A SHORT CHAPTER, AND A LITTLE DIFFERENT, BUT I WANTED TO EXPLORE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN KAYLEE AND JOE FROM A LITTLE DIFFERENT ANGLE AT THIS POINT. AS ALWAYS, I APPRECIATE YOUR AMAZING FAVORITES, FOLLOWS, AND REVIEWS. MORE UPDATES COMING VERY SOON NOW THAT THE HOLIDAY SEASON IS WINDING DOWN. I HOPE ALL OF YOU HAVE BEEN BLESSED WITH FAMILY, FRIENDSHIP, AND HAPPINESS THIS HOLIDAY SEASON. I KNOW THE NEXT YEAR WILL HOLD AMAZING THINGS FOR ALL OF US.
**KATIE-LYNN POV**
None of us had wanted to leave Berchestgaden but the mood was jubilant as we rolled through the now-peaceful beauty of the Austrian countryside. People ran alongside the trucks greeting their American liberators, and the men were practically falling out into the street as they reached out to touch the hands of the young, beautiful women on the road. I laughed because I could almost see the promise of fraternization in their eyes. They were young men who were finally getting to behave like young men again, and it was refreshing, even for those of us who had no interest in taking part in the action.
Beside me, Joe leaned in conspiratorially and caught my earlobe between his teeth before kissing behind it and whispering, "You know, these boys don't know what they're missing out on. They may have their fun fraternizing with these girls, but not a one of them holds a candle to the woman I get to make love to."
I turned my heated face toward his, his eyes barely concealing the smile that showed he knew he was torturing me.
"Why do you do that to me? You know I can't just kiss you here in front of everybody, and yet you tease me."
He winked but feigned innocence, protesting, "I have no idea what you're talking about. I was just saying is all."
Fine. Two could play at that game. I leaned into his side, letting my lips brush the shell of his ear, and smiling as I felt him shudder.
"Well that may be, but one of these days you are going to just say, and I'm going to climb into your lap just like I did that night in the foxhole. You remember that night, don'tcha, Joe? Your hands on my ass. My hips pressed against yours. Kissing down your neck..."
"Okay, okay," he interrupted. "Fuck! No more teasing. Or else I'm gonna take you right here and now, and I really don't want anyone else seeing my woman naked. I really need a fucking shower right now." I laughed and leaned back, holding up my hands in surrender. He glared at me with smoldering eyes, my laugh dying in my throat as he finished, "With you in it, pressed against the wall."
"Oh my God, will you two please get a room?" Talbert demanded, breaking the flow of sexual tension coursing between Joe and I. "You guys are worse than all of us put together! And I really don't need the audible reminder of what I'm missing out on! Come on, Katie-Lynn. Aren't you tired of him yet? You know what a pain in the ass he is. You should ditch him and cuddle up with me instead."
"Sorry for the show, Tab," Joe chuckled, although we both knew that he wasn't. Joe was still a bit leery of Floyd when it came to how he flirted with me. "I'm not letting this one go. And there will be absolutely no cuddling with you."
He slid an arm possessively around me and kissed the top of my head as I laid it against his shoulder. Tab rolled his eyes and leaned back against the sideboard.
"Yeah, yeah, I remember. Hands off Mrs. Liebgott, everybody," he muttered, and the whole truck laughed.
**JOE POV**
Okay, so maybe I was a little possessive. Insecure even. But dammit, she was surrounded all day every day by men who wanted a chance with her. Now, most of them were pretty good about respecting what we had going, but you had to keep an eye on a guy like Tab. Not that I thought he'd try to steal my girl on purpose, but he couldn't help himself sometimes. The kid was a natural flirt. He would kiss anything with long hair and lips, and I knew he'd had a bit of a crush on Kaylee since we were at Toccoa. He was forever offering to help her with her harness, show her how to play pool, or share a foxhole and a blanket to warm her up. I watched him now, pouting a bit as he kicked at her foot trying to get her attention like a little kid on the playground, and I could feel my teeth grinding. Sometimes I wondered if he did it on purpose, but he definitely knew how to bring out my jealous side.
