Free Away From You (Back To You Book 2) by Jessica Mastorakos Page B

butt. Granted,
nursing school was also kicking my butt, so I wasn’t sure which stressor was
worse at the moment.
    “I know.
It’s just hard.”
    Mom nodded
knowingly and patted my shoulder. “Grab the block of cheddar from the fridge
and shred it for me, okay?”
    I mock
saluted her. “Yes, ma’am.”
    “So, what’s
new with Matt? I’m so glad you get to talk to him as often as you do. I’m sure
that really helps.”
    “Yeah,” I
agreed, washing my hands at the kitchen sink. I took the cheese out of the
fridge and hunted through a drawer for the grater. “It helps a lot. Especially
when he has interesting stories to tell me. For example, apparently they get
rocket attacks pretty frequently on the base over there.”
    Mom’s
eyebrows rose. “Seriously?”
    “Yep! And I
only found out about that because he was telling me about a fight that his
buddy got into when they were in a bunker, and I asked why they were in the
bunker in the first place, so he told me. I could tell that if it weren’t for
him thinking the fight story was so funny, he wouldn’t have told me at all!”
    “That’s
common, sweetie. They don’t want us to worry.”
    “I get that,
but I don’t want him to feel like I’m so fragile that I can’t handle it, you
know?”
    Mom
chuckled. “Oh, I know the feeling. But really, it’s more so they don’t have to
feel bad about worrying us. It’s one less thing they have to think about. If
we’re over here just living our lives and happy, that takes a load off them.”
    That made
sense, and I didn’t want Matt to be worried about me worrying about him. I
rubbed the freshly opened block of cheese against the sharp metal points of the
grater. Having my mom’s house to go to on a regular basis really helped my uneasiness
over the whole thing. She exuded a sense of calm and strength that came with
her experience. It was something to look up to and aspire to be like.
    “How is
Ellie handling the deployment?” She asked.
    I shrugged.
“It’s harder for her since she can’t talk to Spencer. They email back and
forth, but he doesn’t get many opportunities to use the computer on the ship. I
guess a lot of Marines share the same one and it’s always taken whenever he has
a free minute to use it. Which isn’t often, unfortunately.”
    “Poor girl.
That has to be hard. We didn’t even have email in the early years, you know.”
    My eyes widened.
“Wow, I didn’t think about that. How did you survive?”
    “Very funny,
Olivia.”
    “I try.” I
brushed the bits of cheese on the grater into the bowl of shavings and put it
in the sink. “What else can I help with?”
    Mom handed
me two bowls from the cabinet. “All done. Just serve it up while I set the
table.”
    I ladled
piping hot chili into the two red ceramic bowls. The spices filled my nostrils
and I sighed. There wasn’t much better than a home-cooked meal after a long day
of textbook highlighting. I brought the bowls to the table and went back to the
kitchen for the dish of cheese I’d just grated. Mom and I each took handfuls of
the golden goodness and dumped it on top of our chili.
    “Matt has
been hanging out with this guy named Brooks while he’s been in Afghanistan, and
I guess they’re really close.”
    “Is that a
bad thing?” Mom asked, puzzled.
    I blew on a
spoonful of chili and gingerly brought it to my mouth. It was amazing. “Not
exactly. I’m glad that he has a friend with him since Spencer is on the ship.
But I can’t stand Brooks’ wife. She’s a total bitch.”
    Mom quirked
an eyebrow at my word choice but didn’t comment.
    “I’m
serious!” I lamented. “She can’t say a nice thing to save her life.”
    “Maybe she’s
just a tough nut to crack. In my time with the military, I’ve met quite a few
of your father’s coworker’s wives who were really cold at first but warmed up
over time. If Matt is close with Brooks, maybe you should give her a chance.”
    I pursed my
lips. “Maybe. He keeps