Page 13 of The Devil You Know
“I’ll be there in a minute,” Seth said.
Jesse grinned and held up Seth’s phone. “Take your time. I want to read all your messages.”
“You wouldn’t—”
Jesse wiggled the phone back and forth. “Want to bet?”
“Don’t you dare!”
“Make me stop!”
Seth lunged from his bed, making a wild swing to take back his phone. Jesse danced out of his way, teasing him by holding the device just out of reach.
He grinned once Jesse was out of sight. They’d always been close, and the fondness he felt for his little brother hadn’t faded just because they grew up and spent a few years on separate continents.
Seth took a military shower—two minutes was all he needed. He’d planned on enjoying the luxury of taking his time and not having to share a facility with the rest of his platoon but…waffles. It only took a few minutes longer to towel off, comb his hair, and get dressed.
“Five minutes…pretty fast for a geezer,” Jesse teased when Seth came downstairs, emphasizing the two-year age difference.
“Guess they moved you up from sippy cups while I was gone,” Seth joked in return. He kissed his mom on the cheek and made a plate for himself, then sat across from Jesse.
“Where’s Dad?” Seth wondered why a simple question made his stomach tighten.
“He took the RV over to the dealership to upfit a couple of things,” she replied. “It’s going to be the Waldorf-Astoria on wheels by the time he’s done.”
“Like you don’t spend every spare minute mapping out itineraries,” Jesse replied with a sidelong look.
Seth’s mom grinned, and a blush came to her cheeks. Linda Tanner was a pretty woman at sixty, and he knew from old photos that she’d been a real beauty when she and their father met. Their father had aged into what might be termed “craggily handsome,” giving Seth hope for what he might expect to look like himself someday.
No one would mistake Seth and Jesse for anything but brothers. Same tall, broad-shouldered lanky build as their dad, same dishwater blond hair and brown eyes, with the thin face and high cheekbones they got from their mom. Both of them stood roughly six foot three, within a fraction of an inch of each other. Not only did the resemblance make their status as siblings unmistakable, but anyone who watched them together for more than a few minutes quickly realized they were inseparable.
Except when I ran away from a broken heart by signing up to get shot at. Not my best move.
It had taken enlistment and time in a hot zone to realize that running didn’t solve anything. He’d lost six years with the people who loved him, trying to forget the one who didn’t.
He vowed never to make that mistake again.
“Is this what you’ve been feeding Jesse while I was eating MREs?” Seth asked with a grin. “This is fantastic.”
He dug into the Belgian waffle, topped with what he suspected might be homemade blackberry chutney. Fluffy scrambled eggs filled the other side of his plate, and despite Jesse’s taunts, he really hadn’t eaten all the bacon.
“Are you kidding? We had cold cereal and Pop-Tarts while you were gone. She’s just making sure you don’t re-up,” Jesse said, but Seth had the sense his brother was only partly joking.
“It wasn’t quite that bad,” his mom protested, barely hiding a smile.
Jesse gave an exaggerated eye roll. “Maybe not. There were pancakes from time to time.”
“What’s on your agenda, now that you’re out of uniform for good?” Linda asked Seth.
Every time he heard her voice, his throat closed and tears sprang to his eyes.Weird. Must be part of coming home.
“Waiting for the Hayabusa to be delivered.” Seth felt a flutter of excitement thinking about the motorcycle he’d saved up to buy. “I’ve been looking forward to that sweet bike for a long time. Beats hell out of a Jeep.”
“Don’t worry—with the way Dad’s been fussing over the RV and that new truck, Mom should be plenty jealous,” Jesse replied with a mischievous glance at his mom. “Can a truck be someone’s mistress?”
“Jesse!” Linda smacked his arm playfully.
“You know it’s true. I’ve never looked at a girl the way he looks at that truck,” Jesse protested.
