All the Right Moves(67)

Cassie tried to figure out what he meant, but she couldn’t. “What life would that be?”

“I knew you guys thought I was crazy to join the air force. I said it was for school, and it was. But what I didn’t say was that I wanted to go to college so I could become an officer. I wanted to be an officer in the air force for my career.”

“Tommy, why didn’t you say anything?”

“You already thought I was a fool. And when I got hurt, I knew you were right.”

“I never thought that,” she said.

“Mom and Dad did.”

“Yeah, well, they haven’t exactly made the best decisions themselves. I’m just so sorry that your dreams fell through.”

He sighed. Took a big old swig of tonic. “You got me thinking, though. The bar, it’s not the same kind of life or anything, but it’s still something. We have a hell of a customer base for a place with no gaming.”

She smiled. “We sure do. That has a lot to do with you.”

He shrugged. “More to do with you, truth be told. But that’s gonna change. Because I want to see you go after your dreams. You’ll be a great psychologist. You’ve got a way with people. Everyone sees that.”

She didn’t know what to say to him. It was hard to think of dreams coming true when she’d been in so much pain. John hadn’t called her in days. He was already back at work, she knew that. She’d figured he’d at least come and say goodbye. Maybe have a beer on the house.

“Why are you crying?”

Cassie touched her cheek. Wiped away the wetness. “I hadn’t meant to. I haven’t meant to do a lot of things.” God, the water works wouldn’t stop. She’d tried so hard not to cry. Not to care. It had only been a temporary thing. A few days. It made no sense to be heartbroken like this.

“Talk to me, I’ll do my best to listen.”

She sniffed. Used her napkin to wipe her face. “I went and did something so stupid, Tommy. I went and fell in love with that stupid flyboy.”

“Oh, man. Lisa was right.”

“Hmm?”

“She said you were hurting. That if I could put aside my ego for five minutes, I’d see you were in pain. I didn’t want to believe her, because you’ve been so strong. Strong enough for both of us.”

“I don’t feel very strong,” she said. “I haven’t been sleeping too well. He never even—”

Tommy had leaned back, was staring straight past her with a question in his eyes.

Cassie turned to find Lisa hovering right by the jukebox. Her friend jerked her head to the right, and Cassie followed the nod.

Standing just inside the doorway, Captain John H. Devlin stood tall, dressed in his sharp blue uniform, his cap underneath his arm. He looked like something out of a recruitment brochure, and for a minute, just the sight of him threatened to undo her, but then she noticed the look on his face wasn’t arrogant at all. He looked as if he was hurting.

After he straightened his already stiff back, he approached the table. Stopped just a few feet away. “I’m sorry to interrupt. If this isn’t a good time, I can come back tonight.”

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

“I’d like to speak to you. But I only have an hour. I didn’t want to wait any longer, so I took a chance.”

“Go,” Tommy said. “Go on. Get. You’ll want to hear what the man has to say.”

Shaking, hating that John could probably still see the red in her eyes and the tracks of her tears, she stood up. He breathed out as he waited for her to get to his side. Then he touched her elbow and led her into the farthest corner of the bar.

After a quick look to make sure they were really alone, John caught her gaze. “First, I’m sorry I haven’t called you. That was me being a coward, and I apologize for my unkindness.”

She couldn’t speak just yet, but she managed a nod.

“The truth is, I haven’t stopped thinking about you for more than ten minutes. Not since we talked at my place. In my car. You made me think. I had to get over myself quite a bit to get there, but after a while, I couldn’t deny the truth of your words.

“I’ve decided to reenlist. The air force is where I belong. They need me, and frankly, I need them. But there are some considerations that need to be addressed. And all of them start with you.”

“Me?”

He took her hand in his. “If I do sign up, I’ve been offered an assignment at Nellis as a test pilot. That means I should be stationed here for a long spell. There are no guarantees, but that’s how that program usually plays out. I still might be deployed, there is that to consider, and I can’t promise they won’t change their minds in a couple of months. But God willing and the creek don’t rise, it seems that Vegas will be home for the foreseeable future.