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laughed a little.  I left a box of
ornaments out for them to use. I guess
they didn t fit the scheme. She rolled
her eyes without looking at him.  I know
what you re thinking. I could have done
it myself, but it s depressing to decorate
a tree alone, so I just hired somebody.
Maybe next year...
Hauk paused in his cutting, surprised.
 Why would you have to do it by
yourself?
 I moved to Austin at the end of May,
and I didn t go out much while I was
staying with my grandfather. I don t
know many people here. I mean, there
was a social circle all waiting for me,
the next generation of my father s set. I
just don t like those people very much.
Her lips made a cute little snarl as she
put the bowl back down.  And they all
had  their people decorate their trees
anyway, so it s not like they d be excited
about helping me with mine.
Hauk kept his eyes on the cutting
board and his voice as neutral as he
could.  What about Paul?
 Paul? She slapped the dough on the
granite and started rolling it out in a
circle.  I don t know if we re there yet,
at the  holiday decorating together
phase of a relationship.
He kept his smirk in check and
merely nodded. Then he pointed his
knife at the refrigerator, where a
handcrafted starburst hung from a
magnet.  That one of your personal
ornaments? The metalwork was far
prettier and better made than any of the
generic baubles hanging from the tree.
Jolie smiled and her face lit up with a
joy he hadn t seen since the show last
night.  Yeah. I got that last year in
Heidelburg at their annual Christmas
market. I got my Masters at the
university there. Best two years of my
life! Also the farthest from home.
Coincidence? I think not.
 You lived in Germany?
 Yup. Of course, I came back to
Houston a lot. But it was amazing. Ever
been there?
 Yeah. Landstuhl Medical Center s
the closest U.S. military hospital to
Afghanistan. Unfortunately I didn t get
much sightseeing in.
Her face blanched.  They flew you
from Afghanistan to Germany when you
got burned? How many hours away is
that?
 About seven. After stabilizing they
sent me immediately to Brooke Army
Medical here in Texas. Not many people
go on a multi-continent jaunt without
their luggage. Or skin. I don t
recommend it.
Jolie s eyes widened and her jaw
moved like she had something to say
before she shut it tight.
He silently cursed his big mouth. He
should know better than to say shit like
that in front of someone who didn t
know him. But that was how he dealt. He
joked.
Deciding to take a risk, he set the
knife down and looked her in the eyes.
 Look, it s okay. I m okay. You can ask
me questions, and please just say what
you re thinking. It trips me out when all I
can do is wonder what the hell is
running through someone s head. Spit it
out. I ve lived with this damage for five
years. I was an Army Ranger and I m a
war veteran, whether or not I get the
benefits. I m not fragile. Don t treat me
like I am.
Jolie rinsed her hands off, breaking
their eye contact and studiously keeping
her face averted as she took an awfully
long time at the sink.  All my questions
are really stupid. I have nothing
intelligent to say.
 Then ask a stup Sen .  Alid
question. But don t look at me mutely,
like you re afraid of saying the wrong
thing. That s worse than anything that
could come out of your mouth.
She wiped her hands slowly and
drew herself up in front of him. And this
was that moment people had, the one
where they either dropped into a shell
and the two of them pretended life was
always beautiful, or they mangled their
way through an ugly conversation one
that actually meant something. She
looked utterly lost for a moment, and
then her thoughts coalesced into:  How
much did it hurt?
He laughed. He couldn t help it. After
all the frightened insults he d been given
and intrusive questions he d been asked,
the daughter of the world s most
infamous newsman came up with that?
She threw her hands in the air.  I told
you I only had stupid questions.
He laughed harder.  It hurt a whole
fucking lot. Are all your questions this
hard-hitting, Miss Benoit?
 Shut up, she grumbled, but there
was no insult in her eyes. She put the
pizza on a kitchen island and started
spreading tomato sauce on the crust.
 Wanna help top it?
He moved to the opposite side of the
island and laid down provolone over the
tomato sauce.
 So tell me something I can t figure
out for myself.
 Okay. Burns hurt. Treating them
hurts worse.
Cheese down, they each grabbed a
handful of toppings and started an epic
pile on top of their wheatless, extra-
cheese pizza.  How so?
An invitation to grisly details? So far
she d been pretty tough, so he gave her
the Halloween version, ghoulish voice
and all.  They scrub all your skin off.
Repeatedly, to prevent infection. Getting
flayed is every bit as fun as it sounds.
Her face scrunched up.  Ew. Her
eyes widened again.  Sorry.
 Nuh-uh. Sorry is not allowed. Got
any other questions?
She scowled.  Did you look like the
pizza? All mottled red sauce? That a
better question?
He pretended to contemplate it.
 Actually...
She waved her hands.  Whoa! I was
kidding. I don t want to know. I want to
eat our pizza. But she snorted a laugh as
her shoulders relaxed completely.
 Okay, so how long were you in the
hospital?
 Five months in the burn unit before I
went into rehab. Thirty-two surgeries. I
apparently had a near-miraculous
recovery rate.
 Five months is near-miraculous?
 When eighty-two percent of your
skin has third-degree burns and you lose
a leg? Yeah.
She paused for a moment to blink
down at his legs, and he realized she d
forgotten one was made of metal. Most
people didn t even realize his right was
missing, but she d seen the mechanical
replacement this morning. He liked it
that she forgot so readily. If only he
could hide the scars on his face as
simply as the rest of his mangled body, [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]