Free Freefall by Traci Hunter Abramson

rode up beside Amy. “Let’s stop for a few minutes and water the horses.”
    Amy nodded in agreement and guided her horse to the river. She dismounted, and her legs nearly buckled underneath her when her feet hit the ground.
    â€œAre you okay?” Brent slid off of his own horse, his legs not in much better shape than Amy’s, but still he moved to her side.
    â€œI’m fine. Just a bit tired.” She took a tentative step forward, and her knee gave way. Before she could regain her balance, Brent caught her by the waist.
    â€œYou need to sit down,” he said, but instead of moving he just stood there staring down at her. The weariness in his own body dissipated as he felt the warmth of emotions rush through him. Amy’s hair was hidden beneath the headpiece she wore, and her robe was at least a size too big, nearly managing to hide her feminine curves. Yet as he looked down into her piercing blue eyes, he knew he would never mistake her for a man, even from a distance.
    He sensed her confusion, followed by her awareness as he moved closer. A warning rang in the back of his mind that his feelings for her were probably just caused by the intensity of their situation, but for once he ignored reason. He pulled her into his arms, a myriad of emotions rushing through him. Psychologically, he knew he should keep a professional distance between them, but when she leaned her head against him, all logic disappeared.
    She was frail at that moment, and his instinct to protect her took on an unaccustomed urgency. A light breeze whispered around them, chasing away the desert heat. Brent closed his eyes, lost in the sweetness and simplicity of the moment. When he pulled back, he chastised himself for not keeping a professional distance. He looked down at her, frustrated that she could make him forget why he was here and block out everything around them. Quickly, he looked away.
    â€œWe should water the horses and eat something before we start out again,” he said, grateful that she was steady on her feet when he released her.
    Slowly, Amy led her horse to the water and then looked over at Brent. Her voice was tentative when she asked, “Am I going to see you after we get back to the States?”
    He looked up at her, unsure of how to answer her. Did he want to see her after they got back? Yes. Could he afford the emotions she evoked in him? He wasn’t sure. The only married member of his unit was his commander, Kel Bennett. Despite the fact that Kel and his wife had a temple marriage, from what he had seen of their relationship, he wasn’t sure marriage and his profession were compatible.
    Though they had only been together a few days, Brent already knew that Amy wasn’t the type he would be able to just forget the minute he left for an assignment. Instead, she would make him anxious to get back home.
    Rather than answer her question, he asked one of his own. “Are you going to stay in the States, or will you go back out on assignment?”
    â€œI don’t know,” Amy admitted, running a hand over her horse’s neck as it drank. “I love to travel, but I don’t think this is an experience I’ll want to repeat.”
    â€œMaybe you should ask to go someplace like London or Stockholm,” Brent suggested. As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he realized that many of the safe assignments would put half a world between them.
    Amy felt his words and the implication of them. She watched him for a minute, hoping she had misunderstood. She knew that he wanted her to be safe, but surely he realized that those assignments would put thousands of miles between them. How could he hold her one minute like she was the center of his world, and then the next minute suggest she live on a different continent from him? She dropped her eyes to the ground, realizing that at this moment she was the center of his world, but only because it was his job to protect