A/N — I expected the pace of posting this story to slow but I've been having so much fun that it's been easy to write. Hopefully that continues! xoxo — kals

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Sasha and Wolf

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"You've really never gone mini golfing before?" Wolf repeated, his tone skeptical. He was standing next to a small windmill with a hole through the middle. Wolf had sent his ball through on the first shot. So far, Sasha hadn't managed to hit the ball at all.

Sasha laughed, shaking her head. "Nope. This is my first time."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "I thought that all Yanks played mini golf."

"I grew up in New York City," Sasha reminded him. "No room for golf, mini or otherwise."

Still, Wolf didn't look entirely convinced. "Two words. Coney Island."

"My parents weren't exactly the Coney Island type," Sasha replied, thinking about her parents — Jewish Russian immigrants who fled to the United States and never again voluntarily left their Brooklyn neighborhood unless they were dragging her to some kind of museum. As lonely has she, an only child, had been when both her parents passed while Sasha was at the Naval Academy, she was thankful now. Brooklyn was no safer than Soviet Russia when the virus hit hard and fast, wiping out the area in a matter of weeks. She held out the golf club. "Enough with the interrogation. Show me how to do this."

After five minutes of attempting to talk her through the process of swinging the club, Wolf shook his head. "Time for Plan B."

Walking behind Sasha, he wrapped his arms around her, placing his hands above hers on the club, showing her how to swing. They were on their third or fourth attempt, and Sasha was finally getting the hang of what she was supposed to be doing, when Wolf jerked, then jumped backwards. Confused, she started to turn in his direction, wondering if she accidentally elbowed him on that last attempt, when she realized that they were no longer alone on the course. Mike stood no more than ten feet away, his eyes darting from her to Wolf and back. It didn't take a genius to know what — or rather, who — Mike was thinking about.

Tom.

For an instant, Sasha was embarrassed. Feeling the pressing need to explain why she was here — with Wolf. Sasha was fairly certain that Mike knew far more about Tom and Sasha's past than he had admitted, and he certainly knew more about what happened last summer. Sasha quashed the urge. After all, she wasn't the one who left and, frankly, she had waited longer than most women would have for Tom to reappear. Chin raising instinctively, Sasha dared Mike to say something.

Which he promptly did. "Cooper, has anyone told you that you suck at mini golf?"

Shoulders relaxing slightly at the topic, Sasha gestured to Wolf. "Actually, yes, earlier tonight in fact."

"Captain Slattery," Wolf said, his voice slightly stiff, as though he too were expecting disapproval from Mike. "Coops here claims that she's never played mini golf before."

"A fine story," Mike replied without missing a beat. "She's apparently so bad at it that she's blocked it out of her memory."

"Or," came a female voice from behind Mike, "she's drawing you in so she can clobber you at the end."

Interesting. Sasha took in the willowy blond who looked to be about forty, holding out her hand. "Sasha Cooper. I can already tell that we are going to be friends."

"Maddie Rawlings," the woman responded, giving Sasha a firm shake. "Retired helo pilot. Mike here is trying to convince me to go back to active service."

"Helo pilot?" Sasha asked, her eyes darting to Mike this time. Trying to figure out how this Maddie Rawlings figured into Mike's life. "Actually, I might have a proposal for you myself..."

Mike groaned. "No, no, no. I promised Maddie no work tonight."

No work tonight? That suggested a more personal relationship than Sasha would have anticipated given Mike's obvious grief over his family. Sasha made a mental note to ask Kara or, maybe, Andrea if they knew what was going on.

Maddie laughed, the sound low and sultry and definitely not the kind of laugh of a woman here to discuss a job, before sliding a hand around Mike's arm. "I've never been to St. Louis before. Mike's showing me around."

"Well, if you ever want some female companionship, call me. I get together with some of the women from the James and we can tell you anything you want to know about working with Mike." Scribbling her number on a piece of paper, pretending not to hear Mike warning Maddie never to play cards with Kara, Sasha handed it over. Turning to Wolf, she held out her club. "You're right. I'm terrible at this game. How about we skip mini golf and get a drink instead?"

"Calling it kaput, eh?" Wolf replied, laughing. He nodded at Mike, noticeably more relaxed now. "I'll see you on Monday, sir."

Sasha waited until they were back to Wolf's truck before she pulled out her phone. "I need to find out what Kara knows about this Maddie woman."

"I'd say it's pretty clear. That was a bloke on a date," Wolf replied, his voice dry.

"Do you really think so?" Now that she was moving past surprise, Sasha found herself hoping that Mike was on a date. He had helped Sasha through those first few terrible weeks after Tom left and, almost more importantly, never treated her differently because of it. If Maddie helped Mike find some happiness, she was all for that.

Wolf merely snorted in reply. "Bacon's place?"

"That works." Text sent, Sasha snapped on her seatbelt. "Now, I want to hear what's going on with Miller and Courtney. Has he gotten around to asking her out yet?"