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“John’s in the lead,” Savannah explained. “Well, out of the Blackstone team. It’s all on the scoreboard in the barn.”
“Good to know,” Ivy cut in. “I have a session with him tomorrow.” I chuckled at her dark side; it popped up every once in a while.
“See how well you fit in here, Ivy?” Savannah laughed.
“Good evening, everyone.” Dr. Roberts drew the fun his way, but it quickly fizzled out as we took in his worn-out expression. Even his tie was loose at the neck, which in itself was odd, as the doc always looked impeccable. “Forgive me for interrupting, but Ivy, I need a word with you.”
“I was just about to eat. Can it wait?”
“No, I’m afraid this can’t.”
Her face paled, then she set her napkin next to her untouched plate and excused herself.
The table stayed quiet as we all wondered what was going on.
“Cole,” Mia spoke up, “in celebration of Kit Moore coming to the house, maybe we could have a bit of a party out back. It’s getting cooler, and there won’t be much more time to use the lake.”
“Yeah! Can we, Daddy?” Easton squealed.
“I like that.” Cole nodded at Mia then at Savannah, who clearly had a part in it.
“Ty, anything in particular that Moore likes?” Mia pulled out her phone and waited like she was about to take notes.
“Um, food.” I shrugged, the girls rolled their eyes, and the guys shook their heads. “What?”
“Take it from me.” Cole chuckled. “Give details now or regret it later.”
“They’re relentless.” John ducked as Sloane went to swat him as he came back in the room.
“Umm,” I searched my worn-out memory, “IPAs, whiskey, country music, any kind of food, really, no allergies to anything. He always says he hates pickles, but he secretly loves them, and he likes long walks on the beach,” I said, deadpan.
“Long walks on the beach?” Savannah raised an eyebrow.
“That’s what his Tinder says.”
“He has a Tinder account?” Cat covered her mouth.
“He does, thanks to me.” I leaned back in my chair.
“Give me more.” Mark waved for me to go on.
“You have Furbies and tag. I gave Moore a Tinder account.” The table broke out in laughter.
“What did he do to you to get that kind of response?” Mia typed away after the noise died down. “I mean, it must’ve been big.”
“Yeah, that one I take to the grave.” I picked up my plate, stood, and snatched another roll. As I headed to the kitchen, they all shouted that it wasn’t fair I wasn’t sharing the entire story.
After we cleaned up, I caught Cole on his way back to his office.
“Hey, Cole, can I steal a minute?”
“Sure.” We stood in the hall not far from Doc’s office. “Is this a closed-door minute?”
“No,” but I did lower my voice, “Frank gave me a lead on Hill. Some bartender in Washington has information about my last tour and Brown. I’d like permission to chase that lead on my free time.”
“I’m good with that.” He nodded. “Just keep me in the loop and let me know if you need anything. I’d like to help where I can.” I was a bit surprised by his offer, and it must have shown on my face. “Your problems are Shadows problems now, Ty. That’s how it works here. If it was any one of our Blackstone brothers who was killed by a fellow soldier, nothing would stop us. Heads would roll until we got to the bottom of it.”
“Copy that.” I held out my hand and he shook it.
