Free When Tomorrow Comes by Lindsay McKenna Page A

shouldn’t be so damn crabby.”
    “It’s understandable.” His voice was coaxing, soothing. “You’re still working through the trauma, Cait.”
    An invisible anvil of grief descended upon her heart, and she sighed heavily, staring down at the cup. Her lower lip trembled, and she tucked it between her teeth, fighting off another wave of tears. “Oh, God…I wish the dreams would end! I don’t understand why I still get them. It’s been over a year…” She closed her eyes for a moment and caressed the cup in a slow motion. She faltered, giving Dominic a vulnerable, helpless look. “Why am I sitting here telling you all this? You don’t need to know my personal problems. You have enough of your own here on the site without adding mine to the list.”
    He smiled wryly. “I don’t mind. I usually handle my emotions by ignoring them, but that doesn’t really work. I like your way of dealing with them better. That’s why, if you feel like it, you should talk this thing out. Maybe it would make the nightmares go away.”
    “It’s funny,” she murmured. “I’ve never talked about this to anyone. Not even Louie.”
    “Tell me about it.”
    “After I married Dave…” She swallowed hard, her eyes glittering with pent-up tears. “We hop-scotched around the Far East, setting up gas drilling platforms and laying pipe.”
    “Did you enjoy that kind of life?” he probed.
    “Very much.” Her face took on a more animated quality. “Every platform was a new challenge, and we worked well as a team.” Her voice took on a dreamier tone, and her face, a faraway look. She almost forgot he was listening.
    “Dave had a knack for the technical problems, and I was good at scheduling. Brentworth would throw us the deadbeat platforms that were behind, and we’d work out a plan on how to get them back on their feet and in on time. It was a big game, and we had so much fun.” “Dave taught me that a good sense of humor is like a plating of armor.” Her emerald eyes cleared as she looked at him. She whispered, “God, I need a sense of humor now, more than ever.”
    “Everyone should allow himself a few moments of peace and laughter. I don’t think you’ve spent your quota on yourself, so go ahead and use them up.”
    “You sound like Louie, dammit.” She was suddenly angry.
    “He’s a wise man.”
    “And I suppose you follow his advice?” she returned acidly.
    Dominic smiled patiently. “No. But let’s just say that between you and his wisdom, I’m learning a lot of new and helpful ways to vent my buried frustration and anger. You’re teaching me, and I’m grateful for the experience, although”—” he reached out to squeeze her hand “—”I would never wish you any pain like what I’m seeing you go through. Dios, it tears me up…”
    Cait felt her anger dissipate with the pressure of his fingers against her own. She was at a loss for words, and, hearing the searching, questioning” tone of his voice, it struck her that he had probably never known a woman like herself, someone who openly shared her feelings and emotions.
    “What you need, Cait, is to take some time off from this site and relax,” Dominic continued. “Louie told me you’ve been pushing hard ever since your husband’s death. Even I know you can’t run from grief. It has to be faced squarely. The sooner the better.”
    She got up, a troubled frown on her brow. “Relax and do what?”
    “There’s a world out there that I think you’d enjoy.” He stood up, too, and put his cup over by the heating element. “Sometime, when you’re ready, I’ll take you to BA and show you a city of great beauty. Is it a deal?”
    She chewed on her lower lip, watching him through her lashes. She wanted to tell him how much she owed him. She had not forgotten the strength of his arms around her as she had sobbed out her grief and pain. But a small fear kept nagging at her, and she couldn’t understand the feeling. “I’ll think about