Page 73 of Home Coming

“Yeah, I know. Big bad SEAL. So what? See Mullins down there?” Mark tipped his chin toward the guy at the end of the bar. “He’s a firefighter. He’s out of the house on a minute’s notice in the middle of the night when that siren blows. He could easily die in the line of duty. Never come home again—”

“Uh, thanks.” Mullins’ comment, accompanied by a frown and a glare, was ripe with sarcasm.

“—but it didn’t stop him from getting married and having three little ones. I’m in law enforcement. Same goes for me. I could die today,” Mark continued, undaunted.

“Hell, we could all die at any moment from anything,” Carter added. “The stacked cases of beer in the basement could fall and crush me to death tomorrow, for all I know. Or I could get electrocuted by this outlet under the bar that’s got the frayed wires running to it. Life’s risky.”

Ignoring the list of the bar’s possible code violations, Mark nodded. “Exactly. Which is a reason to live life to the fullest, not stop living it.”

Quinn shook his head. “But the distance—”

“You’ll figure it out,” Carter said.

“The distraction—” he began.

“I’m sure you can handle it,” Mark said.

Quinn glanced between the two. “When the hell did you two get so philosophical?”

These were not the same guys whose biggest debates used to be the best way to illegally obtain alcohol.

Carter lifted one shoulder. “We grew up.”

“And Johnny Dickens helped speed that growing up process quite a bit,” Mark added soberly.

Shit. He’d been in the middle of Hell Week in BUD/S when Johnny had been killed in a car crash. The news and the guilt had hit Quinn hard.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t here for the funeral. I couldn’t—”

“It’s all good. We know. We understood. What you were doing was important,” Mark told him.

“That doesn’t mean we’re gonna let you put off living your life because of some misguided sense of honor now though,” Carter said.

Quinn let out a big breath. “All right. I hear you.”

“So you’re heading to the city, right?” Carter prodded.

“You mean now?” Quinn asked.

“Yes, now. She’s at the Garden tonight. You can make it down there in three hours. You’ll be there in plenty of time for show time,” Mark said.

“I don’t even have a ticket.”

“You don’t need a damn ticket. Just tell them you’re half of Bailquinn.” Mark grinned.

“Call her and have her leave one at the door for you.” Carter’s suggestion was a lot more practical.

But Quinn hadn’t talked to or texted Bailey since he’d snuck out in the middle of the night. He couldn’t call her out of the blue and ask for a ticket to a sold out show at the Garden.

“I’ll think about it,” he said.

“That means he’s not doing it.” Carter scowled.

Mark smiled. “I don’t know. I think he might.”

Quinn stood, done with the conversation. “I’m heading out.”

“Oh, he’s definitely heading to the Garden,” Mullins mumbled from his end of the bar which set Carter and Mark chuckling.

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