“Okay,” Jonah replies with awe in his gaze. “I’m officially impressed.”
“She’s also whip-smart and determined, and—”
“Okay, okay, I get it,” Jonah laughs. “She’s perfect, and you’re whipped.”
“Yeah, that pretty much sums it up.” I chuckle.
“Does this mean you’re not joining us at Peak Securities?” Jonah asks, trying to mask the slight sadness in his voice.
“I don’t know,” I admit. “Things with Phoebe… They may not pan out, and even if they do, I don’t know how or where.”
“Yeah, I get that.”
“No, you don’t. You and Sawyer are the eternally single types.” I roll my eyes. “How are you feeling, by the way?”
“The pain is mostly gone, the nightmares…” He trails off with a shrug, staring at his almost empty glass as he twists it in his hand. “They haven’t been as bad in the past few months, though. It’s been easier since you got back, you know?”
“Yeah, I do,” I reply with a heavy sigh. “Not having to explain or even talk about it…”
“Yeah. My brothers mean well, but what happened the day I was injured…” Jonah shakes his head and downs what’s left of his beer.
“I’m glad you’re doing better.”
“I didn’t mean for that to sound as if I were using my injury as leverage to make you stay,” Jonah provides, bending over the bar to place his empty glass in the sink.
“I know,” I assure him. “And even if you were—I gave Phoebe up once because of guilt over what I thought other people wanted from me, I’m not about to do it twice.”
“Good. I’d hate myself if you did,” Jonah declares.
“Want to eat?” I ask with a grin, changing the subject.
“Always.” Jonah hops off his stool with a smirk. “Brenda’s?”
“Absolutely.” I clap him on the back. “And Jonah? Thanks for making the trip to check in on me.”
“You saved my life, Andrew.” He scowls at me. “I can make a thirty-minute drive for you.”
“Well, I still appreciate it,” I insist, and Jonah graces me with a small nod in response.
“Come on, I’m starving.” He’s already walking toward the exit, and I examine him from the back as I follow, a revelation suddenly striking me.
Pulling out my phone, I shoot Phoebe a text to drop by the bar in the evening, and that I have someone I want her to meet.
Chapter Fourteen
Phoebe
I walk through the doors to the bar, and like an overdone cliché in a western movie, everyone falls silent and turns to stare at me.
“Seriously?” I sigh, making my way to the tables in the back, giving as good as I get to the people brave enough to keep staring when I get closer, and by the time I find my way to where Andy’s seated, I figure they’ve gotten the “lay off” message loud and clear, as the natural bar bustle is already back in full swing.
“You make quite the entrance, Curls.” Andy grins and indicates the man seated in the booth across from him. “This is Lieutenant Jonah Peak. We were stationed together all the way through, starting with Bootcamp. He was my unit’s paramedic.”
“Nice to meet you, Jonah.” I offer my hand and receive a firm shake and a warm smile, little crinkles appearing at the corner of his dark eyes. “You on leave?”
“Uh, no, I’ve been out for eighteen months.” He side-glances at Andy.
“What am I getting you?” Andy indicates the bar.
“Any local brews?” I try my luck, knowing I scored when Andy breaks into a grin.
“You always know what to order. It’s like a superpower.” He stands, placing his hand on the small of my back and guiding me to the bench he was just on. The firm touch feels warm even through the fabric of my dress, different from any contact we’ve shared so far as if this touch has an intent that wasn’t present before.
“Kind of like your exclusive ‘mind-reading?’” I air quote, hoping the sarcasm hides the upraise of unexpected emotions Andy’s lingering palm awakened.
“Exactly!” he exclaims, the gleam in his eyes, making it clear that he doesn’t buy my miserable attempt to throw him off.
“Just get me my beer,” I huff in irritation, plopping down into the booth.
“Huh,” Jonah observes as he watches Andy make his way to the bar.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I grumble, grabbing a nacho from the basket in the middle of the table and dipping it in salsa, watches Jonah as his eyes follow Andy to the bar before turning them back to me. I realize they’re not just dark, the color of his iris’s is practically black, his chestnut hair is shaven on the sides but grown out at the top in a neat trim, and despite being sure he’s younger than us by a few years, there’s a heaviness to him that makes it seem as if the world crushed the life out of him.
“That it’s been a while since I’ve seen that side of Andy.” Jonah picks up his beer and stares at it for a second before taking a sip.
“Let me guess,” I quip. “Five years, give or take?”
“Since our first deployment,” Jonah corrects me. “I know you think this is all about you, and a lot of it probably is—”
“But?”
“But we all went through our own version of hell out there,” Jonah finishes, rather reluctantly it seems. “Me? You’ll see me limping to the men’s room in a bit, and the only reason I can even do that is Andrew and Sawyer.”
“Is that how Andy got his Medal of Honor?” I wonder, and Jonah nods in response.
“Look, I can’t even begin to fathom what this thing between you two is.” Jonah leans back with a sigh. “As Andrew so keenly observed, I’m a bit of an eternal bachelor, but I reckon he wanted us to meet because he wants me to tell you things that are too hard for him to tell you himself.”
“It doesn’t work that way, Jonah.”
“I figured, and I wouldn’t presume to be able to tell his story any more than he would be able to tell mine.” Jonah shrugs. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to make that visit I mentioned earlier.”
He stands, and I examine his tall and lean frame as he downs the remainder of his beer before nodding at me and turning toward the back of the bar. I watch him as he walks away, his right leg visibly more rigid than his left, and even while I wonder how he was injured, my eyes betray me and wander on their own accord to the direction of the bar, locking onto Andy’s as he approaches the table.
“Have I told you how beautiful you look tonight?” He slides next to me and hands me a beer, placing another where Jonah was seated.
“We haven’t gotten to the bullshit part of the evening yet.” I clink my bottle against his and take a sip. “Holy crap.”
“You really have to find a new way to describe your amazement of the local food and beverage selection.” Andy chuckles. “And no bullshit.”
“Why’d you ask me to come here tonight?” I turn to face him. “To meet Jonah?”