Free Battlefield of the Heart by E. A. West Page B

the table. “He said he was going to grab a bite to eat, then head for the hospital.”
    Josh nodded, pouring a mug of coffee. “Has anyone talked to Lacey this morning?”
    â€œYeah, Corbin called her.” Danny took a sip of his coffee as Cindy sat down across from him. “She’s going to take Delario up to the hospital this afternoon to see his mom. Corbin talked to him and explained about Monique having to stay there for a couple of days.”
    Josh set his mug on the table then pulled out a chair and dropped onto it. “I bet that was interesting. I can’t imagine explaining emergency surgery to a five-year-old.”
    â€œI can’t either, but he managed it somehow.” Danny shifted his attention to Cindy. “Hey, what time do you have class today? I’ll get you back to campus so you don’t miss.”
    â€œShe already missed one,” Josh said.
    Danny’s eyebrows drew together. “You did? Why didn’t you mention you had a class this morning?”
    Why did he look so worried? Dr. Brixton would forgive her for missing one class, especially after he heard she’d missed because a friend’s wife needed surgery. The man had great compassion; besides, he’d been one of her professors and her academic advisor long enough to know she wouldn’t skip a class without a good reason. “I forgot about it until I woke up. My next class is at three.”
    â€œI have one at two.” He glanced at the clock again. “What time was the class you missed?”
    â€œEight. I would have missed it even if we’d gone back to the dorm last night.” Cindy took a sip of the strong coffee. If Danny had been drinking much of the stuff, no wonder he was so alert despite the long, stressful night. “I don’t function on three hours of sleep.”
    Corbin walked in, bringing with him the tangy scent of soap, and gave her an odd look. “You only got three hours of sleep?”
    â€œNo, I got about six,” Cindy said. “Thanks for letting me sleep on your couch, by the way.”
    â€œNo problem.” Corbin poured the last of the coffee into a mug and turned off the coffeemaker. “So what was that comment about three hours of sleep?”
    â€œI don’t function on that little, so I would have missed my eight o’clock class even if I’d gone back to the dorm last night.”
    â€œAll professors who schedule classes before nine need to have their heads examined,” Corbin said, leaning back against the counter. “I had an eight o’clock class last year and was late about half the time. Most of the class was late on a regular basis, though, so I didn’t feel too bad about it.”
    Josh grinned. “I’ve never had a class earlier than ten.”
    â€œMy earliest class is nine,” Danny said.
    â€œI once had a class at seven thirty.” Cindy laughed at the guys’ disbelieving expressions. “The instructor was late for the first two weeks and decided to move the class to eight thirty.”
    Corbin chuckled. “I shouldn’t be shocked at a seven thirty class. I had five thirty reveille for most of my enlistment.”
    â€œMine was at six most of the time,” Josh said.
    â€œMine was whenever the first gunshot sounded.” Danny shrugged when everyone looked at him. “I spent a lot of my time grabbing sleep when I could. A set reveille didn’t always work out.”
    Josh shook his head. “You have got to be the unluckiest soldier I’ve ever met. What did you do, fall into the worst assignments for your entire enlistment?”
    â€œSomething like that.”
    The kitchen fell silent, and Corbin set his mug on the counter. “Who’s up for breakfast?”
    They all were. Corbin placed a large skillet on the stove, then retrieved a carton of eggs from the refrigerator and began cracking them into a bowl while the pan heated.