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“We’ll ask our guest, but my guess is he’d feel more comfortable eating outside.”

Might as well show myself now, before their guest showed up. I stepped out of the forest and into the clearing.

“Hello,” I hollered.

“Hey,” Bernie hollered back as I continued to walk toward his house. “Are you Kai Davies? Beau’s brother?”

“That’d be me,” I answered as I stood at the bottom of his stairs to his deck.

“Well, come on up. Been waiting for you. Hope you like steak.”

“I do like steak.”

“How do you like it cooked?”

“Medium rare.”

Bernie chuckled. “Then you made it in time.” He turned back to the grill and took off two of the steaks and put them on a plate.

An attractive middle-aged woman with a silver bob stepped out on the deck, carrying a salad bowl. “What kind of dressing do you like on your salad?”

“Oh wait, Mora, I didn’t ask him if he wanted to eat inside or outside. So, which is it, Kai?” Bernie asked.

“Outside. It’s going to be a beautiful evening.”

Mora settled the bowl in the middle of the table, then she went back inside.

“I suppose you want to talk about Beau. Am I right?” Bernie asked as he poked the baked potatoes with a fork.

“You’re right. Not only do I want any information you might feel comfortable sharing, what I’d like most is for you to set up a FaceTime call between us.”

Bernie nodded at his grill. “Not surprised. Last time I talked to him, he and his team were in Eastern Europe. He shouldn’t have told me that much, but I think he wanted me to know that this mission was ugly. But he was fighting the good fight.”

I frowned. No American troops should be fighting in Eastern Europe. As a member of Delta Force I knew that it was our job to be invisible and do things that nobody else should or could do. But Beau was a Marine, he wouldn’t be doing that…

“What does he do in the Marine Corps?”

Bernie looked over his shoulder at me, taking his time to answer. “Raider.”

Well, that explained that. My brother might not be Delta, but being a Marine Raider was definitely in the ballpark.

“Now sit down for dinner, then we can talk about Beau.”

I liked how Bernie and Mora were together. Nothing overt, but she would touch his shoulder, and he would reach out and squeeze her hand. Then there was the way that they could finish one another’s sentences. I’d gotten the feeling from Lettie that they’d only been together for a couple of years, but they acted like a couple who had been together for decades.

“If you don’t like any of the dressings,” Mora pointed to the three bottles she’d brought out, “I can whip up a something tangy with the balsamic vinegar I have inside.”

“I’m a blue cheese man, so this definitely works.” I snagged the bottle from the middle of the table and poured some onto my salad.

“How are you liking things over at the Whispering Pines?” Bernie asked.

“Great. Actually, wonderful.”

Bernie and Mora both laughed. “You started out at the LeeHy, didn’t you?” Mora asked. “I heard that Derek checked you in.” She gave a delicate shudder.

“Yep,” I sighed. “I heard his parents tried with him, but it didn’t stick.”

“Lovely people. I had him in a couple of my middle school classes. He struggled.”