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done..."
"He has that effect on people." Kimi smiled in
understanding. "It's why he makes such a great doctor."
Matt nodded, then looked over at her seriously. "It's more
than that though, Kimi."
"I can see that," Kimi agreed, then dropped her voice so
only Matt could hear. Trynt knew his friend was giving Matt a
warning about being careful because of his losses, but Matt
already knew about them.
"He told me about Jennie," Matt replied loud enough to
hear, and Trynt again caught his gaze. "And his tad."
Trynt turned to them, seeing that Kimi was surprised;
she'd been his only confidant about both Jennie and his tad
until now. "Okay then... He's happier than I've seen him in
quite some time," she confessed. She pointed at him
threateningly. "But as his friend, I have to say you hurt him
and you know what I can do, Captain."
Matt gave her a mock salute. "Yes, ma'am." He looked at
her, turning serious, and Trynt's breath caught at his next
words. "I won't do that though. I promise."
Kimi nodded as Trynt walked in with a tray of coffees. He
passed a blue mug to Matt with a smile, and Matt returned
the warm smile with one of his own.
Matt sat up a little and took a sip of the dark liquid. "Wow.
You weren't kidding, Kimi. That's the best coffee I've ever
tasted."
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by Anna Lee
Trynt blushed as he lifted Matt's feet and took a seat. "You
are a flatterer and it will get you everywhere."
"It's the truth though," Matt grinned. "If we sat the
superpowers down and gave them a pot of this coffee, we
could have the war ended in no time flat."
"If only if it were that easy," Trynt said wistfully. "But
thank you for the compliment."
Matt rubbed his foot against Trynt's thigh, and Trynt bit
back a gasp at the heated touch, which caused the older man
to smile. "Anytime."
"So, Matt, how long are you on leave?" Kimi asked,
changing the subject.
"Two weeks. Then light duties, training of recruits, repairs
to my Spitfire, and office work for a month or so."
Kimi took a sip of her coffee. "Will they ship you out
again?"
Trynt stiffened at the thought of Matt returning to the
horrors of the war, scared at the thought of losing him. He
relaxed a little as Matt lightly rubbed his foot against Trynt's
thigh in a comforting gesture. "I don't know," Matt answered
with a shrug. "It depends if I'm needed."
Trynt set his coffee down, ending the subject. "Enough talk
of the war. Why don't we decide on dinner?"
"A home-cooked meal?" Matt asked, and Trynt could hear
his excitement. He loved how much Matt appreciated simple
things.
He shrugged. "Well, I'm no chef, but yes."
"I can help," Matt offered, seeming to like the idea of
cooking with him. Trynt liked the idea himself; he'd never
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by Anna Lee
done domestic. Jennie had lived with her parents, wanting to
do things properly before moving in together. They'd never
got the chance, he thought sadly.
Matt's concerned and earnest gaze brought him back to
the present and his second chance. "This is nice, simple, and
domestic. I could really get used to it," Matt confessed with a
nervous smile, and Trynt wondered if Matt was thinking like
he was.
Trynt rubbed Matt's foot and gave him a concerned look.
"You deserve it."
"So do you." Matt met his gaze. "Maybe I can get you to
not work so hard now that I'm here."
"Oh, please do," Kimi agreed with a firm nod. "Aston works
him to the bone."
Trynt shook his head. "Everyone is overworked."
"That may be true, but with your eidetic memory, you
could easily take his job, and things would be better for
everyone," Kimi argued, determined to get her point across,
as they had talked about this often.
He knew Kimi had a point, but it wasn't what he wanted.
"We have this argument every day," he told Matt by way of
explanation. "I have no desire to be in charge. I'm not even
sure I want to be a doctor when this is all over."
"What would you do?" Matt asked.
Trynt shrugged and then thought for a moment. "I don't
know. A professor of literature and poetry, perhaps?"
"Emerson." Matt smiled in understanding.
"Precisely. Do you think about it? What you want to do
afterwards?" Trynt asked, wondering what Matt would say.
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As Time Goes By
by Anna Lee
"No, but " Matt locked gazes with Trynt " I'm starting
to."
Trynt's lips turned up into a smile. "Me too."
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51
As Time Goes By
by Anna Lee
Chapter Six
Later that night, after a wonderful meal of beef, potatoes,
and fresh bread, followed by a few drinks of scotch, they all
turned in. Trynt and Matt were both unsure they could resist
the temptation of being close together while just sleeping in a
bed. Matt was in a fair amount of pain, so Trynt had helped
him settle into the guest bed.
Sometime in the middle of the night, Trynt woke to Matt's
screams. He threw on his dressing gown before rushing down
the hall. He opened the door to the guest room and switched
on the light to see what was wrong.
"Mikey!" Matt cried in his sleep. Trynt noticed with dismay
that the bed sheets were covered with spots of Matt's blood
because of his thrashing and twisting in his sleep.
"No!" Matt screamed; his eyes screwed shut as his fists
tightly clutched the sheets.
"Matt!" Trynt rushed over to the bed. He quickly grabbed
Matt's hands, crossed them over the older man's chest, and
carefully restrained him to stop his movement. "Matt, you're [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]