Bri climbed into the passenger seat and sat with her hands clasped between her knees, staring straight ahead as Reese pulled out of the lot, turned left and then left again onto Route 6. They were going to the parking lot at Herring Cove. They always seemed to go there when Reese wanted to talk to her. Knowing that made her both comfortable and uneasy. Something was coming, something she probably didn’t want to hear. But this was Reese, and she trusted her in a way that she trusted no one else in her life. She trusted her father to care for her and about her, but not to understand her. She trusted Caroline to understand and to love her, but she felt protective of Caroline and wanted to always be strong for her. With Reese, she knew she was understood, and loved, and if she needed it, protected.

“You can just go ahead and say it,” Bri said.

“That was my plan.” Reese smiled and stopped the vehicle midway down the long narrow parking lot, away from any other vehicles. The tide was coming in and white froth bubbled along the water’s edge, tracing a lacy border where sand met sea. She turned off the ignition, released her seat belt, and swiveled until her back was against the door. She waited until Bri did the same.

“My reserve unit has been called up, and I’m going to be deployed to the Middle East.” Reese said it matter-of-factly, because that’s exactly what it was. She was a lieutenant colonel in the United States Marine Corps Reserves. And whether this particular involvement was called a war or not was of no consequence to her. She had pledged to serve and to fight, if asked to, and that’s what she was going to do.

“When?” Bri’s throat was dry, but her voice was steady, and she was pleased about that.

“I’m leaving tomorrow at four a.m. I’d like you to drive me to the airport.”

“Sure.” Bri closed her fingers tightly into fists. “Tomorrow?”

Reese nodded.

“How do you know you’ll be sent… you know. Where there’s fighting?”

“My father knows my orders. He told me.”

“Oh.” Bri looked away from Reese out the windshield toward Cape Cod Bay. She’d seen the scene a thousand times. She’d seen the waves stretch endlessly across the horizon, seen the white slash of gulls diving through a crystal blue sky, seen clouds float by like wishes, impossible to catch. She tried to imagine being surrounded by endless miles of scorching sand and blistering sun and sudden death. “Someplace bad?”

“There’s no place that’s safe,” Reese said quietly, “but I’ve got a top-notch unit.”

“When will you be back?”

“I don’t know.”

Bri jerked her head around. “The television says it will be over soon. Weeks, maybe a few months.”

“I know. But sometimes…” Reese lifted a hand, blew out a breath. “Sometimes things change. It’s better not to think about how long it will be.”

“It doesn’t work,” Bri said sharply. “I tried that when Carre went to Paris… I know it’s not the same, but…”

“It was hard, just the same. I know.” Reese tapped her closed fist on Bri’s knee. “And you did well.”

Bri snorted. “You didn’t see me sometimes.”

“I saw you do what needed to be done,” Reese said quietly. “You stood strong for her.”

“How’s Tory?”

“Standing strong.” Reese brushed a hand over her face. “I have a favor to ask of you.”

Bri sat up, her feet flat on the floor, her back straight. It was as close as she could get to coming to attention in a seated position. “Anything.”

“I’m putting you in charge of the dojo until I get back.”

“Tory outranks me.”

“I know, but she’ll be busy with the baby, and”…Reese smiled…“we both planned for you to take over someday.”

“Just until you come back,” Bri said insistently.

“Just until then,” Reese affirmed. “And one more thing.”

“Tory.”

“Yes.” Reese met Bri’s unwavering gaze, proud of the strength she saw there. “She won’t lean on anyone, but she loves you and I know you love her. If there comes a time when she needs to lean, even if she doesn’t want to, I need you to be there.”

Bri’s throat moved convulsively and she swallowed back a sudden swell of tears. “I will, but nothing’s going to hap…”

“Good enough.” Reese started the engine. “Thanks for taking my shift today.”

“Sure.”

“And Bri,” Reese said gently before backing out of the space. When Bri looked over, Reese brushed a hand over Bri’s cheek and through her hair. “It’ll be okay.”

“Pia,” Tory said into the phone as she dropped the last file on the corner of her overcrowded desk. “It’s Tory.”

“Hi,” Pia Torres said. “What’s up?”

“Is KT coming in this weekend?”

“She’s here now. She came in on an early plane and is just taking a shower. Do you need her?”

“Would it be okay if I stopped by for just a minute? I know she’s probably tired if she worked all night, but…”

Pia laughed. “We’re talking about the same KT, right? The tall, dark-haired surgeon with the endless energy who’s never happier than when she’s working?”

