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“Sounds yummy,” she sighed. “If you’re going to be there for a while you might as well have fun.”
“I don’t know how much fun I can have with tender ribs and a healing concussion,” Olivia said, stretching until the pain hit. It was getting better. As long as she kept the pain medication up.
“Oh, whatever,” Baylee laughed. “A concussion is nothing for you to deal with. I think if the motivation is strong enough you can do a lot with bruised ribs and a concussion.”
They laughed, and Olivia knew she was right. “It’s different,” she said softly. “I like this place.”
“Wow,” Baylee murmured. “That’s a hell of an admission.”
“It’s not like I’m going to stay or anything,” she said quickly. “But it is a nice little spot to recover for a while.”
“It definitely sounds like it,” Baylee agreed enthusiastically.
“So, how goes it with the new neighbor,” Olivia asked her.
Baylee huffed. “Oh, the man is impossible. He won’t even acknowledge me, most of the time.”
“That doesn’t sound productive.”
“No,” she sighed, sounding forlorn.
Baylee had been mooning over the man for weeks, but he seemed to go out of his way to avoid her.
“I think he saw my scar, and he wants nothing to do with me,” she said softly.
Olivia straightened, anger surging through her. “That had damned well better not be the reason,” she said harshly. “You are so much more than your scar. Don’t ever be ashamed of it. You earned it being a hero.”
“No, I didn’t, but thank you for saying that.”
Olivia hated it when Baylee got into these moods, but then, she was allowed. They all got them, here and there, just a dark phase that had to be worked through. “What’s Rex doing?”
“Who knows,” Baylee sighed. “Last I heard he was dating but not getting anywhere, if you know what I mean.”
“Damn. I thought the counseling was doing better for him?”
“I thought so too, but apparently not good enough.”
She wanted more for him. What had been done to the three of them on FOB Nightshade would haunt them forever. And the trauma would swallow them under if they weren’t careful. Rex was walking that line.
It was why the three of them kept in contact. They’d vowed to keep in touch, even when it wasn’t convenient or easy. The day of the wreck had been the ten-year anniversary of leaving Afghanistan, and they’d all been in a low spot, it sounded like.
“So, when do you go to your next job?” Baylee asked her.
“I have to call them in a few days to ask. They had that water main break and things got pushed back. I figure they’ll be ready for me by next Wednesday or Thursday. Surely, by then, I’ll have a car…”
“Well, keep me updated.”
“I will,” Olivia promised. “Oh, wait, how’s the new job?”
“Oh, Liv, I love it. I love pediatrics, but this is a truly magical place. I know my heart will probably be broken, but I feel like I’m making a difference.”
Olivia smiled softly at her friend’s words. “Then that’s where you need to be.” Connor was crossing the grass to her. “Baylee, I need to go. Next time I’m in Austin, I’ll stop for a coffee or something.”
“Sounds good! Take care, Olivia. No more crashes!”
Laughing, she agreed and hung up the phone.
Connor lowered himself to the grass beside her, his body moving easily. Then he laid down onto his back with a groan, hand going to his flat stomach. “I didn’t think I ate that much, but my stomach is telling me otherwise. I have a food baby.”
