Recon Marines II: Marine's Heiress, The (5 page)

“
Unless they sneak back
and set more traps in it tonight,” Vannie said.

“
No reason for them to
know this one isn’t still in there. It would take at least four men
to place this device even if they have hover scooters and wenches
to lower it. They probably set them all at once a while ago. You’ve
just been lucky to avoid most of them.”

“
I guess that makes sense,
though I don’t think losing one man and crippling another is very
good luck.” Vannie waved to the men still in the stream, signaling
the end of the work day. The star warming Merris Five touched the
top of the mountains. Full dark would follow within the hour. “Now,
Vin, I know you have a camp somewhere, but it’s not safe out in the
woods after dark. I know any number of families with a room to
spare.”

Vin opened his mouth to object but then
stopped his words. He needed to stay close to Emma. He hadn’t seen
her since he’d given her the antibiotic though she’d made an
appearance in his dreams every night. Vannie waited for an answer.
“Let me think about it.”

“
There’s red bears and
packs of nasty lizards out in the jungle. We lost a child our first
year here to those scaly beasts. Since then we get everyone inside
the walls before dark.”

Vin had seen signs of the lizards,
including a few messy kills, but hadn’t encountered them yet. “They
seem to keep to the deep forest.”

“
Not always.” Vannie
kicked the trap, barely shifting the heavy metal construct. “You
know about these things, a bit about doctoring and how to hunt. We
had a handyman until three months ago. He fixed up our machinery
when it broke, kept our solar power working and generally took care
of things people didn’t have the knowledge to tend
themselves.”

“
What happened to him?”
Vin expected another tale of wild animals.

“
He tired of the hard work
and no hope of making better than a mean living. Packed up and
walked up to the Hadrason mine and caught a transport off world. He
left his tools and such behind, and his workshop sits empty. He
slept in the loft over the work area. Don’t see any reason you
can’t take over his shop and live there.”

Vin’s mind blanked at the idea of
having a place to himself. Almost like a house. His answer had
nothing to do with keeping an eye on Emma Jones. “I could move my
gear in before dark.”

* * * *

Emma tucked another pillow behind Russ’
back. Sweat coated his chest, and his muscles trembled. Jenny
exchanged a worried look with Emma but then busied herself tucking
blankets around her husband’s legs.

Emma retrieved the tray she’d set on
the counter and brought it over to Russ. He’d been living on broths
and water but today she’d added some bread and stew. He needed to
rebuild all the blood he’d lost.

Russ’ hands shook as he lifted the
spoon toward his mouth but he managed. “Thanks, Emma.”

“
You don’t have to keep
saying it.” Emma busied herself laying out the fresh bandages she
would need to change the dressings on Russ’ legs. She would then
wash and reuse the old ones. Her supplies had dwindled to less than
nothing.

“
I thought I was a dead
man or at best a crippled man.” Russ wiggled his toes, smiling and
wincing at the same time.

Emma smiled her encouragement, thrilled
that he had any movement in his feet at all. She feared how much
permanent damage had been done to his nerves and muscles. “You
still have a long way to go.”

“
I know, but at least I’ll
see my child born.”

Jenny settled on the side of Russ’ bed.
“We’ll never forget what you’ve done for us, Emma, you and that
soldier.”

Emma didn’t comment. Her thoughts
turned to the elusive soldier too often as it was. The men in the
café the previous night had talked on and one about Vin finding and
disabling another trap. Between helping save Russ and finding the
trap before someone stepped on it, Vin had won over Hovel Port in a
matter of days. Vannie had told her that Vin intended to move into
the empty repair shop that shared the wall with her surgery
opposite the café.

The door swung open and as if Emma’s
thoughts had conjured him, Vin backed in through the door. He
pulled a metal chair behind him. The chair rolled along on rubber
wheels and a small motor had been welded beneath the seat. He
twisted it around after clearing the doorframe and then closed the
door.

