Tangled Pursuit by Lindsay McKenna Page B

talk.” Alexa waved her finger in Tal’s face. “And you talk too, Tal. I know how you can clam up and say nothing. But this is one guy you have to open up to by letting your lively, imaginative Sagittarian moon out to play. I have a feeling if you talk to Wyatt freely, you’ll find even more common ground. Who knows, you might even surprise yourself and end up in bed with him!”

CHAPTER 5
    W YATT WAS OUT on the tarmac watching a pallet being placed in the CH-47. Looking up, he saw Tal Culver arrive. At 0700, the air was cool, but it was going to heat up as the sun rose higher over the Afghan desert sky. He wanted to stop and gaze at her tall, lithe body, but he was too busy. The sergeant responsible for loading the pallet had a record of contents, and it had to match what was on Wyatt’s list once the pallet was in place on the craft.
    The whine of jet engines starting up joined the thumping of blades as two Apaches prepared for takeoff. Wyatt glanced toward Tal, wondering how last night’s conversation was affecting her—if at all. Part of him hadn’t expected her to show up this morning. He thought he might have scared her off again by revealing so much of himself. He recognized that this woman was wary, emotionally speaking, and this revelation had confused and entangled him. She was certainly like no other woman he’d met who had challenged him. What was she running from ?
    Wyatt knew she had issues about relationships, but what were they, and how would they affect him? Sure, there was also the “great divide” between enlisted and officers, but others had gotten past that barrier.
    Anyway, now wasn’t the time to speculate on his romantic future. He had a job to do. Wyatt walked up the corrugated aluminum ramp into the hollow, tubelike fuselage of the long transport and watched as the crew threw a heavy net over the pallet to keep all the items in place once they’d been accounted for. There were boxes of children’s shoes, baby clothes, and clothes for older children. Wyatt knew just how destitute these Afghan villagers were; they were barely able to produce enough food for themselves, much less their neighbors.
    One loadmaster sergeant finished pulling the nylon netting into place over the cargo while another strapped the load down to the deck with thick, wide nylon straps, hooking them into the deck to ensure the pallet would stay put during the coming flight. Rubbing his hands down the sides of his cammies, Wyatt noticed Tal standing at the bottom of the ramp, looking up expectantly at him. Just seeing her there made his heart skip a beat. He suddenly had a vision of her standing, waiting for him, in many future scenarios. Sometimes he could tune into his destiny, and this seemed like one of those times.
    Tal looked tired to him this morning, with dark shadows beneath her deep green eyes. She resembled an exotic reincarnation of Artemis, the goddess of the hunt and of children. Her shiny black hair was caught up in a ponytail, and she was wearing her usual Marine uniform, a .45 strapped to her right thigh, an M4 in a chest harness across her Kevlar vest. She was prepared for combat, a wise decision, since they could be attacked by Taliban en route to or during their visit to the Shinwari village.
    Wyatt gave her a welcoming warm smile as he made his way down the ramp, his boots thumping against the corrugated metal skin. Tal gave him a slight, hesitant smile in return. She was carrying a huge medical rucksack over her right shoulder that weighed a good seventy pounds. He took it gently from her and walked it into the helo, setting it on one of the nylon seats. Tal gave him a look of silent thanks, and it made him feel damn good. At least she wasn’t putting a wall up with him. Not yet.
    “Hey,” he called as he ambled down the ramp to where she stood, raising his voice, gesturing toward Ops, “let’s go get a cup of coffee in there while these guys secure this pallet.” He looked at his