“I used to be a Marine,” he said. “What else?”

She smiled, then leaned against the counter. “Have a lot of bad dreams?”

“They come and go.” He shrugged, then took a drink. “Some things can’t be forgotten.”

“Is that why you left?” she asked. “Too much bad stuff?”

“Maybe.”

She had the feeling she was prying. “We don’t have to talk about it.”

“It’s okay. I spent a lot of time looking for snipers and listening for bombs. Sometimes they come back to me.”

She had her own nightmares, but they weren’t nearly that violent.

“I hope I didn’t wake Zoe,” he said.

“You didn’t. I checked on her before I went up to your place. She could sleep through a tornado. I vacuumed a lot during her naps when she was a baby. I read somewhere it works for kids who sleep soundly. In her case, it worked.”

This was the strangest conversation she’d had all week, she thought. She would never in a million years have imagined a half-dressed, barefoot Walker in her kitchen at four forty-five in the morning, drinking coffee and talking about her daughter and being a Marine.

“She’s a good kid,” he said.

“I like to think so.” She hesitated. “Is it strange to be back in civilian life, having a child living nearby, that sort of thing?”

“There are kids everywhere. At least here, Zoe can grow up safe. I didn’t always see that.”

There was a lot of regret in his voice. She wondered what he had seen, then realized she probably didn’t want to know.

She noticed that even that early, his posture was perfect. She tried to subtly square her own shoulders and slump a little less.

“Great chicken,” he said.

It took her a second to realize he meant her uniform. She glanced down and laughed at the large hen on her apron. “I work at Eggs ’n’ Stuff. It’s a breakfast and lunch diner.”

“I know it.”

“Then you recognized the uniform. Frank, my boss, is a great guy, but we can’t talk him out of the chicken. Apparently it dates back to the 1950s. At least the shoes are comfy.” She held up one foot, showing her white orthopedic lace-ups. “I’m just waiting for these bad boys to come in style.”