Forge of War (Jack of Harts) (57 page)

“Of
course
I do,” Jack said without pausing to think.  Then he winced as he realized he wasn’t actually certain he did.  Betty caught his self-correction and aimed a raised eyebrow at him.  He paused to consider his next words more carefully.  He owed that to both Betty and Jasmine.  “I just…I just don’t know what to do if this is it.  What’s next?” he asked, looking back and forth between both of them.

Jasmine looked at him with a smile.  “Well, I have it on good authority that you want to go see it all.  Every place you haven’t been.  I think that sounds like a swell vacation.”

In that moment, Gabby’s words from the dream came back to him and he understood why he felt like he did.  Jack cleared his throat before answering.  “Look.  I feel…old…tired.”  He tapped his chest with one hand.  “I just don’t know what I have left.”  Jack stopped, the final thought freezing in his mind before his lips could put words to it.

Jasmine and Betty shared another understanding glance.

“Well, Jack, this is your lucky day,” Jasmine said and patted him on the shoulder.  “Because we just happen to specialize in revitalizing the old and tired.”

Jack shook his head, a hint of anger at her flippant answer flashing in his eyes.  “I’m serious,” he growled.

Jasmine met his glare with a calm look and an understanding smile.  “So am I.  We knew what we were signing up for when we chose you.  All of you.  We picked family.  And family don’t give up on family.”  She stopped for a moment, swallowed, and her smile turned far more sincere than the wry sense of humor it usually displayed.  “Just like you didn’t give up on me.”

Jack’s sat slack jawed at Jasmine’s statement, feeling like a bull had just run him over.  He had no words to respond with, nothing at all came to mind.  He just sat there in his captain’s chair, feeling like a bump on a log.

Betty grabbed his attention then and just looked at him with a gaze that said she would never give up.  “We have a mission to perform right now, and we are going to do it.  And when that is done, we are going to go see the universe like you promised.  Understood?”

Jack swallowed at the sheer determination she projected.  She truly was serious.  He smiled and fell back on the two words designed for situations exactly like this, ironed into him from a youth in rural Minnesota, and reinforced by the steel of the United States Marines.  “Yes, Ma’am.”

“Good,” Betty said with a sniff and looked over at the viewscreen showing hyperspace ahead of them.  “Now shall we go?”

Jack nodded, licked his lips, and screwed up his composure for one more try.  If they were still here, if they had any sensor platforms, Jack’s ship would be detected very soon, so he might as well make an entrance worth remembering.  “Record for broadcast, please,” he asked with the strongest voice he could manage.  He sucked in a deep breath and steadied himself.  “This is Captain Jack of Hart Squadron, United States Marine Fighter Wing 112.”  He paused as a smile twisted the side of his mouth up.  He allowed bravado to take over, hoping no one could hear the uncertainty that had become a part of his life.  “If anyone’s out there to hear this, be awful careful about starting a fight, because the Cowboys have arrived.”