Page 15 of Finding Romance
I got honorably discharged and then I went back to school and got my degree in cybersecurity. I managed to snag an internship with a government contractor my senior year and I’ve been working with them and now as a private consultant for the past three years.
“And now you do computer stuff?” she asks.
“Cybersecurity,” I correct.
“That sounds intense,” she states as she stops to pet a dog that a man is walking.
We continue on our way.
“What do you want to do?” I ask, deciding to deflect her questioning with one of my own.
She’s quiet for a few steps. “I don’t know. That’s what I’m trying to figure out.”
“You like painting and drawing and you’re good at it. Can’t you do that?” I ask as I remember watching her paint. It’s odd how soothing it was to watch.
“I could, but it’s hard to get started. Not a lot of money and I need to pay my bills,” she explains with a sad smile.
“So what are you going to do?” I inquire because I hate to see talent wasted.
Shrugging, she looks away and I wonder what she’s thinking.
“I guess get a normal job for now,” she says in a distant voice. I can tell she’s conflicted. Even though I’m nearly a decade older than her, I remember starting out as an adult and how hard it was. I made a rash decision to join the Navy and it changed the course of my entire life, both for bad and good.
“Well, you can still freelance, right?”
“I suppose so,” she says as we round the last corner and I point to the fire station.
Her face returns to its happy norm as she grabs my hand. “Come on, let’s go see if they have it,” she says excitedly.
For some reason, her innocent happiness makes me happy, a feeling I haven’t experienced in a while, at least not like this. I honestly don’t know how to respond to her. Unlike so many women I interact with, she hasn’t once indicated she wants anything sexual from me. She doesn’t spend the entire conversation ogling me, and she wants to talk, really talk. She’s a breath of fresh air and it unnerves me a bit. I’ve never been caught off guard by a woman in all my life. And I don’t know what to make of it, but I do know I like spending time with her. So as we walk inside the fire station, a small part of me hopes we don’t find the necklace today, because then I’ll have an excuse to spend more time with her.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Piper
The firehouse was another dead end, but I did have a nice lunch with Kasen where I attempted to pry more information from him. Kasen is like a vault. And every time I got even the smallest nugget of information, I felt that much closer to cracking the vault open. I don’t mind that he’s quiet, but I also wish he would confide in me. I can’t help but feel he has so many things he should talk about.
I’ve decided after sorting Aunt Cornelia out this morning, I’m going to paint.
“Whatcha doin’?” a voice says from my right.
I jump a little and clutch my chest until I see Hutch in camo standing beside a tree.
“Hutch?” I ask as I take in his unusual appearance.
“Yep, just watching and waiting,” he says.
I look around. The sun just came up and it’s quiet. Occasionally a jogger runs on the trail behind me, but otherwise, I’ve been enjoying the peace.
“Uh, for what?” I ask, looking around.
“The Guardian of Hearts Lane Park, of course,” he says as if that should make sense to me.
“Huh?”
He motions to the bench where I’m sitting. “Every morning, there are flowers there with a note. It almost always says, If you found these flowers, then the universe wants you to feel loved. Take them home and enjoy them. XOXO, The Guardian of Hearts Lane Park,” he says as if this is common knowledge.
“Oh, I’ve seen them,” I say, recalling when I found them a few days ago and then once when I visited in high school.
