Page 139 of The Archer Brothers

I figure there’s no harm in telling her what I do. “I’m a SEAL, ma’am. Have you heard of us?”

“Oh yes, Richard was very impressed with the training you young men have to go through. He wished the SEALs were around when he was younger. He always said he would’ve been one.”

“I have to say, I enjoy it. The training, not so much, but being in the Navy is rewarding.”

“I never saw myself as a Navy wife, though. How about you, are you married?”

“Yes, ma’am,” I reply without hesitation. “I’m on my way home right now.”

“Well, she’s a lucky woman.”

“No, ma’am, I’m the lucky one.”

Our conversation continues as she tells me about her children and grandchildren. I leave out that I have a daughter because she would expect me to tell her stories and I don’t want to keep lying. Too many lies and one forgets what the truths were to start with. I’d rather her remember me as the sailor who sat across from her and listened to her stories about Richard.

When the train pulls into my stop, I have a pang of regret that our time has come to an end.

“Well, ma’am, this is my stop.”

She looks out the window and sighs. “It was nice meeting you. What’s your name?”

“McCoy. Tucker McCoy.”

My name must mean something to her because her face falls and she starts looking at me harder. The smart thing is to get up and make haste, but I sit in front of her.

“You were one of those boys that the Navy declared dead, but you weren’t.”

Why, of all the times I meet someone, does it have to be the one person who actually caught the news the day they aired something? The Navy has done a miraculous job keeping a lid on our whereabouts.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Shame on them.”

I couldn’t agree more and leave her with her last words hanging over us. I pray for her safety when she gets off the train and that she doesn’t tell anyone or she’s liable to meet Richard sooner than she intends.

As soon as I step off the train and enter the terminal, Nate is waiting for me.

“Where are Archer and Ryley?” I ask after we shake hands.

“Evan is in the car. There’s no parking in this damn city. Ryley is already with Cara.”

“How’d you get here so fast?”

“Private jet.”

“Lucky bastard,” I mutter under my breath.

I think it’s funny that Nate, who I know from being in the service, trainings, and hanging out with his brother, was sent in to get me when it should’ve been Evan.

“We have about a two and half hour drive to where Cara is so we need to get going.”

One thing you can always count on when you’re with a SEAL is fast moving feet. Archer’s strides are long and quick as he dodges the people coming toward us. Outside, Evan is standing next to a car with its hood up.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I exclaim, throwing my hands up in the air. I want to get to my wife, and knowing that she’s only a couple of hours away and the car is broken down frustrates the hell out of me.Why? Why me?

“Ready?” Nate hollers to Evan who nods and slams the hood down.

“What the—”

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