Page 15 of Clear Blue Sky

“I had to help get the kids up for school. Now that two of them are teenagers and the youngest is eleven, you’d think they’d be able to wake up to an alarm, but I can’t tell you how many times Justin has missed the bus.” Reese folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the fence between the main hotel and his private home.

“I used to pay Maverick to oversleep so that it would throw off the rhythm and we’d all get a ride. Drove my parents nuts.”

“I don’t mind driving them, but Patty thinks I’m too soft when it comes to the kids and she’s right.” Reese shook his head. “Anyway, I’m glad you reached out. I wanted to thank you for offering all my guests a discount at your restaurant and putting up a sign.”

“Anything for a former military man.” Nelson nodded. “We appreciate you telling your customers about Blue Moon.”

“What is it that I can do for you this morning?”

Nelson had gotten to know most of the men who either worked for Jared Blake or used to work for him at the local New York State Trooper office. They were good people, and Nelson and his brothers always opened their restaurant to whatever they needed. “I’m a little uncomfortable asking you this, but I was hoping you could keep an eye on four of your guests and just let me know if they’re up to anything strange.”

“Are we talking about Marcus Fumen and his friends?” Reese lowered his chin.

“That’s the group.”

“I take it you served with them?”

“They’re Green Berets. I was Delta Force. But our paths crossed in Ranger School and on a few missions. I also dated Marcus’ sister a long time ago.” Nelson saw no reason to keep any intel from Reese. Deep down, Nelson knew he could trust the information would be safe. “The relationship ended badly. She wanted more than I could give. Eventually, she moved on and married a SEAL. Long story short, I was on a search and rescue for her husband’s team, and I couldn’t bring him home. I failed. My entire team died during the mission. It was a fucking disaster.”

“Sounds like you still blame yourself.”

“It’s hard not to. When I ran into Marcus, he gave me this song and dance that he’s forgiven me. That it’s all in the past, but I don’t believe him any more than I believe he had no idea I was living here.”

Reese glanced toward the sky. It had started to lighten as the sun approached the top of the mountains. “If he’s here for you, what do you think his endgame is?”

“That’s the problem. I don’t know.”

“Is there any chance he’s being genuine?” Reese tossed his arm over the wood railing. “Some people do change.”

“The venom that he and his sister spewed in my direction was awful. It didn’t come from being hurt. Or from grief. I know that kind of anger. I’ve felt it. I’ve even expressed it, doing my damnedest to hurt those around me. But theirs came from dark, damaged souls. Not to mention they did everything in their power except expose one secret to try to get the Army to strip me of my benefits and get me dishonorably discharged.”

“They addressed the review board of your mission in a negative manner?”

“Oh yeah.” Nelson rolled his neck. His muscles twitched and tightened. The names and faces of every single man he lost that day filled his brain. An overwhelming sadness filled his heart, making it difficult for him to take a breath and continue. He took a moment to gather his thoughts. “Marcus made a few bogus claims about how I handled my portion of the mission. Both he and Roxy made up lies about my past with Roxy and painted me to be a vengeful man.”

“I’ve seen the medals hanging in the bar in Blue Moon. I know some of them are yours. That can’t be true,” Reese said, giving off a vote of confidence and reassurance that he saw through the bullshit and understood the man. Of course, Nelson had heard the stories about Reese’s biological father, his first wife, and the tough choices Reese had to make to keep his family safe.

“What they said about my character is totally out of line. How Marcus tried to portray my decisions in a lose-lose situation was absolutely ridiculous and no one believed a word. But the bottom line is good men died and I was responsible for them.”

Reese inched closer, rested a hand on Nelson’s shoulder, and squeezed. “I know that feeling and it won’t ever go away. The intensity will ease, if you allow yourself to move past the guilt.”

Nelson felt a sense of camaraderie that had been reserved for his brothers. A piece of the shame he carried lifted. He exhaled. “That’s why I moved here. That’s what Blue Moon is all about. I’m lucky my brothers have my back. But seeing Marcus brings everything that happened front and center, and I can’t shake this feeling that he’s up to no good.”

Reese ran a hand across the top of his head. “Earlier, you mentioned Roxy and Marcus held back a secret. Care to share what that was?”

Fire filled Nelson’s chest. “A couple of months before the mission, Roxy showed up under the pretense that she wanted to see her brother. We were stationed at the same base, only he’d been deployed. That should have been a huge red flag that she hadn’t known that juicy piece of information. They are pretty close.” Nelson pushed from his Jeep and paced in front of the hood. He hadn’t told this story since he resigned from the military and had to explain his reasons to his brothers. There was a fair amount of shame in his actions when it came to Roxy.

However, she’d lied to him and took advantage of his kindness. Of their past.

“She was upset and told me things with her husband weren’t good. That they were separated and she was going to file for divorce. That’s why she’d come home. I let her in and gave her an ear. Big mistake.”

“What happened?” Reese asked.

“I slept with her, and she got pregnant, only, to my knowledge, she told her husband that the child was his. I hadn’t even figured it out until Marcus filled me in after Roxy lost the baby and the math didn’t make sense for when Seth had been deployed.”

“Jesus. I’m sorry.”

“It was a clusterfuck.” Nelson paused, lifting his gaze. The tightness in his throat returned. His pulse increased. A vision of death filled his mind. A piercing pain jabbed at his side. He relived the moments of being mortally wounded as if his personal suffering would ease the torture of the loved ones left behind. “I died on that mission, and I don’t mean figuratively. I’m standing before you because Marcus broke five of my ribs to bring me back to life. It was his team who joined mine when I called for help. I owe him and he enjoys reminding me of that as much as he got some weird thrill in pouring salt in an open wound.”

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