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eyes would
dart his way, and she would shift her stance slightly as though she was nervous.
He was convinced she had absolutely no clue how sexy she was. That was
attractive in itself.
    Jackson returned a minute later with their coffees and a
paper.
    “Thanks,” Ryan said, inhaling the scent of rich, dark roast.
Since Candace’s attention was captured elsewhere, he glanced at the headline
splashed across the page, letting out a snort of disdain when he saw the
headline and picture of Virginia’s Democratic senator giving a speech. “Another
senator arguing against the war in Afghanistan, wanting to pull the troops out
of a ‘losing situation’? Gotta love the politicians.”
    “Yeah, but at least this guy knows what he’s talking about,”
Jackson said.
    “How’s that?” Anyone wanting to pull them out before the war
was won needed his head examined and a strip of duct tape slapped across his
mouth, high-ranking political official or not. The damn politicians back home
had to decide once and for all if the conflicts they were contemplating were
worth American lives. If not, don’t send him and his fellow servicemen into
battle in the first place. If so, back off and let them get the job done.
Period.
    The paper crinkled as Jackson opened it further. “He was a
lifer in the Air Force.”
    Ryan was unimpressed. “Yeah, doing what?” Probably
administration or something.
    “Says here he was a jet jock.”
    Didn’t mean anything. “See any action?”
    “Yep. Vietnam and the Gulf War.”
    Ryan’s respect for him grudgingly rose a fraction, but he still
didn’t like the man’s politics. Politicians did a lot more harm than good, and
that went double for decisions they made about the military.
    “Apparently his kid’s in the Air Force now,” Jackson added,
scanning the article.
    He grunted. “Yeah, probably some desk jockey back in D.C. who’s
never left CONUS because his daddy arranged it that way.”
    “Why do you automatically assume it’s a son?”
    Ryan jerked his head around to meet Candace’s stare, not
realizing she’d been listening, let alone standing behind him. Her dark eyes
flashed with irritation, something he was coming to realize was her default
expression around him, and after a moment he dipped his head in acknowledgement.
“Okay then, because her daddy arranged it.”
    “God, you are so arrogant.”
    She wasn’t the first to say so, though it bothered him she saw
him that way because he got the impression he was fast becoming one of her least
favorite people on base. Not the role he wanted. He held up a hand in
self-defense, ready to lay it all out so she couldn’t misinterpret his
standpoint. “Hey, no disrespect to you, because you’re over here putting it all
on the line with the rest of us. I’ve already told you how much I admire your
guts and capability. I wouldn’t be standing here right now if it weren’t for you
and your crew, and I’m the first to admit it.” How could she not realize how
much he admired her? After a heartbeat of surprised silence, her dark gaze
lowered to her coffee cup and her cheeks turned a soft pink. What, he couldn’t
even give her a sincere compliment without making her uncomfortable? She was
unlike any woman he’d ever met. The light scattering of freckles across the
bridge of her straight nose made her look adorable. And way too innocent for the
things he did to her in his fantasies.
    “You shouldn’t judge someone just because that person seems to
have different beliefs than you,” she said quietly. “That’s how wars start.” She
had a knack for making him feel like a second grader being scolded by his
teacher. His really built, hot teacher, but
still.
    Trying to come up with a response, Ryan had the awful sense he
was waist deep in quicksand and sinking fast. He looked at Jackson for a show of
support, but the quiet PJ kept his nose pointedly buried in the paper. Cam
merely watched him with his brows raised in amusement. Yeah