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Then there was silence.

A concerning silence.

Raemy bit her lip and was debating whether or not to knock again when the door was finally opened.

Noah stood there, a scowl on his face and no apparent signs of the fistfight she was sure she’d heard.

“Is everything all right in there?” she asked. “It sounded like things got a little intense.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Noah said blandly.

Behind him, Crusoe and Tank were struggling, and a few of the vets she had seen but couldn’t name seemed to be attempting to hold both of them back.

Very much as if she had come to the house of a bunch of teenage boys tonight.

She grinned. Noah only scowled more, didn’t look behind him, and slammed the door when he stepped out onto his porch.

“It’s like a pack of puppies, or something,” Raemy murmured, looking at the slammed door. And perfectly capable of hearing the sounds of yet more wrestling behind the door, complete with a masterful command of some of the filthiest language she’d ever heard.

Noah smiled slightly. “Or something.”

It was a cool, breezy evening. The morning fog had burned off, the day had been lovely, and now a deliciously atmospheric gray evening was settling in.

If this was a good example of weather on the Oregon coast, Raemy was in love. And it didn’t hurt that they started walking and she therefore got the opportunity to really take in the fact that this man beside her was beyond beautiful.

He wore a button-down and what looked like the same jeans, only crisper. Like maybe they were the dress version. His hair looked like it wasn’t entirely dry, suggesting that he’d showered for this. If she didn’t know that he was a former Marine and was capable of doing just about anything under pressure without breaking a sweat, she might have been under the impression that he was a little anxious.

Or maybe he was trying to break his own jaw in two, clamping it tighter and tighter with every step they took.

“You already look like this is the worst night of your life,” Raemy pointed out as they headed down into the heart of the quiet village. She was unable to keep herself from laughing. “I promise you, it won’t be that bad. Some people even think that I’m good company.”

Most of those people were in the third grade or related to her by blood, but she saw no reason to share that with him.

Noah let out a breath as if he was fighting for patience.

That only made Raemy grin more.

“I told you that I would talk to you about your brother, and I will.” He glared at the street ahead of them and the lights on all the weathered buildings, gleaming in the gray dusk. “I thought maybe we’d sit down first.”

Raemy had to bite her tongue at that point, because it was that or she’d start telling him more details she was sure he didn’t want from her earlier tarot card reading. She kept it bitten as Noah all but stalked to one of the restaurants she’d seen when she’d been walking around earlier.

The hostess knew Noah and said hello, though she didn’t look particularly surprised when he replied with what sounded a lot to Raemy like a grunt.

They were led to a small table that sat near the window and was lit by the candles on the tabletop, and the pretty lighting inside. Speaking of atmosphere. This place was delightful.

“Do you want to hear about my tarot card reading?” Raemy asked as they sat down, because she might have decided that it would be more fun to tell him and see what his face did than simply imagine it for her own amusement.

Noah looked at her. This close, she could see that his dark brown eyes appeared to have their own ring of gray around them, as if he needed to be more mesmerizing. And right now, he was looking at her as if he was going to need all of his considerable strength to make it through this dinner. “Would it matter if I said I didn’t?” he asked.

“Big changes, perhaps a mysterious stranger, but no worries, it’s all going to be okay,” she summarized for him, airily. “In a nutshell. The non-nutshell version is more interesting, of course, but I think it might make you spontaneously combust. And who knows what you might do if I start talking to you about the meanings of the cards. I’m not sure you’d ever recover.”

His gaze narrowed slightly. But all he did was press his lips together. Which, if he wanted people to look at those lips, was an excellent plan. Raemy certainly found herself staring.

But there were menus to look at, and their server was sweet and bubbly and also clearly knew exactly who Noah was, though he didn’t appear to notice she existed. It wasn’t until they had ordered their food, got their drinks, and had a basket of bread between them that Raemy could pay attention to just Noah again.

“I’ll explain to you the conditions that day,” Noah began, sounding stilted and strange. Raemy—maybe thinking about earlier, or maybe simply acting on instinct, she didn’t know—reached over the tabletop and put her hand on his where it lay there next to his plate. Because he was sitting up so straight, palms down on the table, like he was expecting an interrogation.

“Hey,” she said quietly. “I don’t actually need you to tell me about that day. I already know how he died. I’m pretty sure that finding out more details about it is not going to make losing him any better.”