He nodded. “Yeah. Said it was his time.”
“You known each other long?”
“We went through basic training together.”
So the bond would be strong. It was nice he was flying in for the funeral to support Brandon. “I look forward to meeting him.”
Brandon glanced at her. “He thinks it’s time for me to get out too.”
Surprised he was telling her, she asked, “What do you think?” Her father would never entertain the idea of leaving the army. She’d once heard her parents arguing about it.
The tapping increased. “I don’t know.”
“You own an entire station now,” she reminded him.
His lips pursed. “Yeah.”
He’d encouraged her to talk about Beth and Bill. Perhaps she could repay the favour and listen to his story. “Did you like farming?”
He was silent and then let out a deep breath. “It was my life.”
Like Darcy and Bill. Her heart ached for him. “Did you enjoy it?”
“It was the only thing I ever wanted to do.”
And yet he’d isolated himself, cut himself off from his passion because he blamed himself for his brother’s death. “How much longer are you in for?”
“A couple of months. I’m due at the same time as Sam.”
She wasn’t certain how much notice he needed to give the army. “If you had no one to consider but yourself, what would you do?”
Brandon studied her. “That’s a simplistic way of looking at things.”
“No, it’s a way of examining what you truly want. If you didn’t have to worry about your loyalty to the army, or letting anyone down, or how your family might feel—what would you do for you?”
He didn’t answer.
They passed a truck full of chairs and tables and Amy waved. “They must be going to the Ridge.”
“Sam and I can set them up when we get back.” He changed the subject. “How are you feeling this morning?”
The disappointment that he wouldn’t confide in her was brushed aside as heat warmed her cheeks. “I’m fine.”
“I’m sorry we were interrupted last night.”
She shrugged. “It doesn’t matter.”
“Yes, it does. I enjoyed talking with you.”
She glanced at him. “I enjoyed it too.” She wanted to talk to him about Charlie, but if he wouldn’t talk about what he wanted in a career, he would be even less likely to talk about his family. Instead she changed the subject to something neither of them should find difficult. “What do you like to do in your spare time?”
“Mostly I help new recruits or I’m on a mission. Sometimes I read.”
She perked up. The cheapest form of entertainment for her was ebooks. “What genre?”
“Thriller and suspense.”
“Me too.” She grilled him about authors he liked and discovered they had a few in common which got them talking about plots they’d liked or didn’t like. In next to no time she was parking in front of the supermarket. She handed him the keys.
