Silence thickens under the ominous weight of my words.
“He’s dead, Daniel. Six feet under. Killed him with my bare hands.”
“And this?” I lift the sleeve on my opposite arm to reveal the round scar below the top of my shoulder. Marked by jagged edges and raised skin, this entry wound is far less gruesome than the exit wound on my back. “Hostage rescue mission. Captor landed one bullet. But I landed one too. Right between his eyes.”
Daniel leers up at me.
“Am I clear?” I spit.
Teeth clenched, he mumbles, “Yes.”
“You don’t go out with friends and you sure as shit don’t go out with other women. You come to work. You go home. That’s it. I know where you live, Daniel. And if I ever find out you’re not following my rules, Iwillmake a house call. Iwillshow up at your office again.”
I don’t actually know where he lives, but I trust John can get me those details.
Pushing off the desk, I stand back to my full height and adjust my hat. “You should really get some ice on that eye. You look like shit.”
The door slams shut behind me. When I step on the elevator I pull out my phone and finally send off my text to Hannah.
Me
Can I see you tonight?
19
and you’re here because…
Hannah
“Well,well, well. How the turn tables.”
Mom meets my wry smile and pushes the door wide, gesturing for me to come inside. “Har, har,” she says.
I toe off my heels, toss my purse on the entry table. “I’m just saying,youaskedmeto come over. Feels like a milestone moment. Core memory material.”
Rowan wanted to see me tonight. There’s so much I need to tell him about the time I’ve spent with Norm. When I saw the weight he’d been carrying all these years, the guilt punched me right in the gut. It was selfish of me to keep my relationship with his grandfather a secret, and I wish I could go back and start over. Do things right.
I was ready to say yes to his invitation, but then Mom asked me over to watchDirty Dancingand eat pizza. This almost never happens—I knew I couldn’t pass it up.
Rowan understood without complaint. We made plans to see each other tomorrow instead.
Mom deserves an explanation about Norm too. She’d gotten to know him some on the occasions she accompanied me to the VFW. I don’t know if I want to open the full can of worms that was Rowan andmy night together all those years ago, but she at least deserves to know the truth about the connection between the two.
I scrounge up an old college sweatshirt from Mom’s closet and layer it over my work clothes. Folding my hair into a clip, I find Mom on the living room couch. A frozen pizza fresh out of the oven sits on the coffee table, a bowl of popcorn nearby, movie queued up on the screen.
“My gosh, you really pulled out all the stops tonight. I regret to inform you you’re not really my type.” I plop down on the sofa and grab two pieces of pizza. “But I’d love it if we could remain friends.”
She chuckles and slides me a bottle of water. “I thought a mom-daughter movie night was in order.”
I eye her sidelong. “Uh huh, I call BS.”
“My daughter the comedian.”
“I’ll have you know, I gave up a night with a handsome, tattooed soldier for this.” I pass her a slice.
Her face drops. I hide my smile around a bite. “Rowan?” she asks.
Mouth full, I nod.