*
JOHN CHECKED HIS WATCH again, wishing he’d brought something to drink with him. He shifted on the step that led up to Cassie’s front door, waiting as the warm night ticked away.
She’d probably stay at the bar to finish out the shift. Tommy was too drunk to work, and besides, after that display, the idiot had probably walked out. Leaving his sister to hold down the fort. Again.
John’s anger rose once more, as it had ever since he’d honored Cassie’s wishes and taken his leave. It had been incredibly difficult. He wasn’t in the habit of walking out on such an unstable scene, and especially abandoning the woman he’d come to like so much.
John got to his feet and started pacing. Again. He didn’t care if she did stay till closing, he wasn’t going anywhere until he saw for himself that Cassie was doing okay. And he needed to tell her that he was sorry. He should have left the first time she asked him to.
She’d done what was necessary for the bar and for herself. She’d even done him a favor. Getting into a physical altercation with her brother would have cost everyone.
He’d known right away that Cassie was smart. She reminded him of the best pilots. Steady as a rock, aware of all the contingencies and she didn’t get thrown by surprises. He smiled thinking about her at the party. Maybe she hadn’t been dressed like the officers’ wives he’d grown used to, but she’d been classy as hell in her own way.
Besides, who said things had to stay the same? Maybe during his mother’s generation, the officers’ wives were expected to dress a certain way, be willing to socialize with the right people at a moment’s notice. But now, his friends’ wives were far more independent. Although, they all kind of hung around with each other, didn’t they?
But the basic principal was to maintain a level of conduct that honored the fundamental values of serving one’s country. He had no argument with that. The fact that he was an officer of the U.S. Air Force was never far from his mind, even when he was waffling about his future. He’d be proud to take Cassie to any event. In fact, he’d like to see her all dressed up. She’d be a knockout.
A car came down the street, the first one in a while, but it wasn’t Cassie’s old clunker. John sat down on the step again, checked the time. He could call her, just check in, but that might not be the best move. She could be having it out with Tommy, and he wouldn’t want to intrude.
On the other hand, maybe she needed a distraction, an excuse to leave? If for nothing else, her studies. Even if she’d been hitting the books since the moment he’d left, the emotional hangover from that scene was going to play havoc with her retention. He knew.
After Danny had died, he’d been a wreck. So had Sam. They’d done their jobs because they’d been trained to the nth degree, but neither one of them had slept worth a damn for months. Getting behind the stick again had been painful. Muscle memory and hundreds of hours of repetition had kept them on course. It was downtime that had sent them spinning.
He and Sam had talked about it. As much as they could, but neither one of them were particularly good at verbalizing their feelings or whatever.
Anyway, he knew Cassie wasn’t going to sail through her test. Maybe, if she came home anytime soon, he could—
Another car. This one needed some muffler work. He stood, and sure enough, there couldn’t be another Ford like that on this block.
He ran his hands down his jeans and waited until she pulled into the drive. She must have seen his car before she’d seen him standing on the front step.
She turned off the car, and the engine got the message after she was halfway to him. “What are you doing here?”
“Waiting to make sure you’re okay.”
“I’m fine.” She slowly made her way to his side, her key in her left hand, her books in her right and her purse over her shoulder. He slipped the books from her grip. “Honest. I’m fine. I’m sorry about what happened. He had too much to drink and—”
“Hey, I’m the one that owes you an apology. I should have kept my big mouth shut.”
She looked up at him as if to respond, then just shook her head and opened