I am head over heels in love with this man. Everything about him.
“I’m glad you have a guard dog now,” he said. “You’ll need to train her.”
“Oh, I plan to. I already signed up for obedience lessons on Saturdays. Mrs. Brown was nice enough to agree to give me Saturdays off, several weeks in a row, which is a lot in the florist business. I’ll be working late on some Friday nights when she needs me though.”
“How late?”
“However long it takes to get the arrangements done.”
“Babe, it’s time to get serious about getting the handgun you were thinking about. Since you can’t take your guard dog everywhere you go. And since I am often called away out of the country, I’d feel better knowing you were taking measures for your safety.”
Oh, he’s worried about my safety? He must care for me, too.
The thought made her feel warm inside. “I was pretty scared when the guy broke into my house. I froze. What if I do that when I have a gun? He might take it from me, and then I’d be even worse off.”
“That’s true, you would. This is why we train. So we don’t freeze, and instead go into the moves we’ve practiced. I can train you past the freeze point--if you’re willing.”
“I’m willing.”
“Good. Now let’s talk about getting you set up with a security system. I could install it for you.”
“Oh, that’s a great idea. Thank you. My friend Tanya needs one too. She has a crazy neighbor.”
“I could put one in for her, after I set yours up.”
“That would be great.”
“Turn on your laptop and we’ll look at some different set ups for security.”
They spent the rest of the evening looking at things she could do to be more secure and talking late into the night.
It was good to have him back in her life and to know that he’d never really left. He’d just been deployed. And that made a big difference.
* * *
After two monthsof dog training, firearms training, and self defense training, the woman Reed picked up for their Saturday night date looked the same and yet different.
Christie still walked out the door in one of those sexy retro outfits, after punching in the code on the new alarm on her house, but instead of stepping tentatively on those heels, she strode.
She strode like a woman who had confidence, who would look a man in the eye, instead of blushing and looking down. She was a perfect mix of very feminine and very aware. Not the first female a predator would target. And that gave Reed great satisfaction.
This was his girl. And no one else’s. She didn’t mind if he had to disappear on a mission and trusted he’d tell her what he could, if and when he could. She didn’t play games and didn’t have a victim’s mindset. After what had happened in the theater, she could have so easily gone the other way. He was glad she hadn’t, and he was proud of her.
She stepped into his car, and he waited until she was settled before closing the door. He could envision doing this for the rest of their lives, and soon, he would tell her so.
Driving to the restaurant for dinner, he asked, “Did the police ever find your jewelry at any of the pawn shops?”
“No, they didn’t recover a thing.” Christie shook her head. “It’s just gone.”
“That’s a shame,” he said. “Have you thought about replacing things?”
“Yes, but I just haven’t yet.”
So she wasn’t a big shopper.
“Do you prefer gold, silver, white gold, or platinum?”
She turned her head to face him fully, watching him, and he kept his features neutral and unreadable.
