Free Running Fire by Lindsay McKenna Page A

surmised by her reaction earlier,
and
an unhappy childhood, it was no wonder she was so closed up. Kell could feel her hiding; had sensed it all along.
    â€œYes,” she said, her voice low. “Evan was my older brother by one year.” Leah tensed and then figured to hell with it. “When I was eight, Evan was nine. My father was on assignment in Rhode Island and when winter came, we’d go for walks. One morning, after a heavy snow, Spike, our dog, went running out into a field where we were walking. He fell through the ice and into a frozen pond.” The corners of her mouth drew in. “Evan went to rescue him and so did I.” She looked up and held Kell’s somber gaze. “We didn’t realize the ice would break. Evan fell in. And then I did, too. The dog managed to climb up my back and got to thicker ice. I tried to rescue Evan, but he disappeared below the water and I was so cold I could barely move. Somehow, I pulled myself up on the ice. About that time, my father found us.”
    â€œI’m sorry,” Kell offered. Was that why she looked so haunted? “Did you blame yourself for not rescuing Evan?”
    Giving him a dark look, Leah nodded. “My parents were grief-stricken. A month afterward, my mother had a heart attack and died. I’m sure Evan’s death triggered it. My father went into deep shock.”
    â€œSo you were a little eight-year-old girl who was grieving for two losses, then.”
    Touched by his awareness, Leah said heavily, “I was devastated.”
    â€œWas your father able to comfort you?”
    Shaking her head, Leah said, “No.” And then, “I sort of became a shadow in his life until I was about sixteen. He loved my mother so very much. Looking back on it, I now realize that his love for her was so powerful, so real, that her getting ripped out of his life like that devastated him in ways I can’t even understand to this day.”
    Kell wanted to go over and sit down and hold her. He heard the quiet pain in Leah’s low voice, saw the haunted look back in her expression. “But who took care of
you
?”
    â€œNo one, I guess. My father was a major in the Army, and he was up for light colonel. His life revolved around the Shadow Squadron.”
Not me. Never me.
    Rubbing his jaw, Kell asked, “Did he ever remarry?”
    â€œNo.” Leah looked up, giving him a sad smile. “I got to see what head over heels in love really meant. My father was utterly devoted to my mother. They lived a love I’ve never seen since.” She opened her hands and gave a strained laugh. “I remember as a kid looking at the love my father had for my mother, wishing someday I’d meet someone who felt like that. Someone who thought I was the most beautiful person in the world. Someone who wanted to love me, care for me and support me like my dad supported my mom.”
    And it didn’t happen, Kell thought, knowing what little he did about her marriage. “My ma and pa are like that,” he offered. “Pa thinks the world revolves around Ma. Still does to this day. They’re in their early sixties and they’re completely devoted to each other. And to us. They spread their love around.”
    â€œYou’re lucky,” Leah said, feeling a bit jealous. “My father...well...he had great plans for Evan and none for me.”
    â€œAh, the favored-son routine?”
    â€œYou could say.”
    â€œHow did that change your relationship with your father after Evan died?”
    â€œHe basically ignored me until I was sixteen. And then, one day, he told me to get into a helicopter and I did. He started teaching me how to fly. I found I loved it. The freedom...”
    â€œAnd then you went to college?”
    â€œFor two years. I wanted a four-year degree in electrical engineering, but I quit after two years. I was always fascinated with how things worked. Not exactly a girlie girl