Free Operation Reunion by Justine Davis

be it.
    He answered on the first ring and sounded anything but asleep.
    A possibility hit her, biting deep. It was Friday night. And until today, until the Foxworth Foundation had been brought into things, Dane had been through with her.
    A date. Had he been out on a date? Was that why he’d insisted on leaving early? Had he already started seeing someone else? He would never have cheated on her; she knew that as surely as she knew his eyes were golden. It just wasn’t in him. But he’d told her he was done two weeks ago. Enough time to ask someone else out. More than enough time if he’d already known her, whoever she was.
    And whoever she was, she likely had a much simpler life, free of trauma and tragedy. Dane would probably find that wonderfully refreshing, and—
    “Kayla?”
    Stop it, she ordered herself. Get a grip. “I’m sorry,” she said into the phone. “I know it’s late.”
    “Did you think of something?”
    It took her a moment to realize what he meant, and the only thing that stopped her from letting out the sound that rose in her throat was the fear it would sound like some crazed woman’s maniacal laughter.
    “No, but I learned that there’s something worse than my old nightmare.”
    His voice changed then. Went softer, gentler. “You had it again?”
    “Yes.”
    “Not surprising. A lot of old memories were stirred up today.”
    “Are you one of them?”
    “What?” He sounded puzzled now.
    “An old memory.”
    “I know that nightmare shakes you up, but what are you talking about?”
    “Did you have a date tonight?”
    “What?”
    “You insisted on leaving. It’s Friday night. It’s after midnight and you’re wide awake.”
    She heard him let out a long breath. “So you decided I was out on a date? That’s three facts and an awful lot of supposition.”
    “Not decided. Wondered.”
    He answered her in typical Dane fashion: honestly and a bit bluntly. “That it’s Friday has nothing to do with anything. I’m not there because I’m not sure you can really leave this behind if the results they get aren’t what you want, and I’m not going to lay myself out for that kind of pain again. And I’m awake because, damn it, I miss you and can’t stop thinking about you.”
    And in those few words, spoken with an edge in his voice, he blasted Kayla’s silly panic to bits.
    “Oh.”
    Her voice sounded tiny even to her. For a long moment, silence hung in the air between them.
    “I promised you I would move on after they find...whatever they find.”
    “I know you did.”
    “You think I didn’t mean it?”
    “You’ve spent ten years on this quest. It’s been a huge part of your life—it’s sunk into your bones. So I think promising now, and really letting go when it’s over, are two different things.”
    She couldn’t deny a single word he said. Nor could she think of a single thing to say that would convince him she’d meant what she’d said.
    Maybe he was right. Maybe when the time came, she wouldn’t be able to just let it go.
    “I’m sorry about the nightmare.” He sounded cooler now, less on edge.
    “It’s all right. Like I said, I found out there’s something worse—waking up to the reality that you’re gone.”
    There was a pause before he said quietly, “I just can’t slide right back into life as before, Kayla.”
    “I’m going to start now,” she said. Her voice still seemed a little shaky, so she added some emphasis. “Right now.”
    “Start what?”
    “Wrapping my mind around the idea—the fact—that when this is over, if they don’t find him, I’m done. I’ll always wonder and worry, but I won’t lose you over him. Chad’s my brother, but you’re my life.”
    Her voice had gotten stronger as she went. As had her resolve.
    “I love you,” Dane said after a moment.
    “I know,” she said. “Or you would have walked away long ago.”
    It was an admission she’d never made to him before, although she’d often thought it, often