Page 88 of Her Last Whisper

“C’mon,” she said again. This time with a big smile.

“Do you really have enough food?” he asked.

“I brought enough for an army—no pun intended.”

Katie walked to the slider where Cisco had been fogging up the glass and let him back in. The dog immediately made his rounds with the two men. He then lingered in the kitchen smelling the food.

Katie and Chad took a seat at the counter.

“What’s on the menu?” she asked.

“Ribs, fried chicken, salad, garlic bread, and of course, beer,” he said, holding up a bottle.

“Wow, this looks fantastic.”

“I agree,” said Chad.

They served up their plates and began eating.

“So,” began Nick, “what do you do, Chad?”

“Firefighter.”

“He just signed on with Sequoia County the same time I started my new position as detective,” said Katie, trying to lighten the awkward conversation.

“Fighting fires is an honorable profession—being a first responder,” Nick said.

“I’d like to think so. So, how long had you been in the army before, well, you know,” he said.

“You know, guys, this is supposed to be a pleasant dinner. I’ve had a difficult day,” Katie replied.

“No, it’s okay, Scotty,” Nick said. “If I can’t talk about it, then how am I going to cope? I lost my leg, I served my country, and if I had it to do over again, I wouldn’t change a thing.”

A stiff silence ensued.

Katie got up to get herself another beer. Normally she didn’t drink much, but tonight seemed to call for one. She sat back down. “Look. We all have jobs that at any time we could be killed or maimed. Let’s just leave it at that, okay?” She hated being so blunt, but it needed to be said otherwise the guys would just keep escalating and end up saying things they don’t mean.

Chad and Nick nodded.

“So, Nick, I have a records’ specialist running down some leads where James might be. It’ll take some time.”

“Scotty, I can’t thank you enough. I’ve been giving it a lot of thought. Family is what is important now.”

“This is really, really good, Nick.”

“Thanks. It’s one of the things I enjoy doing—cooking. It takes my mind off things.”

Katie systematically turned to Chad and asked, “How’s the firehouse treating you?”

“Everything is going great. Long hours, but it’s a great group of guys to work with.”

Katie continued to act as a referee of sorts. She loved them both—Nick as a brother and Chad as… There was no argument that she loved Chad deeply, but her hesitation stemmed from her private war with PTSD and all the demons she carried around in her soul. She didn’t know if she could handle everything that went along with having a serious relationship, but she wanted to give it a try.

With Katie on high alert, the three of them continued to eat and partake in small talk until all the food was gone. Exhausted, Katie’s eyes began to droop and Nick and Chad made their excuses. She was asleep on the sofa before she even heard the door close behind them.

Fifty-One

Friday 1145 hours