Page 45 of Sanctuary

Gabe caught the sadness in Lori’s words and wanted to reach out and hold her. Because friends were allowed to hug, weren’t they? Maybe she and Lightning didn’t do it all that often, but they were Army, and that kind of emotional expression wasn’t encouraged. She looked at Lightning and wondered if it’d be weird to embrace her.

“Would it be okay to say hi to Max?” Lightning asked just before the silence became awkward.

Gabe took the ice pack from her forehead and placed it on the table. “Not unless you’re going to visit him every week.”

“Actually—and I’m using the word in a good way,” Lori said, “I think it would be great for Max to see another familiar face.”

“Oh, I get it.” Gabe tsked though she smiled at yet another impressive recall from Lori. “I looked like an Army mutt, and you couldn’t risk Max being exposed to me, but she’s got pretty long hair and looks like a model, so she gets preferential treatment.” She held up her hand and shook her head when Lori opened her mouth to protest. “It’s okay. No need to come up with any half-ass excuses. I’m used to it.”

Lori laughed. “Actually, I was going to say that your visits seem to be making a big difference to Max’s progress, so seeing someone else from a time when he was happy might be helpful.” She checked her watch. “Beth will be over there preparing lunches, then she’ll be taking each of them out for walks. Do you have time to take him out? Or are you in a rush to get out of here?”

The question was directed at Lightning, but Lori looked at Gabe, who could’ve sworn that Lori’s expression was hopeful, like she wanted them to stay longer. Lightning eyeballed Gabe too, though her expression was one of wry amusement.

“We’ve got all day,” Lightning said. “Picking up the Brewster is the only thing I have on my schedule for today. What about you, Gabriella?”

Gabe cocked her head and glared at Lightning. “I’d cleared my day too, Shanae.”

Lori looked between them, clearly not quite understanding what was happening. “That’s a beautiful name. Is that your Army nickname or your real one?”

“My Army nickname is Lightning.” She put her hand to her shoulder, like she always did whenever she was reminded of how she got that moniker. “That’s a story for another time. Right now, I want to go see Gabe’s other best friend.”

Lori’s eyebrow quirked almost imperceptibly. Maybe she’d thought there was something else between them.

She unclipped the radio from her belt and hit the talk button. “Beth. Can you head to the house? I’m sending…” She depressed the button and looked across at Lightning. “What should I call you?”

“My non-Army friends call me Shay.”

Lori smiled widely as if she liked the idea of being Lightning’s friend. She pressed the talk button again. “I’m sending Shay your way. She’d like to come with you when you take Max for a walk, okay?”

“Sure thing, boss. I’ve just finished chowtime, so I’ll head over right now.”

“Thanks, Beth.” Lori replaced the radio back on her hip and headed toward the front door. “Shay?” she said, beckoning her to follow.

Lightning got up from her chair and gripped Gabe’s shoulder as she passed by. “You’re welcome. Have fun.”

“We’re just friends,” Gabe whispered.

“Then have fun getting to know your new friend without me in the way,” Lightning said and wandered away.

Lori opened the door and stepped out. “Head straight up that way toward those big buildings on the right.”

“Excellent. Thanks, Lori.”

“My pleasure, Shay,” she said and smiled again. “She’s lovely,” Lori said after she’d closed the door and was walking back to rejoin Gabe. “Is it okay to say she wasn’t what I expected when you told me you were in business with a group of Army friends?”

“That depends on what you mean,” Gabe said, hoping that Lori didn’t hold any racial bias.

“I imagined a whole band of big, butch Army types,” Lori said. “But Shay…isn’t that. God, I just assumed she was gay. Is she straight? Lucky I didn’t say anything to her. You won’t tell her, will you?”

“Whoa, relax.” Gabe laughed lightly at Lori’s sudden verbal outburst; she was more than a little relieved that Lori’s focus was on Lightning’s perceived gayness. “Shay gets pretty pissed when people assume she’s straight, so she’ll be happy to find out that you assumed the opposite.” She poured herself another glass of lemonade to busy her hands, which wanted to reach out for Lori. This friend thing was going to take some serious self-control and self-talk. “And of course I’ll tell her about your cute little meltdown because she’s my best friend, and I actually do tell her everything.”

Lightning’s reminder that she was the only person Gabe told everything to poked her brain and prompted her to think about opening up to Lori now.

“Have you always been just friends?”

“God, yeah. She likes the same type of women I do,” Gabe said. Women like you, she thought, though why Lori had asked that question was interesting. Unless she was interested in Lightning and working up to asking Gabe about going on a date with her.

“Good to know people still have types.” Lori sat in the chair Lightning had vacated and dragged it closer to the table to snag a cookie. “I feel like we’re a dying breed.”

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