Page 85 of Tango

“Where’s your mom now? Does she live in town?”

“I don’t know where she is. On a boat somewhere. She’s an oceanographer and was always at sea. That was the plan all along. Dad wanted a home and family, and my mother wanted salt water and wind. So, while they stayed married and committed to each other until Dad died, he was always a single dad. Personally, I hate being on the ocean.”

“I’m terrified of water where I can’t see what’s underneath.”

“You hide it well,” Piper said.

“The river seemed okay. I’m more worried on a submarine. You can’t think too hard about where you are when you’re in one of those.”

“Nightmare material.” Piper held his hand a little tighter. “You were in the Navy?”

“Air Force. But I deployed with the Navy, where I developed my water phobia. We ended up having to swim for hours in the black ocean.” He sent her a self-effacing smile. “I was absolutely terrified that something would take a nibble, then think I was delicious and eat me alive.”

“Wow,” Piper said.

“It’s hard to keep control of irrational thoughts as the hours tick away.”

“I can’t even imagine.” Piper stopped and looked at the wall. “Actually, I can imagine. Once I was visiting Mom, and we were snorkeling in the Red Sea, when something wrapped around my ankle and dragged me backward and down. I called out to my mom, and she said there was nothing in the Red Sea that could or would do that.”

“What?” Ethan made a horror-face.

“I felt what I felt. I experienced what I experienced.”

“A wayward octopus?” Ethan speculated.

“My guess at the time was aliens.”

A doctor and a nurse arrived in her cubicle.

Ethan squeezed her hand, then released it. “I’ll get going.” He pulled a piece of paper from his pocket. “This is my cell phone number. Piper, would you mind texting me, so I know you got home safe?”

Chapter Twenty-Four

Ethan

Outside of Jack and Suz’s picturesque cottage, Ethan shifted into park and checked his phone.

Piper: Chanti and I are debating whether or not I should try to hide a steak in my purse and smuggle it into the party for Tango tomorrow night.

Ethan typed: No eating on the job for Tango. How about you put the steak in your fridge for now, and we’ll plan to get together on Saturday? The weather looks good. Hello Chanti.

Piper sent back a smile emoji with a thumbs up, and Ethan found himself grinning as he climbed down from his cab, pushing his phone into his back pocket.

Gator, Creed, and another guy paused on the sidewalk, Tango sitting at Creed’s side.

Ethan shut the truck door and sauntered over. “Hey. Good timing, I see. Y’all just getting here?” He knelt beside Creed to greet Tango. “Hey, sweetness, how’re you doing?” Ethan looked up at Creed.

“The vet gave her an A+. She’s good to go.”

Ethan stood and accepted her lead. “Tango, with me.”

“This here’s Ares,” Gator said. “I don’t know if you met him on deployment. Ex-Green Beret. He’s with Cerberus Team Bravo now.”

“Ethan Osbourne.” He stretched out a hand. “I was Air Force 24th STS. I don’t think we worked together.” They shook hands. “I’ve seen you around the Cerberus campus when I was there with Tango.”

They walked into the cottage without knocking.

Jack was moving snack bowls from the kitchen to the dining room.