Chapter 12
The savory scents of breakfast meats filled Maggie’s nose as they entered the small diner the next morning. They hadn’t found
Rocky’s family yet, but they’d crossed three diners off their list yesterday. Then because the other diners were closed, they’d
taken Zoey to the local children’s museum.
Maggie had been up early with her daughter, but they’d delayed their visit to the Iron Skillet, hoping the early morning crowd
would dwindle. She was glad to see only about half of the red vinyl booths were filled.
They stopped by a sign that read “Hostess will be with you shortly.” A moment later the sign kept its promise. A middle-aged
woman ushered the trio to a booth in the back corner and left them with menus. The restaurant was clean and comfortable, if
lacking the old-fashioned diner appeal of the other restaurants they’d visited.
“I want two of whatever I’m smelling right now,” Josh said.
“Can I have pancakes, Mommy?”
Maggie perused the menu. “How about the ones with strawberries?”
“Yummy.”
She’d just closed her menu when Maggie and Josh got a group message from his mom. “They made it to Paris last night,” Josh said.
“By train.” They had tickets to go up the Eiffel Tower in a couple days.
“Mom’ll love using her French.” Before she’d retired she taught the foreign language to high schoolers. “And Dad’s been talking
about those baguettes since they planned the trip.”
“Are they going to Italy next?”
“First they’re going to Interlaken, Switzerland, then Italy via Monaco. Dad wants to see where the Grand Prix takes place,
even though they missed the race by a few weeks.”
“Sounds like fun.”
He cut her a look. “If they knew what we were up to back home, they’d be on the first plane back.”
“Which is why we can’t say anything.”
“Agreed, but with any luck, we’ll strike gold here.”
A friendly male server brought water, and they went ahead and ordered, wanting to expedite their day. They had three restaurants
to visit and had to leave time to (hopefully) speak with Rocky before their drive back.
When the server left, Maggie studied Josh. He looked like he didn’t get much more sleep than she did. His dark hair was tousled
and his eyelids seemed puffy.
She didn’t look much better. She hadn’t bothered to bring makeup and had thrown her hair back in a ponytail.
Their server was pouring coffee a few tables down and Maggie flipped over her mug. “Why don’t we ask him about the owners
next time he comes around? That way once we’re finished eating, we can move on if we don’t learn anything.”
“Sounds good.”
“Are we gonna go to the museum again today?” Zoey asked.
“No, honey. But that sure was fun, wasn’t it?”
“The pretend kangaroo had a baby in her pocket.”
“I know. That was so cute.”
Josh tugged at his T-shirt. “How about if I put you in my pocket? I can carry you with me wherever I go.”
Zoey giggled. “I can’t fit in there.”
“Are you sure? I’ll hold it open and you can just jump right in, like the little joey.”
Zoey turned to Maggie. “Uncle Josh is silly.”
“He sure is. Maybe you can fit in my purse instead.”
“Mommy! I’m too big.”
“Well, that’s too bad. It would be fun to ride around in my purse all day.”
“We have a long drive home today.”
“That’s right,” Josh said. “We can play games again.”
“But when are we gonna see your friend?”
Maggie met Josh’s gaze. “Hopefully today, honey. We have to find him first.”
Zoey opened the crayon box and began coloring the kids’ menu that doubled as a place mat.
The server returned and filled Josh’s and Maggie’s mugs with steaming hot coffee.
“Thank you”—Maggie glanced at his name tag—“Grant.”
“Can I get you anything else while you wait?”
“Well, actually, yes. We were wondering if the owner was here today.”
“My family owns the place. How can I help you?”
Maggie’s attention sharpened on the man, noting the high forehead. The familiar shape of his eyes. The hawkish nose.
She sucked in a breath. She hadn’t recognized him because of his hair and bushy beard.
Rocky.
She must’ve said the name out loud. Because his eyes homed in on her face and his congenial smile wilted. “Maggie? What are
you—? I can’t believe you’re here. I didn’t recognize you at first. I think about you all the time.”
Josh cleared his throat. “Hi, I’m Josh, Ethan’s brother.”
Rocky extended a hand, smiling once again. “Of course. Josh. I feel like I already know you. I’ve heard so many stories.”
Josh’s gaze darted toward Zoey. “We’d love a chance to chat. Maybe when the food gets here we could sit over there.” He nodded
toward a booth across the way.
The adrenaline that flooded Maggie left her in a state of heightened awareness. She’d been thinking about everything except
how they might handle this with Zoey.
“Yeah, sure. I’d love to. Your food’s probably coming up any minute now. Let me find someone to cover my tables.” He strode
toward the kitchen.
Josh grabbed Maggie’s hand and she found in his expression the same excitement that bubbled up inside her. They were about
to get their answers.
He squeezed her hand.
Despite her best efforts to remain realistic, hope expanded inside like helium, filling her until she thought she might float
to the ceiling.
A few minutes later Grant returned and began unloading their plates from a circular tray. “Here we are.”
When he set down Zoey’s plate, Maggie automatically began cutting her pancakes and strawberries.
