Page 17 of Ford

“Hence the change of rate to Rescue Swimmer. I see.”

Sonny got out of his truck, hung a bag over his shoulder, and headed their direction. Handsome, with dark hair and a charming smile, Sonny had done time as a corpsman in Sicily before trying out for the SEALs.

“You’ve worked awfully hard to leave it now,” the master chief said.

“Leave what now?” Sonny asked.

“She’s leaving the Navy,” Nez said.

“What—?” Sonny looked down at her. “I thought you were going to be a Rescue Swimmer.”

She opened her mouth—not sure. “How did you know that?”

“Ford kept bragging you up. Said you passed your PRT and were fast-tracking to Pensacola.” Sonny lifted a shoulder, then looked at Nez. “Ford takes any more headers off a cliff, we might need her, huh? To drag him out of the water when he conks his head again?”

Ford didwhat?

Nez gave Sonny a look.

“What—?” Sonny said. “She was on the team. She knows about Ford and his addiction to crazy stunts. Of course, if she’d been on the other end of the radio, maybe he wouldn’t have had to nearly blow himself up.”

She pressed her hand to her stomach. “Blow himself up?”

“He threw a grenade in a closed room, had to take a header out a window. Problem was, the window overlooked a fifty-foot drop into a pretty hard landing,” Sonny said.

“He hit the water. He’s fine,” Nez growled, sending Sonny another look.

Hard landing…

“Yeah, if you call twelve stitches, a concussion, and a couple bruised ribs fine,” Sonny said. “But the kid does have a hard head.”

Good thing she was sitting down.

“He’s fine,” Nez said again. “Took some medical leave time, but he’ll be back.”

Medical leave. “Is he home?”

“I don’t think so…” Now Sonny was turning weirdly cryptic.

“I think he went to Montana,” Nez offered. “Some family time.”

Oh.

He hadn’t called her. Hadn’t checked in. Her throat tightened.

Not that she expected him to. After all, she wasn’t on the team anymore.

And maybe they weren’t really friends.

She hadn’t called him, after all.

But he’d beeninjured, and he still hadn’t called her.

She drew in a breath, hating the way an ache filled her chest.

And now she was…what,chasinghim? Trying to hold on to something that never was?

She was way too much like her mother, reading more into a relationship. Committing her heart. Finding herself wearing makeup, hoping a man might notice her.