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PROLOGUE: GABE
My patrol was finally over. Hunger gnawed, and my skin itched from sand in places sand ought never be. Such was the way of things on a desert deployment. I wanted some grub, a shower, and eight straight on my cot. Things had been quiet enough in the region lately that I might actually get at least two of the three. But I paused on the way back to my tent to gaze up at the vast expanse of sky that stretched from horizon to horizon.
The moonless night meant nothing muted the stars. With no trees or buildings to lend perspective, the sky seemed so close. The Milky Way was a pale misty band across the sky, so dense with stars it almost seemed as if you could reach out and run fingers through it like water. There were no familiar constellations in this part of the world. No Orion’s belt, no Big Dipper. But the ones up there had become familiar over the past nine months, even if I didn’t know their names.
As I watched, a shooting star blazed across the velvet black before winking out.
I heard my grandmother’s voice in the back of my mind.Make a wish, Gabe.
It had been a long time since I’d made one. A long time since I’d believed in them. Maybe it was because I missed her. Maybe it was because the time out here on deployment left a man with little else. But I found myself holding my breath.
I wish for us all to make it home safely.
The faint hum of generators mingled with the soft chorus of crickets hiding somewhere in the darkness. A gentle breeze sent sand skittering softly across the ground and fluttered the edges of tents like the intermittent flap of birds’ wings.
Somewhere a camel let out a grunting huff, answered by the howl of a jackal on the hunt. The wispy clouds overhead spoke of later winds to come. But for now, an eerie calm presided.
That calm made me nervy.
Shrugging off my unease, I headed back to camp, detouring to the mess to grab some food before seeking out the light and laughter coming from my own tent. Time to join my friends for our nightly round of cards before we did it all again tomorrow. Stepping inside, the sounds of the desert night were muted, replaced by the familiar banter of the guys and the snap and shuffle of playing cards.
“Well, well, look who decided to join us,” Kellan drawled. “Pull up a seat. I’ll deal you in after this hand.”
I grabbed one of the overturned buckets we used for stools and wedged myself into the empty spot at the table. “Usual stakes?”
Rhett nodded. “Playin’ for peanuts.”
I fished out my stash of them from my pocket—the ones I hadn’t eaten earlier anyway—and waited as the current hand finished, with Clint laying down a straight flush.
He raked the pile of nuts toward himself, adding to his hoard. “Man, I can’t wait to get back home and go fishing again. Nothing like those misty mornings out on the creek.”
Home and Huckleberry Creek felt worlds away.
“Right there with you,” Rhett agreed. “But for me, it’s the smell of autumn in the mountains. With all the leaves changing, the chill creeping in, everything’s all brisk and invigorating. It feels like nothin’ changes here.”
Kellan dealt the next round. “What’s the first thing y’all are gonna do when you get home?”
That was easy. “I’m falling face first onto my bed and sleeping for eighteen hours straight. I’ve been dreaming of that memory-foam topper for nine months.”
“For me, I’m getting an entire huckleberry cobbler from Pie Hard and eating every bite,” Clint announced. “With vanilla ice cream.”
“Obviously,” Rhett concurred. “I want a quiet beer down at Doc Holliday’s. Can you imagine how good one of Doc’s lagers would taste after all these scorching dry days?”
Kellan’s eyes went wistful. “You know what I miss most? Late nights with Tate, talking about anything and everything over a couple of brews.”
We all looked at him, brows raised.
“Tate, your best friend and business partner?” I clarified.
Kellan fidgeted in his seat. “Since I’ve been out here, I’ve been maybe thinking about how she means more to me than both those things. How maybe I should do something about that.”
Before anyone could reply, Thompson stuck his head into the tent, grinning from ear to ear. “Just got off the phone with my wife. The adoption’s going through! We’re having a baby!”
Whoops and cheers broke out, and we all rose to give him back-thumping hugs. He and his wife had been working toward adoption for two years now, so this was big news.
Once everything settled again, talk circled back to relationships.
Clint tossed two cards and drew two more. “Obviously, the long-distance thing is tough, but I feel like this would somehow be easier if I had someone at home to look forward to.”
