2. Chapter Two
MATT
It felt good to be on US soil again, although Matt could have done without the throng. What he needed was some serious downtime with family and friends in a peaceful setting.
Like Pine Ridge, for example. The mountain valley town in Northeastern PA, where trees outnumbered humans a hundred to one, the water was safe to drink, and it was still possible to see a blanket of stars on a clear night.
He had six months. Six months to experience it all again and do everything one last time before he walked away for good and ascended to the next level. Or descended, as the case might be.
Matt was aware of the looks he got, walking through the Atlanta airport, primarily from females but from some males too. Even in jeans and a thermal, he stood out. Six-four, with his shoulder-length hair, multitude of piercings, and a deep tan that brought out the silver in his gray eyes.
Those attributes had served him well in his job. No one looked at him and thought, Special forces.
He wasn’t working now, however, and he had no desire to spend the next—he checked his watch—seven hours getting gawked at.
He set a course for the USO. Chances were, it was also filled to capacity, but preferable to the public waiting areas. Quieter too. Would he stand out among the typical military crowd? Probably. But it was the lesser of evils.
“Welcome to the Atlanta USO,” greeted a cheerful middle-aged woman. “I’m Blessing. Please sign in, and we’ll find you a nice, quiet place to wait for your connecting flight.”
“Don’t you want to see my military ID?” Matt asked, reaching for his wallet.
“That won’t be necessary.”
“Trusting, aren’t you?” he murmured.
She laughed softly. “I don’t need a card to recognize a special forces man.”
It was his turn to smile. “What gave it away? The piercings? The tan?”
“Your eyes,” she said simply, meeting them head-on.
Hers, while warm and kind, were also fathoms deep and appeared to swirl slightly in a way that reminded him of his aunt Maggie.
“You aren’t the only one who hides who he truly is beneath a carefully crafted exterior, you know. You must keep that in mind, especially when you get home.”
He blinked. Had he just entered the twilight zone? “Excuse me?”
She waved her hand dismissively. “Appearances are often deceiving, is all I’m saying. But then you’re already quite familiar with that, aren’t you?”
Before he could respond, she turned and beckoned him forth. “I have the perfect place for you to relax and unwind. I call it the library.”
He followed in her wake. Blessing led him past the rooms with families and kids to a much quieter area that had only two people.
“This is Oliver and Kate. I know you’ll be comfortable here. Kate, Oliver, this is Matt O’Connell.”
He hadn’t told Blessing his name. She must have read his scratch on the sign-in.
Matt offered the two occupants a smile and a nod as Blessing took her leave. Assessing them was as natural and effortless as breathing.
Oliver stood up and offered his hand. He was slightly shorter than Matt with dark brown hair and gray-green eyes with a glint that suggested he was the adventurous sort. His grip was firm and confident, though he seemed tense, as if he was uncomfortable or in pain.
Kate was an attractive brunette. Her long hair was pulled up into a ponytail, giving her a wholesome, girl-next-door look, but he could sense an inner strength in her as well. Her pretty eyes widened slightly as she tried to reconcile his appearance with his presence in the USO. To her credit, she schooled her reaction well and offered him a piece of candy. Sour gummies, by the looks of it.
He waved them off. “I’m good, thanks.”
“You don’t know what you’re missing,” Kate said, and for a moment, he wondered if she was talking about more than the candy.
Then, her face puckered as she popped one into her mouth. The look was so comical that he laughed and felt a sense of relief. No woman intent on flirting would deliberately make that face.
“Looks like I made the right decision.”
Oliver laughed. “Funny, that’s what I thought too.”
Kate shrugged, but her eyes twinkled. “More sour goodness for me. Are you heading home, Matt, or changing bases?”
There was no reason not to answer truthfully. “Home, to Pine Ridge, Pennsylvania. You?”
“Home also. Hollister, South Dakota.” Kate pointed at Oliver. “Also home. On the way to California.”
Matt looked back toward the front of the USO before he asked, “Has anyone else noticed that Blessing …”
“Is awesome in the most amazing way?” Kate finished, jumping to Blessing’s immediate defense.
And there was the warrior beneath the apple-pie exterior. “Calm down. I didn’t mean anything by it. She reminds me of my aunt.”
Kate visibly relaxed. “Well, whatever she told you, take it to heart. This isn’t my first time through this place, and she’s always right. Don’t fight it. Just take the advice and run with it.”
