Page 49 of Tate
“Oh, we had fun. We have a river near our place, and we’d go down to this pocket in the river after work, swim there. Reuben would chase us around, try and drown us.”
She glanced at him.
“It was all in fun. I really looked up to him. It killed me when he left home to be a smokejumper.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah. My dad was a wildland firefighter, and he probably gave Reuben the bug. We had a fire on our ranch once, and a bunch of hotshots and smokejumpers came in to put it down, so my guess is that’s where it all started. But my Dad…well, he was sort of a bigger than life guy. Rode bulls and fought fires and worked as a range cop at one time and was a football star in college. Hard to live up to.”
“I don’t think you have any problems there, Navy.”
Her words found his bones and settled there. “My brother Tate was actually the first to enlist. He joined the Army right out of high school—I still remember the fight with my dad. Tate landed a football scholarship to Montana State, but he turned it down. Just walked away, and Dad was so lit about it.”
“Why did he turn it down?”
“Dunno. Tate was always the guy who got into trouble—in school, and he hated working the ranch. Has this fear of horses from when he was thrown off as a kid. I think he just wanted to leave it as far behind as he could. So he became a Ranger.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah. Was in Afghanistan too. But he was Purple Hearted out when his squad got ambushed. I don’t know the whole story—when he got back, I was already in SQT—SEAL Qualification Training—so I’m not sure what happened. He’s fine now,though. Working in personal security, I think for some girl band.”
“And your other brother?”
“Wyatt? He plays goalie for the Minnesota Blue Ox hockey team.”
“Professional?”
“Yeah. He travels a lot—we don’t see him much. But he’ll probably be home this weekend for Rube’s wedding.”
“And is your sister coming home?”
“RJ? I don’t know. I called her a few days ago and left a message. Told her I’d be at the wedding.” He looked at her. “She’s my twin.”
“Oh my, a female version of Ford Marshall. What does that look like?”
“Tough. Smart. Pretty. She works as a travel agent for some company in DC.”
Outside, the landscape had slowly turned from rugged mountains to the mesas of the desert. The road was bordered to the south by Joshua trees, white yuccas, and valleys of purple and white wildflowers.
Adele came over the radio.Hello, it’s me… I was wondering if after all these years you’d like to meet…
“This is such a sad song,” Scarlett said. “About a woman who regrets breaking up with a guy, but when she tries to go back to him, he’s already moved on.”
“Too much like a country music song.” He turned down the volume. “I prefer songs without any emotional commitment.” They passed a state road sign. “Welcome to Nevada.”
“I hate Nevada,” she said quietly.
He frowned. “Why?”
“Oh. Bad memories.” She turned to him. “No rest areas. Want that oatmeal now?”
“We need gas. We’ll stop in a bit. What kind of bad memories?”
She made a face. “My mom left me at a diner once, overnight in some Podunk town in Nevada.”
“What?”
She lifted a shoulder, drew up one knee, and hooked her hands around it. “I was seven at the time. Not a big deal—the owner found me. Her name was Peggy, and she gave me a chocolate shake, then let me sleep in her silver Airstream she had parked out back. But it’s my first real memory of being left behind, and it still makes me a little sick.”
