Page 34 of Assigned

She fiddles with the fork in her hand. “I want something for myself. Work has been hard to come by. But these two companies are solid. Pay isn’t much, but they offer benefits like insurance and a 401k.”

My brows furrow. She has my insurance. Why would she need to be concerned about that? Something doesn’t add up here. “My plan should cover everything you need.”

Her eyes go wide for a second and she doesn’t respond right away. “Oh, I, uh... I guess talking to the other wives and learning what happened to Jim and your other teammate... I figured having a backup plan wouldn’t be a bad idea.”

Fuck.

Of course. Riley heard about Lux. We still miss him. Visit his grave when we can. So stupid of me not to think my wife wouldn’t be worried about the possibility I could die, especially when she has the kids of Gold Star families in front of her whenever she volunteers at the beach. Living breathing examples of why a military family might need for a backup plan.

She’s right. Having a backup plan isn’t a bad idea. Maybe it’s something I need to think about some more for myself. For my son. For Riley.

They’re my family and if something does happen to me, I want to make sure they’re taken care of. But for now my job is to support Riley with whatever she needs. “So, when do you start?”

“I’m not sure which opportunity I should take. Both offer paid training and I have to take a look at what extra hardware I might need to buy before I can even start.”

Bingo.

I reach across and grab her hand. “If you want to run both opportunities past me, I’m all ears. But either way, tomorrow we’re going shopping. Whatever you need, we’ll buy.”

She blinks rapidly and opens her mouth to speak, but no words come out.

I hold up a hand. “You’re offering to support me with the lawyer, so let me help you get settled. I want you to be happy.”

Riley’s face scrunches. “I don’t want to impose, especially if we part ways at the end of—”

There’s a lot I need to learn, a lot of places I must have failed at being a good family man in the past considering how everyone leaves me, but this I can do. “Regardless of whether or not we end up together for the long haul, it’s the very least I can do. Truthfully, the computer equipment doesn’t even compare to the help you are giving me when it comes to my son.”

She nods. “Thank you.”

For Riley, there’s not much I wouldn’t do to make her happy. Even if what makes her happy is eventually leaving me.

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