Way of the Warrior (Troubleshooters #17.5)(101)

She was back in a flash. She handed him the water bottle and watched him take a long drink before clearing her throat. “Um, can you tell me more about…Jonah?”

Kevin’s gaze locked on hers. He raised his eyebrows. “Caught your interest, huh? I knew it. Thought there was some chemistry during the wedding. But you never asked anything. Why now?”

“I don’t know,” she scoffed. “The wedding was like…years ago. I just was wondering what has been going on with him. You know, to have a friendly conversation with him.” Friendly! What possessed me to say that! Truthfully, I want to kick him in the ass.

“Right,” he said skeptically. “Let’s see…”

? ? ?

Jonah could barely contain his laughter. The stories Julie was sharing about Alisha were a riot. He loaded the food from Romano’s into his truck and then pulled out of the parking space, taking the short way out of town toward home. As much as he wanted to keep pumping Julie for info, cold food was no fun.

“The house was supposed to be a light periwinkle, and she painted the walls bright Barney purple. The owners had a fit. You should have heard them yelling, but none of that fazed Alisha. She just hustled them out of the house. Told them that they needed to wait until her whole vision was complete, and if they hated it then, she would completely redo it.” Julie took several short breaths. “I nearly lost it when they came back two days later and congratulated her on a job well done. Seriously, Alisha pulled off Barney-colored walls, and these people ended up loving it.”

“She really found her niche. Seems like the past few years have been good for her.” Jonah turned down a side road.

Julie quieted. “Sort of. I mean, professionally, yeah, she’s been great. The happiest I’ve ever seen her. But personally, no.”

“In terms of relationships…” He hated asking that question. Honestly, he didn’t want to know. He’d rather think Alisha had been celibate for all the years they’d been apart. She was a beauty, though, and there was no doubt in his mind that she’d had plenty of suitors knocking at her door.

“I shouldn’t tell you this,” she said flatly. “Her past few boyfriends have been a disaster. Beyond the worst of the worst, and now she doesn’t even want to date anymore. I think part of her has been holding out for you.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” said Jonah. And yet, he wasn’t. On one hand he wanted her happy, but he also wanted her with him. But could it really work? The reason he left her that night had to do with his job—she said that she didn’t want to be with a military guy, and he wasn’t leaving his career. He knew the core of him would forever be a SEAL—that wasn’t ever going away whether he was active duty or retired. How did one get past a major roadblock like that? In his mind, you didn’t.

? ? ?

“Well, Jonah’s a good guy. I’ve known him for years. He’s the one who talked me into going to the Wounded Warriors and the Housing Project for help. He’s been involved with both of them for a long time. Seems a friend of his, Declan Swifton, Master Chief from Team FIVE, needed help modifying his house and consulted the groups. Now, a lot of the Team guys contribute some muscle on their downtime or vacations. I’ve gotten a bunch of my Marine Corps friends involved, too.”

Kevin took a long, slow breath. “It makes a difference, knowing that other people want to see you heal and succeed. I’ve got a lot of pride, and I didn’t think I’d be able to handle reaching out for help, but what I learned is that a strong person reaches and a coward stays locked away and silent.”

Alisha leaned over and hugged him. “I’m glad you reached out. Otherwise, the two of you would still be renting and it would be FOREVER before I could decorate a place for you. Speaking of which, I just need ten more minutes and then the kitchen is done. I’d like to check it off my list before they get back.”

“Go for it, my sister,” egged Kevin. “I’m going to make a few calls, if you need me.”

“Righto,” said Alisha cheerily as she went back to her kitchen tasks. She was glad that they’d talked. Speaking with Kevin had been enlightening. She wondered what had prevented her from doing this sooner.

Her mind shouted an answer. Ego, my dear. It always comes back to ego.

Alisha sighed as she picked up the paintbrush and went back to completing the celery trim. So true.





CHAPTER 4


Dinner had been relaxing. In essence, it was a replay of years ago, before that fateful night when Jonah and Alisha had hooked up. All of them were laughing and enjoying each other’s company so much that it took some doing on both of their parts to get Kevin and Julie out the door so the house projects could be completed. Reminding the happy couple that tomorrow was moving day as well as a celebration for the volunteers had made Julie stress out, and she willingly dragged Kevin back to their rental.

The silence after the Tomses left was almost deafening, and Jonah wanted to be the bigger person and break it. “I’m sorry,” he said to Alisha as they cleaned up the empty plates and containers from dinner.

She stilled. “For what?”

“Damn,” he said. “You’re not going to make this easy, are you?”

“I thought, ‘The only easy day was yesterday,? if I’m quoting the SEAL adage correctly.” Alisha wiped her hands on a napkin and put it in the bag with the rest of the trash.