Page 33 of Jenny
Jenny had a feeling there was more to the story. “How do you feel now?”
“Like I dodged a bullet.” No regret sounded in his voice or showed on his face. “I’m happy how things have turned out and where I am. Especially now that I’m here with you.”
His words made her happy because she felt the same way. Hard to believe she hadn’t known Dare existed at the beginning of July, and now she was rarely away from him.
“What about you?” he asked. “Any ghosts in your relationship closet?”
He’d been open with her. It was her turn. “I was engaged three years ago. I found out a couple of weeks before the wedding that he had a gambling problem and owed a lot of money. Almost two hundred thousand.”
“Whoa.”
“That was my thought.” She shook her head. “He felt I should help pay off his debt. I disagreed. Things went downhill from there, and we broke up.”
“That had to be hard so close to your wedding.”
“Yes, but he was with me for all the wrong reasons. I just hadn’t realized it. I still feel foolish for being taken in like that, but I know I dodged a bullet.”
“Everything happens for a reason.”
She thought of her brother dying for his country and her parents who’d died after a head-on collision. “You think so? Because that hasn’t been my experience.”
“I’ll add the word sometimes,” Dare said. “Look at us. I wish my squad and I had never gotten injured, but if I was still with the platoon, I wouldn’t be here with you, and I wouldn’t have Squatchy as my new sidekick. Maybe there was a reason this time.”
“I’d like to think so in our case.”
“She agrees with me, Squatchy,” Dare said to the stuffed animal. “That’s a good sign.”
His smile crinkled his eyes, and the result took her breath away. He was so hot. The best-looking man she’d ever met. Dare could be with any woman. Why her?
Just enjoy being with him while it lasts.
“Speaking of Sasquatch,” he continued. “Did you know there have been Bigfoot sightings around Joint Base Lewis-McChord that’s south of Tacoma? Stories have also circulated about Cat Lake and other places used for training,” Dare said. “Though it could just be an urban legend.”
“I hadn’t heard that about JBLM, but the Pacific Northwest is full of sightings. Our town has capitalized on the ones around Berry Lake. There’s a shop that offers Bigfoot tours and searches to tourists.”
“You’re kidding?”
“Nope. Bigfoot is big business in Berry Lake.”
“When I visit, we can go on one of those searches.”
Not if or maybe, but when. Anticipation surged. Jenny would love to show Dare around her hometown. “That would be fun.”
“I can think of something else that would be fun.”
Her gaze met his, but his face gave nothing away.
“A game of cards?” she asked.
“Nope.”
“Twenty questions?”
“Try again.”
Until he improved a little more, they were limited on where they could go or what they could do. “A walk?”
“I’m quite comfy where I am.” Of course he was. And if he kept scooting her closer, she would end up on top of him. Although, that might be his plan.
