Page 56 of The Soul of Archer
Ethan laughed, as did the others. “Nah. Wait till the morning. If you want, while they take over my place we can stay here.”
“I think I saw a card table down in her basement.” Lance suggested.
“Beer and poker. Sounds like a plan to me,” Tony grinned. “Hope you ass-hat’s brought money. And no, I don’t take checks, IOU’s or credit cards.”
Chapter 21
Alora sighed blissfully as she sat on the back deck of the Blackstone house with a fresh cup of coffee. It was a little after eight and she was the only one still awake. Last night had been just what she needed. Strong liquor and understanding ears. While she may have been the only woman in the house not married, all of Krista’s friends and Krista herself had gone through something like what she and Lance had. True, Lance was just upset, but that didn’t excuse him for saying what he had said. Oh, Alora didn’t believe he meant it, but she sure as hell wasn’t going to forgive his stubborn ass that easily. Nope, she wasn’t that nice. Sensing she was no long alone, she turned her head just as Ethan stepped out onto the deck.
“Morning.” She greeted.
“Morning. I figured you’d still be passed out.” Ethan said, sitting in the deck chair beside her.
Alora snickered, “The only one of those ladies who even came close to matching me was your wife. I adore her friends, but when it comes to Jack they’re light-weights.”
Ethan’s eyes bugged out, “Wait, you all drank Jack? Not wine?”
“When I’m mad like I was last night I turn to Jack, Jim Bean, and Southern Comfort. When I want to relax then I go to wine.” Alora shrugged.
“Lord help Hawk.” Ethan laughed.
She smirked and sipped her coffee. The sliding glass door opened again, and Krista practically stumbled outside. “Alora, I love you but you’re such a bitch.”
Ethan wisely kept his mouth shut and handed his coffee to his wife while Alora barely contained her laugh. “Hey, I warned you and your girls last night that I could drink. What can I say? It’s the Scots-Irish in my blood. After all, I’m only the third generation St. James to be born here. My grandfathers, both, were born and bred in Dublin and Edinburgh. I’ve been drinking pretty much since I was sixteen.” Alora stated with a grin.
Krista threw her a glare over the rim of her coffee cup. “You better get your ass back to your house before my girls wake up.”
Alora sighed, “I was debating whether I should go home and call in at the bakery, or just go there first and deal with Lance after.”
“I’d suggest you deal with him later. Let him squirm a few more hours.” Krista grumbled.
Alora nodded. She polished off her coffee, bid the Blackstone’s a good day and headed back inside for her wallet and car keys. Due to her often-long hours this time of year, she always kept a spare chef’s coat and change of clothes at the bakery in her office. She realized she had left her cell at her house, but she wasn’t quite ready to risk facing Lance to go get it. She used the fifteen-minute drive to her shop to clear her mind and get her head into decorating mode. Her argument with Lance was pushed to the back of her mind. For now.
***
Lance supervised the yearly weapons qualifications at Blackout’s range. Ethan had called him about eight fifteen and told him that Alora was fine and going to the bakery. His friend and boss also suggested that Lance be waiting at Alora’s house when she got home. Lance had spoken to Frank about an hour ago and Frank said it was a light day and baring no last-minute orders, she should be heading home by about five. That meant she would be home by five thirty. Already Lance had a game plan. He was leaving Blackout by three, no ifs, ands or buts. He had to make up for being an asshole and damnit he was going to do just that.
Lance brought his mind back to the firing line as Delta team finished firing. “Clear and check your weapons!”
He watched the seven-man team expertly clear and check their weapons and only when all seven pistols were on the firing stands in front of the men did Lance move out onto the range to examine their targets. He was impressed that Delta had vastly improved from their score the previous year. Granted, Delta was the newest addition to Blackout. When they had first opened for business there had only been Alpha team. Six months later they had Bravo and half of Charlie. Now, nearly five years later they had the Delta team, bringing them up to four. Ethan and Gage were debating on whether to add a fifth team. Only time would tell.
“Well done. You men have improved over the last year and from the notes that Gage and Tony made from last year’s qual, you guys paid attention. Good work.” Lance praised.
As Delta team cleared off the range, Lance spotted Tony pulling up. Lance finished his notes on the team as Tony climbed out of his truck and walked over. “So, how’d they do Hawk?”
“Much better than last year. See for yourself.” Lance replied, handing over the scores.
Tony let out an appreciative whistle, “That’s a big improvement. I like Delta, but sometimes it feels like training fresh boots you know?”
“Don’t I know it. Course, they are fresh out of military and we must reprogram a few. Why is it Delta had to be all Army?”
“Hey, not everyone can join the best.” Tony joked with a wink.
Lance snorted. All the ribbing that Alpha gave Delta was in good fun. The friendly rivalry between the Army and Marines was an old habit. But at the end of the day, it didn’t matter what uniform you wore, all service men and women fought and served on the same team. Team U.S.A. “Well, I’m going to head back, file these quals then head out. I have two and half hours to get things ready for Alora and I’m going to need every fucking minute.”
“Tell you what Hawk, I’ll handle this. You go on and get the hell out of here. You make up with your girl.” Tony offered.
“You sure?”
