“So am I. That’s what she needs from you, Doug. She just needs you to be supportive. Everything she’s experiencing is normal and unless her doctor says there’s a reason to worry, there’s no reason to worry.”
“Are you sure?”
She wrapped her arms around his waist and squeezed. “I promise Doug. I don’t like you enough to lie to you to make you feel better.”
He laughed, returning her hug. “You love me.”
“Only because I have to.”
“Glad he got you back,” he whispered, rocking her side to side. “Don’t think I said that before.”
“Glad you went and got him,” she said.
“You two quit being nice to each other,” their dad said. “It’s going to make me hide all the knives.”
“One time, Dad,” Doug said. He helped Gilly with her chair. “And it didn’t even need stitches.”
They passed around the serving dishes while Gilly and her mom finished discussing her appointment.
“What was so exciting when we got here?” Doug asked during a lull in the conversation.
Emme finished chewing. “Oh. I got a teaching job offer from MUSC in Charleston.”
Doug, Gilly, and her father congratulated her on the job and asked when she would start. “And you’ll only be an hour and a half from Jordan,” her Dad said.
“Charleston is three hours from Fayetteville, Dad,” Emme said.
“Yes, but he’ll be in Savannah.” He ate a large bite of roast, unaware of Emme’s confusion.
“Why will he be in Savannah?”
“That’s where his command is going to be.”
Emme set her fork down. “You’re not making any sense, Dad. What command?”
“The command he’s getting with the promotion.”
“Dad,” Doug said.
She looked between her brother and father. “What promotion?”
“Dad.” Doug’s voice held a warning.
“I called in some favors. Got him looked at on the supplemental board.”
“Dad!”
“What?”
She heard the confusion in her father’s voice, not realizing he’d just dropped a bomb on her. Her lungs felt tight, as if she was trying to breathe through a wet blanket and her heart pounded in her chest.
Had he come for her because he was promised a promotion? Had he stayed to guarantee it?
Why did she feel so betrayed? It was so… So…mercenary. She knew his career was important to him — he’d said himself being the Army was all he’d ever wanted to do — but to go halfway around the world for a guaranteed promotion?
“Did he know?” she asked.
“Emme,” Doug said.
