“Three years. Wait, he said it was going to be a special night? Whoa.” Georgia slapped a hand in front of her to prevent Penny from entering the treatment room. Her brown eyes widened and her eyebrows shot up so high they almost disappeared into her hairline.

“What? Is there something special about three years? You know I’m oblivious about this kind of thing, so you’ll have to enlighten me.”

“Are you serious?” She held out her left hand and waved her wedding ring in front of Penny’s face.

Penny couldn’t help but snort. “Oh no. There is no way.”

“Helloooo. Did you think you’d just be dating forever? Three years is generally considered shit or get off the pot time.”

Her first instinct was to laugh again but then she thought back to how strange Scott had been acting lately. He’d been talking about how nice it would be to have a bigger place since her house only had two bedrooms and he lived in a condo. He’d also asked if she wanted to take a vacation that summer. They’d never made plans that far in advance before. Ever.

Penny’s stomach dropped until it felt like it was dragging on the linoleum floor.

Georgia nodded, knowingly.

“He’s going to ask you to marry him.”

*   *   *   *   *

“WE SHOULD GO after him.” Nick paced back and forth while his mother silently swept the pieces of broken pottery into a pile. They’d eventually cut the cake, revealing the bright pink center. The mood was still somber, however. The cake sat forgotten on the table next to Eli.

Julia shook her head, sadly. “Someone needs to talk to him. It’s obvious he’s hurting, poor thing.”

Nick didn’t disagree, but he was pretty sure his friend’s wounds went a lot deeper than a hand-holding session and a heart-to-heart chat. Matt likely needed help that none of them were qualified to give.

“We’ve been talking to him. We just haven’t been listening.” He’d been completely wrapped up in his own problems between convincing Raina to marry him and worrying about her pregnancy. He hadn’t given his friend’s strange behavior a second thought. Nick clenched his fists at his sides. When Matt had needed him, he’d been too busy.

“He’s right,” Jackson added. “After Divine’s first album came out, that’s all I’ve been thinking about. We’ve all been so wrapped up in our own worlds that we couldn’t see he’s self-destructing right in front of us.”

“He joined the Reserves in college, but last year was his first year being on active duty. He’s up for reenrollment this year. I’ve tried talking to him about it but I just don’t know what to say.” Mara’s voice broke and she turned and rested her head against Trent’s chest. “He knows I want him to get out, but I don’t know if that’s what he really wants. Plus, if he does get out, what would he do? I’m sure just the thought of it is overwhelming.”

Elliott had been quiet up until now. “I have a lot of ex-military guys on my team. If Matt’s interested, he could always come work for me. With all the extra work Raina has thrown my way to protect her when her normal guy is off duty combined with guarding Ridley and the Divine girls, my team is about stretched to capacity. I’ll need to hire more local guys soon, anyway.”

“Wait, guarding me?” Ridley sat up and glared at Eli. “Since when have you been guarding me?”

“Um.” Eli looked over at Jackson and shrugged. His brother shook his head slightly, then smiled sheepishly when Ridley turned and caught him.

Ridley crossed her arms. “I knew it couldn’t be coincidence seeing you at the grocery store that many times!”

Elliott looked like he was trying to smother a laugh. “Right. Anyway, I’m sure between my team and Raina’s we can find a job for Matt if he wants it. Right, Raina?” He looked around the room and then looked behind him.

“Where’s Raina?”

Nick glanced behind him where he’d last seen his wife. It was as natural as breathing for him to be around the people who loved him; however, Raina still wasn’t completely comfortable at family gatherings. She had a habit of sneaking off in the middle and then suddenly reappearing when it was time to leave. For someone who’d grown up mainly on her own, it was overwhelming to be in the midst of so much chaos. He understood and respected that.

“I’m sure she’s around. Probably looking for something else to eat since we ran out of oranges.”

Eli looked confused. “We ran out of oranges? I thought there was a whole bowl in the kitchen.”

“Well, there was a whole bowl when we arrived. Not anymore.” Nick walked down the hall and peeked in his old bedroom to see if she was hiding out in there. Nothing.

As he turned to leave, he heard muffled voices outside the window. He crossed the room and pulled back the curtain slightly. The second story had been added years after the house was built, so it sat at a slight angle to the back porch. He could see Matt standing at the railing. Raina stood next to him. Raina wasn’t usually the social sort, but apparently she’d found a way to get through to his friend.

Matt looked tense, but he was listening.

CHAPTER FIVE

THE SUN HUNG low in the sky, bathing the barren landscape with a golden haze. There was no furniture on the porch since it was too cold to sit out, so Matt leaned his hip against the railing. He could see the barn in the distance, the faded red like a beacon amongst the icy gray landscape. It was so calm out here. The perfect stillness curled through him until the ball of tension in the middle of his chest began to loosen up.