Page 27 of Jenny
“Yang was released yesterday. He stopped by before he left and wants to talk when you feel up to it. Humphreys is improving every day. I spoke to his mom at the support center while you were in surgery. Garcia is still critical.”
“The flight crew?”
“I don’t know, honey. I asked, but getting answers isn’t easy.”
No news had to be good news. If anyone had died, it would be in the papers. Still, he wanted to find out about the crew.
His mom stood at the side of the bed. “Looks like Jenny got some sleep.”
Jenny.
The air rushed from Dare’s lungs. He couldn’t breathe. A machine beeped faster.
His mom touched his arm. “Relax, honey. You had a collapsed lung.”
He tried to calm himself. Focused on his breathing as if he were taking aim for a shot. Air went in and out. The beeping slowed.
Dare stared at the woman—Jenny—sleeping in the chair. “Why is she here?”
“You asked her to come.”
“I did?” His mind was a blank.
“You kept calling for her. Over and over. You woke up long enough to tell me the passcode on your phone so that I could call her. You spoke with her for a minute.”
“I don’t remember.”
“That’s okay. You’re hurting. Having surgeries. On pain meds.”
Maybe that memory would come back to him like some of the others, but only one thing mattered now. Jenny washere.
He stared at her. “What do you think about Jenny?”
“I can see why you’re so taken with her. As soon as she arrived, she said she’d stay here and sent me on my way. I didn’t realize how much I needed a full night’s sleep in a bed. Not that I haven’t wanted to be here with you.”
“I understand, Mom.”
His mom glanced at Jenny before looking back at him. “You haven’t mentioned her. Is this something new?”
“Since early July. I…” His face warmed. He wasn’t sure what to say that wouldn’t sound crazy to his mom. “We live in different states.”
“She must care to have dropped everything and flown here to be with you.”
“Yeah.”
“She’s older than I thought she’d be.”
Dare didn’t care. “Age is just a number.”
“Oh, sweetie, I didn’t mean anything by that, but you’re right. A few years doesn’t make a difference. As long as she’s not like Kayla.”
“She’s nothing like her.” The words came out harsher than he’d intended, but Jenny didn’t deserve to be compared to his ex-girlfriend in any way.
Dare might not remember asking Jenny to come, but he knew why he would have. She’d been on his mind constantly. Maybe she’d felt the shift in their emails like he had. Not quite intimate, but they’d shared more private things, and a closeness had developed over these past weeks. One that hadn’t been there before he’d deployed.
His mother held a large plastic cup with a lid and a straw up to his mouth, and he sipped. “You haven’t stopped looking at her.”
A Humvee seemed to be parked on his chest. “I missed her.”
