Page 63 of Home Coming

“Okay.” She nodded.

“Okay?” he asked as if he didn’t believe his ears.

He’d heard right. She was defeated and tired. Of all of it.

This roller coaster of being in love with Quinn, of having him care so much about her, but not in the way she wanted, it was exhausting.

But it would be good fodder for her anti-love album.

“Hire whoever you want.” And with that, she grabbed the top To-Go container and dove into the first of many hot wings.

CHAPTERTWENTY-FIVE

The text came in the middle of the night. Didn’t the bad ones always?

He was being recalled. He had to check in on base by zero eight hundred the day after tomorrow. That meant he had to get on a flight ASAP.

That in itself would have sucked even without all the rest. The fact he was going to miss seeing his parents completely. That he had to leave Bailey in the hands of strangers. Hell, he didn’t even want to leave Josie. If nothing else, she’d become his ally when it came to keeping Bailey safe and happy.

Leaving now threw the control freak in him into a tizzy. The part of him that wanted to handle everything himself, to make sure it was done right.

It was like an itch that needed to be scratched. One he couldn’t reach. The kind that could drive a person nuts.

He slumped into the kitchen and grabbed juice out of the fridge rather than make coffee and wake up the household at two in the morning. He’d grab some at a rest stop on the drive to the airport.

Glass in hand, he headed for the family desktop computer in the study to look up flights. And damned if there wasn’t a seat on an early flight out of Albany that morning. If he packed now and jumped right in the car, he’d make the morning flight no problem. It was so last minute it wasn’t even very expensive. The airline would be happy to fill the seat rather than fly partially empty.

It also meant he’d be sneaking out before Josie or Bailey woke. He didn’t want to. But waking them now, especially with this news—he couldn’t do that.

Besides, he didn’t think he could take saying goodbye to Bailey knowing he was leaving her alone. Unprotected.

It couldn’t be helped. When command summoned, he had to go.

With no choice, he shoved what little he’d brought with him back into his bag then sat down to pen two notes. One to Josie—that one was easy. And one to Bailey, which was a lot harder.

What tone should he take? Business-like and matter of fact? Friendly? More than friendly…

Ugh.

After too much thought and time he didn’t have to spare he finally scribbled what he needed her to know and got on the road.

At the airport, still before dawn, he texted Xander and Mark about the current situation and that he might be out of touch for a while. The damn woman didn’t seem to take her own self preservation seriously enough for him. He’d have to depend on both of them to keep Bailey safe.

He had a feeling his life was going to be a whirlwind the moment his boots hit the ground in California. Command didn’t call an operator back from leave unless the team was getting spun up for something big. And fast.

With all that was happening in the world at that moment, it could be any number of things—all of them big.

Where would he be?

Wherever it was he couldn’t let worry about Bailey occupy any portion of his mind while he was there.

CHAPTERTWENTY-SIX

Quinn was gone. He’d left in the middle of the night without a goodbye.

Bailey had woken to a note in the kitchen instead of the man himself.

She felt numb and she couldn’t even blame him for that.

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