"What the hell are you doing?" I asked as I shut the front door to my place.

Broadrick jerked out from under the tan couch. "Shit."

He rubbed at his shoulder where under his polo he had bandages hiding his wounds. I grimaced. NB continued sleeping on top of the couch. He hadn't moved even with my entrance. What a horrible guard dog. Or just plain dog. Weren't they supposed to meet you at the door and love you? Pretty sure that's what all the dog food commercials promised.

"I'm so sorry," I said, walking toward my injured boyfriend with my hand over my mouth. "Great. You go off to war and then get more injured in my living room. The government is going to put me on a watch list."

Broadrick rested on his knees and shook his head. "I didn't go to war, and you're probably already on a government list somewhere."

"You don't know?" I stopped beside him and leaned over to check the couch. "Can't you look that up or something?"

He chuckled once. "Not unless I want to end up on a list somewhere."

"Are you okay?" I rubbed his other shoulder, letting my fingers trail over his tight skin.

Broadrick stood. "Yeah, I was just looking for the rabbit."

"Do you think NB ate him?" I asked, and we both stared at the little brown and white dog as he slept. His foot twitched in a dream. Hopefully not a chasing rabbits dream.

Broadrick turned his head toward me. "No. If anything, the rabbit would have eaten him."

"Ha-ha, funny," I deadpanned because it wasn't funny in the slightest. NB was a terrifying beast when he wanted to be. He was a solid ten pounds of fury. Broadrick just hadn't seen him in action. "Keep looking. We'll find him."

Unless he got outside. Then Mr. Jasper was nature's bunny.

Broadrick walked to the kitchen and opened a cabinet like he thought Mr. Jasper grew thumbs after I left him here.

Since I was the more reasonable person, I started in the bedroom. It took me all of fifteen seconds to locate the bunny. He'd snuggled up in a sweatshirt I thought I lost back in March.

"I found the bunny," I hollered toward the bedroom door. Now we just had to grab him.

"He's a rabbit," Broadrick said, coming through the doorway. "He's only a bunny if they named him Bugs."

"Okay, weirdo," I said and stuck my head under the bed again. "Who is going to climb under there and get him out?"

Broadrick stepped away from the frame with his hands raised. "I'm still injured from the war."

"Fine," I said with a sigh and climbed under the bed. Since I was already there, I did a little cleaning and chucked out two mismatched shoes and a pair of socks. "Why is there a swimsuit under here?"

I threw the top half of the pink bikini out as well.

It landed on Broadrick's feet and he picked it up. "You are definitely wearing this once the water warms up this summer."

"Yeah, yeah." I scooted a little deeper and grabbed Mr. Jasper in my arms. His nose twitched at an increasing rate, and he nibbled on my shirt. "Are you hungry?"

Why was he trying to eat everything all the time?

Broadrick grabbed him from me when I cleared the edge of the bed and carried Mr. Jasper to the cage set up in the living room. "You forgot to connect the two end pieces. That's why it fell."

"There were a lot of pieces," I said, following him into the room.

He bent over to place Mr. Jasper into the cage and my gaze caught on a streak of red soaking through the bandage on the back of his neck. "Broadrick!"

His shoulder flinched and moved inward with my screech.

"Holy shit. You hurt yourself."

He latched the cage and then jerked around, trying to feel the spot with his hands. "The stupid couch."

"Don't touch it." I batted his hand away and pulled down the polo an inch to get a better look. "You're bleeding through your bandage."

He sighed. "I probably pulled a stitch. Damn it."

"Take off your shirt," I said, releasing the fabric.

He turned around with a grin. "That is what I like to hear."

I rolled my eyes with a laugh and moved NB to the side of the couch so Broadrick could sit. "I meant so I can look at the bandage. You perv."

"I will not take off my shirt just so you can ogle me," he said as he pulled the hem higher, exposing his naked chest.

Man, those pecs were glorious. All the smooth skin. The muscle. I licked my lips, wanting to reach out and run my hands over him. "I'm going to help you."

"Is drooling part of your helping plan?" He sat on the couch where I patted the space beside me. "You're going to yell when you see it."

I held in the deep sigh that I felt all the way to my bones. "Probably."

