‘Who was that on the phone?’ she said in what seemed an effort to keep a casual tone in the question. ‘I heard you say Commander.’
‘My great old uncle in Milwaukee; he runs the local Army Veterans branch of the Salvation Army.’
‘Sure it was.’ Her nails made an extra hard dig into his neck. ‘And he’s in desperate need of you to go over there and help hand out the molasses scones and cookies. Right?’ The annoyance in her voice didn’t escape him.
‘Right.’
‘At his great age, shouldn’t he be a general by now, in the Salvation Army?’
‘He’s modest.’
‘Just like his modest great nephew.’
‘Yeah, just like his modest great nephew -- you got it right on the dot, kid.’
Sliding his hand down her back to give her bottom a mild rebuking tap, he moved his lips closer to her ear to whisper softly: ‘