Despite the million things on her mind, Tory smiled. It was still hard to believe that KT, her once and long-ago lover, the woman who had turned her life upside down and nearly torn her heart out in the process, was back in her life again. Back in her life and happily involved with a friend of hers, and it didn’t bother Tory a bit. In fact, she and KT had finally made peace and with it, a great deal of her past had finally been laid to rest. “Unless you’ve gotten a new girlfriend since the last time I saw you, that would be the one.”

“Then she’s wide awake and I was just about to fix her something to eat. Come on over.”

“Thanks. I promise I won’t keep you.”

“Tory, just hush and get over here.”

Six minutes later, Tory parked in front of Pia’s bungalow, a classic white Cape Codder set back from the street on the far west end of Commercial. KT didn’t live there; she worked in Boston as a trauma surgeon and spent as much of her time off as possible with Pia. Today, Tory was especially glad to have KT back. Despite all the pain, KT was one of the most important people in her life.

Pia, her jet black curls framing a dark-eyed, sensuous face that typified her Portuguese heritage, came out the front door onto the small, neat porch as Tory made her way up the walkway between the flower gardens. She regarded Tory with a concerned smile. Impromptu visits were not common. “She’s in the kitchen.”

“Thanks.” When Tory realized that Pia was going to wait out on the porch, she added, “This is about you, too. Come inside.”

KT O’Bannon, tall, dark, and proverbially handsome, rose from her seat in the kitchen that looked out over Pia’s rear gardens. She was barefoot, in jeans and a frayed white T-shirt, and her dark hair was wet from her recent shower. “Hey, Vic. What’s going on?”

Tory smiled at the old nickname that she had once asked KT to stop using because it was so painfully intimate. Now she found it warmly familiar. KT reminded her of Reese in some ways. They were devilishly good-looking, strong and commanding, and beneath the charisma, tender. KT, however, through no fault of her own when Tory looked back on it now, had never provided the solid, unshakable foundation that Reese brought to Tory’s world. And Tory had never been able to give KT the freedom she needed along with the certainty of always having a safe place to return, as Pia was able to do.

Tory kissed KT’s cheek. “It’s good to see you.”

KT frowned and pulled out a chair at the table. “Sit. Let me get you some coffee. You look beat.”

“Why, thank you. I think.” Tory laughed shakily and pushed her hands through her hair.

“You sit,” Pia said, brushing her hand over KT’s back. “I’ll get you both some coffee.”

“Thanks, honey,” KT said before turning her attention to Tory. “What’s wrong?”

“I hate to do this to you two, because I know you worked last night and you’re probably looking forward to a weekend off, but I need you to cover my practice tonight and maybe part of tomorrow.”

“Sure,” KT said immediately. “Why?”

“Reese’s reserve unit has been called to duty. She’s leaving tomorrow morning.” Even as she said it, Tory found the words hard to absorb. She and Reese hadn’t been apart except for the once-a-month weekends and the few weeks every summer when Reese had to fulfill Marine reserve responsibilities. Even sitting across the table from KT, a woman she had loved for years, she couldn’t remember a time when Reese had not filled her heart and her mind. “I don’t want us to be disturbed tonight.”

“Of course we want to help,” Pia said.

“Jesus.” KT turned her coffee cup in her hands, frowning. “Isn’t her father some big deal in the military?”

“He’s a general.”

“Can’t he do anything about this? Get her some kind of deferment or something?”

Tory laughed, a short harsh sound. “KT. He’s been waiting for this to happen. He’s never forgiven her for leaving active duty, and he sees this as her chance to advance.”

“You’re kidding.”

Pia came to stand behind KT and rested her hands gently on KT’s shoulders. She leaned down and kissed the top of her head. “Sweetheart, maybe Reese doesn’t want a deferment.” She looked over KT’s head at Tory. “Reese strikes me as the kind of person who would go if it was required of her.”

“Oh come on,” KT said. “She’s got a wife and child to think about. Why would she…”

“You’re right, Pia,” Tory said softly. “I wouldn’t say that Reese wants to go, but she wouldn’t be Reese if she didn’t feel compelled to carry out her duty.”

“That’s bullshit,” KT snapped. “You’re her duty.”

Pia cupped one hand on the back of KT’s neck and squeezed gently, massaging the muscles that had turned to iron. “Tory’s going to be fine.”