Chapter 78

“You can imagine how circumspect Marines have to be, right?”

“Of course,” Paul said.

“To make a long story short, we met for lunch in Old Town Sunday, and he came over last night while my roommate was out.”

“Way to go, Jared,” I said.

“Yeah, and it gets better.”

“How so?” Paul said.

“Pete’s coming up Thursday evening for a long weekend,” Jared said.

“Does he need a place to stay?” I said.

“He’s gonna get a cheap motel room,” Jared said.

“Like heck he is,” I said. “He can stay with us.”

“Won’t your folks mind?” he said.

“We’ll run it by Dad and Uncle Randy, but why would they?” I said. “Especially after you and Pete captured the bad guys in Florida.”

“And saved our butts,” Paul said.

We let the matter drop until we got home from school that afternoon and found Dad waiting for us. “Come on into the den, guys,” Dad said. “You too, Jared. I have some news.”

When we were settled, I said, “Okay, Dad, what’s up?”