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protestors. Shouts of baby killers and murderers accompanied hand drawn signs depicting anti-war symbolism.
    “Stupid bastards!” Teeth clenched, she turned off the set.
     “I suppose that’s why we fight, so stupid bastards like that can have the freedom to protest if they want to.”
    She turned to him, her stomach twisting. “I really don’t give a damn about them. All I know is my brother is dead while these protesting weasels sneak across the border or sit in some college lecture hall to avoid their duty.”
    “Not everyone has the guts to do what Jim did.”
    “Or what you do.” Some of her anger faded as she slipped her arms around his neck and he tugged her onto his lap. “Don’t get me wrong, I have no problem with anyone who’s against fighting, but they have no right to treat you badly. I shudder to think what would happen to this country without soldiers protecting us.”
    “I knew a boy from the Army against fighting in ‘Nam. Nice kid. He protested by not carrying arms.” A far-off expression clouded Abe’s eyes and Angela nearly shivered. “I watched him die. Legs blown off. He had guts, though, in his own way. I have to respect him for holding onto his beliefs but not shirking his duty.”
    “I can’t stand to think about what you went through over there, Abe. When I see those people shouting, waving signs, and spitting at soldiers, I feel mad enough to wring their necks!”
    Lifting his head he smiled and took her chin in his hand. “I’ll be damned if you don’t have quite a temper, Miss Franco.”
    “When it comes to people I care about not being treated right, I can get riled very easily.”
    “So it’s safe to say you care about me, even though we haven’t known each other long?”
    “I care about you, Abe.” She held his gaze. “If I didn’t want to sound like a fool, I’d say I’m already in love with you.”
    “You could never sound like a fool, Angela.” His lips hovered over hers. “Not to me.”
    His lips grazed hers when she jerked away, startled by the scent of burning food.
    “The eggs!” She jumped off his lap and raced to the stove where smoke rose from the charred eggs in the bottom of the frying pan.
    While she turned off the stove and flung the pan in the sink, he opened the kitchen window to clear the air.
    Raising an eyebrow, he said, “So much for scrambled eggs.”
    “I’m not usually such a bad cook. I guess I’m distracted by a handsome hunk of Marine sitting in my kitchen.”
    A hint of a blush colored his ears, yet he teasingly said, “The ladies find us boys irresistible.”
    “And modest.” She winked. “Jim was just a shy wallflower, too.”
    He couldn’t resist another hug and kiss. Keeping his hands off her was next to impossible. Why hadn’t he accepted Jim’s offer years ago to visit his family? He and Angela would have gotten together long before now and been able to spend time with Jim, too. Abe mentally chastised himself. What good would have come out of them meeting sooner? Then she would have had two POWs to worry about.
    Damn it, Forbes? How dumb are you? He swallowed hard. If this relationship continued, it certainly wouldn’t ease her concerns. He was a United States Marine. It was all he knew how to be. Would she want to spend the rest of her life with him, traveling from base to base, waiting months, sometimes years, for him to come home, hopefully alive and in one piece?
    “Keep kissing me and we’ll miss breakfast completely.” She gazed at him with those big, beautiful eyes and his heart, frozen by battle, melted. “How about some hotcakes?”
    With a nod, he released her and watched as she opened the cupboard and got out supplies for making hotcakes. He imagined what it would be like if they were married. What would she look like plump with his baby inside her? How would it feel knowing that no matter where he was or what happened, she was waiting for him?
    Selfish son-of-a-bitch . But he couldn’t help it.