Vin’s gaze swept over the room and then
settled on Russ. “I thought you might be sitting up by now. When
you’re ready to get out of bed, you can use this seat until you’re
back on your feet.”

“
Where did you get a
wheelchair?” Emma walked over to examine it closer. Though
obviously made from spare parts, it appeared fully functional.
She’d been worried it might be months before Russ could use
crutches or canes. “This is perfect.”

Vin’s expression changed so slightly
Emma would have missed it if they hadn’t been standing side by
side. Did he wince?

“
Thanks, Vin. Not sure I
can use it today.” Russ smiled, a genuine expression of pleasure
though lines of pain bracketed his mouth.

Vin gave a short nod. “Might be better
to keep your legs elevated for most of the time, but you need to
move those muscles a little and keep the blood flowing.”

“
He’s right, Russ,” Emma
said. “You could develop blood clots if you sit still too long or
pneumonia.”

Jenny glared at Vin and Emma. “Can’t
you see it’s too painful for him to move at all? Even sitting up
taxes his strength.”

Emma knew Jenny spoke from fear, but
her tone hurt. Perhaps Emma’s exhaustion made her more sensitive.
She pressed her lips together, vowing to say nothing more until she
could speak to Russ alone.

Vin hadn’t her manners. “Pain is better
than dead. Pain means you’re alive. Pain means you can
move.”

Tears welled in Jenny’s eyes, but Russ
nodded. “I know, Vin. I’ll be pushing myself as soon as Emma tells
me it’s time to move.”

“
Tomorrow we’ll try to get
you in the chair for a short time. No weight on your legs until I
remove those stitches in a few days. We have to be careful of
swelling. Now, I have some work to do in the café. Jenny, I put
extra bread on the tray for you. You need to eat more than you’ve
been for the sake of the baby.”

Jenny nodded, biting her lip while the
tears ran faster down her cheeks.

Emma turned to Vin, intending to usher
him from the room. He watched Jenny with wide eyes, appearing
distressed. With a little nudge to his solid shoulder, Emma
gestured him toward the door. She closed the door behind them while
Vin stared at it.

His wide shoulders rose and then fell
with a heavy sigh. “What made her cry like that? I thought the
chair would make them happy.”

“
They are happy with it.
Jenny is afraid of causing Russ more pain.”

“
Afraid? His pains are not
hers.”

“
Not in the physical sense
but she’s sharing the emotional pain.”

Vin narrowed his eyes at her, as if
suspecting her of lying. Were Vannie and Moe correct? Was Vin
brain-damaged? As a psychiatrist she understood how complicated the
workings of the brain were. Though Vin seemed intelligent, his
emotions and social abilities could be compromised.

“
Where did you find that
chair?”

Vin again gave her that searching
stare, his answer coming after an odd hesitation. “I made it out of
spare parts I found in the shop.”

“
Vin told me you’d moved
into the abandoned repair building. Where did you lean to design
such a thing?’

He answered after a longer moment. “In
my military unit we all had to know how to make repairs to
equipment and treat injuries.”

Emma’s training had taught her how to
read people but Vin’s brain injury challenged her. She saw no
visible scars but many modern weapons caused concussive damage
without external wounds. But his careful answers led her to think
he lied about something. “Well, let me buy you dinner.”

She wove her arm through his, surprised
at the thickness of his muscles. Vin’s clothing, all neutral
colors, hung on him and gave the impression he was skinny. She
reevaluated, deciding lean muscle and bones composed his body, his
very fine body. Tugging firmly, she drew him into the café. “Moe
and I prepared thick slices of roast from the game you brought in
last night. There’s gravy and potatoes to go with it and sweet
grape pie for desert.”

The early evening crowd filled most of
the tables. All gazes lifted toward them, reminding Emma of her
intimate hold on Vin’s arm. Heat rose in her face and she untangled
her arm from his. She directed him toward the table nearest the
kitchen that she usually shared with Moe and Vannie for her own
meals. “Sit down and I’ll bring your food.” She retreated through
the curtain into the safety of the kitchen.

