Hemingway - Zoe Dawson Page 0,2

him with fist bumps and slaps on the back.

“He might not suck at this,” Jude “Hollywood” Lock said with a grin.

“Lunch at the All In on Ruckus,” Ashe “Kid Chaos” Wilder said, laughing when Ruckus gave him a scowl.

Over lunch, the guys talked about missions and combat, all the times they’d saved Kid’s ass.

“Hey, I saved your asses too, especially Cowboy when he’d been wounded, and we were running through the jungle.” Wes “Cowboy” McGraw was the number two man on the team and their master chief.

“Right. Wasn’t that when you stole the drug runners’ jeep and got them gunning for you too?” Wicked asked.

“Yeah, yeah, small details. I still saved him.” Kid waved his hand in a dismissive motion.

“Then there was the time we needed transportation, and Kid showed up with donkeys,” Ocean “Blue” Beckett said. All the guys started to laugh and shove each other. Ruckus shook his head.

“Bunch of animals.” He turned to Hemingway and raised his beer to his lips and drank. “I’ve only got one piece of advice for you, kid.”

“I’ll take whatever you got, sir.”

“Be better than anyone there—faster, stronger, smarter. Stay off the instructors list by always being a winner any way you can. When the hell of Hell Week wears you down, boost the others. It will make you feel like you’re part of something…because you are. I’m proud to have had you as a trainee, and we’re rooting for you.”

“Hoo-yah!” The team sounded as one.

Hours later, Hemingway dropped his bag by the front door of the house he shared with his dad, intending to get a hotel room closer to the base before reporting to Coronado the next morning. His sister Paige, niece Chloe, brother-in-law Ashe and dad trailed after him. Paige was still pensive and in a mood all morning. He knew she was worried about him going off to the next leg of his SEAL journey, but all he could do was reassure her that he was going to be fine.

Turning toward his family, Paige passed Chloe to Kid and said, “You’ll be careful, won’t you, Atty?”

“Christ, Paige, don’t get crazy on him.”

She turned to her husband and said, “I have every right, and you close your smart mouth, Ashe.”

“Yeah, or she’s going to kick some Ashe.”

His dad chuckled and Kid rolled his eyes. “That was so lame,” Kid groused, looking at his niece, who babbled her opinion. “Yeah, what she said.”

Paige dashed at her eyes with the back of her fingers, and Hemingway pulled her into an embrace. “Oh, no. No waterworks. I’ll be okay, sis. I promise.”

“I love you, Atty. Be careful, and we’d better see you when you have a break in the training,” she demanded in a watery voice.

“I will. As often as I can,” he hedged. He had no idea what kind of time he would have to come home and didn’t want to get her hopes up it would be on a regular basis. He wasn’t unaware that his life was going to change drastically. He had no idea where he was going to be assigned after BUD/S. He felt a pang of sadness for leaving his family behind, but the excitement, anticipation, and his need to prove himself overshadowed his sorrow.

He’d had a taste of what it would be like in combat when he’d saved his sister from the Cortez Brothers’ compound only a few weeks ago. An adrenaline rush mixed with triumph and relief that he’d not only held his own but was instrumental in saving Paige. He smiled softly remembering Oliver “Artful Dodger” Graham and his antics during that whole ordeal.

Chloe started fussing, and Hemingway took her from Kid, kissing her baby soft cheek, making her giggle. “I think she needs changing,” Kid said.

“I’ll do it. I don’t want to see him leave,” Paige said.

Kid reached out suddenly, brushing her arm, shooting her dad a pensive look. His father-in-law acknowledged it and reached out and hugged Hemingway unexpectedly. “I think I said my piece. Be yourself, Atty. Everything else is just not important.”

“Thank you, Dad, for everything.” Hemingway hugged him hard, then let him go. His dad went after Paige, but not before Hemingway saw the soft gleam in his eyes.

“Damn,” he said softly under his breath.

Kid watched Hemingway’s dad go after Paige and his shoulders relaxed. “She’s going to be all right, Kid. She’s stronger than you are.”

Kid turned back to him, his eyes haunted. “She needs to be. It’s a lot to handle, and I feel guilty that