Chapter 2 Light My Fire
Kaitlyn sighed. She had a feeling she was never going to be called Kaitlyn in her lifetime.
Hermann observed something, and felt the need to antagonize a bit more. "Hey, Clark, are you going to stand there and hold her hand all night, or are you going to let her go so she can feed us?"
Jeff looked down. His hand still held hers. He spotted her ring, and brought it up closer to the light. He smiled, then released her hand. "Go Falcons," he said, eyes twinkling as he escorted her over to the stove.
She looked at Mills. "So, what are your plans?" she asked.
"Well, we can use the peppers and the ground chuck and make chili. That should feed most everyone."
"Great. I'll get started."
Pete looked over at her. "You said you like to cook?"
"I do, but I don't have much time to do it. Work keeps me pretty busy."
"What do you do?"
"I'm an attorney." She braced for the backlash that she expected to follow.
"Really? What's your specialty?"
"Criminal. I'm one of the new District Attorneys."
"Good deal."
Hermann nudged Clark. "Get in there and go help them cook before Mills moves in."
Clark shot him the stink eye. "Can't do that. She's an officer. I'm enlisted."
"You're both not in the military now. And how do you know she's an officer?"
"That ring on her hand?"
"Yeah?"
"Air Force Academy."
"You're going to let that stop you, Clark? I thought Marines liked a challenge."
"We do."
"So, this is a challenge you're going to walk away from?"
Clark stood. Hermann had goaded him long enough, and he really wanted to get away from him.
He joined Kaitlyn and Mills in the kitchen. "Anything I can do to help?" he offered.
"Can you make cornbread?" Kaitlyn asked.
"Sure. I can peel potatoes too."
Kaitlyn giggled.
"What's so funny? Didn't you peel your share as a plebe?"
"My share and half of the platoon's."
"Sounds like a story I'd like to hear sometime."
"Someday. When you're older," she said as she gave him a wink.
Clark took a deep breath. He had a feeling she was not only interested, she was going to give him the ride of his life. "Looking forward to it," he told her as he gathered up the box of cornmeal and went hunting for an egg.
