He raised an eyebrow in her direction. "Ha! Do you hike and fish the same way you know construction?"

Thankfully, he couldn't see her blush because her face was already flushed from the heat. "Whatever. Oh hey, do you hear that high-pitched sound from the fluorescent light? That usually happens right before it dies."

"I hear it, but what are the-"

"Don't say it." She slapped her hand over his lips before he could finish the sentence. "Remember what happened last time you said that?"

His lips curved under her fingers. She pulled her hand away, but he grabbed it back and held it in his. Their gazes tangled together and she felt like he could see her innermost thoughts with those eyes of his. "You have the most amazing eyes."

"You have the most amazing smell. Today you smell like cinnamon and citrus."

She pulled at the hand he still held, but he didn't let go. Instead, he moved his thumb in a caress over her hand and up on her wrist. There it rubbed once, twice over her skin, sending goose b.u.mps down her spine.

"You're so hot."

Oh G.o.d, she really was. Her b.r.e.a.s.t.s felt tight, her stomach swirled, and the top of her head p.r.i.c.kled. She hadn't reacted like this to a man . . . since Joe.

She shook her head, cutting that thought stream off. That was when she realized Tynan hadn't been flirting. He meant literally hot-as in overheated-and had pulled her forgotten hair elastic off her wrist and sat holding it in front of her to see. Duh.

He grinned, as if he knew exactly what he was doing to her, then dropped her hand and made a small twirling motion with his finger. "Turn around. I'll pull your hair up for you."

Lu flipped around quickly so she could stop looking at him, but of course she'd forgotten about the mirrored walls. Tynan was everywhere she looked. She slammed her eyelids shut to stop the 3D Tynan torture. Except he started combing his fingers through her hair, cutting through the tangles and smoothing it back. She pressed her lips together to stifle the moan that formed when his fingers ran along her scalp and neck.

When his hands tugged lightly as he gathered her long hair, her mind failed her completely and she imagined Tynan wrapping her hair around his wrist and moving his lips up her bare, exposed neck. Tugging on her hair from behind while he pressed his hard body up against her-oh, good lord, her mind was taking her places she shouldn't want to go.

"Never mind. I'll do it." She whipped around to put a stop to this craziness, only now she was looking up into Tynan's face, only inches away. They both sat, frozen in their spots, close enough for their breaths to mingle. Tynan moved forward until his lips hovered just above hers. She only had to tilt her chin up to touch their lips together. His heat wrapped around her, drawing her in. She wanted to feel his lips hard against hers while she ran her hands over his wide, powerful shoulders. I want to kiss you.

His gaze stared steadily, as if he'd read her mind and was willing her to do it.

Raising her face up, her lips brushed his softly, tentatively. He wrapped one hand around her waist and the other slid through her finger-combed hair to caress the nape of her neck. The firm press of his lips against hers shook her world.

"It looks like we've been rescued, Tink."

She pulled back and blinked. The elevator was moving again. Right. She knew that. Pfft. Like Tynan's kiss could shake her world. "In the nick of time too. Just goes to show you, people do the stupidest things when they're bored."

"Ha! You did not kiss me out of boredom." He slid his arms into his shirt sleeves.

The elevator clanged to a stop and Lu pulled her shirt back on over her head as the doors began their long, slow slide to free them. "Ha yourself. Besides, what would be the point? I'd bet money I wouldn't have been your first kiss in an elevator?"

"I bet I was your first kiss in an elevator." His smug grin needed to be wiped off that gorgeous face of his.

"No, sorry. But you were my first big mistake." And she sailed out of the elevator, nodding her thanks to the gaping rescue crew waiting.

Chapter Twelve.

"Oh yeah?" he called out after her.

"Oh, good comeback, Ty."

Tynan stood outside on the front steps of the library, totally confused by both the woman and his own body. It wasn't as if he was the one who kept starting this stuff with her. Quinn hit his shoulder to get his attention. "What?"

"What the heck was that?" His brother looked amused, but it was Quinn, and he'd keep it to himself.