“I can do it, Mommy. Can I have syrup?”
“Jeez, I totally forgot.” Grant seemed as flustered as Maggie felt. “You need refills too. And did you want gravy with your biscuits?” he asked Josh.
“No, thanks.”
“Be right back.”
When Grant returned, Maggie set the syrup by Zoey’s plate. “Honey, this is our friend Grant. Grant, this is Zoey.”
His gaze softened on her daughter. “It’s sure nice to meet you, sweetheart.”
“Uncle Josh and I are going to sit right over there with our friend while you eat.”
Zoey stuffed a bite of pancake in her mouth and nodded.
One hurdle down. Maggie and Josh left the booth and joined Grant across the way. This was happening so fast. She hadn’t expected
to find Rocky in the restaurant, and she’d been so intent on how to extract information from his parents, she hadn’t given
much thought to what she’d say to Rocky himself.
Josh must’ve caught on to her panic. He leaned onto his elbows and lowered his voice. “Thank you for being willing to talk
to us.”
“You kidding? It’s so nice to meet you guys. I feel like you’re practically family.”
He hasn’t asked about Ethan. If he were still alive, Rocky would’ve asked where he was or how he was doing by now. The thought punctured a gaping hole
in her hope.
“You must be wondering why we’re here,” Josh said. “I guess we need to hear what took place the day of the explosion. Were
you there when it happened?”
Grant’s face sobered, then he stared at his hands on the table. “I was. I’ve relived that day a million times. Still have nightmares about it. Sometimes dreams where I did something different. Something that changed the outcome. Then I wake up and realize all over again that it really did happen.”
“I’m sorry for what you’ve been through,” Josh said.
“It must be hard to talk about,” Maggie said. “But it would be very helpful if you could tell us what happened.”
“Of course.” Rocky’s Adam’s apple bobbed. He glanced up at Maggie. “Least I could do. I should’ve contacted you sooner. I’m
sorry I didn’t.”
“That’s okay. What you’re doing right now means the world to us.”
Eyes fixed on his hands, Rocky seemed to travel back in time as he spoke. “It was just a normal day. All the routine things.
We did our jobs, cut up, poked at each other. Then someone brought in this Iraqi woman. One of our guys found her on a road
outside the base, passed out and bleeding. Hollywood was first on hand. He went over to assess her injuries.” Rocky swallowed
again. A mottled red stain climbed his neck and flushed his cheeks.
“That’s when the explosion happened. I was lucky. It just threw me back into a bed. I didn’t even lose consciousness. But
when I gathered my wits, my ears were ringing and I just—I was like, This isn’t happening , you know? We train for all sorts of terrible things. It felt so surreal. Like it was happening to somebody else.”
Maggie’s heart shriveled inside her chest. Her shallow breaths left her dizzy.
Josh leaned forward. “You said Ethan went to assess her. Where was he when the explosion took place?”
“He was—he was right there. Bedside. One second he was there and the next... It was quick. He didn’t suffer. I hope you
can find some comfort in knowing that.”
Her eyes filled with tears. She tried to think of something to say. But she couldn’t think beyond the gut-wrenching sense of hopelessness spreading like poison through her veins.
Under the table, Josh took her hand. “So you’re 100 percent certain Ethan couldn’t have survived?”
Grant blinked. Opened his mouth. “No. I saw... He didn’t survive.” He looked back at Maggie, questions in his eyes.
“We—” She cleared the croak from her voice. “We just had to be certain. You know. They didn’t tell us much.”
“I wish so badly I could say otherwise...” His gaze fell to the table and the muscles in his jaw ticked as he seemed to
go back in time. “I’m so sorry. I’ve wished a million times I could trade places with him. I’m not married, no kids.” He glanced
over at Zoey. “He should’ve been here to be a dad to her. He was so happy about becoming a father. He’d shown me the ultrasound
the night before.” Grant shook his head, his eyes glazing over, remnants of shock and horror in his expression.
She couldn’t fathom what that room must’ve looked like following the explosion. It had left seven people dead and more injured.
But Maggie could barely process the idea that the hope building relentlessly for ten days was false.
They were right back where they’d been before she’d seen Ethan’s look-alike. No. It was much worse than that. That terrible
news seemed to have stripped away all the progress she’d made over the past five years. Now grief rose inside, threatening
to engulf her all over again. She stuffed it down.
“I wasn’t sure how much they’d told you,” Rocky said. “I hope I didn’t—”
“You told us the truth.” Josh’s voice had a ragged edge. “That’s what we came for.”
She’d actually let herself believe, just a little, that Ethan might be out there somewhere. She swallowed against the boulder in her throat.
“I’ve wondered a hundred times how you’re doing, Maggie. Hollywood was so smitten with you. He had your pictures by his bed
and bragged so much when you got pregnant.” He glanced over at Zoey, who sipped milk from a straw. “She smiles like him.”
Maggie tried to lift her lips. Tried to find comfort in his words. But her heart felt like a barren wasteland. The emotions
bubbled to the surface, threatening to erupt with the force of a volcano. “Excuse me. I need to use the restroom.”