Free Hell Yeah!: Gun Shy (Kindle Worlds Novella) by Sabrina York

your unit to that IED.”
    Andrew stilled. Swallowed. “I didn’t tell Joseph about that.” He hadn’t told anyone about that.
    Cady set her hand on his thigh. Right where it hurt. But somehow, at her touch, the pain eased. “You would have been fine, but you had to run back in and try to save James.”
    His throat locked. His pulse thrummed. “I didn’t.” He didn’t save his friend. Hell, he hadn’t even saved himself.
    “You couldn’t save him. Big difference. But the point is, you tried. You put yourself in harm’s way to save another. That says a lot about a man.” Their gazes locked. Some weird understanding passed between them. He wasn’t sure what it meant, but it made him feel…redeemed. At least a little.
    She broke the connection with a light laugh. “That thigh is all knotted. You need to come and see me sometime. I think I can help.”
    “She’s a great masseuse,” Joseph said, coming around the table with Melissa. Between the two of them, they had four glasses of lemonade.
    Awesome.
    He would much rather have had a whisky. But the drink was sweet and delicious and quenched his thirst.
    “Didn’t the doctors at the VA recommend regular physical therapy?” Cady asked.
    “Um, yeah.”
    “But you ignored them.” Not a question.
    Andrew glanced around the circle. “I…ah. I’ve been busy.”
    “Honestly.” Cady threw up her hands. “You men are all the same.” For some reason she frowned at Joseph who shrugged. She pulled out a card and handed it to Andrew. “Call me. I can help you with the pain and give you more functionality.”
    “I—”
    “No. No backtalk.” Cady winked. “Call me.” She turned her attention to Melissa. “Make sure he does.”
    “I will.” Melissa took the seat beside him and frowned at him. “You should have told me you were in pain.”
    Seriously? He was always in pain of some kind. “I will,” he promised, because it seemed to be what she wanted.
    Her grin was his reward. “Excellent. Now, what do you say we go and eat all the McCoys’ food?”
    And they did.
     

Chapter Nine
     
     
    “Do you remember what you said?”
    It was late. Andrew was driving Melissa home after a truly wonderful evening with the McCoys. The car was dark, but the lights from the dash illuminated her face.
    “I, ah, said a lot of things.”
    She grinned at him. “Don’t make this harder than it is.”
    “It would help if I knew what this was.”
    “Do you remember what you said…about me taking the lead?”
    He stilled. Nearly swallowed his tongue.
    Because her meaning filtered into his brain.
    And then there was her hand, skating across his thigh. Yeah. There was that too.
    “Melissa?”
    “I just wanted to let you know…I’m ready for more.”
    Holy shit. His cock was hard in a breath. “I…ah…what?”
    “You heard me.”
    “You do realize I’m driving?”
    She wrinkled her brow. “What does that have to do with anything?”
    “It does if I’m about to drive off the road.”
    Her chuckle filled the car. “I thought I should say something before we pass your turn-off.”
    “My turn-off?”
    “Mmm hmm.”
    “Are you saying…?” Why was his throat so dry? “Are you saying you would like to come home with me tonight?”
    “You did get rid of that nasty cot.”
    “Technically, I still have it. It’s in the barn.”
    “Good to know. But what I meant is, you have a nice, big, comfortable bed.”
    “I didn’t wash the sheets.”
    For some reason she squinted her eyes really tight. “Are you saying you don’t want me to come home with you?”
    “No! Hell, no!” Shit. He wanted nothing more. “I was just warning you.”
    “Hmm. Point taken. Anything else you want to warn me about?”
    “I have two vicious guard dogs.”
    “I bet I can win them over with bologna.”
    “Do I have bologna?”
    “You do. In the fridge.”
    “Oh. Well, that’s good.”
    Yeah. It was lame banter, but it was necessary. Without it, his brain might actually