Page 7 of Protecting Andie

“Interesting. I thought—” Andie glanced around before continuing. “I thought SEALs were all shock and awe.”

He laughed. “The world is changing. We do what we’re asked.”

The waiter came back with their drinks, and Rider asked for the hummus plate. “Can we order our main meal after we finish with the appetizer?”

“Yes, sir. Take as long as you like. The restaurant stays open until eleven tonight, so you have time.”

“Thank you, Don. I appreciate that.”

Andie was impressed. She hadn’t even taken the time to catch the waiter’s name, but Rider had. He really was observant. She liked that about him.

“So, how old were you when you joined the Navy?”

He blew out a breath and shook his head. “I still feel guilty about that. I just left Emily. I should have?—”

She reached out and put her hand on his, enjoying the electric zing that shot through her. “Oh no, she never felt like you abandoned her. You were her hero.”

“She was only fifteen, and we were living with a relative who hated us.”

“She credits you for saving her. You know how it was. They locked up their food and wouldn’t let her work outside the home. You opening that bank account before you left, and allowing her to use the money kept her alive.”

He nodded. “I just feel guilty because it was so bad. If I’d stayed, then maybe I could have?—”

“What? You would have had to work two jobs, maybe three, to provide for the both of you. She has an awesome job now because of you.”

He chuckled, agreeing with Andie. “Her job is awesome. I’m glad her hard work paid off.”

The hummus plate was delivered, and they both dug in. Andie was hungrier than she’d first thought, and Rider didn’t look at her weird as she ate her fourth piece of bread with hummus on it.

Rider swallowed, then took a sip of the water the waiter had poured. “This is good.”

“It is. I’m much hungrier than I’d first thought.”

“Honestly, I like working out because it makes the food taste better.”

She shrugged. “I get that. So, do you really like working out that much?”

He sat back and met her gaze. “Yes and no. I get tired, but my job requires me to do things like scale a building or move fast. Ifone of my buddies gets shot, I have to have the strength to carry him out because I’d want to be carried out.”

The thought of Rider being shot made her so sad she reached out and took his hand. “But you wouldn’t be shot, you know. You wouldn’t get shot, right?”

Rider had learned to compartmentalize the realities of his job. Death happened. It was part of the whole gig. He’d lost friends, seen them killed in action, blown up when helicopters crashed, bleed out after being shot. It was a terrible reality of war, and even if the USA wasn’t in the middle of a war, the world always had some kind of threat popping up, requiring action on their part.

“I’m good at what I do.”

Andie narrowed her eyes. “I don’t like that answer.”

“Really, I’m safe. We do what we can to come home.” Her concern touched him. No one other than Emily had ever expressed concern for him, not like this. “What do you do for a living?”

“I teach online courses. I work for a few universities and a few community service centers. My favorite is teaching business requirements to new business owners.”

“Really? What does that entail?”

“Some people don’t know you have to file taxes if you’re a business owner. One guy learned to weld when he was in the military. He’d never worked for himself, but once he got out, he opened a welding business. He didn’t know he had to file taxes.”

“That’s wild.”

“Yeah, it’s sad, too. But in my job I get to teach people what to do. I dig in and figure out what is required for each state and municipality. I like looking up information for each city where my clients operate and figuring out together with them what needs to be done.”

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