Page 51 of Her Marine
Pressing Journee’s name, Killian decided to call her back first. He knew his mother well enough that she would want to talk to him for hours. He figured Journee wouldn’t want to speak as long since he’d just left her.
“Hey,” Journee answered on the third ring.
“Hey. You miss me already,” he teased.
“If that’ll help you sleep tonight,” Journee teased back. Killian chuckled as he leaned against the headboard. “But I called because you left your cologne and phone charger here. I figured you were busy, so I sent you a text.”
Killian knew he’d left them when he’d pulled his body wash from his bag and didn’t see it. He wasn’t too worried about it because he had others, and he could get them later.
“I plan on staying with you again before I leave next week. So, I’ll grab it then.”
Journee’s end of the line became quiet, and Killian had to pull the phone away from his ear to make sure the call hadn’t dropped. When he discovered it hadn’t, he returned the phone to his ear. He was just about to call her name when she spoke.
“You’re leaving next week.”
She hadn’t phrased it as a question, but Killian decided to answer her anyway. “Yeah, next Tuesday.”
“Okay. Well, that was all I wanted to tell you. I’m going to go to bed. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight, Tigress.”
She hung up, and Killian moved the phone from his ear. He checked the time and called his mother back. It was almost midnight for her, but she tended to stay up late and get up early while his stepfather went to bed sooner. His mother and stepfather stayed on the go. They liked going out and trying new things. It was seldom that they were in the house the entire day on their off days. Killian didn’t mind going out; however, he did enjoy staying in when he wasn’t working, especially when he’d gotten back from a strenuous assignment.
His mother told him about a new food truck that she and his stepfather tried and how they were going roller skating tomorrow. Killian wasn’t surprised. For as long as he could remember, his mother enjoyed roller skating. They went almost every weekend when he was a kid.
Killian talked to his mother for half an hour. When they hung up, he placed his phone on the charger after setting his alarm, finished the rest of his water which he’d drank most of while talking to his mother, and turned the light off. It didn’t take long before he drifted off to sleep.
Killian stood at the head of the bench press, spotting Slate while he did his reps. He was on his last one, and they would be finished for the day. They’d been at the gym for almost two hours. The first twenty minutes were spent with them stretching and warming up.
There weren’t too many people at the gym, which he was sure was why Slate enjoyed going before the sun rose. It was almost eight o’clock when they finished. So, the two headed to the back to shower and change.
“Let’s grab some breakfast,” Slate stated as they exited the gym.
“I could go for some food,” Killian responded as they approached his rental.
He’d driven to Pueblo, where Slate lived, about forty minutes from Colorado Springs. Killian had decided to pick his cousin up so they wouldn’t have to take two cars. He’d visited Slate a few times, the same way he’d visited Axel; however, he still didn’t know where everything was.
Slate gave him directions to a diner, and they pulled into the parking lot fifteen minutes later. It wasn’t busy, and they walked to the first booth they came to. Killian pulled out his phone, sending Journee a good morning text before setting it aside.
“I think I’ve almost nailed down the new training regimen,” he stated, picking up one of the menus from the side of the table.
“I spoke to Ace, and he’s getting ready to take steps to expand services. He wants to implement the steps to expand quarterly and have it all in motion in a year.”
“That’s doable,” Killian responded, reviewing the different choices. “With this expansion, you may not be able to remain a silent partner and have to step in and be hands-on.”
“Yeah, I know. I figured as much. I have a year before I’ll need to. So, I’ll be ready then.”
A waitress came over to take their orders. They ordered their drinks and food, returning the menus where they pulled them from.
“How are things with you and Journee?”
“They’re good. We just spent the weekend together.”
Slate smirked at him. “I’m sure you both enjoyed that. When are you heading back to Woodbridge?”
“Next Tuesday.”
Their waitress returned with their drinks, and both men thanked her. When she was gone after making sure they didn’t need anything else, Slate spoke again.
