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“Oh, God,” Jack cried. “Please, breathe.”
In the next instant, he inhaled a breath and opened his eyes. Jack was almost in tears. “I’m okay,” he rasped. “Nightmares.” She sat down next to him, and he pulled her to his chest. “I’m okay, Jack,” he said, his voice coming back, the memory of his near-death drowning fading.
“What happened?”
“Nightmares,” he said again. “It’ll pass. It always does.”
She pushed off him to look into his eyes. “That sucks,” she whispered. Smoothing her hand over his jaw. “If you’re still hungry, dinner is ready.”
“Yeah, sure.”
“I’ll bring it out. The table is set.”
He nodded and she rose. “You’re sure you’re all right?”
He nodded again. He rose, walked to his duffel, pulled out underwear and a pair of gray shorts, and slipped them on. In the bathroom, he ran the cold water and splashed it on his face. That’s not the way his vision ended in Diepolder. He stared at his haggard face in the mirror. He closed his eyes. In the vision his dad had been there by then, took out his respirator, and shoved his in. Easy had breathed in and out, then some more, and his head started to clear. His dad buddy breathed with him through the whole thing until they emerged from the cave.
Stumped at the return of these strange memories, Easy dried his face and left the bathroom. He went to the French doors near the table and pressed his forearm to the frame and stared out. Lightning flashed off in the distance like a light show. It was their destination, but still miles and miles away: the Catatumbo River, and along with that river came the elemental phenomenon that occurred over the marshlands where lightning storms discharged hundreds of thousands of times over the course of the year. It was called the Maracaibo Beacon. It was where he would meet up with the team.
Warm arms wrapped around his torso from behind and squeezed. “You should eat something. We’ve been going on meager food for a couple of days.” He covered her hand and turned, smiling at her. “You managing me, Queen Damsel?”
“Yes, and you must obey. Besides, I found some delicious ingredients in that overstuffed fridge. It would be a damn shame to let them go to waste.” Her tone was light, but he could hear the undertone. His nightmares had upset her. Maybe it was time he really talked about it, not glossed over it like he had with his Aunt Helen and the team.
Then the aroma penetrated his troubled thoughts, and his stomach rumbled. Jack tilted her head. “See.”
He turned to find the table set with burgers, fries, coleslaw, and avocado salad. “This looks amazing. You really can cook.”
“Yes, I can. I did most of the cooking when I lived with my parents because my mom was working all the time.”
“This is really nice, Jack.”
She walked to the table, and he went to pull out her chair. She looked over at him with surprise, then banked it and sat down. He took his own seat.
“I made you two burgers. You look like a two-burger guy.”
He smiled and nodded. “I am.” He filled his plate and picked up one of the burgers and bit into it, then had to close his eyes in ecstasy. “Damn,” he said after chewing and swallowing. “That’s so good. I’d say you elevated burgers here.”
“Truffle burgers. Whoever lived here knew how to live large. I made truffle sauce instead of ketchup and used Gruyère cheese instead of American.”
“Really good.” He polished off everything including the chocolate mousse she made and sat back.
“Your dad and mom must have been sad to see you go.”
“Yeah, they were. Made me feel good. But it wasn’t cooking that I really enjoyed.”
“What was it then?”
“Biology. Specifically, plant botany. I love plants and all the stuff about them. How they propagate, how they get nutrients, and how they thrive. I had a small garden in the backyard, but my parents didn’t keep it up when I left.”
She reached out and clasped his hand. “Enough about me, Easy. What was going on when I woke you up? Is it something you can talk about?”
She’d had the courage to tell him about her deepest fears and her flaws. He rose and reached for her hand. “Let’s go sit,” he said gruffly.
She followed him and folded down to the comfy sofa with him. She gently brushed his hair from his forehead, her voice husky with concern. “You can tell me anything, too, Easy…Matthew.”
Warmed by the pressure of her body next to his, he caught her hand and pressed it to his chest.
Jack laced her fingers through his and Easy tightened his hold, then closed his eyes and began stroking her palm with his thumb. The memories sat squarely in the middle of his chest, haunting him. He started withSurvivor, the leap from the helicopter, and the takedown of the pirates, leaving out locations and mission information.