"Hey." Her quiet voice came from my shoulder. I glanced down to find her, to my surprise, looking up at me instead of over at Talbert. "You're not getting all worked up over him again, are you?"
"No," I sulked. "But he flirts with you in front of me just to piss me off." Instead of sympathy, I was met with laughter. She reached up and tucked my pouting lip back in, biting back another giggle until I finally started laughing myself. "I can't help it! Make him stop fucking with me!"
"Aww, is he picking on you?" I nodded and she glanced between us, a sly smile on her face. "Well, I can fix that."
Before I could ask her how, she slipped her hand behind my neck and pulled me into a brazen kiss that earned whistles and catcalls from the entire truck, and a loud curse from one Floyd Talbert. When she pulled away, I was as drunk on her as I had been on the champagne from V-E Day. She bit back another smile, but her eyes sparkled when she winked at me, and I fell in love with her all over again right there in the back of the damn truck. Mrs. Liebgott indeed.
**TALBERT POV**
Come on. You can't blame a guy for trying, can you? I mean, everyone in the company, including me, knew that we didn't have a chance of stealing her away from Joe. The two just balanced each other out. They made a weird sort of sense together. Still, I am a man, and Katie-Lynn was one of those women that most men would put up at the top of their list and dream about. There was a lot to like about her, not the least of which, as much as I hated to admit it, was the fact that she would so publicly and proudly let everyone know who she wanted to be with.
For two years during training, it seemed that Liebgott might be the only man capable to competing with me for fraternization efforts once we got to Europe, but it seemed that everything had changed on D-Day. The two of them had always been close. For a while, we thought it might just be two friends having a little fling to stave off the loneliness, or maybe just to help her get over Malarkey. It wasn't until the night he tried to fight Bill at the bar that the rest of us understood. Joe was a wild card. A ruthless hunter. A lion. Somewhere along the way, Katie-Lynn had taken her place at his side. His lioness, I suppose. Or maybe a lion tamer.
I had nothing against Joe. In fact, he was a great guy. But hey, like I said, you can't blame a guy for trying, can you? A man can dream.
Malarkey caught me staring after them once we unloaded and settled in to Zell Am See. He elbowed me in the side and shook his head, telling me not to even bother; that the two of them were made for each other. It was a shocking revelation from the man who had once talked about marrying and having a family with her, but it seemed that even Don had been made a believer. He must have sensed my surprise, because it was then that he told me of how she had calmed Joe in the truck as we were leaving that hellacious camp. She was, Don said, the one person who could temper him when he was at the edge of his control, and we all knew how dangerous an out-of-control Joe Liebgott could be.
He made a believer out of me a couple of weeks later, when I saw Joe and a couple of others jump out of a jeep and speak to Captain Spiers. I heard from Webster that Spiers had sent them to take out some Nazi Commandant living in a little shack not far from where we were staying. Apparently, Joe had all but exploded as he "questioned" the man before carrying out the order to execute him. Even now, listening to Webster recount the story, I could see Joe seething while he confirmed to Spiers that his order had been carried out. His jaw was clenched, and his whole body shook as though he were buzzing with angry energy.
From across the street, Webster and I watched as Kaylee approached him when Spiers walked away. Normally, everyone steered clear of him when he was like this, but she walked up to him without fear and wrapped her arms around his waist. The transformation was immediate, and so stunning that Webster and I stopped talking to watch. The tension drained out of his body. He wrapped her up in his arms and pressed his lips to the top of her head, just holding her there for a few minutes. Then she smiled up at him and he smiled back, not a forced smile to satisfy her, but a genuine, relaxed smile of contentment. I think my mouth actually dropped open in surprise as they walked past us, hand in hand. Malarkey was right. She had actually tamed the lion.