Page 54 of Open Secrets
“Then why are we always last?” Remi yells. His voice breaks, but he doesn’t back down. “Why do we always get left behind?”
I step in quickly, my hands raised like I can calm a storm. “Enough. Both of you—”
But neither is listening.
“I’m telling you,” Lyle says, his voice almost shaking, “I’m retiring. That’s it. No more deployments.”
Remi’s eyes narrow, his hope bleeding into anger. “And I’m supposed to just believe that?”
“Yes!” Lyle bursts out. “Because it’s the truth!”
Remi lets out a breathless laugh, but it sounds more like a sob. “You don’t get it. You’ve been gone so long, I don’t even know who you are. And you don’t know me either.”
Lyle’s mouth opens—closes. The words die on his tongue.
I reach for my son. “Remi, sweetheart—”
But he shoulders past me, picking up his backpack. He storms toward the stairs, his voice raw and loud: “We’ll see.”
The thud of his door slamming upstairs shakes the house.
Silence rushes back in, heavier than before.
I turn to Lyle. “He didn’t mean that. He’s just—”
“Right,” Lyle cuts in.
He smiles, but it’s the kind that twists—sad, self-deprecating. “I can’t believe I haven’t seen it before. He hates me.”
“No,” I say quickly, my voice breaking sharper than I intend. “He doesn’t. He’s just… he doesn’t know you.”
Lyle looks away, jaw tight, like the words sting worse than comfort.
I step closer and take his hand, pressing it between both of mine. “But he will. Now that you’ll be home, he’ll know you. And so will Taylor, and Rain, and August. They’ll all know you.”
His thumb brushes mine, uncertain but holding on like maybe he wants to believe me.
Lyle takes a deep breath, his shoulders squaring like he’s bracing for something heavy. “I should get on that. I have no idea what the first step even is for retiring.”
“Why don’t you drop by your old commander’s house?” I say. “Didn’t he retire?”
“Yeah.” Lyle nods, thoughtful. “I’ll do that.”
I watch him head toward the stairs, already shifting into motion, and I press my hand to the counter to steady myself.
Because if he means it—if he really does this—then everything changes.
Chapter Seventeen
Lyle — Present
“Hey.” I knock gently on the door.
It cracks open to reveal Remi sprawled on the floor, controller in his hands, eyes locked on the screen. A horse gallops across a windswept field.
“You got a minute?” I ask.
“Not really,” he mutters, without looking away.
