. I know what this is.” She raises an eyebrow at me. “An elaborate ambush.”

I move closer to her on the bench. “I was an ass. I jumped to conclusions, I ignored you, and I’m sorry.”

She crosses her legs. With her hair back and her white button-down, she looks clean, and proper. Too beautiful to be real. “I understand,” she says softly. “It was a misunderstanding. I’m sure I would have come to the same conclusions if I was you.”

“Yes. Are we okay?”

She nods. “We’re okay.”

“Tell me about the client you just had.”

“You already know who it was.”

“Still.”

She shakes her head, smiling. “It was a guest from Acton. Don’t think I didn’t see it on the booking. Someone had even written it in the margins.”

“I figured you’d want to know.”

“It turned out that she taught chemistry in my old high school, although it was before my time. She had some inflammation in one of her trapezoids. I told her to see a chiropractor.”

“Have you ever thought about becoming a physical therapist?”

She nods, a distant look on her face as she watches the girls try to play fetch with Austin. “Yes, I’ve actually thought about it a great deal.”

“You’d be great at it.”

“You think?””Yes. You’ve got the touch.”

She pulls her legs up and rests her chin on bent knees. Her gaze is open and earnest as she looks at me. “Why’d you name him Austin?”

I clear my throat and look away from her eyes. Sometimes it feels like she sees right through me. “It’s where I signed up. It’s also where I was on bed rest after my final deployment.”

Long lashes sweep down and her soft lips part. I wish I could pull her close and wrap an arm around her shoulders. “Why did you decide to leave the Marines? Did you miss this place too much? I know I would’ve.”

The unease is back in my stomach, but I’m not going to run this time. “I was injured, and I’d already served for damn near a decade. Figured it was time.”

“Your shoulder?”

I nod.

“You know, I could take a look at it sometime. I mean, I’m not an expert, but massaging the muscles could help with… with stuff.”

Right. Stuff. Because I’d told her there wasn’t any pain. I have no doubt that her hands would feel unreal. I already know how they feel elsewhere.

“Thank you.”I hate the careful way she’s acting. It’s the same way most of the people in town treat me these days. I want to bring back the lightness in her eyes. But what do I say? That I only feel myself around her? That she’s the best thing that’s walked onto this property in decades?

Her hand rests between us on the bench, curved softly around the edge. I shift closer with a glance towards the girls, but they’re not looking at us. Austin has their undivided attention.

I run a finger over the soft skin on the back of her hand. “I’m sorry.”

Lucy doesn’t look at me, her bright blue gaze focused on our hands as they slowly intertwine.

“What do we do now?”

“I have no idea.”

Her eyes snap back to mine, and for a moment, I think I’ve rendered her speechless. I can’t help but smile. “You said earlier that it was fine if I regretted it, but I don’t. Not by a long shot. I hate the thought of you thinking I only wanted a one-night kind of thing. It was one of the best nights of my life.”