As it turned out Lieutenant Casey was easy to like.

In a windowless room, Emily sat at a steel table across from the helicopter pilot. "Did anything seem out of the ordinary that morning?"

With Finn and Airman Randall's accounts, combined with Lance's notes from his interview with Lieutenant Casey, Emily had a full picture of the events of the day and the night before. But details mattered and she needed to hear the story firsthand.

The woman before her didn't look like she'd been confined to the base for weeks. Cool and collected, the officer had answered all her questions as if relaying the details of a dictionary. "No Ma'am, the pre-flight check went as expected. The onboard system took a little time to boot up but that's common these days."

Emily created a new bullet point on her document and typed pre-flight system. "This was a Sea Hawk correct?"

Lieutenant Casey's lips curled like her sister Beth's did when proudly announcing what Ben drew that day. "Yes, Ma'am."

"Was the slow..." Emily referred to her note "system boot normal?"

"Ever since the upgrade? Yes."

"How long ago was the upgrade?"

"Two weeks before the accident."

Emily noted that Lieutenant used the word accident. It would make testimony prep easier as they got closer to the hearing date if her client already was in the habit of using the right terminology. "Nothing else out of the ordinary?"

"As I said, Ma'am, no." Casey's clipped tone reminded Emily of Finn's yesterday in the boardroom. He'd been cool and distant again, perhaps even more so. Her intent had been to keep things professional, not wanting to do anything to jeopardize Lieutenant Casey's case or her own career.

Yet the moment she walked into the conference room she'd been thrown back in time. The rain, her wet clothes, Finn's expression. They combined to echo the sweet first night she'd spent with Finn. A fever flared and her body ached for his touch. To touch him as she had that night. She'd almost flung herself across the room and into his arms.

Not that he would welcome the afront. Fortunately, she caught herself in time, before she could make a fool of herself. But the illusion stirred up old sensations she'd only let exist in her dreams. They wrapped around her and clung on like a web of desire mixed misery. To defend against any repeat of such foolishness, she'd buried her emotions under the cloak of business, keeping every move, every gesture reserved. She resisted even glancing at Finn in fear she might break down.

Emily set her shoulders, packed away the past and focused on the present. "You started the flight to the ship. What happened next."

"We'd been in the air for a few and once over water and clear, I turned on the auto pilot. We were cruising along with touchdown expected in less than thirty minutes."

"The alarms started ringing." Emily quoted Finn.

"Not quite, Ma'am." The lieutenant's dark eyes didn't blink. "There was a flock of birds incoming and the system was slow to respond. I attempted to override the autopilot, banking to the left. That's what set the alarms off."

Emily's finger hovered over her keyboard. "Both Petty Officer Finn and Airman Randall didn't mention this in their account. Why is that do you think?"

For the first time, the Lieutenant's gaze wavered, landing on the steel slab between them. "Airman Randall was in the back with Seaman Anderson. They were...having a discussion."

Max had mentioned this in his retelling of the events. There had been an disagreement between them over an earlier incident at the bar. "And Petty Officer Wainwright?"

"He...he was distracted."

The hairs on Emily's neck rose. "Distracted how?"

Casey shifted in her seat. "Wainwright was tired, so I suggested he get some shut eye during the flight."

She spent the night in my room.

Finn's statement had snagged like a thorn in Emily's heart, tearing into the tender organ with every breath for days. Hearing it referenced by Casey dug that spike in deeper and Emily forced herself to breath through the pain.

Of course, Finn had been with other women–no, he was with another woman. Over the years, Emily had wondered what kind of woman he would end up with. Did Finn have his own, Adrian-like set up, someone kind and thoughtful to hold his hand when times got tough? Or had he found a female version of Roy? A woman he could close his eyes with and pretend she was Emily.

Or had he found someone better?

Lieutenant Casey had all the makings of better. A good foot taller than Emily, she was a perfect physical match for Finn. Her tanned skin glowed even under the harsh halogen lighting, unlike Emily's pale fingers. Casey probably didn't spend her days stuck behind a desk, sorting through paperwork.

No, Lieutenant Casey and Finn were people of action, out protecting their country.

Her retelling of the events of the crash matched what Finn and Airman Randall had relayed. The entire time the woman's dark eyes met Emily's straight on, no evasion, no shyness. She'd be willing to bet this was on the things that Finn found attractive about the lieutenant.

"Petty Officer Wainwright told us about your... relationship." The word felt like sandpaper on her tongue.

Casey's eyes flew up. "Relationship?"

"Yes." Emily took a sip of water. "That you spent the night in his room, after you left the bar."

"That's true." Casey's mouth twisted to the side. "I...Finn...Petty Officer Wainwright—" her fingers drummed on the table "—he was helping me with a personal issue."

