Chapter 12
In a small–town military base like Camp Liberty, any hint of intimacy between a man and a woman could spark a firestorm of gossip. If word got out, it was always the woman’s reputation that took
the hit.
Jack hadn’t even realized what was happening until it was too late. Emily had already backed him up against the wall, kissing him with desperate intensity. Her hands, soft and trembling, slid over his
chest.
Only then did Jack snap out of it. He shoved her away.
“Emily! What the hell are you doing?”
She clutched her arms around herself, lip trembling. “Jack, I like you. I’ve liked you for so long. I just want to be with you. I’m scared that if Olivia comes back, you’ll leave me. Please, Jack… can’t you forget her?”
Her voice cracked with emotion, and her lips were still flushed from the kiss. Anyone else might have melted at the sight. But Jack’s face was stone–cold.
“I’ve never had feelings for you, Emily. Don’t pull this stunt again. And you need to stop this. Now.”
Emily froze. Even the tears she had been forcing stopped mid–track. Her eyes widened.
“You don’t like me? Jack, How can you not like me? You’ve always treated me different!”
As a nurse with Rivers‘ unit, Emily had been smitten with Jack for ages. She’d saved Jack’s life once
during an avalanche, searching for him three days and nights without rest. After that, Jack had
always treated her with warmth and respect. She’d taken that for love. But now, Jack’s voice was
firm.
“I treated you that way because you saved my life. I respected you. That was gratitude, not love. I
didn’t think you’d get the wrong idea.”
Emily stared at him in disbelief, her heart unraveling. “Gratitude? You gave me the only vial of that rare serum during the last outbreak. You risked your life for me! If that’s not love, then what is it? Is it Olivia? You’re in love with her, aren’t you?”
Jack didn’t answer.
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He turned back to the telegraph machine, his fingers ready to type, but in a desperate move, Emily flipped the telegraph’s switch off and threw herself at him again, clinging to his chest.
Chapter 12
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Her confidence–her whole world–had just been shattered. She’d been so sure Jack’s kindness meant he loved her. Now, the thought of Olivia swooping back into camp and stealing him away gnawed at her.
Emily’s voice wavered, more desperate now.
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“Don’t do this, Jack. If Olivia comes back, I’ll be the one sent to Lakewood. You’d really let me go marry some brute in the middle of nowhere?”
Jack hesitated, then said, “No. I’ll find a way so neither of you has to go. I’ll make it work.”
Just as he reached for the telegraph machine again, Emily lunged forward, wrapping her arms around his waist.
“Then give me something, Jack. Just for tonight. Let me pretend it’s real. Just once.”
Her voice was trembling, her touch warm. She pulled him close, tugging at his uniform jacket.
“Emily, don’t-”
He tried to stop her, but she cut him off with a kiss. Her body pressed against his, desperate and needy.
“You’re really going to tell me you don’t feel anything for me?” she whispered.
Jack stared down at her. His voice was hoarse.
“All I feel is debt.”
“Then pay it back,” she said.
She climbed into his lap, unbuttoning his shirt. Jack didn’t say a word. Not when her lips met his again. Not even when everything else blurred into silence.
Later, she lay curled in his arms, seemingly content. Jack just stared at the ceiling, a heavy sigh slipping from his lips.
When Emily woke up the next morning, she was still in his bed. For a moment, she allowed herself to believe she’d won–until she saw Jack, sitting on the edge of the bed, holding a telegraph slip with barely contained excitement.
“I get it,” he muttered to himself. “She can come back.”
Emily’s heart sank.
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She had just spent the night with him, yet he was smiling because of Olivia.
Fury bubbled in her chest. She let herself fall off the bed deliberately.
“Ah! That hurt!”
Just as expected, Jack was at her side in an instant, worry all over his face.
“Emily? Are you okay?”
She bit her lip, shy and teary. “I’m fine… I just overheard you. Is Olivia really coming back?”
Jack’s face lit up again. He held up the telegram.
“Yeah. I contacted one of my old commanders. He owes me a favor–he said he can make it happen. And don’t worry, you’re not going to Lakewood either. You both get to stay here.”
Emily managed a smile.
“That’s wonderful news. So, when Olivia gets back, she’ll know we’re together now, right?”
Jack’s smile slowly faded. He turned to her, brows drawn together.
“What did you just say, Emily?”
Chapter 12
