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Anthony smiled. “I can see that. Are you gonna tell her what you told me? About your service?”
Aero hesitated, then nodded. “Yeah. I am. When I see her next, I’ll tell her. Then there won’t be any secrets between us. She’ll know everything.”
“It’ll mean a lot to her, I think. It’ll help her understand your nightmares. It might help you, too, knowing she understands what you’re experiencing,” Anthony said, his voice hopeful.
“Thank you, Anthony.” Aero extended a hand, and they shook, sharing a smile.
“Hey, Ma wants help in the kitchen,” Zed said, calling to them from the back door with Levi on his hip.
“Be right there,” Aero called back.
“I like it here,” Anthony said, looking around the compound. “It’s nice having people around. And Ma? She’s a hell of a cook. She made a pasta salad for lunch. Man, it was the greatest pasta salad on Earth.”
“Yeah, well, we’d better get in there, or she’ll starve us both.”
Anthony chuckled, and the men rose, heading inside to help out.
Aero was seated in a lawn chair in front of the fire pit, flanked by Anthony and Ratchet.
“I tried to convince Sydney to get fireworks to set off, but she vetoed it,” Ratchet said, complaining but smiling.
“She’s a smart woman. Knowing you guys, you’d all lose at least one finger,” Aero said, sipping his beer.
“I’ve got nine more.” Ratchet shrugged, and Anthony laughed.
“They’re setting off fireworks at the park,” Blaze said, stepping up beside the men. “We should be able to see them from here.”
Ratchet and Anthony murmured in agreement, looking up at the treeline in the direction Blaze pointed.
“You gonna be all right with that?” Blaze asked Aero, concern in his dark eyes.
“Yeah, it should be fine,” Aero said, only upset by the fact that Sam still hadn’t shown up. He’d called her, Anthony and Gemma both tried texting her, and even Blaze had called her once, but she didn’t respond.
“Whose dog?” Anthony asked, tipping his chin at Blue, who was curled up at Sydney’s feet where she sat at the picnic table.
“Ollie’s,” Ratchet said, nodding toward his seven-year-old son, who scampered through the grass, chasing Levi and Ashlyn as they laughed and shrieked with joy.
“Maybe put him inside when the show starts. Dogs usually freak out about the noise,” Anthony advised.
Ratchet and Aero murmured in agreement.
Anthony started telling stories about childhood pets of his and Sam’s being terrorized every Fourth of July when Evie appeared, approaching the group with Elliot in her arms. Sam was beside her.
“Look who I found.” Evie smiled, gently nudging Sam toward the men.
“Sammy,” Aero said, standing and turning toward her quickly. His heart pattered excitedly in his chest at the sight of her. He desperately wanted to gather her to his chest and hold her tight, but he shoved his hands into his pockets instead, not wanting to scare her off or anger her further.
“Hi.” Sam waved shyly, glancing from Aero to her brother and back.
“I’ll get you a beer,” Evie offered before scurrying off toward the cooler.
Aero approached her slowly, his emerald eyes boring into hers.
“Hey, Squirt.” Anthony smiled. “I, uh, think Aero needs to talk to you.”
She looked at Aero, and he nodded, holding out a hand toward her.
She took a deep breath, slipped her hand into his, and let him lead her inside up to his room.
