The following week was a busy one. With Max away on his honeymoon, the rest of us who were company commanders stretched to cover his men and duties, too. Derek was only just now back to full-time duty after his long recovery from the freak accident at Air Assault school, so all of us were still lending him a hand as well.
It had taken me some maneuvering, but I’d managed to free up my Wednesday night to take Jacey out to dinner. All that day, I had a spring in my step, and I caught myself whistling as I went about my many tasks.
“You’re in a good mood today, sir,” Lieutenant Ross, one of my platoon leaders, observed with a smile as we walked the back of the range, where one platoon was working on qualifications. “It’s a bitch of a week with all the extra duty. I figured we’d all be growling and grousing every day. What’s your secret? Got a hot date tonight?”
Because it was just my luck, right as he said that, Kade passed by us. He paused mid-step, shooting me a raised-eyebrow look. I knew what that expression meant. He was not-so-subtly reminding me of my vow not to talk about his sister the way we did about other women.
“Um, I do have a date tonight, with a beautiful woman. Beautifulandintelligent. She’s a wonderful woman, and I’m very lucky that she agreed to go out with me.” I glanced at Kade.
“Captain Hughes, are you saying my sister isn’t hot?” With a smirk, Kade crossed his arms, challenging me to talk my way out of this one. “Is that what I can take from your answer to Lietenant Ross?”
“Sir—you’re taking out Captain Braggs’ sister?” Ross’s eyes were huge in disbelief.
“I am.” My good mood was quickly disappearing. “Did you need anything else, Ross?”
“Uh, no, sir. Thanks.” The lieutenant sprinted away, and inwardly I rolled my eyes, knowing this news was going to travel fast and far among the battalion. Soldiers were bigger gossips than a bunch of old ladies.
“Thanks for that.” I glowered at Kade. “Seriously. I was trying to do the right thing, and you throw me under the bus like that? What the fuck?”
“Hey.” He spread his hands. “All I did was ask a question. You’re the one who made the point ofnotsaying Jacey is hot.” He nodded slowly, his eyes crinkling on the corners. “It’s comforting to me that you’re only interested in her very sexy ... mind.”
I could see that I wasn’t going to win this, no matter what I said. “That’s exactly right, Kade. That’s what I see in Jacey. We’re going out tonight, and we’re going to talk philosophy and literature. Matter of fact, some of those kinds of discussions take a long, long time, so don’t worry if Jacey is late getting back to your house. You can go to bed with the perfect assurance that we’re only connecting ... on a mental level.” I leaned forward and winked.
Kade’s face darkened. “That’s not cool, Owen. You made a promise to me.”
“I did, and I’m keeping it.” I pulled my hat out of my pocket and fitted it back onto my head. “I don’t know what you could see wrong in what I just said, unless your mind is in the gutter.”
Whistling once again, I strode away, snickering to myself.Point Hughes.
That sense of victory lasted until four-forty-five that afternoon, when Colonel Debbings called me. I was just getting ready to leave my office and head to the barracks to shower and get ready for my date. I answered my phone with trepidation; nothing good ever came of a call just before five in the afternoon.
“Owen, I need you to head back over to the range. Kade’s got a couple of Max’s platoons over there, and Lieutenant Norman’s wife just went into labor. They need another supervising officer.”
I stood for a moment, my eyes closing as suspicion and irritation waged for the upper hand. Kade wouldn’t sabotage my night with his sister, would he? I thought of the way he’d looked earlier today.Maybe...
Tamping down the disappointment, I told the colonel I was on my way. And then I paused to text Jacey, explaining that I’d been kept late and would call her when I was leaving. I apologized as well as I could over text, but I was careful not to mention Kade.
Jacey:Don’t worry—I know how the Army is. I’ll be here, and if you end up being there too late, we can always go out tomorrow night. ?
When I arrived at the range, Kade glanced at me with a mix of guilt and regret. “Hey, Owen. Sorry about this. Norman’s wife called just as we got here, and he had to take off.”
“Yeah, and there was no one else who could step in, huh? I was the only one around. Don’t you find that a little coincidental, considering our conversation earlier today?”
His eyebrows shot up, and he pressed a hand to his chest. “Dude, I didn’t make the call. The colonel was the one who told me she’d send you down. Apparently, she checked around, and you were the only one not already on duty. Don’t get pissy with me, buddy.”
I growled under my breath and spent the next two hours standing around, supervising the troops who were qualifying. It was loud and mind-numbingly boring, and my mood wasn’t at all helped by Kade, whose position and expression mirrored my own.
By the time I could leave, I didn’t even bother saying good-bye. Instead, I hurried straight to my car, dialing my phone as I walked.
“Jacey, I’m so sorry about tonight,” I began.
“Hey, seriously, don’t worry.” Her voice was low and warm, and suddenly I couldn’t wait to see her again. “Like I said, I’m used to the Army. Kade’s schedule is never his own.”
“I know it’s too late for our dinner, but I wondered if I could come pick you up and take you for coffee and dessert? There’s a little diner in town that I know, and the chef there makes killer chocolate chip cookies.”
“Now you’re speaking my language.” She laughed. “I’ll be waiting.”
Fifteen minutes later, I pulled up in front of Kade and Leah’s house, hopped out of the car and jogged up the front walk. Jacey opened the door before I could knock, her pretty face lighting up with a smile.
