Light streaming through the blinds stung his eyes. Gray stuffed his head under his pillow to smother the sound and restore darkness.
Pillow?
Ring.
He shook off the bad dream, an expected byproduct of gunfire. Most combat flyers had them, and yesterday's shoot-out in Sentavo qualified for nightmare material. Knowing didn't make it suck any less. But at least his would fade normally, as they had done after he'd flown C-130s in Desert Storm, and again after his brief stint in Afghanistan. His father's combat dreams still had the old man walking the floors at night.
Ring. Gray pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes to dispel the lingering grip of fear for his dad—for Lori.
Ring.
Gray lobbed his pillow at the phone—and missed.
Fire shot up his leg. Groaning, he rolled to his back on the queen-size bed, boot propped, knee bent so his throbbing calf wouldn't touch even the comforter.
Ring.
He snatched the phone off the cradle. "Yeah."
"Morning, sunshine."
"God, Bronco. It's still…" Gray scrubbed a hand over his bleary eyes and read his watch. "Two hours till debrief. Go pound sand."
"No, thanks." Tanner Bennett's too-damn-cheerful laugh faded on the other end. "So, Cutter, what's up?"
"Nothing."
"Too bad."
"Not funny."
"Now is that any way to talk to your best bud?"
His nosy best bud. Gray needed to get off the phone so he could see Lori and wash away the sour aftertaste of his dream. "It's not fair to challenge a man before his morning pot of coffee. I'm hanging up, bud."
"Wait. I'm calling to offer my help."
"Help?"
"Moving Lori's car back to her place. I couldn't help but notice it parked in the lot when I came in."
Gray resisted the urge to growl at Bronco, knowing that would only further fuel the guy's curiosity. Locker-room confidences about women, especially Lori, weren't his style anyway, no matter how close the friendship. "Quit fishing, pal. That pond's empty."
"So why's her car still here?"
"She was too upset to drive, thank you very much for your help yesterday. I already took her home." His home, but Bronco didn't need to know that, and forget asking him to help trade out Lori's car now. Gray stared out his open bedroom door, his eyes attracted like a guilty magnet to the closed guest room across the hall.
"You took her home? What the hell were you thinking?"
"Your concern is downright touching."
"Hey, I'm a sensitive guy."
Gray snorted on a laugh that set his leg on fire again. He bit back a groan.
"Are you okay?"
"Charley horse. Gotta go. See you in a few."