She sat down and braced her back against the porch post where Stella had tacked up her vengeance warning and imagined a parking lot full of trucks and cars. Friday and Saturday nights would be their busiest nights for sure. That was a given. The sun dipped behind the rolling hills and pecan trees, bringing that moment of dusk before real dark set in. The tiny lights of dozens of fireflies flickered out across the parking lot.
揌ey, I thought I might find you out here.?Wade came around the back of the church with a glass of sweet tea in his hands.
揑 like to watch the lightning bugs and listen to the tree frogs and crickets. We didn抰 get much of that when we were deployed, did we??she asked.
Wade sat down close enough to one of the other porch posts so he could use it for a backrest. 揑 missed the smell of the river when I was over there.?
A soft breeze ruffled the leaves on the pecan trees that surrounded the parking lot and brought the scent of the Lampasas River. She closed her eyes and sniffed the air to get the full effect of what the wind was blowing toward her. 揑抎 forgotten about the way this place smelled when we all came out here, but I didn抰 forget the sounds.?
揧ou could hear them over all that music and conversation??Wade asked.
揑 was here, but I wasn抰 here.?She turned up her beer and finished off the last lukewarm sip.
揥hat does that mean??Wade asked.
揑 came with Risa, Mary Nell, and Haley, but I spent most of my time either on the back porch watching lightning bugs or thinking,?she said.
Wade chuckled. 揟hat抯 funny.?
揥hy??
揃ecause I was behind the shed when I came out here,?Wade answered.
揔issing on girls??Jessica teased. She remembered seeing him a few times, but all too often he would be there and then he was gone.
揇on抰 you remember me at all??Wade sat down beside her. 揑 was the science and math nerd that everyone thought would turn out to be a professor in a junior college. Girls avoided me like the plague, because if they liked me, their friends would think they were crazy.?
Jessica nodded. 揑 understand.?
揌ow could you??Wade asked. 揧ou ran with the popular girls, and you抳e always been beautiful.?
揊olks say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. You must be nearsighted, Wade Granger,?Jessica teased, but down deep she held on to the compliment like it was a lucky penny. 揑 was always tall, so most guys wouldn抰 give me a second look.?
揟oo bad we didn抰 know that we were hiding out behind the church and barn back then. Our lives might have turned out different,?Wade said.
揧es.?Jessica bit back a sigh.
Her phone rang before either of them could say anything else. Jessica dug it out of the cargo pocket of her camouflage pants and answered it without even looking at the caller ID.
揌ey, Jess! Where have you landed??She recognized the deep voice as that of Roger, one of her old teammates who had finished his last enlistment a few weeks before she had.
揜oger, it抯 good to hear from you!?she said. 揑抦 in Texas. How about you??
揝till in Maine. Got a job opportunity for you. An independent security firm is working for the base here in Maine, and they need folks to train recruits for the jobs we had. Would you be interested? Pay is great, and we can put the old team back together in a way. We won抰 live in Maine. The training is done out in New Mexico and Arizona, and we抮e all used to that kind of hot weather and sand in our boots,?Anderson said.
揑 have a business going here,?Jessica said. 揑 inherited an old church, and I抦 turning it into a bar.?
Anderson laughed out loud. 揧ou抮e joking, right? You are definitely not a bartender. You are a soldier. You don抰 just turn your training off and on like a water faucet. It抯 in your blood. Let me tell you about the pay.?He quoted her a figure so high that she couldn抰 wrap her mind around it.
揥e抮e pulling out of棓 she started.
Anderson butted in before she could finish. 揟here will always be wars and people like us who are trained to go in, do the job, and disappear. The recruits that will do what we did need good training.?
Jessica glanced over at Wade and thought about Risa, Mary Nell, and Haley, who were all depending on her. 揝orry, but the answer is no. I抦 settled in here, and I抳e found a home.?
揥ell, if you change your mind, you抳e got my number, and the offer is open ended for at least a year,?Anderson told her. 揃ut I still can抰 see you as a bartender.?
揟ell everyone I said hello, and if you抮e ever in central Texas, give me a call. First round of drinks will be on me,?she said.
揑 just might take you up on that. Bye, Jess,?he said and ended the call.
揋ot a job offer, I take it??Wade asked.
揧ep, and turned it down.?She went on to tell him what Anderson had said.