On second thought, no-that was the old Quinn. Newly joined-at-the-hip Quinn would tell his fiancee, Delaney. Delaney wouldn't gossip, though, but she'd wouldn't be shy about telling him what she thought either. "That was two people stuck in a small, stuffy elevator for too long. That's all it was."

"Right. Are you sure everything is okay with you?" Quinn avoided his eyes, looking down at his feet and then up and down the street.

"Oh, I get it. Delaney said something to you, right?" Tynan walked over to lock up the front doors. Thank h.e.l.l the workday was finally over. He bent over, grabbed up his tool belt from the ground, and rejoined Quinn. "Did she put you up to this?"

"Maybe." Quinn shook his head. "Okay, yes, but she's walked your same path, so she worries about you. I'll tell her you're fine and to lay off you. Hey, you want to go grab a beer after I get off shift?"

"Can't tonight. I've got a thing I've got to do, but call me later in the week, okay?" They walked down the steps toward their vehicles at the curb. "I mean, unless this is the only night Delaney's given you permission to go out."

"You wait." Quinn pointed at him. "Your turn will come."

He threw his tool belt into the bed of his truck and slammed the lift gate home. "I'm like the wind. No woman can tie me down."

"If by wind you mean gale force, I'd say that matches up with some story going around about you lately." Quinn paused with one foot in his police cruiser. "Why don't you slow down and relax a little? Could be your problem is you're exhausted."

"Why is everyone so concerned about my s.e.x life? John Flaherty hasn't had s.e.x in decades and no one's on his case."

Quinn's eyebrows rose. "That's because he's a priest, and most people call him Father Flaherty."

"Right. Good point. Well, if a woman doesn't have s.e.x for months, it's never her problem, it's that she can't find a good man." He shrugged because if he told Quinn, or any of his brothers, that he'd given up s.e.x while he went about proving he deserved his ticket out of Afghanistan, they'd kick his a.s.s. "Maybe I just can't find a good woman."

"Uh-huh. Is that the story you're going with? That you're celibate until you can find a good woman? Because I can see that turning ugly real fast." Quinn rested his arm on his open door. "Let's see, all the single women, all the divorced women, and then there are the unmarried nieces of the blue-haired set. It might be easier if you just said you were gay."

"If it'll get people out of my business, go ahead and start spreading that around." Tynan slid onto the seat of his truck and slammed the door shut. He usually could take all the ribbing people threw at him. But being stuck in an elevator with the s.e.xy pixie had made him twitchy.

d.a.m.n. His trip into the woods couldn't come soon enough. He glanced at his watch; he had an hour before he needed to be at the nursing home. Rather than run into Lu at the diner, he decided to head for the VFW for dinner. A perfect plan really, because Friday was meat loaf night at his parents' house and his dad needed rescuing.

Meat loaf was the one meal his ma couldn't make well, but she would never admit it. So whenever they could, his brothers would help sneak his dad off to eat at the VFW on Ma's meat loaf night. It was amazing how many things broke and needed their dad's help fixing on Friday nights.

He waited until he pulled into the parking lot of the VFW, hoping his dad would pick up as he pressed the b.u.t.ton to call his parents' house. All he needed to do was provide an excuse for his dad to leave-he knew to find him at the VFW, but he still preferred when his dad answered the phone so he didn't have to lie to his ma.

"Hi, Ma. Is Dad around? What's that?" d.a.m.n, the Grapevine had outdone themselves tonight. "No, I'm not gay. Ma, you and Dad are pretty open-minded. Don't you think if I were gay I would have told you years ago?"

Tynan got out of his truck while his mom told him if there was anything-anything at all-he wanted to talk about, it was fine with her. "I'll keep that in mind. Hey, would you just tell Dad my engine started misfiring and I could use his help looking under the hood? Yeah, right now. Thanks, Ma."

He hung up and went into the VFW to wait for his dad. The VFW looked like a cross between a hunting lodge and a frat bar, if the frat bar was for old, crusty military types. Antler chandeliers hung over round tables in the center of the room. On one side, an old wooden bar ran the length of the room, the wall behind it covered in photos of old planes and unit patches. Pool tables sat over on the far side of the s.p.a.ce, which were pretty quiet until the weekend arrived.

