Two Air Force officers, one in charge of national security and the other salvation, couldn't come up with much more than nailing their kids' bedroom windows shut.
Tipping back his chair with a slow creak, Zach studied the flag in the corner by his desk.
The Stars and Stripes twined with the second flag, a squadron guidon made to resemble an old cavalry-days banner leading the charge. Guiding. Inspiring.
And not offering a single answer today.
Chewing his way though the second Pop-Tart, Zach drowned it with a cup of coffee. His fifth. He should have arranged for Julia to ride with him to apply for the license. At least they would have had time to talk in the car. He could use her input on his fruitless meeting with John's dad, and he didn't have a second to spare in his crammed schedule.
Echoes of past fights with Pam taunted him. Why not cancel a meeting? There were plenty of choices and the Air Force always came first.
Zach wadded the foil snack wrapper. Easy enough for her to say from Italy or whatever country she'd cooked her way through this week.
He finished the rest of his Pop-Tart and shoved aside doubts. In twenty-four hours, he would have the problem settled. Just one other problem to tackle before meeting Julia.
Putting the military first again?
He slammed the file shut. Gut instinct told him Julia's presence in his house would have a calming effect on everyone and would make it that much tougher for Shelby to run rogue on him.
Damn it, marrying Julia was the right thing to do.
A cleared throat sounded just before a tap. Zach looked up to find Tanner Bennett in the hall.
"Got a minute, sir?"
Zach brought his chair upright and pitched personal thoughts aside as quickly as the wrapper. Bronco's meeting with the crash investigation team must have ended. "Come on in and shut the door so we can talk."
Zach closed the door so rarely, nothing short of a war would prompt anyone to interrupt.
Bronco stepped over the threshold and waited. Zach tucked Lance Sinclair's file into a stack and stepped from behind the mammoth wooden desk. He opted for the chair by the vinyl sofa, sitting so the junior officer could follow suit.
Curiosity flickered in Bronco's eyes before he masked it with military regimen. He must be wondering about the driveway scene, not that he would actually ask. Protocol and rank erected some boundaries no open door would override.
But Bronco would have a good idea from the phone patch, and Zach hadn't helped matters by making out in the driveway, for God's sake. Knowing that the coming interview concerned Julia's husband, would Bronco hold back?
The subject of Julia needed to be addressed before the interview began. Accident investigations could stretch into months, years even and he didn't need that kind of tension in his unit.
"Before we start this discussion, there's something you should know. The whole squadron will hear soon enough. But given it has some bearing on this meeting about Lance Sinclair, I want to clear it up now."
Bronco's face stayed diplomatically blank. "Sir?"
"Julia and I are getting married. This week."
Bronco's jaw went slack for three telling seconds before he snapped it shut.
"Congratulations, sir."
"Thank you." Time to put the spin on it, one that would mesh with whatever Julia chose to say. Zach relaxed back in his chair, hooked his boot on his knee. "It probably surprised us more than it did you. We've been trying to help each other through a helluva year.
And, well..." He shrugged.
"I'm happy for both of you." The big guy looked like he meant it, even if he didn't understand. "Kathleen will enjoy having Julia across the street, especially while she's on maternity leave."
Zach straightened, planting his boot back on the floor as he leaned forward. "Folks will all know by tomorrow, but I'm telling you now before we talk about the crash investigation interview so you have all the facts. And that's all that comes into play here.
Facts. Nothing's changed as far as my role in this investigation. I was Lance Sinclair's commander, which already precluded me from offering anything more than data in his records. That said, what happened?"
Bronco's shoulders lifted and dropped with a hefty sigh. "Sir, unless we can come up with something new from those facts of yours to offer the investigation team, they're going to pin it on him."