Page 116 of Durango

Piper smiles. “Because Willow is finally free of Tyler. That’s something we should celebrate.”

Well, so much for our date. Joining friends is one thing, but now celebrating the death of my ex? I sigh quietly. Piper means well.

Ozzie and Durango discuss some case in vague terms, so I turn my attention to Piper.

“Do you two come here often?” I ask.

“No, but after Durango mentioned it, I wanted to try it.”

“Durango mentioned it?”

Piper shrugs. “He just asked me if I had heard if it was good or not.”

The champagne arrives, and after having a glass and sharing an appetizer, I’m feeling relaxed.

“You two never told me how you got your nicknames,” I say.

“Durango has a cool story about his,” Ozzie says.

Durango shrugs. “My commander called me that one time, and it stuck.”

I frown and glance at Ozzie because that was not a cool story.

Ozzie rolls his eyes. “Way to tell a story. Our commander was calling everyone something, but when he got to our friend here, the commander looked him up and down and said, ‘You’re a big guy. Like a truck. Durango.’ Then he walks on to the next guy. We liked it, and it stuck.”

He is large and muscular, so I can see why it was chosen.

“Some of the other guys were getting called some nasty things, so I kept quiet and just went with it,” Durango says.

I turn to Ozzie. “Is that how you got your nickname? From a commander?”

He grins. “No, it was from Coff, actually. I had a jacket with my initials on it, BOZ.”

“That was a terrible jacket, by the way,” Durango says.

Ozzie shakes his head. “No, it wasn’t. It was great.”

“Who puts their initials on the outside of a jacket?” Durango asks.

“Anyway,” Ozzie says, ignoring him. “Over time, the B started to peel off, leaving only the O and Z. Coff saw it and called me Oz. Some of the other guys heard it, and that’s what everyone called me from then on. Oz or Ozzie.”

“Huh,” I say. “Does anyone get a nickname because of something they’ve done?” I ask.

Durango and Ozzie laugh.

“Actually, yes. Next time you see CT, ask him how he got his,” Ozzie says.

I glance at Piper, who shrugs.

“I might never see him again. Why can’t you just tell me?” I ask.

“Trust me, it will be worth the wait. And you’ll see him again,” Ozzie says. “We work with the Seattle guys quite a bit.”

Over the course of the dinner, Durango smiles more and his shoulders relax. It’s good to see him around his friends. They bring out the Durango I used to know.

Piper leans over to me. “I’m so happy for you two. You are really cute together.”

“Thank you,” I say.

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