Free Jane's Long March Home by Susan Lute Page A

unexpected. His clean good looks. The way he reluctantly took the lost under his protective wing. How he was looking at her now, as though he was really interested in Jane the person, not just Jane the wounded Marine he had to fix.
    Didn’t the Doc know he was supposed to set a time and place for these little chats, not pounce on her whenever the whim struck?
    “There’s nothing to know. When it was more important for my mother to get her next fix than it was to be a mom, she left. And she didn’t leave behind any dear daughter letters to explain why she left me with strangers.” She pushed away from the railing, the man and the memories.
    He stopped her with a restraining hand, fanning the heat curling in her belly. One finger stroked her jaw, leaving a trail of fiery maelstrom in its wake. “I’m sorry.”
    Tired of fighting her attraction, she gave him a crooked smile. “You don’t have to be. That was a long time ago, and the Corps is my family now.”
    His hands dropped as his brows came together. “That’s good.” He didn’t look convinced.
    Perhaps it’d been a mistake to think she could go toe to toe with Russell and not get burned. In her own defense, she was fighting a war on three fronts. “What’s this homework you mentioned?”
    “Like I said, you did a good job watching over the boys today. Your homework should you decide to take it-” Humor eased the frown from his handsome face. “-is to find out their real names and where they came from.”
    From somewhere deep inside Jane came a sudden wish that the man wasn’t her therapist. It would be a novelty to be the girl next door with no worries. The one who was dating the hunky neighbor guy.
    She’d never had the chance to be that fresh, innocent girl, who’s dream was a picket fence and a family of her very own that included a husband she could count on and love to distraction. And while she was dreaming big, why not add four happy children, a cat and two dogs to the picture?
    But, she wasn’t that girl.
    Gunny, step away from the good doctor.
    Intending to put some distance between her and the unlikely image he seemed to have of her as the boys’ guardian angel, and the illusion that they could all make one big happy family, she edged away from Russell.
    She’d meant it sincerely when she’d promised herself she would jump through any hoop he asked her to, but that hadn’t included taking on two runaway kids, who needed more help than she was capable of giving. Or, becoming responsible for getting strategic intel from them.
    What reason could she give for not taking on the assignment Russell was so eager to give. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” She was interrupted by the sound of a vehicle coming down the drive.
    In the dark, headlights bobbed. A road-weary Dodge truck parked next to her Jeep. Then, Sergeant Scott Boone unfolded his tall, lanky length from the rig.
    Russell pushed away from the porch rail. “Do you know him?”
    “Yes.” She moved to the bottom step and waited.
    “Gunny,” Boone greeted her, as serious as a lead pipe in the hands of a skilled fighter. His gaze flicked to Russell for a brief second, then zeroed in on her.
    “What are you doing here, Sergeant?”
    “You’re off the grid. The guys got worried. We decided someone had to come find you. I drew the short straw.”
    Jane folded her arms across her chest. The guys were her Friday night poker buddies in Madrid. Embarrassment flooded her. She’d shut them out. Disconnected entirely.
    “How did you find me?”
    “Your CO.”
    Jane’s self-imposed isolation unraveled a bit at the thought of Boone going out of his way to hunt her down.
    Russell shifted beside her, and she couldn’t help but compare the two men. The Doc won hands down.
    They were similar in many ways, height, good looks, but Boone’s military bearing had nothing on Russell’s honed physique. And, over late night beers, she’d discovered long ago, the Sergeant wasn’t the