Page 90 of Her Delta Force Protector

“Well, this is a nice surprise. Is Kade there?”

“No. Why would you think he’d be here?” She’d fallen down a rabbit hole in her research and had managed not to think of him. Mostly, until she tried to sleep. And when she did manage to fall asleep, she apparently cried, because she’d wake up with tears on her face. She didn’t appreciate that.

“Sorry, I forgot you said you were going home. What can I do for you, Harper?”

“Um, I was hoping you had a few minutes to talk and would be willing to give me some advice.”

“About?”

There was wariness in his voice, making her think she was imposing on him. “Some career advice, but if you’re busy, no problem.”

“Career advice? I’ll be happy to if I can.”

Now he sounded relieved, and she wondered what he thought she might need advice on. “After what I went through, you said I was lucky to have a support system of family and friends. That there were people you rescued who didn’t have that. That got me thinking. There’s something that I think I’d love to do and would get a lot of satisfaction from if I can figure out how to go about it.”

“Sounds intriguing. I have an idea where you’re going with this but let me hear it from you.”

“My job in the military was helping soldiers and their families find housing. I was good at it, and more often than not, I helped them with things outside of housing. I like helping people, and I want to help the kind of people you rescue. I want to help them find a place to live, find a job, be a person they can talk to...well, for those who need it and don’t have anyone to turn to. I researched some of the organizations you mentioned, and that’s something else I could do, learning which ones would be right for someone. I’m not sure I’m explaining this well, but—”

“You’re explaining it perfectly, and I’d need to talk to Nick, but listening to you makes me realize that we should have someone on board who does exactly those kinds of things. Would you be interested?”

“Oh, I wasn’t suggesting you hire me, and I don’t really think it would be a good idea.”

“Can I ask why?”

Because she couldn’t bear having a job where she’d see Kade on a regular basis. “I just don’t think it would work for me.” Her broken heart wasn’t Chase’s problem, so she didn’t explain.

“I see. I’m still going to talk to Nick, and why don’t you take a few days to think about it? If we can’t work something out, I’ll do a little research of my own and see if I can find another group like us who would be interested.”

The way he’d said “I see” almost sounded like he really did. “Thank you, Chase. I’m kind of excited about this, but I wasn’t sure it was something I should pursue.”

“It definitely is. Give yourself some time to think about working for us. Call me in a few days.”

“Yes!” she said after she disconnected. She wanted to talk to Kade, tell him about her idea and her conversation with Chase. She knew without a doubt that he’d support her, but she was still too raw to talk to him.

Elated after the phone call, she wanted to celebrate, but she didn’t have anyone to celebrate with. Her father was at work, her closest friend was in Alaska somewhere, and Kade...no, she wouldn’t think about him.

“To hell with it,” she said to the empty room. She’d celebrate with herself. Because she and her dad occasionally liked to enjoy a glass of prosecco and talk about their day before dinner, he kept the wine cooler stocked with a few bottles. So what if it was midmorning? This was a special occasion.

After pouring a glass, she got out her dad’s laptop. He’d left it for her to use until she could get a new one because she wasn’t touching hers. She could take it to someone and get it debugged, but she still wouldn’t trust it. Lunch was a late one because she’d fallen down the research rabbit hole again.

By the time five o’clock rolled around, she had pages and pages of notes and had finished one bottle of wine. She fixed a snack plate of cheese, crackers, and grapes, opened another bottle, and while she waited for her father to come home, she drank another glass. She couldn’t wait to tell him all her news.

A little later, he called to tell her that he was held up at the hospital. Oh, well, guess the snacks and wine were all hers. A pity that. She giggled, then poured herself another glass.

“Cheers,” she said, holding the glass up as she toasted herself. Maybe the trick to forgetting Kade was to just stay buzzed, because she hadn’t thought of him once in the past five minutes.Kade.Tears welled in her eyes as soon as she thought his name. “Oh, no, don’tcha cry over that man, Petunia.” Why was the memory of that smirk on his face when he’d called her that in Fanny’s shop in her mind as clear as day?

The doorbell chimed. “I’m hearing bells,” she said. “No more wine for you, LT.”Stop it! Stop with the Kade pet names for you.The doorbell chimed again. She finished off the last bit of wine in the glass, then headed in the general direction of the door.

Why were there two of them? She tried the one on the left first and found nothing but wall, and it reminded her of the night she and Kade had tricked his roommate with the fake door. That made her laugh. She sidled over to the other door, and like magic, it was real.

She still had enough presence of mind to put her eye to the peephole before opening it. “Now I know I’m drunk.”

“I hear you on the other side, LT. Open the door.”

“You’re a fidge...figment of my magine...gah! Imagination and too much prosecco. Go away.”

“Are you drunk, Harper? You sound drunk. Please open the door.”

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