Emily did not want to hear about any personal issues. If she could have, she'd press her hands over her ears and block out all explanations of what Casey and Finn were up to in his bedroom. But that was not a luxury Emily could indulge in. Used to listening to unpleasant things since her mother's death, Emily steadied herself for the worst.

Casey cleared her throat. "If you're inferring there was something...intimate between us, you'd be wrong. He wouldn't jeopardize my or his career over a one night stand. All we did was talk."

The thorn broke free and Emily's heart and soul gasped with relief. Blood pounded in her ears and she brushed a finger against the cool metal of the charm around her neck to try to regain a measure of calm. It shouldn't matter whether Finn was sleeping with this woman, or any woman, but it did. The jealousy she'd been harbouring for the lieutenant ebbed away and Emily saw her and Finn in a new light.

"He didn't elaborate. I'm sorry, I assumed."

Casey huffed. "So like Wainwright. A man of few words."

Emily bit the inside of her cheek to keep the smile from her face. Back in Bridgetown people had underestimated the too quiet Finn, assuming he thought he was too good for the seaside town. It hadn't taken Emily long to discover the situation was quite the opposite. The tall, lanky younger brother of Simon worried he wasn't good enough. For the town, for his family, for her.

Day after day she'd chipped away at his outer defences, finally convincing him he was the best thing that had happened in her life. That words weren't necessary for her to understand what was in his heart. The way he held her hand, cared for her when she got caught in the rain, waited for her on the boardwalk each morning before work, pronounced "Em" like it was a benediction and a thousand other actions showed her what he was made of. Finn Wainwright was so easy to love she fell hard and fast and had never recovered.

"Because of me—" the Lieutenant continued "—he didn't get any sleep. So, when I suggested he rack out for a few, the man went out like a light. Must have come to when the systems alarms rang. The autopilot switched off but the bird had pitched toward the ocean. I was unable to regain control and we smashed into the water."

Emily 's stomach turned as it did every time she thought of Finn crashing into the ocean. If something had happened, would she ever even have known? Could she have survived the news.

A world without Finn felt impossible. Even though they hadn't been together for eight years, she'd at least had the solace he was out doing what he wanted, what she supposed he loved. She knew there was danger, scoured headlines constantly for news about him. Images on media reports were second-hand, remote, clinical. This first hand account was too close, too personal.

She swallowed, regaining calm. "That was when you lost consciousness?"

"Yes Ma'am. I came to in the water and Petty Officer Wainwright had the team secured." Casey's stare bored into Emily. "He's a good man, Ma'am. The Navy needs more like him."

Curiosity bit at Emily. Years of nothing on Finn starved her for facts. On more than one occasion she's scoured the internet for anything about the man who held her heart. She'd been able to pick him out of his Naval Academy graduation photo, standing tall above his other classmates. Then, there were a few candid snaps posted by his friends, his unruly dark hair and brilliant smile teasing her. An old Facebook account hadn't been updated in years, yet she could describe in detail every dated picture she'd looked at each one so often.

Emily couldn't agree with Casey. If it weren't for the Navy, Finn might be hers right now.

"Not self, but all." Casey sat up straighter.

"Sorry?"

"It's what Finn... I mean Wainwright says." Casey shifted in her seat. "He's known for putting his team first. I saw it that day. I came to in the water and he'd kept me, Randall and Anderson together until the rescue ship arrived."

"He's very brave." A tinge of pride she had no right to feel rippled through Emily. Her father had been wrong. Finn Wainwright did grow up to be somebody. People counted on him. He saved lives.

"It's more than that." Casey looked at her hands. "He's honorable. He would never do anything to jeopardize anyone or any mission."

Bile caught in her throat at what she had to ask next. "You were with Petty Officer Wainwright the night before, correct?"

"Yes. I joined him and a few other members for drinks at the bar." The Lieutenant's expression turned to stone. "But I only had one beer."

"The others were drinking though. Wainwright and Randall included."

For the first time, the Lieutenant's gaze wavered, landing on the steel slab between them. "Yes. They drank. Probably more than they ought to, but then again, that's most of the guys I work with. Every now and again you have to blow off some steam."

"In your opinion—" Emily couldn't meet Casey's stare "—Was Petty Officer Wainwright inebriated during your flight?"

"No." Casey's objection ricocheted in the room.

"Take a moment to consider your answer." Emily sucked in a breath. "My role here is to defend you against the charges. You are accused of drinking on duty. I need...we need there to be no room for question about any of the testimony we put forth in your defence."

Casey crossed her arms, but Emily pressed on. "If there is any doubt as to Petty Officer Wainwright's version of the events, if he was incapacitated in any way, I need to know now."

The lieutenant's voice held no emotion. "Captain Wainwright was as right as rain, Ma'am. He was fit for duty."

"You're sure?"

"One hundred percent."