“
Did you bring a date
tonight?” Moe had a small glassless window above his cutting board
he used to keep an eye on his diners.

“
Maybe. Aren’t you the one
who mourns my lack of a social life?” Emma tried for light to hide
her embarrassment. Though she wasn’t a practicing psychiatrist
anymore, Vin needed her help. It crossed an ethical boundary for
her to feel this physical heat in his presence. She busied herself
readying a plate for him, selecting the thickest slice of meat and
an extra serving of potatoes.

Moe folded his thick arms over his
chest. “I know the selection of eligible young men is thin and the
kind of men settling in Hovel Port aren’t for the likes of you. Vin
may be pretty compared to most, but there’s something not right
about the lad.”

“
I noticed his struggles
with his conversations.” Emma smiled at Moe, feeling she’d set
aside her physical reaction to Vin. “Now stop your worries. We only
walked in the door together.”

Moe grunted and started on the stack of
pans soaking in the sink.

Emma delivered Vin’s plate to him but
had no more time for him as more miners drifted into the café. She
scurried back and forth to the kitchen, trading small talk with
familiar faces and fending off some flirtations. More than one of
the men stopped by Vin’s table, but the conversations didn’t last
long.

Without waiting for him to ask, Emma
delivered a double serving of grape pie to Vin. She sensed him
watching her as she served the other customers. On the few
occasions their gazes collided, she could read nothing from his. He
might have been an alien species.

* * * *

Desire for a woman hadn’t stirred in
Vin since Yalo had died. He’d expected he might never feel it again
and accepted it. Until now. Emma Jones had disturbed his sleep
since the first day he’d tracked her down to this outpost. He’d
thought it was some strange twist in his mind created by knowing
he’d found the last ingredient needed for his vengeance. But from
the first time he’d spied her small form flitting cheerfully about
the street, regions of his body had awakened with base
need.

Now Emma tempted him with delicious
foods and bright smiles. Everything about her differed from Yalo.
Yalo had been physically strong, her body firm with muscles. Emma
looked so tiny and fragile Vin wondered how she lifted the heavy
plates she balanced so skillfully as she served the men in the
café. Yalo’s personality had been one of grit and command similar
to the commander of a fighter squadron. Nearly every word out of
her mouth sounded like a challenge. Vin had loved the way she gave
no quarter and expected no help from anyone. Emma’s voice was soft
and kind, even when anger sparked in her dark eyes. There seemed
not a tough bone in her body though she’d handled the blood and
gore of Russ’ injuries without flinching. Her contradictions
confused him at their every meeting.

Vin dug into the grape pie, savoring
the tang of the fruit softened by some type of syrupy sweetness.
Other men watched Emma with the same avid interest Vin couldn’t
deny in himself. She flitted about like a sparkle of sunlight
reflecting off a crystal. No matter how many times he reminded
himself she was only the bait he needed to find her father, his
body ignored him. He shifted in the chair, glad his civilian
clothing hung loosely on him.

Experience and training had taught him
to put personal physical discomforts behind the needs of the
mission. He didn’t need Emma’s body though he wanted it, wanted it
more each day. It was the other longing that challenged his
control, this fierce desire to linger here so she might talk to him
again. Or turn her smile his way. Perhaps thank him again for the
chair though he hadn’t made it for her.

He’d escaped the despairing loneliness
of being a Recon Marine once for mere weeks. The heartbreak of
losing Yalo overshadowed the memories of happiness. He wouldn’t
give into the addicting warmth of a woman’s companionship ever
again.

Vin left the pie unfinished. He walked
out when Emma carried a stack of plates through the curtain. The
short walk to the cold, empty repair shop dampened his physical
yearnings but not even the quiet emptiness of his loft bed wiped
the image of her smile from his glum thoughts.