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“Something smells good.” Grey catches my attention as he saunters into the cafeteria, with Grizz following behind.
“Perfect timing. Grizz, can you help Dana in the kitchen? And I need your help grabbing the cups for everyone.” Jessa smiles, all business, as she enters the room with an armful of plates, and the men jump into action.
“I thought you guys were on first duty.” Logan speaks to Grey and Grizz as he enters.
Grey smiles. “Word travels fast that we’re getting a real meal. Hunter and Waldo are out there until six, so we’re going to eat fast then relieve them and send them in for theirs. We’ll take 1800 hours until 0300 hours. Then they’ll do 0300 until the late morning shift arrives. Then we all get to eat.”
“Sounds good to me. As long as we’re covered on the grounds. We should have more bodies on base by midmorning. Jack and I will be around for backup overnight as well.” Logan talks as he walks over to me, but I don’t look at him.
I can’t take my eyes off Jessa. She looks so comfortable here, chatting with the guys and carrying bowls of food to the table.
“How is she?” Logan asks. Neither of us looks at the other.
“She seems good. I think some time with Dana today helped. I don’t know if she’s remembered anything else. But she knows we need to know, so I think she’d tell us if she did. I’ll talk to her about it in the morning.”
“Okay. Listen, I was thinking maybe we should set up a meeting with her tomorrow.” Logan eases into his suggestion, and my back goes straight. He continues before I have a chance to reject his idea. “Not an interrogation, Jack. A meeting. A real sit-down meeting with her. I’d like to start bringing her in on some of the things we know about Maxwell. We need to work together on this. I know you feel the same way. Maybe we could talk with her for a bit after breakfast. Our away teams don’t need us on comms until noon, and our backup team isn’t scheduled to arrive until later in the day, so we’ll be free.”
I pause to consider his words.
It’s a start. I want nothing more than to work with her. It’s the only way I can fully protect her.
“I think that’s a good idea. I’ll mention it to her in the morning,” I say as I watch everyone walk out of the kitchen with their arms full of food.
“Soup’s on!” Dana exclaims as bowls are placed around the tables, which have been pushed together to create one large eating area.
“Wow, ladies. This smells amazing. You know you didn’t have to go through this much trouble. Most of us would probably be happy with a box of mac and cheese that’s cooked properly.” I pull out a chair for Jessa and watch as Grizz does the same for Dana.
Grey feels the need to explain himself. “That was one time! It was my first time cooking for you guys, and I was nervous, and…” The rest of his sentence is drowned out with laughter as chairs slide along the floor.
“Interesting story. That’s how Grey got his nickname. Isn’t that right, Trent?” I use Grey’s real name, and he shoots me a glare.
“Hey. I was so focused on making a good impression that my mind was elsewhere. I wasn’t paying attention.”
“You made an impression all right,” Grizz cuts in.
“Anyway, long story short, it didn’t quite turn out.” Grey pauses, and Logan steals his thunder.
“Let’s just say I never knew macaroni and cheese could be that color: grey,” Logan finishes, and both women try to contain their laughter.
“And what’s worse is, you all told me I got my nickname because the greyhound is the fastest dog in the world. I ate that bull up for months before I found out. Now I like the name, and that’s just not right,” Grey retorts, drawingawwws of sympathy from the ladies.
As the giggles die down, Dana jumps in. “It was Jessa’s idea. I miss cooking and baking. I always do the cooking for the two of us.” Dana glances quickly to Jessa.
“She does. And she is a great cook. She could be one of those amazing chefs from TV if, you know, we weren’t running from—everyone.” Jessa defers to me to gauge how inappropriate her comment might be.
I smile, and Logan surprisingly jumps in.
“I can see how that would be a problem.” He smiles at both of the women and reaches across the table for a bun, breaking the tension as everyone relaxes.
Jessa returns his smile. “Anyway, dinner will be delicious, but my favorite is Dana’s baking. She made a chocolate cake with the most delicious chocolate icing.”
“Are you telling me we have the ingredients to make that? Like, here, in this kitchen?” Grey asks in absolute shock.
“You don’t need much. You have enough here for a lot of things. It’s actually a chocolate ganache. I’m thinking of making cupcakes next time.” Dana beams back at her best friend, then looks around the table. “What are you waiting for?”
Grey and Grizz take a quick glance at each other and dig in, leaving their formalities at the door. They only have ten minutes before Waldo and Hunter come walking through those doors.
Cutlery clinks against plates, and the conversation falls off as everyone eats. As I look from Jessa to Dana, then around the table, I notice a stark difference.
