"You're a terrible fucking liar," he grumbles, using his greater bulk to muscle Cougar away from the lamp and back down onto the bed. "Just go to sleep, I'll be here." To stave off his nightmares, he doesn't say. Cougar is famously touchy about his problems, but Jake has found that if you just don't give him a choice, sometimes you can make him stop obsessing over them and relax.

The pillows are thin and the blankets are too, but the nights are still warm here in their little house, so Jake doesn't mind too much. Settling himself down between Cougar and the door, Jake pins him down with an arm across his stomach and his knee dug into his leg. "Stop thinking so loud, Carlos, c'mon. Sleep now. Thinking later."