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She gave me a bored expression. “Again, I’m referring to the past.”
“Oh, I see, so I’m not dreamy anymore?” I teased, but she didn’t take the bait.
“I’ll tell you about me if you tell me about you,” I suggested.
“Okay.” She pinned me with her green eyes. “Here’s something about me. I’ve been living on my own for seven years, I don’t have any family, I’m good at drawing, and I like lime pie.”
Has she seriously lived on her own since she was fourteen?
I cleared my throat. “Okaaay, I just came back from Afghanistan. I’ve been there three times as a sapper.”
“What’s a sapper?” she asked.
“A combat engineer, which means I’m good at buildingthings, blowing up shit, and repairing things that are broken.
“So have you seen a lot of action?”
“What do you mean?” I tried to hide my emotions. “Are you asking if I’ve ever been in combat?”
“Yeah.”
“I have.”
Her eyes widened. “Did you ever kill someone.”
I nodded.
Maybe she sensed my resistance to talk about it because she moved on. “How old are you?”
“Twenty-nine.”
“I’m twenty-one,” she said.
“I know.”
“Right.” She looked away. “So, are you home for good, or just on a break before you go back?”
“No, I’m home for good.”
Her next question came out with a sarcastic undertone. “And was your family happy to see you?”
I nodded. “Yes. My mom threw a party today to celebrate that I received a Silver Star.”
Her eyes fell to the medal on my chest. “Soyouwere the reason for the family celebration Brent talked about.”
“Yes.”
“And you left all of them to come and help me?” For the first time her voice was soft. She looked puzzled.
“I would have found you earlier, if I had known I had a niece.”
“Stepniece,” she corrected me.
“Listen, Darcia, family is important to me and I’m ashamed on my brother’s behalf for having failed you.”
“I told you not to call me Darcia.”
“I’m sorry.”
