Free Dying to Please by Linda Howard

back in California, and only God and the Pentagon knew where he was now. Well, Daniel probably knew; he and Noel had their ways of communicating.
    “What about you?” she asked.
    “I'm still in Texas.”
    “I know that.” She rolled her eyes, exasperated, and knew he'd heard that tone of voice from her often enough to visualize the eye roll.
    “I'll be here until the cows come home. I'm getting rusty from lack of use.”
    When the cows come home
was family code for shipping out that day, since the cows came home every afternoon. She didn't bother asking where he was going, not that he would tell her anyway.
    “Have you talked to Mom and Dad?”
    “Last night. They're doing fine.”
    Meaning he had also told them he was shipping out. She sighed, rubbing her forehead. Worry had become a permanent fixture in all military families since September 11, but Daniel and Noel were both lifers, and both good at their jobs. Fighting terrorists wasn't like fighting a regular war, with ground lost and gained by foot soldiers. This particular war required the stealth and skill of the special forces, hitting with quick, devastating force and then vanishing.
    “Take care, and don't trip over your own big feet.” That was sister code for
I love you, and be careful.
    “You too, Annie.”
    Despite her worry, as she hung up she smiled at his reference to her shooting skills. They had mercilessly called her Annie Oakley since the first time she won the competition. She couldn't have had two better brothers, even though when they were growing up, both of them had driven her nuts. She had been the tomboy of the family—their sister, Jennifer, had looked on roughhousing with disdain—and even though Sarah had been much smaller, that hadn't stopped her from inserting herself into their football games, sneaking along on their fishing trips, or wading in with her little fists whenever they tried to bully and tease her. In short, she had been a pest, and they loved her anyway.
    She heard the little chime that signaled a door had opened, and glanced at the clock: straight up two o'clock. Right on schedule, the Judge was going out for his afternoon walk. On the way back he would stop at the mailbox and collect the mail; then he would want fresh coffee while he sat in his library and went through the day's haul. He loved mail, even junk mail, and leafed through all the catalogs. Retirement was good for one thing, he said: it gave him time to read things that weren't important.
    She put on the coffee and readied the tray. The cook, Leona Barksdale, looked up from the tomato aspic she was making. “Is it that time?”
    “On the button.” She paused. “He asked about tofu today.”
    “Then he'll be looking for it, won't he? I'll be creative today, and not serve any. Let's see, dinner will be grilled asparagus, roasted baby potatoes and carrots, and a lamb chop. Nothing there even remotely resembling tofu.” Leona checked on the rolls she had baking in the oven. “How was his cholesterol?”
    “Down twenty points.”
    They gave each other satisfied smiles. Working in collusion to sneak healthy meals into someone who resisted the very idea was a lot more fun than feeding such food to someone who actually wanted to eat healthfully.
    When she heard the door chime signaling his return, Sarah poured the coffee and filled a small four-cup carafe so he could refill his cup if he liked. Also on the tray was a plate with thin slices of Granny Smith apples, a wonderful fat-free caramel dip, and a few whole-wheat crackers, just in case he was feeling peckish. Before Sarah's arrival, his afternoon snack had often been a chocolate snack cake or a couple of Krispy Kreme doughnuts. Getting him to give up the doughnuts had been a battle, and that was one in which she sympathized with him. Giving up Krispy Kreme was truly a hardship.
    “Sarah?”
    Instead of going into his library, he was coming toward the kitchen. She and Leona exchanged puzzled looks;