Broadrick stared at me with his deep green eyes. Our gazes locked into place and tears threatened to cloud my vision, but I'd have to cry later. When he couldn't see me. Right now, I had to be strong for him. Or better, be angry that he had the balls to let himself get hurt.

When it seemed like he was trying to bore his way into my soul from my eyes, I shook my head at him and gave a hand flick. "Let's go. Time's a wasting."

He turned on the couch, showing me his back. Red seeped through a spot on the bandage covering the top of his shoulder. I picked at an edge of the tape, holding it in place, and dragged it away from his skin.

"Oh, Broadrick," I whispered, more to myself than him as I exposed the first injury.

He sagged his shoulders as I removed the last of the bandages. "It's really not that bad."

He had four major spots in an oblong shape on his shoulder. Four distinct wounds, all treated with various numbers of stitches. One slight cut was held together with two simple stitches. Two round holes had been obviously left to heal without stitches, and then a long gash ran from the base of his neck across the top of his shoulder. I ran my index finger over each of the fifteen stitches. The skin sat puckered and angry red around the edges. The bleeding from the bandage came from a spot at the end.

"It looks like the stitches are fine. You just pulled on one enough to piss it off. This is going to scar, though," I said, moving my hand away from his injuries.

He snorted. "Good thing you don't date me for my shoulders."

I slapped his good shoulder and smiled, even though he couldn't see. "Your shoulder meat is some of my favorite bits of you."

The women at the bakery liked to call the SEALs steak boys because they were just fine pieces of meat and Broadrick's shoulders were a prime cut.

"The cream and fresh bandages are under the sink in the bathroom," Broadrick said, stealing me from my gaze at his injuries.

He'd told me what happened, but right then I wanted him to tell me again. In minute detail, every single thing that had happened to him.

"Vonnie," he said, twisting around to look at me.

"Right." I met his puzzled expression with a small smile. "Be right back."

I scooted off the couch and retrieved the medical box where Broadrick stored his supplies. By the time I returned to the couch, he was back in position and NB was continuing his nap in Broadrick's lap.

"I think he missed me," Broadrick said as he gave NB pets on the top of his head all the way to the start of his tail.

The box bounced as I dropped it on the couch. "Yeah, because he doesn't get nearly as many treats when you're not around."

I moved Broadrick forward a little and then wrapped my legs around him from behind to get as close as possible. "Don't get any ideas."

He laughed and immediately put his hand on my knee cap before rubbing the inside of my leg. "Wouldn't dream of it."

He was probably dreaming of it at that exact second. But he'd had an injury, so I didn't give him any shit about it.

"You're really, really, really getting out of the military?" I asked as I applied the cool cream over his raised bits of skin and covered the stitches.

He nodded. "I promised."

"I know. It just seems so surreal." I'd spent so long fantasizing what it would be like to have a real life with Broadrick. One where we lived together and saw each other every day. Now those dreams were becoming real. A part of me was waiting for the bottom to drop out of our happiness barrel. The US government would come scoop him up in the middle of the night, throw him in a tank, and drive away with him.

Broadrick moved his hand higher on my leg. His touch sent shivers down my spine. "My future is with you, not Uncle Sam."

"I'll take you to all my favorite spots in Maine. You'll have a great time." Just wait until he got a view of the L.L. Bean boot in Freeport.

I finished the cream and placed a new bandage over the area, using fifteen pieces of tape to secure it in place.

"I think we're good on tape," Broadrick said when I ripped off the last piece and stuck it to the corner of his bandage.

Broadrick put on his black polo, covering up all his glory, and leaned back against me to reposition us on the couch as he turned on the television and flipped through a few options.

"What's on your mind?" he asked after a few minutes of silence.

I stared out the window, watching a car drive down the street. If only I could see the ocean from my place, it would be perfect. I had to pretend to hear the waves crashing against the shore from the couch.

"Nothing." I adjusted closer to him. "It's just this thumb drive. My aunt gave it to me."

She didn't so much give it to me as I found in the box of stuff she said came from my uncle. Someone tossed it on the bottom and covered it with papers.

"And..." Broadrick turned away from the television where he'd been going through the loop of the top watched shows. "What's on it?"

I shrugged. "More receipts? I haven't been able to break the password on the documents."

Who password protected a thumb drive? It had to have something good on it.