“I know it’s not something you want to hear.”
“No, it isn’t.”
“Believe me, I’m not unsympathetic to your physical needs and desires. You want a relationship with a woman, especially after what you’ve experienced with your ex, and your time in war.”
Wes nodded to hurry the doctor along in his point. He didn’t want to discuss his ex, Caroline. That required another hour and he had to get to work.
“But you still have healing to do. It’s too soon to consider a future with a woman. Right now, focusing on your mental health is the priority. Theonlypriority. Do you understand?”
Wes nodded again. “Yeah, Doc. I get it. You’re right.”
“Good. Now, I now you have work to get to, so I won’t keep you any longer. But, I believe we’ve made progress in the short time we’ve had today. You’ve recognized a new trigger. Now all we have to do is establish a plan to work through your response.”
Wes sat up straighter, eager for this plan of attack.
“No relationships. Not for the foreseeable future.”
“Right.” No problem.
“And I want you to stay away from Kadynce.”
He froze. “What?”
The doctor’s gaze was unrelenting. “Send someone else to the bakery to pick up the orders. I want you to have no contact with this woman.”
Wes rolled his shoulders. He hadn’t expected that drastic of a recommendation. Stay away from Kadynce? It’s not like he was dating her. “It was one time,” he weakly argued.
“And we want to keep it that way. Wesley”—the doctor rested his elbows on his knees, shortening the distance between them—“you have to commit to this program in order for it to work. If you want relief—to live a normal life—you have to submit yourself to uncomfortable measures.”
Wes blew out a breath. He was a Marine. He knew all about unpleasant circumstances. And he knew he wasn’t going to win this one. “Thank you, Doc.”
“Promise me.”
The hairs on the back of Wes’s neck stood straight. It had been a long time since he reacted from the natural urge of his heart. Promise to stay away from a woman he wanted to shield from all danger? “Is it even ethical for you to ask me that?”
Dr. Rafferty shrugged. “Maybe not. But you are resisting, further proving this is the correct choice of action. I’m afraid this will be tough to overcome if you don’t go…cold turkey, so to speak.”
Cold turkey. He could do that. Over tough deployments, he developed a smoking habit to help him relax. He only recently kicked that bad habit…cold turkey. He had hated the taste of cigarettes anyway, but it was either drag on a cig or allow his mind to relieve the deaths of his buddies, the sound of gunfire, and permit anxiety to rip his heart into shreds. Missions required him to be acute and alert if they were to have any chance of success. He couldn’t sleep without first having a cigarette.
That’s what he had to do: treat this attraction like another mission.
Objective: kill his desire for Kadynce. That’s how he was going to survive this assignment; to have victory over his demons.
“I can do cold turkey, Doc.”
Chapter 5
Kady balanced two large boxes of cupcakes and muffins while shutting the car door with her right foot. An unexpected gust of summer air whooshed by her, sending dirt into her eyes and causing her to tilt off-center. She blinked a few times and took a steadying breath. The last thing she needed was to drop all these cupcakes, muffins, and specialty breads with no one around to startle her but the invisible wind.
Her eyes scanned the gravel parking lot filled with every model of truck and a few other beater cars covered with layers of dirt and grime. In the distance, she heard the gruff sounds of heavy machinery working the ground for one of Drew’s construction projects. People in hard hats milled around, a few carrying equipment she assumed had something to do with construction, while underneath the arms of others were rolled sheets of paper, likely blueprints of what was being built.
The site—whatever it was going to be—would be picturesque, a backdrop of forest surrounding it in a half-moon shape. Kady hadn’t spent much time acquainting herself with the city, but was pleasantly surprised by how green certain parts were.I’ve spent too much time in the city, she mused. Things moved a touch slower here, although not at all in Kat’s bakery. Kady liked the pace, even if it did lack a certain amount of excitement. But she could leave fighting over a metered parking spot and having to know half a dozen routes to each place to avoid the congested traffic back home.
Home.
She didn’t have a home anymore. Baltimore had swallowed everything dear to her. And Springfield certainly wasn’t a substitute. This new city was simply where her targets lived. Nothing more. After this assignment, she would be moving on to…she didn’t know. It probably wouldn’t look good on her resume that she took a job for only a few weeks. But she would cross that bridge when she got to it.
Okay, where are you.
