She shook her head. “My dad was in the military. I was an Army brat. We moved here when he retired so my mom could be closer to her family in Mexico.”
“And you’ve lived here ever since?”
“Yeah. Except for my stint in the Army.”
“How long did you serve?” Trying to get personal info out of her was like trying to milk a bull.
“Only a few years. I had to file for a dependency discharge to come home and take care of my brother.”
“Zeb?”
Zina nodded. “He was in the service too.”
“I really thought he would go all the way to the NFL. He was good.”
“Better than good.” Her mouth set in a grim line. “I wish he had. Then maybe he wouldn’t be so messed up.”
“What happened?”
“I told you he’s got PTSD. I think anyone who’s been stationed in a war zone ends up with some level of trauma. But Zeb wasn’t the same man when he came home.”
“I’m sorry.” Against my better judgment, I reached out and put my hand on hers.
She tried to laugh off my concern. “Sorry for what? It’s not your fault.”
“Of course not. I just mean I’m sorry he’s had to . . . I mean, sorry both of you have had to deal with this.”
“He’s family. You do what you’ve got to do, right?” She shrugged and nibbled on her last triangle of quesadilla.
Family. Do what you’ve got to do. She made it sound so simple, so cut-and-dried. Here she’d given up her military careerto come home and take care of her brother, and I balked at the idea of having to deal with my grandfather for a few weeks.
“So who takes care of you?”
“What?” Her eyebrows drew together.
I wanted to kiss away the little wrinkle that furrowed her brow. “Who has your back? Who’s your family?”
She leaned back from the table. “Lacey for one. She and Bodie are about the only family I’ve got left. We do all right around here though. Sometimes family doesn’t necessarily mean the people who share your blood, you know?”
I nodded like I knew what she meant, but the truth was, I hadn’t been very good family to anyone—not the people I shared genes with or anyone else for that matter.
“Thanks for the late dinner.” Zina pushed back from the table and carried her plate over to the sink.
I scarfed down the last couple of bites and joined her next to the sink. “Do you want to stay over tonight?”
The blank look she gave me made me rethink the invitation.
“I just thought, since it’s late and you’ve got the puppies here . . .” Hell, maybe I’d misread the entire situation. She seemed pretty into me last night.
She closed her eyes for a long moment and rubbed at her temple. “Sorry, it’s been such a strange day, I forgot to tell you.”
“Tell me what?”
“I’ve been forbidden to return to my place, so we’re going to . . . well, we’re going to be roommates.”
A heaviness settled in the pit of my stomach. “Excuse me?”
“With everything going on I forgot to mention it. Seems someone tossed a brick through my front window last night and Bodie won’t let me go home. Looks like you’re stuck with me until I get the dogs out of here.” She caught her lower lip with her teeth. “Is that okay?”
