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John knew there was an elephant in the room and he decided to tackle the topic
head on. Before he could take her the way he wanted, there needed to be total trust
between them. There were a few issues they needed to get out of the way.
He leaned in as if to kiss her, but murmured instead, So you re getting over the
fact that I had several tours in the Marines?
She stiffened and John waited. Taking a deep breath, she glanced at him and
nodded. I m getting there.
John couldn t be deterred. Leading her into the living room, he sat on the couch,
waiting until she sat demurely beside him. You were in the service too. And I saw you
with the band. Why the reluctance with dating a military man?
She shook her head. I m& I was trying to put all that behind me. I ve had enough
of the military for a while.
So naturally you sing in a bar with a band and bring your nephew to a Civil War
reenactment. Because you ve had enough of the military.
Actually, the Civil War thing was an accident. Beth s a good friend and we
decided to take the kids and get away for the day. Ian wanted to go to the museum
because it s one of his favorite places. I didn t know about the reenactment until we got
there, but, she paused to shrug, Ian enjoyed it.
I m glad you were there. When she didn t say anything, he added, So is Chuck.
Chuck? Oh, your friend with the broken leg.
You make a good nurse.
That s behind me now. Her voice went flat as if there would be no more
discussion of this topic.
All his careful peeling only brought him to a layer made of brick. He needed a
change in tactics. Sledgehammers brought down walls but tended to break things in the
process. He sensed she wanted to talk to him but habit kept the wall in place. Perhaps
all Lauren needed was a little nudge?
59
Diana Hunter
Lauren sat erect, unsure what John wanted from her. She d come here to get laid
after days of deliberation, and here he sat, bringing up his military service. Hadn t he
gotten it yet? She wasn t ready to share her past with him.
Or was she? Looking around the comfortable room, she felt again that warm, safe,
protected feeling creep over her. John wouldn t make fun of her hadn t he proved that
already? Although her defenses rose again out of habit and fear, she felt torn between
wanting to fling herself into the safety of his arms and wanting to take the easy way out
and run.
As if he could read the warring emotions, John simply watched her a moment then
took her hand in his. Tell me.
Lauren looked at him, seeing not pity but safety in his look. Her shoulders
slumped. She liked him. A lot. She might even have fallen in love with him. He might
be the one to run away once he realized how deep her memories scarred her. Yet she
had to take the risk. Any man worth having would be a man who could accept her for
all her faults.
I was an Army nurse career Army. Ever since I was little and watched M*A*S*H
on television with my parents, that s all I wanted to do. I wanted to be like Hot Lips
Houlihan and run my own field hospital. My parents, however, did everything in their
power to steer me in a different direction. They didn t want a soldier s life for their little
girl. They wanted me to be like my sister and find a nice man to marry and settle down.
At eighteen I wasn t strong enough to go against them, so I went to college and got a
degree in chemistry instead.
That must ve been difficult for you.
Lauren shook her head and smiled. Not really. I was in with all the nursing
students and, unbeknownst to my parents, I took all my extra courses in the heavier
nursing subjects. I graduated only a few courses away from getting my RN.
At one point you said you went to two different colleges.
Actually one college and one university. I graduated from Nazareth, magna cum
laude, with no job. I didn t tell my parents I didn t have a job because I wasn t looking
for one, I told them there just wasn t much call for chemists at the moment and that I d
like to go on and get my master s in the meantime.
They bought that?
Lauren shrugged. Not really. I finally broke down and told them I really wanted to
be a nurse and that I wasn t that far from getting the degree I really wanted. They
weren t happy, mostly because they don t see nursing as prestigious as being a chemist,
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