Page 27 of In Every Chapter

I swallowed hard. “Yup. And I couldn’t do a thing. Some hero that makes me.” My skin prickled as the footage of the accident seared into my memory tried to play again.

She touched my arm. “No, son. None of that was your fault. They’re called accidents for a reason. No one ever blamed you—you blamed yourself.”

Because who else was there to blame? The common denominator was always me.

Smiling sadly, she cupped my cheek. “You’ve always been my lone wolf, looking out for the others but refusing to ask for help for yourself when you carried the weight of the world. But heroism isn’t about perfection. It’s about courage and sacrifice, something you have in spades, hon.”

I heard the words but couldn’t believe them. And I definitely couldn’t meet her kind eyes, no doubt full of sympathy and acceptance I didn’t deserve. Instead I focused on the scuffed paint of the front porch. It needed painting. I should do that soon.

Mama seemed to accept I wasn’t going to answer, and with a final pat on my cheek, she left.

Rosie padded out the front door, pausing at my side and nudging my hand with her cold nose. I patted her head absently, the softness of her fur anchoring me to the present instead of the horrifying images of my own failures when it came to the people I cared about the most.

Chapter eleven

Greyson

Five and a half years ago . . .

From: Juliet Satterfield

To: Greyson Satterfield

Subject: Don’t Make Me Drag You Home (You Know I Will Do It)

Greyson,

You know I love you, but what are you doing? This isn’t a random bassoon concert for one of your many nieces and nephews (how are there so many??). This is Mama’s birthday. You didn’t come home for Christmas, which, I get your life is busy. But I can count on one hand the times you’ve been home since you left. You’re in South Carolina this time, not Japan. If you kindly check your GPS, it’s 2,474 miles. Or an 8 hour flight. I have a ticket on standby.

Please come. Cal is insufferable without you.

Don’t make me drag you here.

Jules

“You should go,” Liam offered, shamelessly reading Juliet’s email over my shoulder.

I clicked out of the browser and glared at my friend. “Didn’t your mother teach you manners?”

Liam smirked. “You know my mom’s a detective. Nosy is my middle name.”

I rolled my eyes. I had plenty of leave time, and yeah, I could head back to Idaho for the party next weekend. But I wasn’t sure I was ready to face them. In a family of talented siblings, I felt substantially less than, especially after the sting of losing the promotion I’d been gunning for. Any slower and I’d be kissing the Marines goodbye for good.

“Dude, it’s your mom.” Liam, not knowing when to leave things alone, continued as he dropped onto our couch and started solving his six-by-six Rubik’s Cube. There wasn’t a puzzle the man couldn’t solve. “Delilah loves you. I mean, have you seen her care packages?”

“You mean the only reason you still room with me?”

“Hey, I’m doing the world a service by not letting those cookies go to waste.”

“We’ll see.” I headed for the door, itching to get to the barracks’ gym and sweat my irritation out.

“We all know that means no, Grey. Live a little. Go home,” Liam hollered after me.

Sometimes I almost regretted having the nosiest man alive for a best friend. Almost.

I really shouldn’t have been surprised when Gabe cornered me in the gym the next morning while I was deadlifting 300 pounds. I had nowhere to run and he knew it. Gunnery Sergeant Gabe Carson had a way of knowing everything about the guys under him.

“You going home for the party, sergeant?” he asked without preamble.