Keith no longer used the nickname the team had given her, but the other members still did. And that was fine with her because it told her they accepted her as part of the group despite being one of only two women on the HRT.
“A lot, my friend. Starting with the fact I never sleep alone,” Salty said, grabbing a nacho off the platter and biting into it.
“Maddie, you might be on to something. Spike has been cranky lately,” Keith said as he tried to free his hand from hers. “He must not be getting any. Maybe you should set him up with one of your friends.”
Any of her friends would happily go out with Spike. A few, though, she’d never set him up with. “Kayleen is out. She and Hunter are practically engaged. But you and Cassidy would make a cute couple.”
More like a jaw-droppingly beautiful couple, but she saw no need to tell Spike how gorgeous he was. Unless the guy didn’t own a mirror, he already knew it. “Or maybe Sierra. She’s not seeing anyone.”
“Hey, what about Jasmine? Isn’t she single again?” Keith successfully freed his hand from hers and turned the tables on her by trapping her hand on his thigh.
Jasmine was one of those friends she’d never set up with Spike. The woman went through men like most people went through underwear.
“Thanks, but no thanks,” Spike answered. “I can find my own dates.”
“Sure, you can. That’s why you—” Salty began but stopped when Candy appeared at their table again.
Sometimes she enjoyed giving her friends a hard time. Tonight wasn’t one of them. So, as soon as Candy left to put in their dinner orders, Maddie spoke before Salty could finish his comment. One that was sure to get a response from their single coworker. “So, Spike, has your sister decided what schools she’s going to apply to?”
Weeks ago, Spike’s much younger sister Audrey had toured several universities in the DC area. Spike’s parents hoped she’d attend a school in New Hampshire, so they’d be close by in case she needed them. If she didn’t, though, Spike, his parents, and even Salty, who considered Audrey a younger sister, hoped she’d attend some place around there, so Spike and Salty would be nearby if she needed them.
“Mad Dog with the save,” Salty said as he helped himself to more nachos.
Well, that had been her goal.
“Georgetown is at the top of her list, followed by Providence College and UNH.”
“Weren’t Tulane and USC her top two?” Salty asked.
“Audrey decided she didn’t want to be that far from family,” Spike replied. “She decided not to apply to either. Thank God. Other than Georgetown, all the schools she’s applying to now are in New England.”
“Your parents must be happy,” Maddie said.
She’d attended the University of Virginia. Although it’d been too far to commute, she’d been within a couple of hours’ drive from her parents, unlike Spencer, who’d gone to college in Colorado.
“They’re not the only ones,” Spike said.
Maybe it was because they were much closer in age, but neither Spencer nor Tucker had ever been overprotective older brothers the way Spike clearly was.
At the sound of the familiar guitar riff Keith used for incoming text messages, he released her hand and pulled out his phone. Whoever the message was from, he typed a quick response, and then he shoved it back into his pocket as he exchanged a look she couldn’t decipher with Spike.
“Another one of those political messages asking for a donation?” Spike asked as he raised his beer toward his mouth.
The presidential election was about a year away, but campaigning was already well underway—not that it would help any of the candidates much, in her opinion. No matter how much money his opponents threw into their campaigns or how many messages they sent out, they’d never beat President Sherbrooke next year. He was simply too popular with the American public.
“I got one of those today.” She’d deleted it without even reading the politician’s whole spiel about why she should hand over some of her hard-earned money to help someone she’d never met. And probably someone she disagreed with.
Keith shook his head. “No, it was a message from my sister, Jen. I’ll call her later.”
* * *
Ninety minutes later,Keith grabbed the silent cell phone he’d tossed on the passenger seat as he opened his truck door and hoped the device remained that way.
When he’d heard the familiar tone while at Shooter’s, he’d silently sworn and wished he could ignore the damn thing. But he’d known if he did that, it would only bring more attention to the fact he’d received a message, because he never ignored his phone. Everyone, including Maddie, knew it, because they were the same way. They had to be. One never knew when Ax, their team leader, might need them for an unplanned assignment. Unlike some women he’d dated, Maddie wasn’t the type to question him every time he got a call or a text. Still, he hadn’t wanted to draw attention to his phone just in case the message was anything like the ones he’d gotten last night and then earlier today.
For the third night in a row, he’d been alone for the evening, and he’d fallen asleep watching the baseball game. And when the guitar riff woke him up, Keith expected the text to be from either Maddie, who’d spent her evening at the National Theater with Lady Haverston and her granddaughter, or one of the guys.
It hadn’t been from either.