King and Maxwell (Sean King & Michelle Maxwell 6)

“So what do you want?” he asked.

“I think you know.”

“I don’t.”

“A military policeman was waiting for me outside Panera after we met. He read me the riot act about trying to shake you down for money.”

“I didn’t know about that.”

“But someone did come and talk to you, right?”

Tyler sipped his hot chocolate and didn’t answer right away. He stared up at the sky.

“Looks like more snow is on the way,” noted Michelle as she glanced over at him. He seemed so conflicted that her empathy for him suddenly swelled.

Are my maternal instincts finally kicking in? How scary is that?

More miles passed in silence.

“We’ll be home soon,” prompted Michelle.

Tyler kept staring out the window. “They told me not to talk to you.”

“Who is ‘they’?”

“The Army.”

“So guys in uniform?”

Tyler glanced at her. “They weren’t wearing uniforms. They had on suits.”

“So how do you know they were from the Army?”

“Because they were there to talk about my dad. He was in the Army. Who else would they be?”

“Did they show you some ID?”

“Yeah, but they flashed them so fast I couldn’t see what they said. Besides, I wasn’t really focused on that.”

“Was your stepmom there?” Tyler nodded. “So what else did they tell you?”

“That you were probably trying to take advantage of me. That you couldn’t find out anything they hadn’t already told me.”

“About your dad’s death, you mean?”

“Yes.”

“And what did you say to that?” she asked.

“I… I didn’t say much,” Tyler admitted.

“What else did they say?”

“That you could cause trouble for us. That it might mess up our getting stuff from the Army—you know, like benefits.”

Michelle sighed, but then looked angry. “So they really laid a guilt trip on you. Talk about taking advantage of someone.”

“I don’t want to mess things up for my dad, Michelle.”