“Yeah, is it true you get one? Have you got it with you now? What’s it look like?”
The kid sure knew his stuff. Tom had no idea how he knew so much.
“No,” said Tom, before clarifying. “I mean no, I don’t have it with me now, but I was given one.”
He didn’t know why, didn’t know what made him do it, but he sought out Caitlin’s eyes, locked his focus on her. “Most of the men I know have given their trident away with their heart. When they get married, they’ve given it to their brides on a gold chain.”
Tom swallowed. Wished he wasn’t looking at the woman who’d taken his mind off everything yet put his brain on high alert at the same time. He shouldn’t have looked at her like that, didn’t know why he’d even disclosed the importance of the trident. Not in that context.
“How sweet,” she said, hands clasped together.
But Tom didn’t miss the gentle pink blush that had crept up her neck and was curling toward her cheeks.
He should never have said it, not like that. Didn’t know what had come over him.
He had nothing to offer a woman, not now. He didn’t know who he was, how he would ever cope with what had happened to him, what he’d had to give up. He was lost.
Before, he’d have done anything to meet a woman as sweet and kind as he imagined Caitlin to be. Now, he was damaged, and he didn’t want anyone else drawn into that web of pain with him.
No matter how darn cute her smile was.
Caitlin Rose faced her class and gave them her most serious of looks. “Gabby’s in charge for a moment while I see our guest out,” she instructed, knowing full well they’d erupt into chaos the minute she stepped out the door.
The truth was, she’d probably be better saying goodbye here, in front of the children. It was silly to walk out of the room with him.
But regardless of her worries, she was more polite than that. He’d volunteered his time and been sweet with the children.
She only wished she didn’t have to look into those dark brown eyes that seemed to have caught on hers from the moment he’d walked into her classroom.
“Thanks for taking time out to talk to them,” Caitlin said as she threw a final, stern look over her shoulder at the children. “It was very sweet of you.”
Tom held the door and she ducked beneath his outstretched arm to emerge into the hallway. She wasn’t used to that. To manners like that.
It had been a long time since she’d been in the company of a man, and even longer since one had treated her in that way. With courtesy. Kindness.
She felt him behind her, could sense there was something else he was waiting to say.
“It’s weird for me, talking about the Navy like that.” Honesty laced with uncertainty. “But Gabby wasn’t exactly taking no for an answer.”
Caitlin smiled—she couldn’t help it. She might not be attracted to the whole tough-guy persona, but she could appreciate a man acknowledging that a kid held all the power. She liked his manners.
“I’m sure they loved having you here. It beats most of the other parents we’ve had,” she told him, leaning against a locker as she stood facing him. He was at ease, feet shoulder-width apart, back effortlessly straight. “We usually have the odd doctor or even a lawyer, but a real-life Navy hero? Not often.”
Caitlin felt the smile flee her face as soon as the expression changed in his eyes. They turned stormy, the brown suddenly looking like the black of a raging thundercloud.
“I’m not a hero.” It sounded as though he had to bite down on his words to force them out. He didn’t look at ease any longer, his stance appearing fierce, displaying the edge of a temper.
Goose pimples sent a trail across her skin. “I can tell Gabby’s very proud of you,” she said, changing the subject and ready to back off. This wasn’t a situation she was prepared to be drawn into. “Thanks for coming in, I hope we meet again sometime.”
Caitlin turned before he had a chance to answer.
He might be handsome and kind to his niece, but she’d sensed something in him then she didn’t ever want to be witness to again.
She’d grown up with a military man for a father. Her one and only serious boyfriend had been a Marine. And they’d both known only one way to prove their point, to get what they wanted.
As far as she was concerned, big strong men had one thing in common, and their strength wasn’t something she’d ever fall for. Not again.
Caitlin stole a quick breath before pushing the door open and facing the kids again, knowing it would take her twice as long as she’d been out of the room to quieten them down.
Caitlin glanced over her shoulder to find Tom still standing there, his shoulders bearing the faintest droop.
But his eyes were still on her. Blazing.
She averted her gaze and walked into the room.
He might be attractive, but she wasn’t interested. Not in the least.
She was a teacher. She was happy on her own. Satisfied on her own.
And the last man she’d want if she did decide to let someone in was a Navy SEAL. Even a former one. Because his height, the breadth of his shoulders, the darkness of his eyes … it told her enough.
He just wasn’t her type. Period.
It took Tom a moment to kick into gear, but it was a moment of hesitation that took him by surprise.
He never hesitated.
But the look on Caitlin’s face had been like a blade through his stomach, had repulsed him. Because he wasn’t that guy.
He never snapped at women. Never let his emotions get the better of him.
But ever since he’d been back, he hardly even recognized himself. If it weren’t for Gabby he’d have sunk into a darkness that was still lingering on the edge of his mind.
Because all he could think of whenever anyone called him a hero or made him remember his last days as a SEAL was that he’d failed. That he’d turned into a man he’d never wanted to become.
Never leave a man behind. That was their motto, words that were so true to him they were like the beat of his own heart.
And not only had he been forced to leave one of their own behind, he’d left his career behind, too. Because he’d put himself in the line of fire and it was a risk he should never have taken. Something he’d pay for for the rest of his life.
The acrid smell swirled around him, made him drift back to consciousness. He tried to lift his head, tried to shake it, wanted to know why there was a high-pitched scream echoing through his head.
His hand shook, but his head wouldn’t move. When it did, when he regained control of his body, what he saw made him wish he’d stopped breathing and never had to witness the carnage that surrounded him.
Tom shuddered.
He hated the word hero more than a tomboy hated a dress.
Even when it came from the lips of a woman so beautiful, so obviously genuine and all things good.
Tom whirled around and stormed down the hallway, back the way he’d come in. Right now, he had to get back to work. Had to do something. Because the busier he kept himself, the easier it was to forget.
CHAPTER TWO
CAITLIN stretched, watching herself in the mirror as she went through her routine. The movements were as natural to her as walking,