Chapter 6
CHAPTER SIX
The next morning Foster called Wave, asking if he wanted to go for a run then grab some breakfast. Wave said nothing for a long moment, so long that Foster thought he’d lost the call.
“You still there, Wave?”
Wave’s heavy sigh upped Foster’s concern. There was something going on with Wave, and he had no clue what it could be.
“Come on, Wave, we can go to that flatbread place you like after the run.”
Another sigh. “Fine. I’m not good company.”
“Let me judge how good you are.”
“I’ll be by your place in a few.”
“Good. I’m ready to go.”
Foster did a few stretches as his thoughts slid to Pen.
What was she up to this morning? He hoped she stayed put.
They couldn’t force her to stay in California.
It wasn’t like they’d arrested her. She was a guest of the Navy for the time being, and if she wandered off, they’d have to accept that she wanted to leave.
He hoped the information she had would be useful. They needed a break to capture this guy. They were finding out Kaya was behind some disturbing attacks over the years. The Navy ship being the one they wanted revenge for, but there were plenty more attacks he needed to answer for.
Wave pulled up in front of his house. It was time for some heavy discussion. “Hey, man. You ready to go for a run?” he asked as he slid into the passenger seat.
“Sure.”
Wave didn’t say much as he drove them to a lot near the beach. Foster needed his buddy to open up and talk, but he knew pushing him would shut Wave down. As they jogged, he kept the discussion light, pointing out high waves, interesting cars, and people along the beach.
They’d been going for about thirty minutes when a few things happened at the same time.
The cloud covered the sun, they came up on a bald, thin woman being pushed in a wheelchair by someone who was possibly her daughter, and there was a table set up accepting donations for cancer.
Foster didn’t know that all three of those things happening at around the same time pushed Wave to talk, but it got him to finally speak.
“My mom is dying. Cancer is taking the last of her. She has a month, maybe two.”
“Oh shit. I’m sorry. I didn’t know she had cancer.”
“I didn’t tell anyone, well I spoke to Cy, but he doesn’t know it has progressed. Maybe I should have come to the group with this problem, but I didn’t know she was really sick until a few months ago. I’ve been a total dick, and I’m sorry.”
“Dude, you don’t have to carry stuff on your own. We’re your friends.”
“I know. I should have told you.”
“What can I do?”
“I don’t know. My sister has to live somewhere. She took extra classes and graduates in December. So she has three weeks left before school ends. I thought about taking leave, but Mom wants me to wait until I need to be there for Cassandra before I take time off.”
“That really sucks. Is your sister eighteen?”
“She is.”
“Where will she live?”
“With me. She enrolled in a university here, so she is going to college. With everything happening, I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
Foster had no clue what Wave was going through. Having his sister move in with him was wild. But she had to go somewhere. “That’s a lot for anyone to take on.”
“Yeah, but I can handle it.”
“Buddy, we’re here to help. Don’t do this on your own.”
Wave huffed out a breath and slowed a little. “But you all have your own lives.”
“We do, but we can help out. I know she’s technically an adult, but she’s going to need people around who can help her adjust.”
“You’re right. I just didn’t want to be a downer and make everyone worry about me.”
“Dude, we could tell something was wrong.”
“I guess I wasn’t dealing well.”
“You were doing well enough on the mission, outside of that we can’t tell. You might need to take some time. If your head isn’t in the right place, you won’t be helping anyone.”
Wave groaned and shook out his arms. “Fuck, you’re right and I hate it.”
“When she moves here, we’ll figure something out. We’ll help make sure you both have time to work through the shit so she can find her footing.”
Wave blew out a harsh breath and slowed to a walk. They stopped beside the flatbread place and Wave turned to face him.
“Thank you. It wasn’t easy to hear, but you’re right. I need to take some time. I’ll send an email after I get home. It’s not one I want to send.”
He put his hand on Wave’s shoulder and squeezed. “Hey, we’re here for you. When you get back, we want to meet your sister. We also want to be there to help you figure out what you need.”
Wave nodded slowly. “I have no clue what I’ll need. My sister is younger, and I left home at eighteen. I don’t really know her that well.”
“But you do know her, right?”
“I only saw her every other year when I went home. They didn’t come out to visit, not even after BUDs. Mom was busy and money was tight. Cassandra’s father didn’t stick around, and he certainly didn’t pay support.”
Foster shook his head. “Man, I don’t know what to say.”
“That’s why I didn’t say anything.”
“I’ve known you for what, two years now, and you know you can trust me, right?”
“Yeah.”
“You should have trusted me with this. I may not know what to say, but I’m here for you and I’m here to bounce stuff off so you can work through the problems.”
“That means a lot.”
Foster hugged Wave, hoping his friend understood that they would stand by his side.
They were SEALs. They trained and were put through tests that built them up to stand on their own though they worked as a team.
They were resourceful, and could do damn near anything, but when it came to family, things got sticky.
He wanted Wave to understand he had people he could rely on.
They ordered their food, he got the Italian special, and Wave got a breakfast flatbread, then moved to a table to sit. The place was busy, so they were at the back of the place.
“Thanks for coming here,” Wave said.
“I like it.”
“Yeah, but I know it’s not your favorite place.”
He was about to say something about where they went not mattering when a woman stepped over to their table. He glanced up, thinking he had no clue who she was. He hoped this didn’t take long.
“Excuse me, my girlfriend over there and I were talking about how we think we know you.”
Foster used to think women coming up to him in places like this was flattering. He had some fun when he was younger, but he was tired of being interrupted when he was in the middle of something, like breakfast with his buddy.
“I don’t think so,” Foster said.
“Sure, we met you at the club a few weeks ago.”
Wave shook his head. “Sorry, but we don’t go to the club, so it wasn’t us.”
Foster shrugged. “I haven’t been in a club in years. Wasn’t me.”
The woman actually huffed like she’d expected them to play along.
He was glad she turned and left, because if she kept pushing, he was going to have to tell her to leave them alone.
Maybe guys fell for that line, and it was how they got dates.
Thoughts of Pen filled his mind. He didn’t know her, and she didn’t know him, but there was something about her that intrigued him.
He shouldn’t think about Pen. She’d been through hell.
There wasn’t any way she would be ready to date any time soon.
Besides, his time would be taken up with helping Wave’s sister, Cassandra, adjust to living in California.
He didn’t have time to build a relationship, at least not one that would last.