“Yes, sir, it did.”
“A soldier obeys orders.”
“Yes, sir. I know that.”
“There was no excuse for your behavior.”
“No, sir. No excuse.” Jake’s jaw tightened. “But there sure as hell was a damn good reason.”
A tight, barely discernible smile came and went on the General’s lips. He put his untouched longneck aside, reached out and squeezed Jake’s arm.
“Some might agree with that assessment,” he said softly. “You’ve made progress, son.”
“Thank you, sir. But I haven’t done it alone. I’ve been attending a veteran’s support group.”
“Excellent. Excellent. For a while there, I was, well, I was concerned you’d lost your way.”
“I had. For a while.” Jake swallowed hard. “But someone came along and—and pointed me in the right direction.”
“Addison,” Travis said softly.
The General nodded. “Addison McDowell.”
“How did you—”
“You’re my son, Jacob. Did you think I wouldn’t be interested in what was happening to you?” He paused. “She sounds like quite a young woman.”
“Yes. She is.”
“You opened up to her?”
Jake nodded.
“I’m glad. That you could do that. With her, if not with …” The General cleared his throat. “Well,” he said briskly, “I have to get back to D.C. I’m having dinner with the vice president.”
Jake and his brothers stood up, too. Caleb clapped his hand on Jake’s shoulder. “So, things are good?”
“Yeah. They are.”
Caleb and Travis exchanged glances.
“What?” Jake said.
Travis looked uncomfortable. “Ah, she called. Addison. She, ah, she fired us both.”
Jake gave a rueful laugh. “Sorry about that.”
“No, it was okay. She just said she, ah, she wouldn’t need our services any—”
“The thing is,” Caleb interrupted, “she asked about you. Wanted to know if you were okay.”
Everything seemed to go very still. Jake stared at his brothers.
“Did she—did she—”
Travis squeezed Jake’s shoulder.
Travis shook his head. “Sorry, man.”