Page 18 of Aussie
“Yeah, but it’s fine. He was trying to apologize for that night at dinner, she said, omitting the part where Jarod had grabbed her. Aussie already looked like he wanted to track the guy down.
“I don’t like him following you,” Aussie said, his voice low.
Ava quickly changed the subject, not wanting to dwell on Jarod any longer. “So, what did I miss? How’s Christian doing?” she asked, gesturing toward the group in the room.
Aussie studied her for a moment longer, his jaw tight, but he let it go. “The commanding officer was just going over some things about the drills and what the program entails. Christian’s been asking some really good questions. He’s really interested in how the program can help with a future military career.”
Ava felt a swell of pride for Christian. He’d had such a rough time with foster care, but seeing him excited about something made her happy and excited for him.
As the meeting wrapped up, Christian spotted them and rushed over, his eyes bright with excitement. There was another boy dressed in a Navy Type III uniform walking with him. “Ava!”
Seeing his smile was what she desperately needed after the day she had.
“Hey! So, how was the meeting? I caught the last part of it,” she asked him.
“I really like it. I think it will help me with learning what to expect when I go to enlist after I graduate.” He gestured to the boy standing with him. “Oh, and this is Cody,” he looked up at Aussie, who was standing there watching the interaction. “you know his dad Frost.”
Aussie chuckled. “I do. And it’s nice to see you again, Cody.”
The young boy grinned. “Nice to see you too, Sir.” He then turned toward Ava and smiled. “It’s nice to meet you too, Ma’am. I told Christian that if he has any questions about the program, he can call me.”
Ava smiled. “Thank you, Cody. That was very nice of you to offer that.”
“It’s no problem. But I need to head back over to help clean up.” He turned toward Christian. “I hope to see you at the next drill.”
“Me too,” Christian replied.
The boy said goodbye to Ava and Aussie and then rejoined the others who were already starting to clean up.
Christian turned back to Ava and started telling her all about what he learned. Ava smiled at his enthusiasm, her heart warming at how much this meant to him.
“Do you think it is okay if I join?”
Ava smiled. “If this is what you want, I don’t see why not. With what you’ve told me, it sounds great.”
Aussie grinned beside her, nodding in agreement. “It’s a great program. You’ll learn a lot, and it’ll give you a good foundation if you’re serious about the military.”
Christian practically beamed at that, though his excitement faltered for a moment as he glanced at Ava.
“There’s an enrollment fee, though. And a packet we have to fill out. I don’t want to ask for too much. You’ve already done so much for me.”
Ava’s chest tightened at his hesitance. She looked him in the eyes. “Christian, the cost isn’t a problem. I want to do this for you. We’ll get the packet, fill it out together, and find out when the next drill is, okay?”
Christian’s face lit up again, and before Ava knew it, he threw his arms around her in a rare hug. It caught her off guard, and for a moment, she was frozen. When she hugged him back, she felt the sting of tears in her eyes. She blinked rapidly, trying to keep her emotions in check.
“Thank you, Ava,” he whispered to her, and she could hear the emotion in his voice.
Aussie must have noticed her struggle because after Christian ran back over to grab the enrollment packet, he gently placed his hand on her shoulder. “Are you okay?” he asked softly.
She gave him a grateful smile, trying to blink away the last of her tears. “Yeah. It just makes me happy to see him so excited about something with everything that he’s been through.”
“He’s lucky to have someone like you in his corner. You truly care about him, and it shows.”
She blushed.
“I guess I can say that I’ve been in his shoes before.”
Aussie scrunched his eyebrows together, but before he could ask what she meant by that comment, she changed the topic.
