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“He’s good like that,” I tried not to chuckle, but I failed miserably.
“You find that funny, do you?” He gave me a side eye.
“Maybe a little,” I shrugged, “but he is a professional, and always has been. He’ll take everything he’s ever heard to the grave. It was the number one thing he instilled in me when I told him I wanted to follow in his footsteps.”
“Shit,” he muttered more to himself, “to think about the stuff I said about you.”
“Bad things?” I probed.
“No,” he smirked, “just what you do to me.”
“Which is?”
“I’ll have to show you later.” I wiggled my eyebrows and hoped he would. “Does anyone else know who Doc is to you?”
“Just the ones who need to know. The rest of the team doesn’t, nor do the wives. That’s the way we want it to stay for as long as we can.”
“Fair enough.” He seemed to let it go, but a few times I caught him glancing my way.
Another text popped up.
Frank: I’ll be back at HQ by one. Find me when you arrive.
I read the text to Ty as I wrote him back.
Ivy: Will do.
“Should we stop for lunch?”
“Sure.”
During lunch, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of normalcy as we ate together. Ty and I talked for a while about regular things, just like normal people.
“So, you met my sister.” He leaned back when the waiter removed his dish.
“Yes.” I twisted my napkin and dropped it on the table. I was interested in how he felt about that. I knew how private he was. “Shelly seemed very nice.” I studied his face. “You don’t talk about your family much.”
“No.”
“Why is that?”
“Is this you asking? Or the doctor asking?”
“It’s a normal question to ask.” I felt my back go up, but I forced it back down, realizing he had family issues.
“That right there.” He pointed to my shoulders. “Most people would get defensive if I gave them a comment like that. You did at first, until the doctor part of you kicked in. Do you think I suffer from some sort of guilt for going to war, leaving them?” I leaned back in my seat and studied him. It was interesting to hear him try to psychoanalyze me. He raised an eyebrow and continued. “Like, for example, I don’t want to be here. I like being in Afghanistan. I like living in the mountains, waking up each day knowing I survived yesterday.” I couldn’t help but feel a little stung by the way he kept using present tense. “I know it’s hard on my family, though. I see it on my mom’s face whenever I leave. I don’t care enough, I guess, because I know it’s where I belong.”
“What draws you there?” I kept my voice void of emotion.
“So, the doctor is at home.” He gave a little laugh as his tongue licked his teeth. He suddenly looked annoyed, and I wished I hadn’t dug further.
“Says the guy who chose to answer my general question as if he was across the couch from me,” I tossed back then felt bad about it. “Ty, you brought up your sister, and asking about your family is a girlfriend thing to do. You wanted us to take our relationship to the next level, so that’s all I wanted to do. Sorry if I slipped into work mode.”
“Yeah, sorry I tripped out. We’ll have to have a proper session later.” He chuckled his apology, and I tried to shrug off my frustration.
My phone pinged, and I flipped it over to see Frank’s name.
Frank: Where are you?
