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He paid, and they drove to a parking lot at one of the public beach access points with bathrooms and showers. After changing, they walked past dozens of beachgoers to find a space to set up their chairs.
“You so have a golfer’s tan,” Erin teased as she sprayed sunscreen on his neck and back.
“It’s been two years since I’ve been to the beach.” Memories of the whole family together at the house they’d rented on nearby Ocean Isle flooded back. The men golfing and fishing. The women spending the days on the beach and reading. A family outing playing mini golf. Everybody boogie boarding the day before a tropical storm came through. The storm kept them inside an entire day, but Jace declared it game day, and they’d played cards for hours. It had been a great vacation and their last one together.
He wasn’t going to tell Erin all that. It was time for him to make new memories too. With her.
“Do you want to walk for a while before we sit?” he asked.
“Sounds good. We’ve been sitting all morning, and it’s going to get hotter the next two hours.”
They went to the water’s edge, where he held her hand as they walked with Erin’s bare feet in the surf. They hadn’t been walking long when she stopped and raised her face to study the sky ahead, then behind them. “I hear a helicopter. I think it’s military.”
“If it’s a Black Hawk, I’ll take credit.”
“Really?”
He shrugged, unable to keep a straight face.
“I see it.” She pointed out over the ocean.
He picked up a large piece of a broken shell and wrote in the sand while she watched the gray dot in the sky fly closer and grow louder.
“Not a Black Hawk,” she said with a sigh as it flew past.
He got to his feet. “I think it’s a Marine Super Stallion.”
“I’m impressed you know that.”
“I’ve jumped from one in joint Special Ops training.”
“Ah. I should have guessed that.” She looked down at their initials in the sand. “You forgot something.”
“What?”
She took the shell from him, crouched, and drew a heart around their initials. “It’s gotta have the heart.” She gave him the playful smile he loved.
“You have my heart.” He used his index finger to free strands of her hair that the breeze blew across her mouth before he kissed her.
In the same way the beach breathed joy into her, her love restored joy and balance to his life. Everything they both wanted was on the horizon—unless Noelle’s public accusation blew up everything like a ballistic missile.
ChapterForty
To avoidfurther encounters with the Ayers, they stayed at Erin’s place again Sunday evening after coming back from the beach. Graham hoped that not hearing anything from McKittrick meant they’d miraculously kept Noelle’s disclosure under wraps.
He slipped out of the condo quietly Monday morning and arrived early for the weekly briefing to get a read on the vibe from his peers. It also reduced the risk of getting ambushed by McKittrick or Pete Ayers, who walked into the room just seconds before the general and avoided eye contact with Graham. While he didn’t expect a public apology for Noelle’s behavior, something felt off. As Graham listened to the updates, his first cup of coffee ate at his stomach.
He relaxed a bit while giving his update from Amaya’s team. Business as usual. Or a little worse, considering rebels attacked two villages last week.
McKittrick’s mouth pursed, and his brows scrunched as Graham finished his report. “I thought we were about due for sit-downs between higher-ranking officers and the local tribal leaders. The recent uptick in attacks confirms that.”
Adrenaline shot through Graham’s body as his innate warning system triggered.
“Holmstrom, clear your schedule.”
“Me?”
“You’ll fly out ASAP,” McKittrick kept talking as if Graham hadn’t questioned the order aloud. “We’ll meet to discuss your agenda after we wrap here.”
