Page 6 of Marked By my Stalker
“Impressive. Dad was really proud of all his military accomplishments too. He used to say,your service doesn’t end when the uniform comes off—”
“You carry it in your choices.”The man grins. “Yeah, I remember him saying that. He was as tough as they come. Dedicated too. I miss him.”
“Me too.” I swallow hard and lower my head as a car darts down the dead-end street, music blaring.
“He’d be proud of you.” He clears his throat. “He always talked about how proud of you he was.”
“Yeah?” I glance up and smile. “I hope so. I’m trying really hard to make everyone proud, but…”
“But what?”
“I don’t know. The city isn’t for me. I’ve been getting lost in this little town not far from here—”
“Rugged Mountain. I followed you up there a few weeks ago.”
“Of course you did.” I clear my throat, wondering how much he sees when he follows me. “Anyway… I like that area a lot. I’ve never been around mountains much, but that whole place is heaven if you ask me.”
“What about school? You like your classes?”
“Does anyone?” I shrug, tugging his oversized jacket tighter around my frame. “I don’t know. My mom is fixated on me being a lawyer, so… I’m doing all the lawyer things.”
His footsteps stay slow beside me. “Doesn’t sound like that’s what you want.”
I laugh dryly and glance down at the pavement as a cool breeze swirls around us, picking up leaves. “What I want is irrelevant.”
“You ever think about whatyou’dchoose if no one was watching?” he asks, voice quiet enough to feel like it’s meant just for me.
My brows narrow as I glance toward him. “Really?You want to hear about my hopes and dreams? Is this all some plan to drain me of my innermost thoughts so you can sell them to my mother at half price?”
He narrows his gaze playfully. “Keep talking. If I show up with something good, she promised to toss in a paid vacation.”
“Okay,” I laugh, “well, if I were choosing… I’d be a photographer. Wildlife. I mean, I could see myself getting lost up in those mountains, breathing in all that fresh air, trekking between the pines, searching all day for the perfect shot. It sounds like magic.”
I imagine that moment. Sunlight filtering through a canopy of evergreens, the crisp snap of branches underfoot, my breath misting in the chill as I wait quietly for some elusive creature to appear. Just me, my camera, and silence that feels like freedom.
He doesn’t joke or brush it off, which surprises me. Instead, he nods, like it makes perfect sense. “So then do it. I’ve got an old camera. Never used it much, and it’s nothing crazy expensive or modern, but it takes good shots.”
The offer catches me off guard, and my heart hiccups a little. “What?”
“Yeah,” he nods, scrubbing his massive, inked hand over his beard, “I’ll take you up there this weekend and we can—”
“Kera!” Brick shouts from behind, the heavy weight of his footsteps like a train barreling into the station. “You left without saying goodbye.”
I glance up at the giant beside me. He’s at least a foot taller than Brick, twice the width too. And so far, I’ve felt more heard and seen than I ever have in my entire life…but I’m not comparing or anything.
“Sorry. You looked busy with that girl, so…”
That stupid sarcastic grin Brick saves just for me makes a flashing appearance. “I wasn’t busy with anyone. I was talking. Talking isn’t illegal.”
I guess I was imagining the laughing, the flirting, the not so careful way he leaned in when she talked. “Right.” My chest tightens as Brick glances toward the giant beside me.
“This is the C-lot stalker,” he laughs, diverting the conversation away from the emotions I was having. “What’s up, guy? You’re a legend around here.”
The man nods, and I realize just now I haven’t gotten his actual name. “That’s what I hear.”
“You’re taking this one home?”
He nods again.
