Promise Cove (A Pelican Pointe Novel Book 1) (43 page)

Scott’s easy laugh all but filled the inside of the Humvee. They rode sitting side by side on the same bench seat.

Smiling, Scott held several photos out to Nick. “Jordan’s got the prettiest brown eyes. But look, Hutton got my eyes. And she has my mouth, too. What do you think?”

Taking the pictures, Nick replied diplomatically, “I’d say, thank God, she looks like her mother.”

“I’m sure Hutton has my chin. She’s a cutie that’s for sure, don’t you think? How’d you escape getting married all this time?” “Never wanted that kind of commitment. There are too many women in the world to be tied down to just one. Don’t tell me you haven’t ever felt like you’re weighed down by one
woman. Doesn’t marriage choke the life out of you?”

“Nope, not with Jordan.”

Nick heard the sound of artillery fire. A rocket exploded around them shattering metal into a thousand pieces. He heard the pang of shrapnel.

Someone shouted, “Look out, incoming.”

He heard another explosion. Flames shot into the sky, while billowing smoke poured from several vehicles. The air smelled like burning fuel and then he breathed in the unmistakable smell of burning flesh.

“Promise me, Nick...”

N
ic
k
’
s
e
y
e
s
flit
t
ed
open.
H
i
s
body
shook
uncontro
l
la
bly
w
ith spa
s
ms.
H
e
could
alm
o
st
s
me
l
l
the
bu
r
ni
n
g
o
i
l
and fie
r
y
s
mok
e
.
H
e
felt
l
i
ke
he
w
as
bu
r
ni
n
g
u
p
.
W
ith
the
shee
t
, he
mopped
at
the
s
weat
on
h
i
s
body
and
r
ubbed
a
hand over
h
i
s
face,
then
through
h
i
s
hai
r
.
W
ea
r
y
of
the
dream,
he g
l
anced
at
the
a
l
a
r
m
clock
on
the
nigh
t
s
t
and.
T
w
o
-thi
r
t
y
.
H
ow
lo
n
g
would
he
be
a
ble
t
o
f
un
c
tion
w
ithout
a
good night
’
s
sleep?
A
nd
would
the
dream
e
ver
le
a
ve
him
in
peace?
W
ould
Sc
o
tt?
D
r
ained,
he
ro
l
led
over
in
bed
and
t
u
r
ned
on the
ligh
t
.
H
e
gr
a
bbed
the
book
from
the
be
ds
ide
t
a
ble
a
bout plum
b
i
n
g
.
A
s
he
be
g
an
t
o
read,
he
asked
out
loud,
“
W
hat
’
s the
b
ig
deal
a
bout
plum
b
i
n
g?
S
hift
gea
r
s
H
a
r
r
i
s.
I
t
’
s
a
l
l
in
the boo
k
.
”
Then
w
ith
a
s
igh,
he
added,
“
I
n
an
o
ther
life
I
hired people
t
o
do
th
i
s
.
”

Af
t
er
thi
r
t
y
minu
t
e
s
of
plum
b
i
n
g
how-
t
o
,
he
cl
o
s
ed
the boo
k
,
bored
out
of
h
i
s
mind.
Loo
k
i
n
g
around
the
spa
r
s
e accommo
d
ations,
he
de
c
ided
what
the
p
l
ace
needed
w
as that
old
T
V
from
the
g
ar
a
g
e
.

Get
t
i
ng
dr
e
ss
ed
,
h
e
y
ea
r
ne
d
f
o
r
tha
t
o
the
r
life
,
th
e
one
h
e
’
d
ha
d
befor
e
I
r
aq
.
B
u
t
h
e
k
n
e
w
ther
e
w
as
n
’
t
a
chance
i
n
he
l
l
o
f
reca
p
t
u
r
i
ng
h
i
s
fo
r
m
e
r
happy
-
g
o
-luc
k
y
world.
H
ad
n
’
t
h
e
bee
n
t
r
y
i
ng
to
d
o
j
u
s
t
tha
t
fo
r
month
s
s
i
nc
e
h
e
’
d
bee
n
bac
k
s
t
a
t
e
s
ide?

The
night
air
felt
good.
H
e
g
l
anced
acr
o
ss
the
cou
r
t
y
ard for
a
n
y
signs
of
gh
o
sts.
The
p
l
ace
w
as
d
es
e
r
t
ed.
H
e
ra
is
ed
the
g
a
r
a
ge
door
and
felt
around
for
the
light
s
w
i
t
ch.
E
y
ei
n
g
the m
es
s
in
s
ide,
a
s
igh
es
caped
h
i
s
li
p
s.
H
e
be
g
an
s
o
r
ti
n
g
through the
clut
t
e
r
,
co
n
v
inced
Sc
o
t
t
had
n
’t
thrown
a
n
y
thi
n
g
a
w
a
y
s
ince
h
e
’
d
moved
her
e
.
S
t
andi
n
g
there,
he
felt
like
a
different pe
r
s
on
al
t
ogethe
r
.
A
nd
w
as
n
’t
that
just
a
bi
t
ch,
he
though
t
, as
h
i
s
e
y
e
s
l
anded
on
the
rea
s
on
for
h
i
s
qu
e
s
t
.