The memory of seeing her on that big American paint came to mind. “You’re sure not timid on that horse,” he said. “And you’re not so timid with me.”
“I know. I’ve worked through a lot of that. I don’t know very much about you besides that you flew helicopters in the army. What about your family? All I know is you have a brother in Black Hawks in the Middle East.”
Luke’s dad had been a hardworking teamster, an electrician, and while he was a good provider, there hadn’t been a great deal left over for things like college educations. There were five boys to raise and educate. “I was the oldest and first one in. It wasn’t a hard decision for me—I always liked the idea of the army. It was a place for me to show my stuff—and I did fine. Loved the challenge. Colin followed me—into the army out of high school, into Warrant Officer School and the Black Hawks. Aiden upped it a notch—went into college ROTC and got a navy scholarship for med school. Don’t ask me how—but Sean scored an Air Force Academy slot and got into the U-2. Sean is the brother who went in on the cabins with me. Paddy—Patrick—got into the Naval Academy and F-18.” He smiled because her mouth had dropped open.
“Holy crap, there are five of you!”
“Yeah,” he said. He thought he was going to have to sit on his hand to keep from touching her hair. “Prolific Irish family. Sean and Patrick and their jets—they think faster is cooler. But they think that because they’ve never been in the Black Hawks.”
“Faster, higher and maybe safer,” she said.
“Possibly.” He laughed.
“How many times have you crashed?”
“I’ve never crashed,” he said, straightening proudly. “But I’ve been a damn good target three times. Mogadishu, Afghanistan and Iraq. I’m all done getting shot out of the sky. Right now, I want my most dangerous experience to be hammer versus thumb.”
They talked about building for a while, about the plans he had for the cabins. He would concentrate on the exteriors while the weather was still nice and when it cooled off and the Pacific winds brought the wet and cold, he could work inside. “Chapman left the house a wreck, but the structure seems sound. It’s going to take some doing to get it right. It’s small, but big enough for me. And if a brother or two shows up, there’s room. But this is temporary for me. By the time the work is done, I’ll be looking for a flying job—rescue or news chopper, or maybe even private industry. But chopper jobs are pretty tight, so it’s good I have something to keep me busy while I check out the job market.”
“Where will you go?” she asked.
“I’m flexible,” he said with a shrug.
She learned the brothers were close—when they were in the same part of the world, they got together. His father was deceased, but his mother was in Phoenix and they met there regularly. And each of them was willing to travel if there was a chance to meet. When she asked if he had a lot of nieces and nephews, he said, “All single. No kids anywhere.”
She didn’t tell him a whole lot about herself, just that she was finally ready to get on with her education, that she would be applying for degree programs. “I have my tuition money set aside from the house sale. I’d like to take a couple of trips first, maybe a cruise, since I can’t get back to full-time school till next fall anyway. I’m pretty nervous about that, it’s been a long time since I’ve been a student.”
“You’ll kick ass,” he said, taking curious pride in her ambition.
“For now, I’m just hanging out.”
“For how long?” he asked.
She answered with a shrug. “Till the first of the year, anyway, that’s the plan. There’s not too much for me to do except help everyone out, and I’m already getting a little bored.”
He made her laugh, put her at ease. She had a second beer and he had another. “You about ready for some dinner?” he finally asked her.
“I’m starving,” she said.
By the time Jack put stew in front of them, many of the locals were leaving, but there were still a few fishermen, so there was no hurry for Luke and Shelby to clear out.
They asked Jack for coffee and talked for another hour before Shelby looked at her watch and said, “Do you think I’ve given the lovebirds enough time alone?”
“By the look on Paul’s face, there isn’t enough time.”
“Tell me about it.” She stood up and slipped a hand into her jeans’ pocket.