Remember, returning to your squad was the original mission, Marine.
“And don’t forget to come back out. Locking your door won’t stop me, Meggie. I’m very good at gaining access to barricaded buildings,” he called after her.
She paused on her way up the porch steps to look over her shoulder. “You would come in, knowing you weren’t welcome?”
He barked out a laugh. “I’ve spent much of the past six years in Afghanistan. I’m used to being where I’m not welcome.”
He loped across the distance separating their houses. Putting his bag of clanking bottles on the floor inside the door, he opened his gear bag and pulled out a bottle of ibuprofen. This was the only painkiller he was allowing himself tonight. He grabbed the duffel off the couch and grunted at the twinge in his shoulder. If lucky, Meg wouldn’t force him to take extreme measures to get her to the motel.
To his surprise, and his shoulder’s relief, she was waiting next to his truck with an overnight case. He lifted his chin toward her bag. “Your nebulizer better be in there.”
She rolled those beautiful eyes at him, but nodded. Oorah. He might be calculating Red Sox batting averages in his head before this night was over, but for now he’d savor his victory.
* * *
Checking into their room at the motel ran so smoothly, he suspected Meg had run out of steam. She hadn’t even given him more than token grief over sharing a room. Once inside, she threw her overnight case on one of the double beds, pulled out some items and headed for the bathroom.
“Calling dibs,” was all she said before shutting the door. The lock engaged with a click that echoed.
Despite the utilitarian pressboard furniture, brown tweed carpet, ugly orange drapes and matching bed covers, the room was spotless.
The shower came on and images of a naked Meg filled his head. He fisted his hands at the thought of exploring those new curves. Barely out of her teens when he’d last seen her, she’d been coltish, all legs and arms. But now...
With a muttered curse at the direction of his thoughts, he grabbed the television remote, flipping through channels until he found a baseball game. Not that he’d be able to concentrate, but at least he’d try. Lying on one of the beds, he pretended the game interested him.
The water switched off and he swung his legs off the bed and stood. Clearing his throat, he went closer to the door. “I was thinking of ordering a pizza. You interested?”
“Yeah...o-okay sure.”
She didn’t sound sure and—
Damn. How could he have forgotten they’d fed one another pizza that night? He rubbed his palms on his pants. “Look, there’s a burger joint down the road. I can—”
“Pizza is fine.”
Riley ordered and waited for her to finish with the blow-dryer before approaching the bathroom door again. “I’m going to get us some drinks from the vending machine.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
Riley took his time, hoping the fresh air would clear his head a bit. His imagination kept conjuring up images of Meg naked on the other side of that bathroom door.
He heard her talking to someone when he got back to the room and quietly pushed the door open.
Dressed in a blue fuzzy robe, she had her back to him, holding her cell phone to her ear. “I told you I’m fine. I called because I knew you’d eventually hear about it anyway. No, Liam, you do not need to talk to him. I’m a big girl. I can handle this.”
Riley set the cans on the small table, but she didn’t turn around.
“Oh, for heaven’s sake, you do not need to come up here. And no, don’t call Dad. He’ll just worry and that will worry Fiona. You know what kind of radar she has.” Meg shifted from one foot to the other. “No, I don’t want them to cut their trip short. Stay out of this.”
She turned around as if realizing he was back in the room. Shaking her head and rolling her eyes, she said, “Don’t make me regret calling you. I’m fine and if you tell, I’ll hunt you down. You know I will...Yeah, love you, too.”
Slipping the phone into the front pocket on her robe, she tightened the belt. “I figured I’d better call Liam before he heard about my ER visit from someone else.”
“Would word reach him one hundred and sixty miles away in Boston?”
She shook her head. “You’d be surprised.”
A knock at the door signaled their pizza delivery before Riley could say anything more. He opened the door and huffed out a laugh. Was this kid even old enough to drive? “Hey. How much?”
“It’s...” The boy paused as he glanced over Riley’s shoulder. Then his eyes widened and his jaw dropped. “Ms. McBride? Is that you? Really you?”
“Kevin?” Meg’s voice rose, along with the color in her cheeks.
Riley glanced over his shoulder at Meggie. Ms. McBride? Dear Lord, he had been gone a long time.
Riley tried to take the pizza box, but the kid had it in a tight grip. What the...? The teen, his expression a mixture of shock and disappointment, stared at Meg. Whoa, he had a crush on Meg and was reacting to finding her in a motel room with some guy. Poor kid. “Kevin, is it?”
The teen turned his attention back to Riley. “Uh, yeah, Kevin Thompson.”
“Pleasure to meet you, Kevin.” Riley clapped him on the shoulder since Kevin’s hands were full of pizza box. “Meg—uh, Ms. McBride had an asthma attack and we agreed with the doctor’s recommendation that she not be exposed to the mold in her basement until we can get it cleaned up.”
Kevin’s eyes widened. “Oh, hey, I—You’re okay now, though, right, Ms. McBride?”
“Yes, I’m feeling much better now, thank you.” Meg stepped closer. “I’m glad to see Bert gave you the job.”
“Thanks to you.” The kid ducked his head. “The way you vouched for me and all...uh...thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” Meg pointed a finger at him and spoke in a motherly tone. “Just be sure your grades don’t suffer.”
“Oh, no, I promise because I really... I mean...” The kid glanced down and shuffled his feet.
Riley lifted the box from Kevin’s hands, set it on the table and decided to go with his gut. “Kevin, I might need some help with the cleanup in Meg’s—Ms. McBride’s—basement. Would you be available to help?”
“Yes, sir, I sure would.” Kevin bobbled his head, his attention now on Riley. “Are you like the one that’s in the marines?”
News did travel fast in Loon Lake, or maybe it was different now that Meg lived here full-time. He hadn’t paid attention to gossip when he’d been here as a kid. “That’s right. I’m a marine.”
Meg cleared her throat. “Won’t Bert be waiting on you, Kevin?”
“Oh, yeah, that’s right. I should get back there. Glad you’re feeling better.” The teen turned to leave.
“Wait.” Riley pressed some bills into Kevin’s hand. “Don’t want to forget to pay you for the pizza and have you be responsible.”
The boy glanced at the money. “Oh, hey, but that’s way too—”
“Keep it.” Riley shrugged. “We kept you here talking when you could’ve been collecting more tips.”
The kid shoved the wadded bills into his pocket. “Uh, yeah, sure. Thanks, man. And if you need help with the basement...”
“I’ll be in touch after I make an initial inspection,”