Page 38 of Gideon

“That’s what I just said. He healed himself. I found them and fought off Cole and his guys, but he was badly hurt, and?—”

“Back up a second. You took on how many guys? How’d you stop them? I guess I shouldn’t be surprised with your special forces training.”

He closed his eyes for a second. “No. I’m just good at fighting. It’s not something I’m proud of, but it helped Eric. Or I thought it did.”

“You should be proud. You saved a man’s life.”

“But I didn’t. I told you this was crazy. He was beat up, and then he wasn’t.”

“Because you stepped in. He’s lucky you learned what you did in the special forces.”

“I was never in the special forces. I lied to my dad. I was an army mechanic for a little while, then I moved on. I’ve been working as a mechanic since then. That’s it.”

She studied a crack in the sidewalk. She’d made so many assumptions about him. “That explains a lot.”

“What, that I’m a liar?”

“Why’d you do it?”

“I knew my dad would be ashamed if all I could be was a mechanic in the army.”

“Does he know the truth now?”

“No. I was only supposed to be in and out of town within the week, so it wasn’t going to matter. Now it’s made things complicated.”

“Not really.”

“You’re not shocked and appalled?”

“I listened to rumors, so that’s my fault.”

“Rumors I started.”

She shrugged. “Maybe, but what difference does it make?”

“Just like that, you’re going to forget about it?”

“Why not?”

“It’s a problem if you were holding out hope that my elite skills would somehow help this town.”

“All I’ve ever wanted was someone who cared. That’s all.” They stared at each other for a moment. When it got too intense, she said, “So Eric was okay when you rescued him?”

“No. He was a mess, and so was my leg after the fight. But then, all of the sudden, Eric was fine, and so was my leg.”

“Okay. Wow. So, when you said ‘healed’, you meant it in the supernatural sense.”

“Yes.”

“That’s a lot.”

“I told you.”

“But I don’t think you’re crazy.”

“I haven’t gotten to the craziest part yet.”

“There’s more?”

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