“No thanks, I’ve been sitting for a while now.”
Both Johnny and Dad snicker under their breath, and I pinch my brother.
“Every single time. You both leave me… every single time. Payback is hell.”
“Hey, that stings.” Johnny rubs his side where I likely left a bruise. “Not my fault.”
I open my mouth to respond, but Ember steps in front of me and gives me a small smile laced with sadness. Her hands move to mine, and she squeezes lightly. “Presley, I am so sorry about Simon. I hate seeing you again under these circumstances.”
“Thank you,” I say softly and hug her. “It means a lot to us you all came today.”
“Of course.”
She turns, and immediately, there’s a man at her side, tucking her to him protectively. I recognize him from the service, but seeing them together, there is no doubt this is her husband.
“I think you may have met earlier, but this is my husband, Robbie Hayes,” she introduces us, and he shakes my hand with a kind smile.
Then the others stand to introduce themselves.
“Max Roberts.” The guy standing next to Finn surprises me by tugging me into his embrace.
“Tripp Jones.” The next guy moves in for a hug. “I didn’t personally know Simon, but I respect the hell out of him for his service.”
When he steps back, Finn’s face is hard as stone. He remains silent for a brief second then shakes his head.
“I’m not sure I’ve formally introduced myself… Finn Black.”
Just like the day in the park and today at the cemetery, when our hands connect, a tingle fires off inside. There’s no denying I’ve felt this burn before. His eyes grow wide, and my knees wiggle at the intensity of his stare.
Does he feel it, too?
“Nice to meet you all.” I find my voice and break the stare, looking around at the group.
My dad and brother are standing to the side with their arms crossed over their chests, both fighting back grins. I narrow my eyes in warning, but this only gets me a full-blown smile from Johnny. My face starts to heat up, and I drop Finn’s hand, stepping to the cooler to grab a drink. Anything to get the prying eyes off me and pull attention from myself.
“So while I’ve been learning about starching socks and making pies, did I miss anything?” I shoot my dad another deadly glare, which does nothing.
“I hear you have a mutt for me,” Robbie says, kissing Ember’s forehead. “Guess we’ll be by to visit on Tuesday.”
“Really?” I ignore his comment about Blade being a mutt. Once Simon joined the Marines, I learned these men aren’t always politically correct.
“Yes!” Ember bounces on her feet. “We ended up telling Robbie about Blade once he questioned how Finn and I knew you. When I explained how we met, he agreed to come see Blade for himself.”
“That’s terrific!” Blade is my first Warrior dog, and I know from these brief meetings he will be perfect for Robbie and Ember.
“I’ve started the application process already. Once Finn approved my idea, it was pretty much a done deal,” she tells me.
“Damn, Finn. If I knew any better, I’d think he was trying to steal my wife,” Robbie huffs.
Everyone laughs at his statement, including Ember, who starts to blush.
“He’s such a good dog.” I fill them in on his training and start to ramble about his incredible obedience. When I’m done, Robbie sighs loudly and hangs his head.
“You’ve sold me without even meeting him. Why did you name him Blade?”
“His handler named him that because he’s sharp as a razor blade. He picks up everything without a problem. But Razor wasn’t a cool name.”
“I agree, Blade is perfect.” Ember nods enthusiastically.