Keith (Hathaway House #11) - Dale Mayer Page 0,12

message, asking if he was supposed to make it to lunch on his own. But, instead of getting a response, they heard footsteps coming down the hallway.

“Uh-oh,” Ilse said. “Time for me to leave.”

“Did you get me in trouble?” he growled in a mocking voice.

“Nope,” she said. “I think it was probably easier for her to explain in person than message you back.”

“Exactly,” Dani said, as she walked into his room. “Your sister is taking you to lunch.”

“Oh,” he said in delight. “I hadn’t even considered that.”

“You’re not used to having your sister around, are you?”

He stopped, then shook his head. “Not for a long time.”

It had been a long time. Keith didn’t quite know how to explain it, but, with him in the military and her at the university full-time, they didn’t have a whole lot of opportunity to spend time together. But he could see from their faces that they understood. He had noticed that, around here, every time he tried to explain something, they’d already gotten it. Somehow they understood.

It was disconcerting, but he remembered seeing a TV show once, where a woman said that, when people got her jokes, she felt that she had found her people and was happy because now she had people who understood her. Maybe that’s what this was all about for him. Maybe he had found his people here. It was a weird feeling, like a sense of belonging that he hadn’t expected to feel again. Being in the navy, and especially being a SEAL, he had experienced the same feeling of brotherhood, of belonging, but, once he was injured and separated from the team, knowing he could never go back there, he also felt that sense of being left behind. Something he didn’t ever want to feel again.

But now he was here and wondering if maybe these were his people in a sense. Just then another set of footsteps walked down the hallway. He looked up to see that Ilse had left, and Dani remained.

Looking at him, Dani asked, “How are you holding up?” She looked at the dessert in his hand. “Wow, did she deliver that for you?”

“Yes,” he said, popping the last bite into his mouth. “She did. But apparently there’s more for lunch, which is in about an hour, I understand.” Just then his sister poked her head around the corner.

“Hey, bro. I meant to tell you that I will go down to lunch with you, if you’re okay with that.”

He laughed. “I think you’re the last one to tell me,” he said, “but thanks. That sounds good.”

She looked surprised at his tone and also pleased.

That made him realize just how much of a grouch and a generally miserable human being he’d been over the last year or so. He needed to make it up to his sister, but first he had to make it up to himself. Maybe, just maybe, by being here, he could make some progress in that area too.

Chapter 4

A couple days later, Ilse walked up the center stairs in the morning and walked down the hallway. She could feel herself already edging toward Keith’s room, looking to see if he was awake. And, sure enough, once again the light was on. She poked her head around the corner to see him waiting, almost expectantly. She smiled. “I think this is a bad habit.”

He gave her a sheepish smile. “Believe me. I’m not trying to be awake when you arrive. I would love to sleep late.”

“I know,” she said sadly. “How have your first few days here been?”

“Good,” he said, “but we haven’t really done anything yet. Just lots of testing.” He shuffled restlessly in the bed, then shut his eyes.

“You’ll go back to sleep?”

“It hasn’t happened yet,” he said, “but I guess it’s possible.”

“So, no coffee?”

His eyes popped opened. “Definitely coffee,” he said warmly. “I just feel bad having you deliver it all the time.”

“My legs are working,” she said, “and they’re young and healthy, so really no reason I can’t bring a coffee back.” And, with that, she gave him a small finger wave and walked on past.

She had been pretty busy, partly because recently they’d been shorted on several orders. When a big mix-up on another order had her wondering what kind of craziness was going on in her world, she’d finally pulled Ricky aside and sat him down to ask him what was going on.

Then she found out that he had been really distracted because his daughter had seen