“Probably not. And we don’t want to lure him here.” Ephraim said firmly. “I don’t want him near her place.”
“Right. Let’s make a plan.”
Sophie stood, “First, I’m making breakfast.”
They atethe bacon and eggs, along with homemade biscuits and gravy and generally talked of the army. Sophie listened avidly asthey talked of basic, specialized training, and trying to adjust to a civilian life after years of regimentation.
“I was awfully glad to get on with Hank’s group after I got out.”
“How’d you hook up with him?” Ephraim asked as he pushed his plate away and reached for his coffee. “Everybody I know comes in from a recommendation, including me.”
“A recommendation,” Reed laughed. “A guy from my hometown recommended me. He was the reason I joined up in the first place.”
“What did you do in the army?” She didn’t know much about the military, Sophie realized.
“Intelligence, Battlefield, to be exact.”
Ephraim’s brows raised and then he nodded, approving something Sophie didn’t know about. “You don’t use computers, but you worked in intelligence?” Ephraim asked with a grin.
“I use computers when I have to, but I prefer not.”
Sophie shook her head. “I’m glad I just clean houses.” She stood and started collecting the dishes. Both men helped clear the dishes and then, while she washed, Ephraim dried and she saw Reed locate the broom and sweeping the floor. “I think I like the training you guys got.”
Reed grinned. “This came from my mom.”
They made quick work of the cleaning and then sat back at the counter to plan their strategies. Sophie listened as plan after plan was discarded as being too man heavy, requiring too much manpower, too long in the making, and too much risk to bystanders. Finally, impatient and a little exasperated at the complexity of the proposals, she interrupted.
“What about a breakup?”
“A what?” both men asked.
“A breakup.” She said and suddenly, the idea that had popped into her head made so much sense. “Wood thinksEphraim and I are lovers. Why don’t we play into that and stage a breakup?”
“What good would that do?” Ephraim asked.
“We follow that up with me storming off in a huff and Wood following me.” At their protests, she held up her hand. “Obviously, Wood is focusing on me. In the grocery store, he could have followed you, Ephraim. Instead, he approached me and tried to take me. I think he wants to use me to get to you.”
Reed nodded. “It makes sense. He passed on an opportunity to get to you.”
“No.” Ephraim said.
“Yes.” Sophie retorted. “I’m tired of looking over my shoulder. I’m tired of worrying about going to my job. What if he goes into one of the houses when I’m working?”
He stared at her in consternation. “I don’t like it.”
“I know,” she laid her hand on his forearm. “I don’t really, either, but if we do this we can both move on.”
She looked down when his gaze turned on her and wished she had something to fidget with. She didn’t want to think of him leaving her little cabin, her town, but he had a life he needed to get back to. One that wasn’t compatible with hers.
“What do you want to do?” Reed asked Ephraim and he grimly nodded. “Let’s stage a breakup.”
CHAPTER 13
Sophie wriggled restlesslyin the car. Ephraim, at the wheel, glanced at her. “You sure you want to do this?”
She nodded and looked in the side mirror. Reed was behind them in a black jeep.
“I’m sure I want this over with. And unless you can come up with a better idea, I think we have to do this.”
