“It happens, but usually people want to get up at least once during a flight and stretch their legs, too.” She shifted in her seat again. He increased his speed some to get them to the rest stop faster. Entertaining as it might be, he didn’t actually want her uncomfortable if he could do something about it. “The longest I’ve ever had to wait is the twenty minutes or so during takeoff or landing.”
“And you’ve never been caught having to go then?” The rest stop came up on the left-hand side and he slowed as he took the exit.
“Murphy’s Law kicks in once in a while and I have to go just because we’re not allowed to leave our seats.” Lyn laughed—a self-conscious, sort of embarrassed sound. “I try to always time it so I go right before we board and right before we land so I don’t have the issue.”
He could see her milling around at the airport, timing her visit to the rest room perfectly to boarding. “What do you do if the flight has a delay after you’ve boarded?”
“Hope I can make it.” She sounded serious, grim even.
He went over a speed bump nice and slow. No need to aggravate the full bladders in the car. A parking spot opened up right up front near the entrance to the welcome center building. He pulled in smooth and dropped the car into park.
“Thanks!” She popped out of the car.
He got out and called after her. “I’m going to take Atlas a ways down so he can do his business. When you’re done, come down this way and meet us.”
She waved in acknowledgment, hurrying into the large building.
Cruz chuckled. She really had to go.
Honestly, he didn’t mind. It was a long way down to Richmond, Virginia, and the Navy SEAL he’d located. Sheer luck the guy was stationed close enough to seek out with a casual day trip. A long one, but doable in a day and a night.
The man had been one of the soldiers in the highlights video and it’d taken some creative digging to figure out who he was. Cruz was still waiting on the decryption for the full-length video, hoping to get better face shots of the others in the room for identification. In the meantime, Cruz was on a mission to get information from the one he’d located but doing this with Lyn and Atlas put a different spin on the trip. He was willing to take some time and go at an easy pace for this ride. Serious as things were, he couldn’t help but smile with her around.
Maybe it was her way of enjoying things all around her. The outlook was contagious. She’d been looking out the window the entire trip and commenting on the greenery or buildings or whatever she saw. The world hadn’t gone to crap when you looked at it through her eyes. Not that she was na?ve, because a person blinded to the bad all around them would irritate the hell out of him. No. She was aware of the awful things in life. But she took them, dealt with them, and still came through with a positive outlook. It took a different kind of strength than the obvious and he admired her for it.
Atlas walked beside him on the lead, relaxed and mildly interested in the people around them. The big dog had watched Lyn go until he couldn’t see her anymore but had come along with Cruz without resistance. He was alert as he should be, but relaxed in his own way. He even stopped to sniff a weed.
They both had it bad.
And Lyn? She didn’t even know the power she had over them.
*
David had no idea how attractive he was.
Lyn paused to take in the scene. David and Atlas had reached the end of the long walkway leading away from the welcome center building. Maybe they’d even made it to the plot of grass marked for dog walking and come back. But currently, they were surrounded by a pack of teenage cheerleaders and a smattering of moms. No doubt the moms were every bit as interested in catching the surly man’s eye as the teens were.
And David had on his best grouch face, scowling and generally attempting to brush off any attempts at conversation.
Only when it came to questions about Atlas, his armor had chinks. His answers might be curt but he still answered. And the teens peppered him with more questions. She could see the girls pointing to the big dog. From a distance, Lyn couldn’t make out what David was saying but his dark, growly voice sent delicious shivers across her skin.
The man gave good voice.
Of course, the moms weren’t in a hurry to lead their girls away either. They added their own comments and laughed, tossing their hair salon-perfect hair. Lyn tugged at a loose lock of her own hair self-consciously. She’d caught a look at herself in the mirror in the bathroom. Tidy but not exactly looking like a supermodel. Every one of those women was made up, done up, and looking fabulous. How did women manage it on road trips and why would they bother chaperoning a bunch of cheerleaders?