Page 46 of Family Bonds: Alana & Brennan
They’d been painting for two minutes while picking at the food when Alana asked, “Would you be okay talking about your father?”
“Sure,” he said. “Not that I remember much.”
“Can I ask how he died?”
“He was in the FBI,” he said. “His life was always in danger. He was part of a protection detail of a foreign national visiting the country when a bomb went off. He and six others died that day.”
“I’m so sorry,” she said. “That had to be horrible for your mother and you as a young child.”
“It was. I don’t have a lot of memories of him. Flashes of things. My parents laughing, her kissing him when he came inthe door after work. Things like that. Him tossing me in the air and hanging me upside down.”
He wished it were more, but it wasn’t.
His father worked a lot and he always wondered if those memories stemmed more from pictures his mother had of him and his father.
“It sounds as if your parents loved each other very much and that is why she didn’t try again?” she asked.
Alana turned to look at him and grabbed another bite of food off the tray.
“That’s what she said.”
“Do you not believe it?” she asked.
“I believe it. But I also know that it was hard raising me on her own. Neither of them had family in the area. They’d relocated here for my mother’s job and my father transferred.”
“You said your mother is retired. What did she do?”
“She worked for the FBI also, but not in the field. She was in administration. A desk job, not in any danger. She had a great career, moved up quickly, and loved the area.”
“And she raised a damn fine son,” she said.
Heat filled his face and he hoped it didn’t match the color of the red paint on his brush. “Thanks.”
“Don’t be embarrassed over that either.”
“Yeah well, I’ve learned nice guys, or considerate guys, aren’t always the ones a woman is interested in.”
14
IT WAS HIM
“I’m interested in that type of man,” Alana said. “But maybe it doesn’t matter that much.”
“It does,” he rushed out. “I’m making a mess of this and didn’t want to. Maybe I do better with Becca around when it comes to you.”
“Just be yourself,” she said. “Which is funny because normally I’m the one having issues on dates.”
“Issues?”
“Sure, we’ll turn this to me for now.” She winked at him, finding some confidence that she’d been missing around men in her life.
She’d had it with Jonathan until he smashed it like Thor’s hammer landing on the red blown glass ornaments she was painting.
“You don’t have to say much,” he said.
“No, I want to. That’s part of being on a date. You know my history with my ex. I haven’t dated seriously since my breakup. A few single dates and nothing more. Some of it was being afraid to try; the other part was I had to get myself into a better frameof mind. When you’re angry at the way you’re treated, it’s not always best to try again until that anger is gone.”
“True,” he said. “It is gone now?”
