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“Sierra Hotel, are we there yet?” Egan muttered. Of course, that caused some confusion with both Alana and Colleen. “That was the last thing Jack said.”
Alana’s eyes widened, and she pinned her gaze to his. “Sierra Hotel?” she questioned.
Egan nodded. “Slang for Shit Hot. I’d told Jack that one of the other pilots had flown in some steaks with all the trimmings. I also told him that Remi had sent me a long video of all of us together. She’d taken it at Christmas, but she’d forgotten to message me a copy. It was a video of Cal, Blue, Colleen, Remi, Jack, you and me playing a very sloppy military version of beer pong.”
Alana nodded, and he knew she was tapping into those memories. A rare ice storm that had kept them housebound for what was supposed to have been a short get-together to celebrate the holidays. Lots and lots of food and beer, of course. Lots of fun and laughter, too. The game had evolved into simulated aircraft carrier landings with each of them taking turns gliding across the wet pong table while “trusting” others to catch them.
“When I told Jack about the steaks and the video,” Egan went on, “he saidSierra Hotel, are we there yet?”
Egan wasn’t sure why he’d never told Alana that. And then he remembered why. If he’d told her, it would have meant talking about Jack. Specifically, talking about those last minutes. Egan hadn’t been able to do that because of what had followed those minutes.
And keeping quiet about that was a mistake.
The kind of mistake Tilly was making by not wanting to believe anything but the good about her son. The big picture could often give you a hard kick in the gut. But it could also give you priceless memories. Egan wouldn’t ever forget the explosion, but now he had the image of a grinning Jack in his head to go along with it.
“Well,” Colleen muttered, getting to her feet. “I should be going.”
She leaned in and kissed Alana on the cheek. She turned as if she might do the same to Egan but settled for patting him on the arm instead.
“Oh, did you ever read the letter I sent you?” Colleen asked him as she started for the door and then stopped to look at him.
Egan shook his head. He hadn’t. But ironically he had it with him. He’d discovered that when he’d been at the base and rifled through his pockets to locate a pen and found the letter instead. He couldthankReba, the housekeeper, for that. The woman had insisted on doing his laundry, and when she found it, she must have put it back once the suit was clean and dry.
“Ah,” Colleen muttered, as if disappointed but not especially surprised that he hadn’t read it. “I figured you’d just tear it up and toss it.”
“I tried that, but it didn’t work,” he muttered.
She didn’t ask for details. Colleen gave her sister another hug and left, closing the door behind her.
Alana looked at him. He looked at her. And Egan tried to steel himself up in case Alana had any questions about Jack’s last moments, but she was smiling a little when she moved to sit on the sofa next to him.
“I think we just waded our way through a lot of boggy ground,” she said.
“Yeah,” he agreed. “Are you okay?” He pushed her hair away from the side of her face and kissed her cheek. Not one of those heat spiking foreplay kisses but one that he hoped would soothe.
She nodded and kissed his cheek, too. Except hers did feel like foreplay because, well, because she was Alana. “My advice?” she asked. “Either read the letter or burn it to ash so you put it to rest once and for all.”
Alana had a point. As long as the letter existed or was unread, then it was basically unfinished business. And it no longer felt as if he had any of that with Colleen.
Egan took out the letter, and when Alana started to move away, probably to give him some privacy that he didn’t want or need, he took hold of her hand and pulled her back to him.
“You’re sure?” she asked.
He nodded. Kissed her. And intended to kiss her a whole lot more once he got the letter out of the way. It felt a little like the reading of a will.
Egan opened the taped up envelope and saw that the letter itself hadn’t been repaired. He held the two sides together and saw the handwriting. Not much of it, though. It certainly wasn’t a long pouring out of Colleen’s heart. Nor was it a rant and rave about their failed marriage.
Egan, this is me trying to make amends for things that probably can’t be amended, but here goes, Colleen had written.I’m sorry, and I wish you the best. He smiled at the last line.Damn the torpedoes. Full speed ahead.
Well, hell. He hadn’t expected to feel as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders, but he did. Apparently, sometimes old baggage did get unpacked and put away. Now that it had been, he moved on to better, more pleasurable things.
Egan pulled Alana onto his lap and kissed her hard, long and deep.
ALANAMUTTEREDAbad word when her phone dinged with a text. She muttered another bad word when she saw the time. It was one o’clock, which meant it was only an hour until her client came in for an appointment.
Normally, cursing wouldn’t have been her go-to response for work, but in this case, work would mean leaving a naked Egan. After he’d read the letter, they’d made it to the bed for their latest round of sex. Incredible sex that had obviously worn them both out since they had fallen asleep. It was wonderful to wake up to the sight of Egan’s superior butt while he was sprawled out on his stomach on her bed. Alana was certain if he rolled over, there’d be an equally arousing view for her. A view she could savor—and perhaps toy with—for a quickie, anyway.
She moved away from him to check the text and was instantly sorry she had. Because it was from Tilly.
