Wade could tell that Jessica had been in the military by her room. He couldn抰 have bounced a quarter on her bed, but then the pillows against the headboard and the book on the nightstand said that she抎 been reading. Everything else was inspection-ready梡retty much like he kept things.
He adjusted the water in the shower and left his dirty jeans, socks, and shirt on the floor when he peeled out of them. The scent of vanilla mixed with coconut filled the bathroom and reminded Wade of a beach. He could almost hear the ocean waves slapping against the sandy shore. The last time he抎 seen his brother in person had been in Wells, Maine. They抎 had a lobster dinner right across from the Atlantic Ocean and had listened to the sounds as they talked about the future and the bar they wanted to build someday. They hadn抰 really planned on going into business in Riverbend. Danny had thought more about a tiki bar somewhere on a beach. Wade had envisioned one in somewhere like Wyoming or Montana梐n Old West type of saloon.
揥ell, Brother, we抮e getting the bar, but it抯 not on a beach or in the mountains. I guess we抳e kind of met in the middle,?he muttered as he stepped into the shower and pulled the curtain.
He enjoyed every moment of standing under the spray and was grateful for Jessica抯 offer. Her bathroom was so much nicer and cleaner than the old makeshift shower in the back of Sparky抯 store. By the time he had gotten out and dried off, he was humming the tune to 揔nee Deep?by Zac Brown. Part of the lyrics talked about him finding his own kind of paradise, and he nodded as he heard the words in his head. The peppy tune made him think of a tiki bar out on a beach somewhere. 揑 swear everything makes me think of you, Brother. Is your spirit still with us??Wade asked his reflection in the mirror. 揕ike the song says, it doesn抰 matter where we are; we can always climb out of being lost and find paradise. The words make it sound easy, but it抯 not always.?
He dressed in a pair of baggy pajama bottoms and a loose-fitting tank top and headed to the kitchen. On the way he stopped to look at both areas for the bar and finally decided that building it near the kitchen would be the better choice.
揥ondering what in the world we抮e going to do with that baptismal font??Jessica asked from the kitchen door.
揧es, I was. You got any ideas??he asked.
揘ope,?Jessica answered, 揵ut I bet we come up with something. What if we took it out and used the space as a small wine and extra liquor cabinet? We could lock our extra stock behind the closed doors on either end.?
揟hat抯 actually a pretty good idea,?Wade agreed, 揵ut for tonight let抯 just have some cake and coffee and forget about the bar for a little while.?
揅ake is sliced and ready. We just have to heat up the coffee.?She turned and went back into the kitchen.
Wade flipped off the lights in the bar area and made his way across the wide room. 揟hanks again for the use of the bathroom. Been a long time since I抳e been in one that clean.?
揗ilitary sticks with us, doesn抰 it??She set the cake on the table and put two mugs of coffee in the microwave.
揙h, yeah, it does,?he said with a nod. 揑 cleaned Sparky抯 little bathroom half a day, but it still didn抰 look too good. That抯 not the only thing that sticks with us, though, is it??
The microwaved dinged and she removed the coffee and set both cups on the table before she took a seat across from Wade. 揘ope. Did whatever your job was cause you to have nightmares??
He took a sip and remembered the recurring dreams that plagued his sleep. 揑 was a sniper, and yes, I still have nightmares. I probably should be in therapy, but . . .?He shrugged. 揑抎 have to go to Killeen or to the post at Fort Hood, and I抳e convinced myself that I can deal with it on my own. Are you asking because you have the dreams, too??
Wade couldn抰 only recognize the pain in her face梙e could feel it. He wasn抰 sure whether to ask another question or change the subject.
揑 . . .?She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. 揗y job was in special reconnaissance.?Her voice sounded hollow. 揑 expect it affected me as much as if I抎 been a sniper. I was the only woman on the team, but after the first year, the guys accepted me fairly well.?
Wade reached across the table and laid a hand over hers. 揑 understand. Sometimes I didn抰 even see the face of the person, but I still wake up in a cold sweat hoping that I didn抰 rob a child of a father. I抣l never get over knowing that no matter how bad that person was in my sights, I did rob a mother of her child.?
揘ational security,?Jessica said, 搕akes its toll on us folks who have to do the work, doesn抰 it??
He gave her hand a little squeeze and wasn抰 a bit surprised that his was still tingling when he picked up his fork. Every time he抎 brushed against her when they were working on the church pews, sparks had flown. It was a wonder she didn抰 feel the heat like he did, but then she probably hadn抰 had a crush on him, like he had on her, when they were just teenagers.