"He's doing a night flying training session," she said. "He was sorry to miss the party, but he's going to be taking time off for the wedding and honeymoon, so he wanted to get it out of the way."
"Where does he fly?" Jax asked.
"He works for the county's search and rescue department." Emmalyn glanced at her watch. "And he's calling me now. I'll be right back."
As Emmalyn left, Kaia turned to Jax. "It's too bad Hunter isn't here. I think you two would get along."
"Because we don't like to talk?"
"Because you both needed a long warm-up before you accepted an invitation. Hunter told me that coming to Ocean Shores gave him exactly what he needed."
"And you think it can do that for me?"
"If you open up and allow it to happen, yes."
"You're like one of those little dogs with its teeth clamped on a toy, and you just won't let go."
"After the way you kissed me earlier, do you really want to compare me to a dog?" she asked dryly.
"Sorry. That was a bad example."
"You think?" she teased. "But I take your point, and I will stop pushing, at least for tonight." She paused. "Here comes my brother. Let's keep what happened earlier between us."
"Fine with me. In fact, I think I'll check out the food while you talk to your brother."
He was gone before she could tell him he didn't have to leave. She just hoped he was only going to go as far as the buffet table and not back to his apartment.
"Hey," Ben said as he sat down, looking tired and stressed. "Was that our mystery man? You finally got him to join us?"
"I did. I want him to get to know everyone."
"And what do you know about him now?"
"More than I did before," she said, not getting into the details. She was somewhat surprised that Ben didn't push her for information, but he seemed distracted. "How are you doing? You look like you've had a rough day."
"Day was fine, but I got a call from Warren, Dad's neighbor, and he said that Dad is throwing all his stuff away, including his medals."
"Why would he do that?" she asked in surprise.
"Warren said he didn't know, but he was wondering if Dad might be dealing with health issues that he doesn't want to talk about. He thinks I should come down and visit him before he gives away everything in his house."
"Do you want me to go with you? I'm supposed to work tomorrow night, but maybe I could get it off."
"It's better if I go on my own. If we both show up, he might think we're ganging up on him. Plus, whenever you're around, he seems to feel an even bigger need to declare everything is fine."
She frowned at that reminder, but Ben wasn't wrong. Her dad had never liked to show weakness in front of her. In fact, whenever he felt vulnerable, he covered it with anger. That's why her mother's death and funeral had been such a dark period in all their lives. Not just because she was gone, but because her father couldn't allow any of them to grieve, at least not together. Whatever you were feeling, you needed to keep it to yourself.
"Well, let me know how it goes," she said.
"I will. It's probably nothing. You know how he hates sentimental clutter. Every year, he'd go through the house and throw away our stuff."
"That's true. I used to hide things in my underwear drawer. It was the one place he didn't feel comfortable going."
Ben gave her a weary smile. "I never had that option. Nothing of mine was off-limits."
"But you were his favorite, so there's that."
"I'm not sure that's the honor you think it is." He got to his feet. "I'm going to grab a plate. Do you want me to get you one?"