"Evening, Harry." Tynan sat at the bar. "I'll have a draft. And you can pull one for my dad in five minutes."

"Sure thing, Tynan." He filled the beer, topped it off, and slid it over to him. "Haven't seen you around here lately. Although you've been starring in the daily Grapevine briefing."

"So I've heard." Tynan took a long swallow of his beer, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

"I've got just the thing for you." Harry moved down to the end of his bar and lifted out a bottle so old that a cloud of dust puffed up when he blew on it. He used a bar towel to wipe the bottle down before pulling the cork out with a pop. Carefully pouring out a shot gla.s.s full, he placed it in front of Tynan and whispered, "Guaranteed to put some bow chicka in your wow wow."

Tynan usually found alcohol had the opposite effect, but after being stuck in the elevator with Lu, he could use a shot. He lifted the gla.s.s to his lips and tossed it back all at once. Big mistake. Fire burned down his throat and blazed across his chest into his gut. Pretty sure if he opened his mouth he'd breathe flames. Argh. He pounded his fist on his chest twice, trying to get his lungs working again.

"Holy c.r.a.p, Harry, what the h.e.l.l was that?" He wiped at the sweat beading on his forehead.

"My special batch of moonshine." He winked and started wiping down the bar where it looked like the moonshine had stripped off the finish. Although Tynan's eyes were still watering so he couldn't be sure. "Wait 'til it kicks in."

"I'm already scared." He took a drink of his beer, hoping to quell the burning sensation. Thank heaven his dad arrived just then so he could avoid another shot of Harry's moonshine.

"Harry, I'll take a beer." Seamus Cates wrapped his arm around Tynan's shoulders and gave him a squeeze. "Tonight you're my favorite son. Your mother tried a new meat loaf recipe tonight, with olives and brewer's yeast. The cat was throwing it up when I left."

Harry slid the beer over and Tynan and his dad headed for the round tables in the middle section. It was early, so the usual crowd on fried catfish night hadn't descended yet. Doc O'Brien and Sergeant Tony Rodriguez hailed them over.

"Seamus, we were waiting for you to show up." Doc nodded his head to some of the empty chairs at the table. "Sit down. Sit down so Tynan can fill us in on the latest rumor."

Oh h.e.l.l. Tynan sank into the chair next to his dad and across from Doc and Tony and signaled to Sarah for two of the catfish dinners.

"You know, Doc, there's nothing new to say. I've got the ladies' prayer group including me in their rosaries, Georgie baked me some magic-s.e.x m.u.f.fins, Lonny over at the tackle shop dangled some chicken feet over my head-said it was his ancestor's black magic-and Harry just near about burned out my insides with his special-recipe moonshine, guaranteed to put the bow chicka back in my wow wow."

"What does any of that have to do with being stuck in an elevator?"

What? Finally, one person in Climax who didn't buy into the gossip. Hallelujah. He smiled across at Doc. "Nothing. Not a d.a.m.n thing."

And for the next half hour the men ate fried catfish and hush puppies while they talked over the pros and cons of cable versus hydraulic elevator systems. Tony was a former machinist, so he raised some good points Tynan could use if he had to present the options to the town council. And he would. Because now that the elevator had failed once, there was no putting off either an upgrade or a complete replacement.

Tynan looked around the table and took comfort in the company of these men. Men who might understand this growing burden of guilt. But maybe not, because he still remembered the bleak look in their eyes when he'd come home from the war two years ago. Maybe the answer was you just packed up the grief and guilt and carried it around with you the rest of your life, like an overloaded rucksack in the desert.

Tynan checked his watch and sc.r.a.ped his chair back from the table. "I've got to get going."

"I'll walk out with you." Seamus pushed back too. "I'm heading home as well or Cecelia will be on to me."

Doc stood and jerked his head at Tynan, motioning him over to the coat rack near the front door. "You remember the transition counseling on your way out of the Army?"

