Read Recon Marines II: Marine's Heiress, The for Free Online Page A

sake of the baby.”
    Jenny nodded, biting her lip while the
tears ran faster down her cheeks.
    Emma turned to Vin, intending to usher
him from the room. He watched Jenny with wide eyes, appearing
distressed. With a little nudge to his solid shoulder, Emma
gestured him toward the door. She closed the door behind them while
Vin stared at it.
    His wide shoulders rose and then fell
with a heavy sigh. “What made her cry like that? I thought the
chair would make them happy.”
    “ They are happy with it.
Jenny is afraid of causing Russ more pain.”
    “ Afraid? His pains are not
hers.”
    “ Not in the physical sense
but she’s sharing the emotional pain.”
    Vin narrowed his eyes at her, as if
suspecting her of lying. Were Vannie and Moe correct? Was Vin
brain-damaged? As a psychiatrist she understood how complicated the
workings of the brain were. Though Vin seemed intelligent, his
emotions and social abilities could be compromised.
    “ Where did you find that
chair?”
    Vin again gave her that searching
stare, his answer coming after an odd hesitation. “I made it out of
spare parts I found in the shop.”
    “ Vin told me you’d moved
into the abandoned repair building. Where did you lean to design
such a thing?’
    He answered after a longer moment. “In
my military unit we all had to know how to make repairs to
equipment and treat injuries.”
    Emma’s training had taught her how to
read people but Vin’s brain injury challenged her. She saw no
visible scars but many modern weapons caused concussive damage
without external wounds. But his careful answers led her to think
he lied about something. “Well, let me buy you dinner.”
    She wove her arm through his, surprised
at the thickness of his muscles. Vin’s clothing, all neutral
colors, hung on him and gave the impression he was skinny. She
reevaluated, deciding lean muscle and bones composed his body, his
very fine body. Tugging firmly, she drew him into the café. “Moe
and I prepared thick slices of roast from the game you brought in
last night. There’s gravy and potatoes to go with it and sweet
grape pie for desert.”
    The early evening crowd filled most of
the tables. All gazes lifted toward them, reminding Emma of her
intimate hold on Vin’s arm. Heat rose in her face and she untangled
her arm from his. She directed him toward the table nearest the
kitchen that she usually shared with Moe and Vannie for her own
meals. “Sit down and I’ll bring your food.” She retreated through
the curtain into the safety of the kitchen.
    “ Did you bring a date
tonight?” Moe had a small glassless window above his cutting board
he used to keep an eye on his diners.
    “ Maybe. Aren’t you the one
who mourns my lack of a social life?” Emma tried for light to hide
her embarrassment. Though she wasn’t a practicing psychiatrist
anymore, Vin needed her help. It crossed an ethical boundary for
her to feel this physical heat in his presence. She busied herself
readying a plate for him, selecting the thickest slice of meat and
an extra serving of potatoes.
    Moe folded his thick arms over his
chest. “I know the selection of eligible young men is thin and the
kind of men settling in Hovel Port aren’t for the likes of you. Vin
may be pretty compared to most, but there’s something not right
about the lad.”
    “ I noticed his struggles
with his conversations.” Emma smiled at Moe, feeling she’d set
aside her physical reaction to Vin. “Now stop your worries. We only
walked in the door together.”
    Moe grunted and started on the stack of
pans soaking in the sink.
    Emma delivered Vin’s plate to him but
had no more time for him as more miners drifted into the café. She
scurried back and forth to the kitchen, trading small talk with
familiar faces and fending off some flirtations. More than one of
the men stopped by Vin’s table, but the conversations didn’t last
long.
    Without waiting for him to ask, Emma
delivered a double serving of grape pie to Vin.