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“Figured you needed soer now and then” She put her hand on his shoulder and squeezed while Bryce got up to get s for coffee

Mary was a natural mother, and whether she realized it or not, she tried to mother him, too He let her because she had made his miserable brother happy and because she was the best dah to know that his dietary staple was burgers on the barbecue, chicken wings, and bacon and eggs Occasionally he mixed it up with a box of mac and cheese or a sandwich But he was no cook, and ht here at Bryce and Mary’s table, or Sunday dinners with his parents

Bryce came back to the table and put the coffee in front of Tom “So you met the new Foster woman What’d you do to piss her off? She sounded mad as a wet hen when she called the office today”

Toave a little thump as he remembered the way her blue eyes had widened when she’d opened the door “She doesn’t appreciate the workmanship in that house” He scowled into his coffee cup, looking up when Bryce laughed “What?”

“You’re going to tell me your foul mood has to do orkmanship?”

He’d gone to the house on Blackberry Hill with one goal init At times he’d nearly had the upper hand But she’d been stubborn Sassier than he expected “What else would it be?” he asked innocently

Bryce blew on his coffee as he raised a skeptical eyebrow “Nothing But Tom, that house is a mess and you know it”

“Doesn’t ”

“I’ you told her that in no uncertain terms”

“Hell, yes, I did Can you think of anyone ould do a better job than me?”

Mary was at the sink with her back to theht snort and saw thelike a fool Tom kne cocky his words sounded just as he knew his brother was having fun winding him up So predictable …

“Of course you’d do a great job,” Bryce replied “And it would keep your s”

Toritted his teeth “You know, it would beErin up all the time I’m fine”

“Right”

Okay, so he wasn’t totally fine He was still carrying around a fair bit of guilt about the way things had gone down It had been hell falling in love with Erin, watching herher on some distant battlefield That was perhaps the hardest part—knowing she’d been alone and so far away At least when Erin had been alive he’d told hie that she was happy—or so he thought, until just before her last deployment