Way of the Warrior (Troubleshooters #17.5)(100)

“Do we have to rehash this?” He knew his face betrayed the wealth of emotion he had for Alisha.

She clapped her hands together. “I knew it! Another point for my intuition. That’s great, Jonah!”

“No, it isn’t,” grumbled Jonah. No man wanted his heart to be worn on his sleeve for the whole world to see. It was simpler and much safer to keep those emotions hidden.

“Don’t be like that,” said Julie. “I’ve known you for a lot of years, and not once have I ever heard you talk about a lady. And now I know why.”

He rolled his eyes. “Drop it, will ya? I didn’t come up here to deal with Alisha.”

“Whatever! I’m poking at this bear until he growls. Ah, let’s see what else can I find out.” She grinned at him.

Jonah frowned. That was the problem with military wives, the good ones knew when someone was running a line of bullshit and they were determined to get to the truth and make that stream run clear. Shit! If Alisha ever learned to read him that well, he was doomed. “You’re not going to be happy unless I bare my soul, are you?”

She nodded her head, and Julie’s smile could light up San Diego. “I’ll tell you what; we can make a trade. You can ask me any question about Alisha, but I get to do the same in return.”

He sighed. He knew when he was cornered, but maybe he could delay revealing anything too personal. And, if he played it right, he just might get some good Intel out of Julie.

? ? ?

“I got it.” Kevin snapped the phone shut and smiled at Alisha. “Sorry to interrupt our chat, but that was one of the best phone calls of my life.”

“No worries,” said Alisha. “What did you get?”

“Hug me, first.” He opened his arms.

She leapt into them and hugged him enthusiastically and then stood back up and waited. To her, Kevin was the brother she had always wanted growing up. Now, with all of her family gone, the relationship with Julie and Kevin was even more precious.

“Alisha, that’s the best thing. You’re willing to celebrate without even knowing why.” Kevin tipped his chair back slightly and spun around.

Alisha sat down on a box full of books, so Kevin wouldn’t have to tilt his neck back at an uncomfortable angle. “Stop with crap-tastic stuff, and tell me about it. I’m not waiting until the rest of them get back to hear this big news. Your smile is practically taking up your whole face.”

He nodded. “Okay. So, you know how I’ve been going to support meetings sponsored by the Wounded Warrior Project. Well, some sponsors from Southern California got together and set up a job fair for the men and women in the programs. One of the companies had an opening. And, it’s not just any job, but the position I’ve been dreaming about with an aerospace company that’s working on an advanced return flight craft that is both space and seaworthy. Alisha, this is exactly what I’ve been looking for! It’s less than an hour from here driving on back roads, so the commute is easy, too.”

“Oh my goodness, what fun!” exclaimed Alisha. “You must be thrilled.”

“I am,” said Kevin with a nod. “Jonah is going to be green with envy.”

“Why?” Alisha shifted her weight. Every time Jonah’s name came up she wanted to scream and yell, and yet at the same time, she craved information. Why couldn’t she forget about this man in all these years? She knew she didn’t want to answer that question.

Kevin chuckled. “As you know, we went to engineering school together. It was the best and worst experience at the same time. Labs at seven in the morning and professors who enjoyed making us sweat—worse than boot camp. Then, we were forced to devise something unique to develop a master’s thesis on; in this day and age when practically everything has been done to death, too.” He sighed. “I’m glad school’s over, nothing could convince me to get a doctorate.”

“So, why will Jonah be jealous?”

“Because he’s a huge Jacques Cousteau fan, and that’s one of the main reasons he wanted to be a SEAL. He loves marine life, conservation, and…this is the most important part…he felt there was a link between outer space and water. I bet he’d give his eye teeth to be a part of this project.” Kevin did a wheelie. “Dang, I can hardly wait ’til they get back.”

“Cool!” she said. The need for more information had questions tripping off her tongue. Besides, Kevin loved retelling his stories. “Did you both get a master?s degree from…?”

“MIT for the master’s and we both went to Stanford for undergrad.”

“Wow.” Now, that was impressive. “Brainiacs.”

“Yeah, well, we were the two scholarship kids. I went into the Marine Corps to pay for my education, and Jonah joined the Navy, but only after we’d both gotten exactly what we wanted out of our educations. Ultimately, both of us wanted to be astronauts and go into space or be deep sea divers and work in the ocean.” Kevin took off his left glove and rubbed his hand. “Hey, I’m going to head out to the car and get my water bottle.”

Alisha could see how raw his fingers were from all the extra work he’d done. She stood up quickly. “No way! I’ll get it.” She’d do anything for him.

“It’s in the cup holder,” he shouted after her, before she disappeared out the door.