"Yes, sir." He remembered. Acknowledge feelings, seek support, mourn, positive action.

"Best advice I ever got was after the mourning-you have to say good-bye. You have to let them go to move forward, Sergeant." He reached out and squeezed Tynan's shoulder.

Say good-bye. Yeah, he'd heard that, too, but hadn't been able to bring himself to do it. Something to think about. "Thanks, Doc."

They rejoined Tynan's father by the front door as Doc pulled a folded piece of paper out of his wallet.

"Just in case the rumor is true." He winked and tucked it into Tynan's front chest pocket with a pat. "This will get you back swinging in the big leagues."

Tynan shook his head and held open the front door for his dad, and they existed into the cool November air.

"This will pa.s.s, Ty." His dad slapped him on the back. "You're being a good sport, but then, you've always been able to handle anything that comes your way. But like your mother always says, it takes a strong man to be weak. I'm here anytime you want to talk."

"I know." His throat went tight, like a hand was slowly squeezing around it. "Good night."

He and his dad did the man hug routine, then they walked off to their trucks, parked a few spots apart. He knew his dad was a smart man. A wise man even, who'd always been a great sounding board. He turned to him. "Hey, Dad . . ."

Their gazes locked, and Tynan was overwhelmed by the love in his dad's eyes. His dad, who would gladly take on all his sons' burdens if he could. But his dad had never lost four men in a firefight when he was sure his own heart was going to burst out of fear while everything exploded around him. Men who looked to him to lead them in and out of a mission safely. Men who trusted he would get them home, yet he'd failed them and their families. And he didn't want his father to take on that burden.

". . . You might want to shower in the garage when you get home. Or Ma will smell the fish on you."

"Planning on it, son."

Chapter Thirteen.

The next afternoon Tynan looked around the library making a mental inventory of what needed attention. He and some of the crew were working a rare Sat.u.r.day in order to ensure they were on schedule. All the subcontractors were lined up like dominos and ready to go the day after he returned from his hiking trip, so he needed everything ready for them.

He glanced back at the wall he was wrapping up. As soon as he moved the large header into place, he'd be done and preset for Monday. He looked around for Cash, who'd been up here working for the last few hours, just as he heard him and a few of the guys laughing from the stairwell as they headed out. "Anyone else still up here?"

"Just heading out, boss." Lu stood at the top of the stairs.

"Hey, Lu! I could use a quick hand." He motioned her over. "This will just take a minute."

She froze with her foot poised over the top step, looked around, her shoulders sagging when she didn't find anyone else. Reversing her steps, she moved slowly toward him.

What was up with her today? Pretty much the whole day she'd been jumpy and scurrying out of his way. Was it possible she was embarra.s.sed about what had happened in the elevator the day before? Yes, because he sure as h.e.l.l was still thinking about it.

"You know, Lu, what happens in the elevator stays in the elevator." He wagged his eyebrows up and down at her, thinking she'd laugh.

She didn't laugh. Her cheeks flushed a soft pink shade and her forehead got a little crease between her eyes.

"That was a joke."

"No, it wasn't. Jokes are funny."

"You're adorable when you're mad, Lu." This was the kind of comment that got drinks thrown in his face, but he felt a burning need to get some kind of reaction from Lu. Especially because he couldn't stop his reaction to her.

"You do know women hate when men say that, right? I'm going to clue you in: It's not something an enlightened male should say."

He'd never been mistaken for an enlightened male in his life, but he didn't think she'd appreciate hearing that. He never meant to be disrespectful; it was just that he usually blurted out what he was thinking. It had earned him lots of trips to the princ.i.p.al's office as a kid. He'd gotten much better as he matured, but apparently he was still a work in progress.

"I apologize. If you could just help me with this? That's it."

She stared up into his eyes without a word. He could lose himself in those dark eyes for days. Her gaze moved down to his mouth and lingered until he felt the need to crush his mouth against hers. When she bit her plump bottom lip, he wondered if she was toying with him.