Page 9 of Tyler

Mel snickered while licking powdered sugar off her finger. “Don’t forget stubborn.”

“Hey! Yeah, you’re right.” Rylee laughed. “That one tops the Bryson attribute list. And Ty is definitely all of those. But it helped him get accepted to the Naval Academy right out of high school.”

Abby nodded. “Your parents were so proud of him because usually only ten percent of applicants get accepted, right?”

“Yes, but it gets whittled down even more,” Rylee answered. “He applied when he was a junior in high school, then jumped through and exceeded all the required hoops and hurdles and made it into the academy.”

Mel curled her fingers around her palm and stuck her thumb up. “So, he’s a brainiac like my husband.”

Rylee nodded. “Oh, yeah. Ty’s really smart. He graduated with honors in aerospace engineering from the Naval Academy, got accepted into flight school, excelled through all the different tracks, then he was eventually accepted into the Top Gun program in Pensacola.”

“Let me guess,” Stef said. “He was chosen Top Gun of his class.”

Again, Rylee nodded, a sad smile tugging her lips. “Ty was born to fly. He intended to stay in the Navy for life.”

“That sucks!” Mel exclaimed into her raised cup, and Piper and the rest of the women nodded.

All that sacrifice, all the training and hard work only to be let go. Her heart squeezed tight again. Poor guy. He must feel so lost and angry.

“He excels at everything he tries, right?” Stef asked.

Rylee narrowed her eyes. “Yeah, why?”

The brunette wiped her hands on a napkin and shrugged. “Sounds like he needs new motivation to focus on.”

“I think that motivation could be close by,” Mel said, glancing at Piper.

Unease flickered down her spine. The woman’s gaze held a little too much mischief.

“Yeah.” Christa nodded. “Real close.”

Five gazes locked with hers. “Oh, no. Wait a minute. Leave me out of this. Ty doesn’t need a woman to satisfy him.”

Mel snorted. “You know something we don’t?”

She shook her head. “I didn’t mean it that way. I’m just saying, he needs to find a purpose in life. One that fulfills him.”

“Like loving a good woman.” Mel cocked her head and stared at her, daring her to deny it.

But she couldn’t. “Yeah, that would help him in a supportive kind of way. But he still needs a life’s purpose. A job that fulfills that need.”

“Sounds like you’re speaking from experience,” Stef said.

She nodded, knowing they were going to get around to this conversation sooner or later. Best to get it over with.

Chapter Three

“Yeah, I kind of lost my muse after my husband passed away from cancer four years ago.”

“Oh, wow. I’m so sorry,” Stef said as the others echoed. “How old was he, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Twenty-four,” she automatically replied, and because there were usually a few more questions, she got into the habit of getting the information out first. “We both were, and when he was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor, a mass in his liver and in his lungs, we upped our wedding day, and traveled until he was too sick. By the time our first anniversary rolled around, he’d been dead three months.”

“I’m so sorry, hon,” Stef said, patting her hand.

This was the part she hated, but it got a little easier over time. Her stomach and chest hurt, but they didn’t ache so badly anymore that she could barely breathe.

“You’re a good woman to stand by him,” Mel said, while Abby wiped a tear from her face and nodded.

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