“Why would that surprise you? He’s terribly worried about you.”
“Then why isn’t he here with me instead of out doing…what he’s doing?”
During her hesitation to answer, The Major muffled the phone and asked the nurse to give him a moment’s privacy. Then he asked Kerra if she was alone. “Can we talk candidly?”
She could hear the shower running through the closed bathroom door. “Yes.”
“I know some of what’s going on because Glenn stopped by earlier,” The Major said, still speaking in a rasp. “He was fit to be tied. Told me how John had tricked Hank.”
“He went to the line shack this morning?”
“Glenn with him. As John knew would happen. Hank’s always been gullible, but Glenn was also made a fool of.”
“That wasn’t Trapper’s intention. He only needed to buy some time.”
The Major pulled in a ragged breath. “Kerra, is he chasing that notion of his about the Pegasus?”
She didn’t say anything, which was answer enough.
The Major sighed. “When he was here last night, I was barely conscious, but he launched right into it. Said I hadn’t listened when he warned me, and as a result you and I nearly got killed.”
Not wanting to be argumentative, as Trapper would be, she chose her words carefully. “If Sunday’s incident had nothing to do with our reunion and the Pegasus bombing, the timing is uncanny.”
“I agree, but it’s not up to us or to John to decide that. If he thinks the two are connected, he should take it up with the authorities. Federal authorities.”
“He tried,” she reminded him.
“Yes,” he said with discernible regret. “I got frustrated with him over that, and I was wrong. But John is his own worst enemy. A superior calls his methods into question, he shoots off his mouth, gets into trouble, causes grief for himself and everyone around him.”
Kerra knew that to be true, but The Major’s labored breathing concerned her. “We shouldn’t be talking about this right now. It’s upsetting you.”
“I’ve been upset for three years. John was a bright and shining star at the ATF until his obsession with the Pegasus took hold. He stopped at nothing to try and prove that he was right and everyone else wrong. He disobeyed orders to drop it, and that cost him his career. Cost Marianne hers, too, and destroyed their future together.”
The last statement struck Kerra like a blow to the chest. She took several steps back and dropped down onto the edge of the bed.
Oblivious to his unwitting revelation, The Major continued. “He took his failure hard. We had a vicious quarrel. Issues that had been brewing between us came pouring out and…Did he tell you about Debra’s diary?”
Marianne had obviously been someone important to Trapper. That didn’t trouble her as much as the fact that he’d never even mentioned her name. However, he’d spoken freely about his mother’s diary and how he had used it as a weapon against his father, but it would be a betrayal of his confidence to admit she knew about that.
When she didn’t respond to his question, The Major wheezed, “Well, no matter. Each of us said things that damaged our relationship.”
“That saddens me.”
“Me too. Can’t speak for John.”
“I believe he regrets the rift. Deeply.”
“If he does, he sure hasn’t shown it.”
“I don’t believe it’s irreparable.”
“Because you don’t know John. He gives no quarter. He can be unmerciful. Harsh. Cruel, even.”
Kerra’s throat grew tight. “Why are you telling me this?”
“According to Glenn, you’ve ‘taken up with him.’ You’re adults. It’s not my business except that—I suppose because I saved you once before—I feel a certain responsibility toward you, Kerra.”
“What about Trapper? Don’t you feel a responsibility toward him?”