Summer Burns Read Free Page A

late. "
    " It ' s never too late to pay respects, " I said, a little irritated at my mother ' s comment. " He might have been overseas. "
    " True, " she replied. " It was nice of him to stop by. " She made that " tsk " noise that she makes when she ' s not sure she approves of something.
    I rolled my eyes. I wasn ' t sure what Mom was thinking over this, but I wasn ' t sure I wanted to find out. I started to leave the break room, when Audra came in.
    And my chance hit me. " Audra! "
    She grinned. " Shelby has gone. "
    I grabbed her hand and pulled her into the far corner of the room. " Now dish woman, " I said in the loudest whisper I could manage. " I have to know what she said about me. "
    Audra laughed.

Chapter Four
    Thursday
     
    After Henessey finished at work, he decided to stop by Gregg ' s, a local pizzeria to grab a slice for his dinner. He walked in, and the place was fairly crowded as he headed to the counter to order. Training kicked in, and he started scanning the crowd, looking for threats.
    He forced himself to take a deep breath and remember where he was. This was a pizzeria, not a war zone. There weren ' t enemies hiding in the corners, waiting to pounce.
    It was just families. Families who were there getting some food. Kids ran around--video games took up a back corner, and several kids were playing the noisy things.
    Another breath.
    In and out.
    Easy.
    Hennessey didn ' t have PTSD, as many of his friends had come home with, but there were moments when crowds and noise bothered him. He ' d been to all the therapy he was supposed to go to, and they ' d cleared him for active duty. However, considering the loss of his comrades from his last mission, he ' d been kept state side.
    This too shall pass .
    Laughter made him turn, and he saw a young girl, blonde hair cut to her shoulders, with bright green eyes, smiling at her mother.
    He paused.
    He ' d seen that face before. But in a helmet, and all grown up.
    He blinked. And took a step toward the little girl. The little girl stopped laughing, and she stared back at him, her brow crinkled in a funny expression.
    " Mama, who is that man? " she pointed right at him.
    The girl ' s mother turned.
    It was Summer. Which meant the girl was Bette ' s daughter. The one he ' d talked about. Hennessey ' s breath caught.
    Summer smiled. " Hi there, Sergeant. "
    He took a couple steps forward. " Hi. " He kept staring at the little girl. It was uncanny. Really. Just incredible how much that little girl looked like Jake Bettes. Pain hit him in an unexpected way--like a kick he never saw coming.
    " Are you a friend? " the little girl asked.
    He glanced to Summer, unsure how to answer. He ' d never been around kids much.
    " Sure he is. " She wiped her mouth with a napkin. " He worked with your daddy. "
    " Oh. " The little girl seemed to process this for a moment. Then she turned her bright green eyes on him. " Well, my daddy ' s in heaven now, so we have this extra chair here, if you want to sit down. "
    " Thank you, miss. " He nodded to the girl. " But I was going to grab a slice and be on my way. "
    Summer gestured to the pizza on their table, where only two pieces were gone. " Please, sit down. We have plenty. If you don ' t mind pepperoni, anyway. "
    " I wouldn ' t want to impose. "
    " Really, it ' s no trouble. Take a seat. "
    He hesitated. Not that he didn ' t want the piece, the pie smelled great--hence the reason he came in. However, he felt a little strange taking a handout from his friend ' s wife.
    But as he looked into Summer ' s blue eyes--strikingly different than her little girl ' s--he couldn ' t help himself, and sat in the open chair.
    " Thank you, " he said as he got comfortable.
    The waitress brought him a plate and he ordered a soda.
    The little girl glanced at him. " I ' m Emma. "
    " Nice to meet you, Emma. I ' m Matthew. "
    She grinned. " There ' s a boy named Maffew in my class. But he ' s kinda stinky. I don ' t like to share my crayons with him because