“Oorah,” Trex said, putting on his helmet before mounting up and twirling his finger in the air.

chapter eighteen

Suds

Naomi

I

hugged my cousins goodbye, ignoring the tugging in my chest that warned me what the house would feel like once they drove away. They were always welcome. Almost anyone was welcome, but filling the house with people and laughter made the quiet that much worse when they left.

I hugged my middle, standing on the porch until they were out of sight. I couldn’t bring myself to go inside.

As soon as their vehicle disappeared, another pulled into the drive. I smiled, relief washing over me.

“Hey,” Zeke said, stepping out of his Dodge Ram. He was in a dark wash pair of jeans and a dark gray concert T-shirt, matching the paint on his truck. His black hat was pulled low on his forehead, his black boots loosened and left untied, but he was clean shaven and smelled fresh out of the shower, so I knew the laces were just an attempt to look like he wasn’t trying too hard.

“You look good.”

He smiled. “I feel better.”

“You were sick?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. Had some blood work done when they checked me out after you all bailed us out.”

“But you’ll be okay?”

“Yeah,” he said, dismissing my concern with a quick flick of his hand.

How’s Fish and Smitty?” I asked.

Zeke climbed the steps and stood next to me. “They’ll live. Fish is out for the season.”

“Which ends when?”

“Usually October. Just depends.”

“You wanna come in?”

He grinned. “Yeah.”

I opened the door, and Zeke followed me to the sofa. I sat back, waiting for him to reveal the purpose in his visit.

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and clasping his fingers together. “I just uh … I wanted to thank you. I don’t know whose idea it was, but now that I know you’re Cheyenne Mountain security, I know it probably took an act of congress—literally—to get authorization to leave the facility to save us when a fire is coming your direction.”

“It wasn’t just me. We all wanted to, the whole team. And you’re partly right. It took exactly one congressman to get authorization. But, Zeke, you guys can’t talk about our jobs. You can’t ask, and you can’t tell Darby. She had a thing about soldiers, and Trex is trying to let her get to know him first before he tells her that part.”

He hesitated. “Is Trex cool, though? He really cares about her?”

“He worships her.”

An awkward silence settled between us, but I was still beyond glad he was there.

He pushed himself to say what he’d been silently mulling over. “Can I ask if it’s—your job I mean—if it’s safe? Are you safe?”

“Are you?”

“Obviously not.”