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Tanner grinned. “Sweetie. I didn’t know how much you cared.”

Chay grinned too. “You wish.”

“Okay,” Tanner said, “enough for this morning. Let’s run back.”

“You mean, let’s walk back.”

“How about we compromise and jog?”

“At the waterline.”

“Pussy,” Tanner told him, but he bent down, took off his boots and his socks, jammed the socks into the boots, tied the laces together, and slung the boots around his neck as he and Chay headed for the damp, tamped-down sand that abutted the ocean. Lacy white froth rolled over his toes and he sighed with pleasure.

“I hate to admit it, but this feels good.”

“What you mean is, it feels great.”

“Yeah. Okay. It feels great.” The friends fell into an easy pace. “Were you looking for me for a particular reason?”

“Yup.”

“And that reason was…?”

“I’ve got a pair of hot babes lined up for tonight. The kind who think STUDs always live up to their name.”

Tanner looked at Chay and waggled his eyebrows. “What’s the problem? You aren’t man enough to handle them both?”

Chay punched him in the arm. “That’s what I get for my generosity?”

“You came all the way out here to tell me that? You could have waited until chow time.”

“I know, but…” Chay glanced at Tanner. “There’s something else. The captain wants to see you.”

“Blake?”

“How many captains we got?”

“Did he say why?”

“Nope.”

“Huh. Last time he called me in, he chewed me out about not keeping some dumb-ass medical appointment.”

“You?” Chay said with a roll of his eyes. “Not keeping a medical appointment? Dude. I’m shocked.”

“But I’ve been keeping them lately,” Tanner said, ignoring the gibe. “I had a check-up with the physiatrist just last week.”

“You mean you kept the appointment with your rehab doctor?” Chay raised an eyebrow. “Will wonders never cease?”

The gibe was well earned. Tanner had blown off half his scheduled appointments. Why deal with her when he’d come up with his own rehab workout routine? “I had some papers to fill out. I’m sure I handed them in. Pretty sure, anyway.” A wave rolled in, soaking both men to the knees. “I can’t think of what Blake would want.”

“Maybe he just can’t get through the day without seeing your ugly face.”

“Or…” Tanner all but skidded to a halt.

Chay stopped, too, and swung toward him. “Or what? You look as if the sun just came out after a long winter.”

“Maybe I aced that checkup.” He ran his hands through his dark hair. “I mean, I know I did pretty well. Ran the treadmill for fifteen minutes. Did fifty squats. Passed some stupid balance tests. Don’t look at me that way. I know I didn’t look so good a few minutes ago, but I was fine in the doc’s office.”