Page 11 of The Story of Danny Rose

I snorted softly and sat down in the empty chair between River and Danny, and I faced the latter. “I’m British to two Tennessee boys who’ve never left the South.”

Danny quirked a faint smirk.

“We’re not in the South now,” Reese pointed out.

Semantics. And the story of my life. I was Big Yankee in the UK and the Brit in the US.

“Anyway.” Reese poked at the steaks with the tongs and scratched his nose. “We were talking earlier, and it’s glaringly obvious you haven’t trained us half as hard as you once trained Danny.”

I withheld my smile and leaned forward, removing two plates from the top of the cooler. Then I flipped open the lid andbrought out two beers. The twins had grabbed theirs, and Danny hadn’t. For some reason. I extended one in silent offering, and he accepted it.

It was a good time to go soft on Danny—in my own way. Baby steps and all.

“You’ve been in my care for five months,” I said. “The Army spent nine years and approximately two million dollars to turn him into one of the best soldiers this country’s ever seen. We’ll get there, Reese.”

I twisted the cap off my beer and took a swig.

Danny blinked and sort of froze.

Reese let out a low whistle and eyed Danny.

I hadn’t said anything that wasn’t true.

No matter how long Danny was here for, I wanted to show him I was more than an instructor. He deserved that, and it was for me too. As much as he could piss me the fuck off, we were both civilians now—technically—and maybe a fresh start could eliminate the hostility.

I didn’t wanna be the fucker who started being all nice because of what he’d been through. And withthatsaid, another voice piped up and said I could at least treat him with more respect. We were equals after all. Besides, if I wanted to be more than an instructor, I had to remember that he was more than a soldier too.

So…yeah, my mind was still fucked.

I’d find a balance somehow. Once I figured out what route I’d approve for him. Because it was extremely difficult to consider preparing him for a life in the private sector. The thought made me restless. Who would hold him back when his temper got the best of him? Who would be his backup?

But in the end…it wasn’t up to me, was it? He was a grown man.

River cleared his throat. “Reese.” He nodded at the grill.

“Right.” Reese turned the steaks over. “Yeah, I think dinner’s ready.”

“Wonderful.” I was starving. I got up and grabbed one of the plates and pushed the salad to the side. Someone had cut up tomatoes and thick slices of cucumber. “Which one is medium-rare?”

“All of them.” Reese placed a steak on my plate, followed by a wrapped potato, then handed me a knife and fork. “But, so…is it possible we could maybe do more than just relax while we’re here?”

Christ. The twins were eager. Reese might be the talker, but I knew he spoke on River’s behalf too. They wanted the same things.

“I’m sure I can think of something.” I returned to my seat and scooted it closer to the cooler and placed my plate there. The food looked damn good.

“Sweet. It’s possible Danny told us about the time you sent his unit out on a foraging hike,” Reese mentioned.

“Uh-huh.” I peeled the foil off the potato, and then Danny was right there with a stick of butter and a knife. Oh, absolutely. I nodded, and he cut a quarter of the stick onto my potato. Perfect. “Cheers. Grab your food, kid.” I cut into my steak and glanced back at Reese. “You want a task like that?”

He shrugged. “Sounds like a good skill to have, doesn’t it? Being able to forage stuff in the woods…?”

I supposed. “It certainly couldn’t hurt, but I can’t envision a scenario where you’d have to forage for food in an American forest.” I loaded steak and buttery potato onto my fork and dug in.

River and Reese were born survivors. They’d grown up hunting and were naturally scrappy. Add boot camp, and it made sense that their mind-sets were centered around survival training in the wild.

My comment had made Reese think twice. He chewed on the inside of his cheek while he plated food for his brother and himself.

“You never work domestically, do you?”

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