The Family Gathering (Sullivan's Crossing #3)(26)

That was the end of everything. There was no ongoing relationship or friendship with her family or her friends. He felt like he lived in a black hole, but he was back in training, then deployed, then sucked back into a world where someone in a chronic angry or dark mood didn’t stand out. He was lured back in time to his first experience in the Army, when the best thing he could do to leave the past behind was to be the best, to achieve. One day, sometimes one hour at a time, he moved on.

He’d never talked about it. There was never an opportunity to say, “I was in love with the most incredible woman and she died a violent death, and I will never be the same.”

*

When Sidney got home, the house was quiet except for the rhythmic purr of her brother’s snore. He sat on the end of the sofa, feet up on the ottoman, book in his lap. She smiled to herself. If she’d been paying closer attention, she would bet he hadn’t read an entire chapter in a month. But he was diligent. He kept trying. He probably got home from the bar at about eleven, took off his shoes, propped up his feet and read. He worked such long days, he never lasted long.

She touched Rob’s knee and his eyes popped open. He stared at her for a second, then he grunted and sat up straighter. “Time’s it?” he asked.

“Almost twelve.” She sat down in the chair at the end of the sofa, kicked her shoes off and put her feet up. They each had their own ottoman, like an old married couple. “Are you home early or late?”

“I came home at dinnertime for about a half hour, got the boys fed and went back to work. They went to a ball game with the Rogers boys. I knocked off at eleven to be here when they get home. Mitch is closing the bar. Trace is cleaning up.”

“If you’d told me, I could have arranged to be home for them,” she said.

“No one really has to be home for them. They know how to unlock a door and lock it up again. But I wanted to hear about the game. And...you know...be here. Late for you, isn’t it? You have a big crowd tonight?”

She shook her head. “Pretty regular. But I tricked Dakota Jones into helping out, then I had coffee and cake with him.”

Rob looked startled. “Is that so?”

“Don’t get that look,” she said. “It was just coffee. He’s been pestering me for a while now. It couldn’t hurt.”

Rob put his feet on the floor. “Sid, you don’t have to be alone forever.”

“Neither do you,” she said.

“I’m not trying to be,” he said. “I’ve had dates...”

“I think you’ve had hookups, but I make no judgment,” she said. “But dates?”

“I’m low-key about it, that’s all. I don’t want the boys to get all up in my business about lady friends. It’s not like I have a lot of spare time.”

“You’ve had dates? Actual dates?” she asked. “Like where you go out to do something, like dinner or something?”

He let his chin drop in a brief nod.

“Like who?” she asked.

He gave a helpless shrug. “That woman from the kitchen supply warehouse—Tricia. I took her out three or four times. But she made it pretty clear she was looking for something with a future. Then there’s a friend in Aurora who is the opposite. She doesn’t want a serious relationship. That’s working out a little better. It’s been ten years,” he said, speaking of his wife’s passing.

Sid’s mouth stood open. “You never once said...”

“What? That I’m ordering kitchen supplies and going out to dinner? Here’s what I say, Sid. I say where I’m headed, approximately when I’ll be back and that I’ll have my cell if anyone needs me. If it’s you or the boys, I pick up if I can. If it’s work, I might call back in ten minutes. After I listen to the message.”

“You never said you were going to see a woman!”

“Was that important?” he asked. “You’ve lived here with us for a little over a year. You’ve come a long way from that dark period. Your divorce has only been final for about a year and that was a challenge—that bastard was going to wring every last dime out of you. You were adamant that you weren’t looking for another relationship and I don’t blame you, after all you went through, though at the end you came out of that joke of a marriage with your purse. Thank God for decent judges. But you didn’t want to meet men and you refused those who showed any interest.

“My situation is completely different,” he went on. “I have a hundred reasons to be discreet. I’m a busy guy and a business owner. I have kids and I don’t particularly want someone else’s kids, too. I hate fix-ups and that’s the first thing that happens when you admit you’re open to the idea of dating. I avoid complicated women... Should I go on?”

“All this time, you’ve had a sex life,” she said.

“All this time, for the last six or eight years, I’ve had a private life that sometimes includes sex, and not nearly as often as I’d like. What does this have to do with you? Have you been avoiding the opposite sex for me?” he asked.

“Of course not,” she said. “It’s just that...the first time I accept a date for a cup of coffee, I come clean! All this time you’ve been completely normal!”

“Normal for my situation, maybe. Not optimal but all right. Tell me about Dakota? Is he a nice guy?”