Page 61 of In the Air Tonight

“I’m sorry to show up out of the blue this way and upset you, but I didn’t want to call you with this news.”

“You’re only doing your job. Congratulations on becoming chief, by the way.”

“Thanks.”

“Your dad must be proud.”

“He is.”

“The rest of your family is well?” I force myself to ask even though I don’t care about anyone from that time except for him, the one friend I had.

“Yeah, Dallas lives locally with his wife and three kids, and Austin is in California. She’s married with two little boys.”

I feel rage at the mention of Dallas, who also lied about me to save Ryder. “What about you?”

“Not married and no kids. I guess you could say I’m married to the job.”

“Thank you for coming, Houston. I’m sorry if it was a wasted trip.”

“It wasn’t wasted because I got to see an old friend. I’m glad to see you happy and doing well, Denise. You deserve that.”

“We all do. Don’t give the job too much.”

“I’ll try not to.” He gives me the tender look of an old friend. “Take care of yourself.”

“You do the same.”

Kane’s homecoming is the usual circus with the kids wanting every second of his attention after missing him for two weeks. He takes Charlotte and Levi to the park and then helps with homework and baths while I go through the motions of making dinner.

“What’s going on?” he asks when he catches me zoning out for the third time.

“We’ll talk after they’re in bed.”

“Are you okay?”

“I think so.”

He gives me a curious look before scooping up the twins to get them to bed first.

Charlotte and Levi take longer to settle down and require multiple stories from daddy.

He comes downstairs more than an hour after he went up.

I’m waiting for him with a glass of the Cab he loves.

“First things first.” He sits next to me and leans in for a lingering kiss. “Hi there.”

He makes me smile even at the most difficult of times. “Welcome home.”

“These deployments get harder all the time. I want to be here with you guys.”

“Does that mean you’ve made a decision about staying in?” As he nears the eight-year mark, he’s torn about whether he wants to make the navy a career.

“Maybe, but we’ll talk about that later. What’s going on with you?”

“Houston Rafferty came to see me earlier.”

That name and the memories that go with it shock him as much as Houston’s visit shocked me. “What’d he want?”

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