Page 13 of CJ

“I honestly have no clue. He rarely talked about work, and I was fine with that since I couldn’t really talk about work either. At least not until my cases were done. It makes me wonder why he ever started dating me.”

“Why do you think he started dating you?” asked Gwen. She looked at the faces of the women around her and then back at Jill.

“I don’t know. That’s the truth. I met him through friends at dinner one night, and he asked me out. I hadn’t been on a date in forever, so I said yes. He was tall, a prerequisite for me. He was reasonably nice-looking, not like CJ. But we never really connected intellectually. I’m not sure why I got so comfortable with him.”

“Being comfortable has its perks,” said Ajei. “It’s hard to know whether or not something is love or friendship when you’ve been around one another for so long.”

“Oh, it wasn’t friendship. I never felt like he was my friend. With CJ, I felt friendship right away. I mean, I was physically attracted to him. Intellectually we were clicking all the way, but I felt friendship from moment one. I never felt that with Tim.”

“So, why did you agree to marry him?” asked Sophia Ann. “I mean, I don’t want to pry, but it doesn’t feel like it was love.” Jill was quiet for a few minutes, then nodded.

“You’re right. It wasn’t. It was the feeling that he might be my only shot at happiness and a family. I’ve missed out on so much of that with my dad being gone. I think I was just hoping to have a little of it for myself. We were comfortable. That’s such a terrible word to use.”

“No, it’s understandable,” said Kate. “Listen, I grew up with Cam. Ajei and Luke knew each other from the time they were in elementary school. Sophia Ann and Eric, from the time they were babies. Gwen and Hex met later, but comfortable isn’t a bad word. You want to be comfortable with your partner. Feel as though you have something in common.”

“I don’t think we did. Other than the military, we didn’t have anything in common.”

“Did you ever meet his teammates? The one that died?” asked Ajei.

“Yes. I knew Alana, his new wife. She and Adam were married probably a year. I’d been to their home a few times. He was a nice enough guy, a little rough around the edges, but he was always sweet to her.”

“What was she like?” asked Georgie, listening in on the conversation.

“Alana. Alana was motivated.”

“That’s an interesting word to use,” said Ajei. Jill nodded.

“Yeah, it is, isn’t it? She always wanted more. They had a lovely house, two-bedroom, two-bath. But it was just them. I remember that it was decorated perfectly. Sometimes, you can tell when someone is decorating on a budget. She was not. This was stuff that came from high-end design stores.

“When I asked about this mirror in their dining room, she blew it off, saying it was one of Adam’s family pieces. She thought it was junk and wanted it to go. She said she already had one picked out from this antique store in Alexandria. She even bragged about it costing more than their car.”

“That’s quite a mirror,” frowned Georgie.

“Yeah, she was always wanting more. The last time I saw her, before the confrontation with Tim, we all went to dinner with his team before they deployed. It was a nice restaurant, so I was wearing a dress, and I had a small clutch. Something I’d spent a lot of money on after winning a big case. I mean, I’m single, I make good money, it shouldn’t have mattered.

“She went crazy over it, yelling at Adam that it was the bag she asked him to buy her for her birthday. I felt terrible. I told Adam I was sorry that I ever brought it. He was really nice about it and just said it was just her throwing a fit like she always did.”

“Interesting,” said Ajei. “Most women are well aware that when they marry a Teams guy, they’re not going to be rich. They marry for love of the man, not the paycheck.”

“Huh,” frowned Jill.

“Huh, what?” asked Sophia Ann.

“Well, I remember Tim saying to me once that we couldn’t get married until he made more money than me. I just laughed it off. I thought he was joking. Maybe there was something to that.”

“Maybe,” nodded Kate. “Men have fragile egos, and most don’t like it when their wives make more money than them. Our guys wouldn’t care. It’s not something anyone ever talks about. But other men probably would.”

“I was very frugal,” said Jill. “My father left me a nice inheritance, and of course, there were additional policies because he was killed in the line of duty. But that’s money that I never touched. It was put in a trust for my children. I didn’t need it.”

“Did Tim know about it?” asked Ajei.

“I don’t think I ever told him. Proof again that we weren’t meant for one another. I mean, I just shared that with all of you. Relative strangers. That seems telling, doesn’t it?” Georgie nodded at her.

“Maybe, honey. Maybe.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

“Captain Morgan, thank you for returning to D.C. so quickly. This shouldn’t take long,” said the MP working with the JAG team. “My name is Tolen, and I’m helping the JAG team gather information.” Jill nodded.

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