Solo couldn’t help but smile as she made her way across the shiny hardwood floor. She’d been going to the open gym volleyball night for a year before the gang had come together again, and once she’d introduced them to it a month ago, it had quickly become a weekly institution. The sessions attracted everyone from seasoned athletes to people who’d never touched a ball in their lives, and the only rules were to try your best, talk your trash, and not be an asshole.
“Dark side?” Gabe raised her eyebrow and laughed. “What is this?Star Wars?”
“Close. Volleyball wars.” Woody jabbed her finger at Gabe’s chest. “We’re creating a volleyball dynasty, and I won’t stand for anything less than total victory. Solo’s instrumental, you know that.”
“You all take this very seriously for a community thing,” Lori said and gave a small smile.
Lori had been coming for a couple of weeks, but she was often so quiet that Solo sometimes forgot she was there. Gabe’s constant awareness of her however, like the way Gabe’s hand found the small of Lori’s back, or the way her eyes tracked Lori’s movements made it impossible to miss how far gone Gabe was. It’d only been a few weeks since they’d gotten together, but they already had that quality Solo recognized from her own early days with Janie, that sense of two people learning to orbit each other, still tentative but pulled in by something undeniable. Her chest tightened, and once again, she glanced at the exit, rethinking her decision to be here.
“You okay?” RB asked.
Solo hadn’t noticed her approach. RB had a way of moving through spaces like she was a ghost. It’d been a useful skill in the Army, but now it was just freaky. “Yeah, just...” She motioned vaguely at the chaos around them. “I’m taking it in.”
RB studied her for a moment with those serious dark eyesthat always seemed to see more than Solo wanted to show.
“You don’t have to stay if you’re not feeling it,” RB said. “No one would blame you.”
“No, I want to be here,” Solo said, realizing it was probably true. She’d been drowning for a few weeks now, in the triplets’ needs, in her own spiraling thoughts about Janie, in the crushing weight of running the garage while her personal life imploded. Being here, surrounded by her people, doing something completely unrelated to any of her problems was like coming up for air.
“Good,” RB said, “because we need all the help we can get.”
Movement near the entrance caught Solo’s attention. A tall woman with close-cropped hair and hollowed-out eyes stood just inside the doorway, scanning the crowd with the kind of wariness Solo recognized. That same skill had been drilled into her by the Army, to assess exits and threats before advancing into any space.
RB followed her gaze, and her expression shifted into something softer. “I’ll be right back,” she said, already moving toward the woman.
Solo watched as RB approached carefully, not crowding the woman’s space, speaking in a low voice Solo couldn’t hear. The woman’s shoulders gradually dropped from around her ears, and after a moment, she nodded. RB gestured toward the clusters of people organizing into teams, still talking quietly, and the woman’s expression shifted from wary to something like cautious interest.
“That’s Van,” Shay said. “RB’s been working with her at the center for a couple of weeks. Former Marine, discharged six months ago, and she’s been couch-surfing ever since.”
Rosie smiled gently. “RB’s good with her.”
Solo recognized the same tone as Rae used with her. Even though she wasn’t currently a therapist, Rosie couldn’t quite turn it off.
“Patient,” Rosie said, still observing the pair. “Consistent.Doesn’t push.”
Shay circled her arms around Rosie’s waist and pulled her close. “Thisis why you’re reconsidering your career.”
Rosie turned in Shay’s arms and kissed her. “Again.” She rolled her eyes. “I’m not going anywhere until the first stage of the Unity Tools project is complete. I can’t leave you and your gang in anyone else’s hands just yet.”
Woody chuckled loudly and nudged Shay’s shoulder. “I’d be happy in anyone’s hands.”
Shay shoved Woody away. “That’s because you’re a desperate butthead.”
“No fair.” Woody crossed her arms. “I just want some of this hotness that’s running through our team like a virus.”
Gabe ran her knuckles over Woody’s head. “I thought you were a confirmed bachelor?”
Woody grinned wickedly and looked Rosie up and down. “I am. I want the hotnesswithoutthe happily ever after crap.”
“Are we playing or talking all night?” Gabe asked.
Solo didn’t miss the glare Gabe shot at Woody before she nodded toward Solo, but she chose to ignore it and continued to watch the exchange between RB and Van. A pang of something that wasn’t quite envy, but adjacent to it, rippled through her. RB had found another purpose in this work at the center, helping veterans who’d fallen through the cracks, and it showed in every careful gesture, every moment of attention she gave to people like Van. Solo had thought her own purpose was raising her girls, but trying not to drown in the sea of shit that was her life right now had overtaken that.
“Earth to Solo!” Woody snapped her fingers in front of Solo’s nose. “Stop brooding and get your head in the game. We’re playing Yen’s team first, and I will not lose to those smug bastards again.”
Gabe grasped Woody’s shoulder. “You know this isn’t a serious competition, right?”
“I know.” Woody shrugged her off. “It’s trash talk. It’s part ofthe game.”
