“Your first job isn’t to win,” Daniel had once told him. “It’s to see what’s actually happening.”
Cole had carried that lesson into civilian life.
It had helped him negotiate contracts, calm angry customers, and avoid arguments that weren’t worth having.
It had also made him difficult to read.
Claire used to admire that quality.
Then, somewhere along the way, she began calling it emptiness.
Cole returned the photograph to the bag.
He wasn’t going to the gym to prove that he was a soldier.
He was going because Derek had challenged him publicly, and because he wanted to end the situation without surrendering his dignity.
He also intended to protect his legal claim to the house. Derek’s ridiculous offer didn’t change the law, and Cole had no intention of letting a stranger decide what he was entitled to receive in a divorce.
He called an old friend, Marcus Bell, who had served with him and now worked as a physical therapist.