“How did you know she gave me advice?”
Kate smiled. “Well, she did, didn’t she?” She turned to Oliver. “You too.”
Oliver nodded. “Yeah, something like that.”
Kate nodded triumphantly. “That’s what I thought.”
Before any of them could comment further, the woman in question returned with another man. He walked stiffly, as if each step was an effort.
“Well, Corey, this is the best place for you to rest a bit,” Blessing said cheerfully. “This is Kate, Oliver, and Matt. They’re all heading home, but they’re getting out of the military.”
Not exactly true, Matt thought. Unless Blessing and her woo-woo knew something he didn’t.
Corey was tall and muscular, his expression pained. Injury could do that to a guy. Especially if it was the career-ending sort.
As before, Kate took the lead and leaped off the recliner. “Take the recliner and have a sour gummy.”
“I’ll take the candy, but you can have your seat. I’m not that hard up.”
Matt winced inwardly. A woman giving up her seat for a man was a blow to the male ego, even if it was done with good intentions.
Corey took the candy and pointed to the backpack Kate had put on the love seat. “That’s in my seat, and these are wicked sour.”
Wicked sour? Matt wondered if the guy hailed from Boston.
Kate picked up her backpack, but instead of moving back to the recliner, she took the seat next to Matt. Seemed like she and Corey both had stubborn streaks.
“Where are you from, Corey?”
“Someplace no one has ever heard of in upstate New York.”
Not Boston then.
Oliver, apparently forgetting his hard pass on the candy, leaned over and took one from Kate. “What happened, if you don’t mind me asking?” he asked Corey. Then, he tossed the gummy into his mouth, and his face promptly contorted. “Damn, these are not good.”
Matt’s lips quirked because, yeah, no shit.
Kate smirked and pointed out of the library. “There’s a cooler with drinks over there.”
Oliver sprang up from the couch. “Thanks. Anyone want anything?”
“Water, please,” Corey said and fished around in his bag. He pulled out a brown bottle of medication.
“I’m good. Thanks.” Kate waved off the offer and repeated Oliver’s question, “What happened?”
Corey averted his eyes, fiddled with his med cap for a moment, then said, “My FOB blew up.”
The guy didn’t elaborate, but his dark mood grew even darker. Thankfully, Kate took the hint and didn’t push.
By the time Oliver came back to the small library area, Blessing was shepherding another person in her grip. Big. Blond. Moving slowly and deliberately, as if he, too, was injured. It seemed to Matt that he and Kate were the only two who weren’t. Well, not physically anyway.
“Here you go,” Blessing said to the new guy, then looked at the drink in Oliver’s hand. “Oh, good, Kate must have told you where the refreshments were. I think I forgot to do that. Anyway, this is Kai. Kai, the recliner is open. It’s the best option for your back.”
Kai frowned and looked down at her. “I didn’t say I had a back injury.”
Blessing patted him on the arm. “Just let Kate know if you need anything. She’s been here before, so she knows the lay of the land.”
Here it comes, Matt thought with amusement.
Sure enough, no sooner had the man sat down than Kate was shoving the bag in his direction and offering him a piece of candy. What was it with her and the candy?
“Don’t do it, man. That shit is a silent killer,” Oliver said from his chair.
Kate shot him a look, then turned back to the newcomer. “Where are you headed, Kai?”
“Tennessee. I have some things to do there.” Kai lifted the leg rest of the recliner and sighed in relief.
“Man, I feel that to my bones,” Corey said and tossed back his medicine. “Anti-inflammatories only go so far.”
Kai nodded. “Truth.”
Kate turned her attention back to Matt, inclining her head slightly. “You don’t say much, do you?”
Maybe you say too much. Matt shrugged. “Not when I don’t have something to say.”
“Well, what do you say about a game of spades?”
Why not? It wasn’t like he had anything better to do, and it might keep the personal convos to a minimum.
“I say, bring it on.”
He, Oliver, and Kate played cards for a while. It was a nice way to pass the time. Kai fell asleep at some point with a pink pillow wrapped around his neck, and Corey was watching a movie or something on his phone.
It was low-key. Pleasant. Exactly what he needed.
After several hours, Kate picked up her backpack and said, “Guys, it has been great. I’ve got to get to my gate.” She stopped at the door and offered a few parting words over her shoulder. “Just remember, whatever Blessing told you today, do it. Don’t second-guess her. It will make your life so much easier.”