Page 37 of Ground Zero
As soon as Maverick heard the question, dread pooled in his stomach.
He should have never started talking about anything personal.
Because now he needed to reciprocate by sharing.
Maverick cleared his throat as he figured out something safe to say.
“When I was a kid, I wanted to be a marine biologist,” Maverick said. “I loved everything about the ocean. Still do, obviously.”
“What changed your mind?”
“Truthfully? I watched a documentary on 9/11 with my parents. They wanted me to know what happened, to understand. I was only ten at the time I watched it. But that footage became a pivotal moment for me.”
“It was horrible what happened.”
“It was. My parents were working for the NSA at the time. They knew firsthand what our country was dealing with, and they wanted to instill in me the importance of thinking outside myself.”
“They sound wise.”
“They were. My dad also taught me about appreciating nature. He’s the one who taught me to surf.” His stomach clenched as he remembered his surfboard.
“What is it?” Sheridan squinted as she studied his face.
“That was my father’s surfboard I was using on the beach earlier. I had to abandon it when I saw you chasing me.”
Realization filled her gaze. “What? I had no idea. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. Of course, you couldn’t have known. That board has probably washed out to sea by now, or someone found it and kept it for themselves. We have bigger issues to worry about, right? So anyway, after my parents died I wanted to follow in their footsteps to continue the work they were doing. But I couldn’t afford college. I knew I wanted to do something to protect people, so I joined the Navy as soon as I graduated from high school.”
Sheridan nodded, understanding. “Being an EOD tech must have been terrifying.”
“Sometimes. But it was also oddly peaceful. When you’re defusing a bomb, everything else disappears. It’s just you, the device, and the problem to solve. The moment, in its own way, is very pure.”
She finished the last stitch and began applying a bandage to the wound. “There. That should hold, but you need to keep it clean and dry.”
“Thank you.” He paused. “This could have been a lot worse. Thank God it wasn’t.”
She froze and studied his expression. “You mean that literally, don’t you?”
“I do,” he said. “God became a pivotal part of my life after my parents’ deaths. They went to church and dragged me with them, but I never liked it. However, going later in life helped me feel connected with them. While serving in the military, everything became real for me. I had to believe there was more to this world than what I saw on the battlefield.”
“I know what that’s like.” She paused as if gathering her thoughts. “Danny was more than just my partner and friend. He was the one who introduced me to faith.”
Maverick looked up, sensing this was important. “How so?”
“I was engaged to his friend, Liam, for two years. The two of us had our whole lives planned out—a house in the suburbs, kids, the American dream.” Sheridan leaned back and wrapped her arms around herself. “Three weeks before the wedding, Liam decided he wasn’t ready for marriage. Said he needed to ‘find himself’ and broke it off.”
“I’m sorry.” The man was a fool to leave someone like Sheridan behind. But Maverick didn’t say that out loud. The words would sound too much like a line. They would show something more personal than he was willing to expose.
“I was devastated. Felt like my whole world had collapsed.” Sheridan’s voice grew softer. “Danny could have taken sides, could have made things awkward since Liam was his friend. Instead, he just showed up for me. He and his wife brought me pizza, let me cry on their shoulders, and listened to me rage about wasted time and broken promises.”
She paused, remembering.
“After a few weeks of that, Danny told me something I’ll never forget,” she continued. “He said, ‘Sher, you’re looking for someone to complete you, but people will always let you down. What if I told you there was someone who would never break your heart, never leave you, never stop loving you?’ I thought he was talking about finding another guy, but he was talking about Christ.”
Maverick watched her face, seeing the peace that crossed her features.
“Danny and his wife, Rebecca, invited me to church with them. I figured I had nothing to lose. My life was already in shambles. Rebecca understood. She’d lost her dad at a young age also. But sitting in that sanctuary, hearing about God’s love, about forgiveness and second chances . . . it was like someone turned on a light in a dark room. Danny didn’t just talk aboutfaith, he lived it. And slowly, I started to understand what real love looked like.”
