She stared at him. Then, “Where are we going?”
“Food therapy.”
“Still bossing me around?”
“No. But my sister always said food soothes all problems.”
“Your sister has never been to Overeaters Anonymous.” But something had shifted in her expression. “Your sister?”
“Katie. Three years older, way smarter, and the only person who could talk me down when I got wound up.” He moved toward the door. “Trust me on this one.”
Well, lookee there. She followed without argument.
They went down the external staircase, past the glowing pool, and through the villa’s garden gate onto streets that were transforming in the gathering darkness.
Chiang Mai came alive at night. Shophouses that looked ordinary during the day revealed hidden restaurants tucked into narrow alleys with the lure of grilling meat.
“Tell me about Katie.”
He glanced at her.Okay.Maybe if it made her stop obsessing over Dr. Radic. “She was the responsible one. She had to be, with Dad deployed half the time and Mom having a hard time when he was gone.”
“That must have been tough. I know my mom always hated when Jake went OCONUS and she had no idea where he was.” Chloe was studying him, a look of compassion on her face. “How old were you when he started deploying?”
“I was born into it. He was always gone. But the last time was when I was fourteen. He left a note on the kitchen table that said ‘duty first,’ and I thought it meant I was supposed to do my homework before messing around.”
She stopped walking. “He left anote?”
“Emergency deployment. Couldn’t say goodbye in person. Katie found me waiting by the window three days later, convinced he’d come back to explain.”
“That’s awful.”
“Yeah. He died on that mission, so...” He lifted a shoulder. “Took me until I was eighteen, until I joined the SEALs, before I really understood what his words meant.” And wow, he didn’t know why he’d told her that, but it seemed easy, walking in the crowded streets, the words leaving his chest to be lost in the chaos of the city.
Next to him, she said nothing, just nodded. Duty first. Maybe she got it too.
“That’s when I discovered food therapy. Katie always said some problems were too big for regular food, but ice cream made everything feel possible again.”
“She’s not wrong,” she said, and laughed.
And the sound of it just pinged inside him, a spark that lit him up.
He might be in trouble here.
They turned the corner onto Changklan Road, and the streets gave way to an explosion of light and color and sound.
Night market.
Red-and-gold lanterns strung between food stalls cast twinkling lights over a river of humanity. Steam rose from dozens of portable gas burners, vendors tossing food in hot oiled woks, others manning grills, all the food stalls carrying competing scents of garlic, fish sauce, tamarind, and chili oil.
“I’m in,” Chloe said. “But I’m picking what you eat.”
“That sounds dangerous.”
“Says the man who just spent two days eating MREs in the jungle.” She moved toward a stall where an elderly woman was grilling marinated pork skewers over glowing charcoal. “Thai street-food rule number one—if there’s a line of locals, the food is worth the risk.”
She gestured to the food, and the vendor handed over two skewers, fresh off the grill.
“What is it?” he asked as he took it.