Free A Soldier for Christmas by Jillian Hart

she wasn’t going to question it. She knew the Lord’s hand had been gently guiding them together. Why else would her heart come back to life a little? Why else was she starting to feel a brightness inside her, after Joe’s loss had taken it all?
    During her shift at the bookstore today, both Katherine and Spence had asked her how things were going with the soldier. Really, they had it all wrong, but when each had asked about him, she started thinking about him all over again. How funny he could be, and how his chuckle rolled like warm joy, low and deep, just the way a friend’s laugh should be.
    The best part was that she was going to see him in a few minutes. She was running a little early, so she’d have time to get some iced tea made before he came. In a hurry, she whipped into one of the several parking spots in front of her staircase.
    Her soul stirred. Strange. She squinted through the windshield to the top landing above. And there, through the shield of poplars swaying in the wind was a silhouette, tall and dependable and waiting for her. Her shining knight—er, tutor.
    Like the sunshine streaming through the flickering leaves, her day brightened. She hopped out of the car, bringing her backpack and keys with her. “Hey, stranger. You’re early.”
    “Better than being late.” He braced his hands on the rail and leaned, gazing down at her. His smile was wide and friendly, and she knew his eyes were too, behind those aviator sunglasses he wore. He was dressed in jeans again, and a navy-blue T-shirt. “I’ve only been waiting a few minutes. Are you ready to be put through your paces?”
    “Ugh. I knew I was going to regret this. I’ve been putting off even dealing with anything mathematical all week. It’s going to be torture, isn’t it?”
    “Well, I am a marine. We show no mercy.”
    “Just my luck.” She climbed upward, feeling as light as air. “Lexie wanted me to ask. What movie did you bring?”
    “No way. Homework first. Then we’ll talk movies.”
    “Whew, you are demanding.” She was close enough to see that there was a military logo on the chest of his T-shirt, and the deep-navy color made his eyes a dark, fathomless green.
    Not that she was noticing. “Hey, when you had to get off the phone when we were talking last week—did everything turn out okay?”
    “Our CO—commanding officer—thought it would be funny to order us out on a midnight climb.”
    “In the dark?”
    “Well, when you’re doing what I do, they don’t want you seen. It kind of interferes with the stealthy part of the job. We do a lot of training stuff at night because we do a lot of our missions through the night.”
    “Missions. That’s like what, hanging off cliffs and crossing glaciers? Do you know what?” She unlocked her front door. “I’m starting to suspect that you aren’t a normal soldier.”
    “I told you. I’m like a scout. I do reconnaissance.”
    “ Like a scout.” Yeah, that was so revealing—not. She opened the door and led the way to the kitchen. “Okay, you keep saying that. You’re like a scout, but what do you do, exactly? You climb mountains, scuba dive, do amphibious stuff. You’re not like Special Forces, are you?”
    She feared she knew the answer already.
    He shrugged one muscled shoulder, as if it were no big deal. “I’m a Force Recon marine.”
    Oh, the humble thing was so appealing. Kelly tried to keep her heart still as she took out two cans of soda from the fridge and handed him one. “I don’t know what that is. Explain, please.”
    “Thanks.” He popped the top of the can. “We’re the elite of the elite. Force Recon is basically the on-the-ground eyes. We patrol enemy territory and act as scouts so our guys know what they’re getting into.”
    “Enemy territory? Like you scout out enemy soldiers?” She took a sip of the icy bubbling cola. It kept her from saying that he looked pretty sane for a crazy person. She tried to imagine how dangerous that had to