Page 55 of Fastlander Fighter

She hadn’t responded in case that was what happened. She wanted to see him and talk about this message face-to-face.

He’d sent it in the middle of the night. This morning, she’d dropped Ruger off at school and headed straight here, to Moosey’s.

It was just opening up, and she checked again to make sure Captain’s truck was parked here. It was.

Was this the part where she had some pride in herself and ignored him for the rest of her life, with the knowledge that he would regret this decision someday? That sounded great in theory, but her heart was in charge, and she already missed him.

She deserved closure if he was running.

The line outside of Moosey’s front door started moving, which meant it had just opened. She got out and wrapped her flannel more tightly around her shoulders as she walked across the gravel parking lot.

She made her way inside and stood in line, standing on her tiptoes to see around the people in front of her for a glimpse of Captain.

Sure enough, he was manning the smokers. They were serving breakfast right now, so it was brisket-and-egg sandwiches and barbecue breakfast burritos.

He was pulling a brisket off of a smoker that had probably been going all night. Should she go up to the counter? Hallie was working the register, and probably wouldn’t be upset.

But as she watched him work, she decided to wait her turn. Why? Because he seemed completely lost in thought. He moved almost robotically. Even Shane didn’t get under his skin as he ran into him. Captain barely noticed, and definitely didn’t say anything to him.

He seemed…distracted.

When she got to the front of the line, she ordered a breakfast burrito from Hallie. Hallie looked worriedly behind her at Captain. “He’s having an off day.”

“Can I talk to him?”

Hallie’s eyes were filled with sadness. She hesitated, then nodded. “Sure. Shane, take over for a few minutes. Captain needs to take a break.”

“No I don’t,” Captain said, glancing over at Hallie. He looked over at Sloane, then back at Hallie. “I just started.”

Hallie inhaled deeply and turned back to Sloane. “I know this is going to feel hard. I can’t imagine, but Captain has moved on.”

“Moved on,” Sloane repeated softly. “I don’t understand. He sent me this text.”

He looked back over at Sloane. “I know you,” he said in a strange, robotic voice. “I sent you a message last night.”

Confused, Sloane held up her phone with the text. “What does this mean, Captain?”

He seemed to read it. “It means this isn’t working out. We are too different and it’s not what I want. I wish you and Ruger the best.” He had just read the text aloud.

“Captain, I know what it says. I don’t understand why you sent it.”

“Look, we have a lot of stuff going on in the Crew,” Hallie said gently. “He is focusing on Crew-life right now.”

But Hallie’s eyes were filling with tears. “I really don’t understand,” Sloane whispered brokenly. “He doesn’t even want to talk to me?”

“He’s not going to remember much.”

“Is he hurt?”

Hallie seemed to want to say something, but shook her head and changed her mind. “He just needs space, Sloane. You have to move on and keep Ruger safe.”

“But…Ruger is safe. Captain, can we just talk for a little while?”

“Why?” he asked, canting his head. His pupils were constricted to tiny pinpoints, which made his eyes look so unnaturally silver. His expression was vacant.

“Something’s wrong,” she said.

“Sloane,” Hallie said low.

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