"Told you you should have enlisted with me," he said, stretching his arms over his head. "You'd be a man instead of a weakling."

"Don't ever mock someone capable of saving your life."

He laughed for a moment, and then slapped his hands together. "Alright! On your feet, Trovatto! Those beers at the other end of this beach aren't going to drink themselves."

We ran five miles the other direction. I chose lemonade and a burger, over beer and a fish with its head still attached. Nick had half of it devoured, plus his second pitcher of beer on the table, before he asked me about Tatum.

"She's fine. I did a rotation in Pediatrics not long ago with her."

"Mmm," he hummed. "I heard about that. You all lost a kid. Tatum cried the whole time I talked to her on the phone that night."

"Yeah, but she hides it well at work."

"What about your girl?" he asked. "How is that going? When did it even start?"

"You would be due back on duty before I could tell you the half, brother."

"That bad huh?" he laughed.

I shook my head, picking up a fry. "Everly's a good girl. There's just a lot at stake. A lot of politics involved."

"Tell me fucking about it-politics! You would not believe . . ."

And for the next hour, I could not believe.

When we came home I was pleased to see Tatum sitting by the pool, but Everly was nowhere in sight. I found my room and peered inside, but nothing. Before I close the door, I heard water running. I stepped back inside and listened. The bathroom that connected to mine and Everly's room had the light on, and water running. I knocked lightly, calling her name. Nothing. I called her once more . . . nothing. I twisted the handle and peeked inside to find her on her knees in the tub, head under the faucet. I rushed to the floor and was about to touch her back, thinking it was a repeat of yesterday; cursed myself for allowing her to leave with Tatum.

But Everly lifted her head before I could call her name and was . . . humming. Eyes still closed, she felt around the bottle of shampoo and then started washing her hair, oblivious to me sitting right next to her, outside the tub.

And I couldn't look away.

She curled back under the faucet and rinsed her hair. I reached my hand to the water and felt it had gone cold, the knob turned to the middle where she would have been safe from being burned. Everly pulled away from the water and wiped her face clear. Opening her eyes she finally spotted me and screeched so loud, sliding herself quickly toward the back of the tub with a pull of the shower curtain.

"Holy buckets, Callum Andrew!" She started laughing from behind the closed curtain.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to scare you." I put my head on the ledge of the tub and laughed uncontrollably.

She pulled the curtain away, and slid forward, still laughing, and gave a push to my face. "I thought you were the Grimm Reaper coming to collect!"

"You were so adorable, I couldn't help it. I'm sorry."

"Next time you check out a girl in the nude with her head under the faucet at least have the decency to cough or knock. Man!"

"I did knock, but you didn't hear me." I looked at the shower head. "You understand this doubles as a shower, right?"

"I know, but this tub is huge," she said. "It feels like a birdbath this way. That's what I'm pretending." Everly swirled her hands in the water, oblivious to me staring at her in adoration.

When she finally looked up, she understood. "You're not allowed to have that look, remember?"

"How could I not?" I pushed the wet hair from her face, leaning on the edge of the tub. "How could I not?"

She looked down to the water. "You know what qualifies as shopping to your friend, Tatum?"

"I'm very fearful of this answer, Everly Anne."

"Getting every last hair on her body removed."

I grimaced. "That's what you did today?"

"What she did. As a person who can't feel pain, I am humored by the irony that while I should be happy to go on pain inducing endeavors to make myself a more beautiful woman, I simply can't get past the fear of my skin being ripped off and not having any knowledge until it's too late."

Laughing I said, "I'm pretty sure Tatum is crazy enough to let someone rip her skin off, if it means pleasing The Sergeant. I think it's written in their vows."

She rolled her eyes. "I will never adore you that much, Callum Andrew."