Read Online Taking Heart by T. J. Kline - Free Book Online Page B

the hell was he thinking? He should be grateful Tango saved him the rejection. If she was asking about Gage, she obviously hadn’t wanted to be kissed by him. It had been so long since he’d been with a woman, he couldn’t even read the signals he thought she was giving.
    â€œWhat about him?” He heard the clipped tone of his voice and forced himself to take it easy. She could be just making conversation, inquiring about his family the way he had hers. He might be reading far more into her question than she meant.
    She looked at him oddly, narrowing her eyes, as if she could read his thoughts. “I don’t know. What does he do for a living? Did he join the military, too?”
    Maybe not. “No.” Dylan tried to keep the bitterness from his voice. “He actually owns his own IT company. He started it with some friends from college and then bought them out about four years ago.”
    She gave him a sideways glance as if trying to read his expression as Roscoe sat up and looked at him. “A regular genius, huh?”
    â€œThe golden child of the family, that’s for sure.” At least, that was the way his mother had always introduced them. He didn’t tell Julia that, though. Or how he’d been the one to put his brother through college. Or paid for their mother’s cancer treatments.
    He didn’t begrudge his brother’s success and was glad to have been a part of helping him attain it. It didn’t matter to him that he’d never really had a childhood or the high school experiences his friends had playing sports and dating. He’d never had the money for either, nor had he had the time. Instead, he’d learned from a young age the value of hard work, responsibility, and loyalty. It had shaped him into the man who’d saved lives on the battlefield, the man he was today.
    The man you used to be , his brain reminded him. That man is gone.
    â€œWe should head back.” Dylan rose and moved toward the horses, leaving Julia no choice but to follow him.

Chapter Six
    D YLAN AND G AGE sat at the kitchen table, watching carefully as Julia instructed Dylan on how to cook with Roscoe in the kitchen. Food was always a distraction for the dogs, so he would need to be vigilant to make sure Roscoe was concentrating on him rather than a treat.
    â€œSo, which of you does most of the cooking?” She looked back at the pair as she cut up the carrots and tossed them into the pot. The evening air held a chill, and beef stew would be a good choice to fill up these two.
    â€œI do,” Gage said. He jumped up from the table and walked to the counter, grabbing a piece of the chopped carrot. “But I avoid it when I can and order out.” He shot her a disarming grin and winked. “I like to do my part to keep the local take-out places in business.”
    â€œAnd I’m sure they appreciate it.” Julia returned his quick smile, marveling at how two men could look so similar yet be so different. She wondered again if their personalities had been more alike before Dylan’s injury, and if it had caused his broody disposition. “Dylan, I’m sure you’ll be cooking once you have your own place again, so why don’t you come chop the celery so Roscoe gets used to it?”
    â€œYou’re making a pretty big assumption.” He frowned but rose from the table and came to stand beside her. Roscoe followed and sat down at Dylan’s feet.
    Julia’s gaze jumped to Gage’s, and she wondered if she’d said something wrong. Gage shrugged a shoulder slightly and shook his head. Dylan had seemed even more moody than usual since they left The Ridge and hadn’t quite snapped out of it, even after Gage arrived. She looked up at Dylan and wondered if they should just call it a night. He and Roscoe were doing well. There was no need to rush either of them.
    â€œYou know what?” She smiled up at Dylan and set the knife