Page 81 of Second Chance Serenity

“Thank you, God, for this meal. Thank you for blessing our each and every day, Lord. Amen.” After the quick grace, I open a ketchup packet and squeeze some onto the tray. “Is Silas not eating with us?”

“He’s the silent type,” Jaxson says. “He’s eating out in the entry hall.”

“He definitely seems quiet.”

“Lance says he’s always been that way.”

“They knew each other first, right?”

“Yeah. Lance met him when they were in the VA hospital together for a time. Silas had been messed up pretty bad, though Lance has never said how it happened. They hit it off, as anyone who meets Lance does, and he introduced him to the rest of us. Elijah and Michael first and then me a few years later at a veteran’s retreat we did in the woods.”

“You were a Marine, right?”

“I am.”

“I remember Margot telling me about Michael’s Army buddies and their Marine tagalong.”

Jaxson snorts. “They followed me around.”

I laugh, appreciating the genuine comradery he shares with the others. It’s refreshing to see men as close as brothers in a world where people have never been so distant from each other. “You met them in the hospital, too?”

“Yeah.” Jaxson shakes his head. “I’d already been there for a time, but I’ll never forget them being wheeled in. I’d already met Lance before, so seeing him on that stretcher, so many holes in his chest—I actually prayed. And I’d never been a praying man before that.”

“Lance seems to have that effect on people. Michael grew up in the same church as me, but he’d always had some distance. Not sure why, though I assume some of it had to do with his dad. But Margot told me that he found Jesus when he’d almost died, and that his friend Lance was part of the reason.”

“Lance Knight knows how to guide people. It’s one of the things that made him such a great OIC.”

“OIC?”

“Officer in Charge. Sorry.”

I pluck a fry from the tray and stick it in my mouth. “It’s fine,” I say as soon as I’ve finished it. “You guys all seem to work really well together.”

“As I said, we each have our own skill sets, and no one tries to overstep the other.”

“You said Lance leads, Elijah is the computer skills, Michael is the bodyguard, and you called yourself a—what was it—spotter?”

“Yeah. I was a sniper.” He takes a bite of his burger. “I do better from high vantage points, and Michael excels at hand-to-hand. Most of the time. Guy did get shot recently.”

I snort, nearly choking on a fry. It’s dark humor, but somehow given everything we’ve faced, I can appreciate it. “And Bianca? Did you know her before?”

“No. Not really. I’d heard of her, sure, I think most of us stationed overseas had, but I didn’t meet her until Lance called her when Michael was in trouble.”

“Thank you for coming for us, by the way. I know that Michael is your friend, and it’s your job, but thank you.”

“We didn’t come just for Michael,” he says. “We care about you too, Reyna. You’re our people just as much as Michael is.”

My heart warms with joy, and I continue eating. Jaxson and I enjoy our burgers in comfortable silence. The beep of my phone increases my pulse, and I turn it over to check the notification.

Michael’s name illuminates my screen next to a partial message. Quickly, I unlock my phone to read and respond.

Michael: Just got to Boston. Carter is getting us into the prison now. I miss you. Stay safe.

Me: I’m not the one currently in danger. I miss you, too. YOU stay safe. I need you to come back so we can finish our conversations about the future.

Michael: I’ll be there.

Smiling, I set my phone aside and take another bite.

---