Men of Courage II by Lori Foster Page B

searched her face, glanced at his watch and scowled. “I suppose now isn’t the time.” He wrapped his hands around her upper arms, caressing. “How are you holding up? I know today isn’t going to be easy.”
    Liv touched his face. “Actually, I’m fine. Sad, of course. And a little hollow with the knowledge that I’ll never see Dad again, that opportunities are lost. But thanks to you, I have good memories now, too, memories that had been buried beneath resentment. That was wrong of me, but from what you told me, Dad didn’t have any grudges.”
    “No. Weston loved you a lot, he just wasn’t a very demonstrative man.”
    “Unlike you, Howler?”
    His crooked grin looked boyish and reeked of charm. “You’ve never called me that.”
    “But everyone else does.” She turned to seat herself at the table, and Hamilton did the same. “I listened last night, you know.”
    Swallowing a mouthful of pancakes, Hamilton cocked an eyebrow.
    “I kept thinking you’d…well, howl.”
    He almost choked on his food, then burst out laughing. “You’re kidding, right?”
    “Nope. What else would Howler mean? Howling during sex. Howling out your pleasure. I naturally assumed it was something like that.”
    “Well, smart-ass, for your information, I never howl.”
    “Not during sex, anyway.” She carefully forked a bite of buttery pancake. “It’s more like a growl. Or a groan.”
    He fought a grin. “What I do is roar. And only when I’m really pissed. But guys being guys, and pilots being bigger jackasses than most, they took a perfectly acceptable roar and starting labeling it a howl.” He shrugged. “It stuck.”
    Liv let out an exasperated breath. “Well. I’m almost disappointed.” Her lips twitched. “After all, it’s something you and Jack could have had in common.”
    Displaying an enormous appetite, Hamilton shoveled down the last of his pancakes, then stood. “You wanna hear me howl, I can howl.” He pulled out her chair and lifted her to her feet. “Let’s shower together. If we hurry, we’ll have enough time before we have to leave. Plenty of time for—”
    “Howling?”
    He lifted her into his arms. “Exactly.”
     
    I T TOOK HOURS BEFORE all the arrangements were complete. Watching Liv, how she dealt with it all while keeping her emotions in check, putting up a brave, proud front, made Hamilton want to bust with pride. He interjected where necessary, supplying information about the air force’s contribution to the service, and by the time they left the funeral home, they had everything in order.
    His arm around Liv’s shoulders, his thoughts focused on her and her turmoil, Ham walked her outside to the rental car. As predicted, the storm loomed overhead again. Low-hanging clouds, bloated with rain, scuttled across the sky. Hamilton and Liv got into the car just as the sky opened up and the storm attacked with a vengeance, this time supplying large hail and tree-bending winds. Against the roof of the car, the hail sounded like gunshot. Debris rolled over the ground and already the streets were awash with runoff.
    Wide-eyed, Liv snapped on her seat belt. “Talk about Mother Nature’s fury.”
    Ham stared out the windshield. He didn’t like the looks of this storm. Something about it, something beyond the obvious, put him on edge. Making up his mind, he said, “I’d wait for it to let up, but I hate the thought of Jack home alone.” He started the car and eased out of the lot into the street. “The sooner we get home, the better.”
    Watching the storm through the passenger-door window, she said, “I’m sure Jack will appreciate your concern.” Then she glanced at him and added, “Don’t forget, I want to get my car.”
    Incredulous, Ham tightened his hold on the wheel. “In this downpour?” He gave a grunt of disbelief. “No, I don’t think so, babe. Those hailstones are the size of marbles.”
    Slowly, her head turned toward him. “I’m not one of your men, Lieutenant