Page 75 of Finding Elodie
“Yes and no. When we have water ops, we aren’t exactly sprinting through the water. We’re trying to be stealthy or we’re swimming underwater.”
That made sense. The group came up to a place in the trail where they had to cross the river. There were rocks strategically placed in the rushing water, but Midas didn’t bother attempting to use them. He waded through the water without hesitation.
“Here, grab my arm,” Aleck said as he came up next to her. Looking back, Elodie saw Scott was bringing up the rear of their little group. She didn’t mind that he wasn’t right at her side, she knew without having to think about it if things got awkward or it looked like she was uncomfortable, he’d come up to hike with her, but she appreciated him giving her space to get to know his team.
Grabbing Aleck’s arm, she did what Midas had done and tromped through the chilly water without trying to keep her feet dry. They were already soaked, and it actually felt good to wash off some of the sticky mud that was stubbornly clinging to her sneakers.
They continued on the trail, and now Elodie found herself walking behind Aleck. “So, you have a fancy condo, huh?” she asked.
Without seeming to be embarrassed about it, Aleck nodded. “Yeah, it’s sweet. It’s got three bedrooms, a huge kitchen, and the balcony is to die for. It overlooks the courtyard, not the pool—which, trust me, is a big deal. The last thing you want to hear is screeching kids day and night when you’re trying to relax after a long day or mission.”
“What do your parents do? Am I allowed to ask that?”
“You can ask whatever you want. They’re in real estate. They started out renting their own house a long time ago, when they moved after they got married and couldn’t sell it. Things kind of went from there, and now they own way too many properties for me to even remember.”
“I don’t think I’d want to rent out anything I owned,” Elodie said. “I mean, I’ve seen and read too many horror stories about renters to want to risk it.”
“Right? I feel the same way, much to my parents’ chagrin. I know they were hoping I’d follow in their footsteps, but when I joined the Navy, I think they realized I was a lost cause. But I have to say, I’m thankful every time I fall asleep with my patio door open at night, listening to the sound of the ocean waves, that they’re as successful as they are.”
“You aren’t afraid to sleep with your door open? I mean, aren’t you worried someone will come in?”
Aleck chuckled. “If someone manages to climb up to the fortieth floor of the complex to rob or kill me while I’m asleep, more power to them.”
“Wow, the fortieth floor?”
“He lives on the penthouse floor,” Pid said from behind her.
Elodie’s eyes got wide. “Seriously?”
“Yup. When he says his parents have been successful, he’s not kidding,” Midas said from in front of them.
“Successful?” Aleck said with a snort. “They’re fucking loaded. Oh, sorry for swearing.”
Elodie waved off his apology. “I never would’ve guessed. I mean, you’re…” Her voice trailed off before she said something to offend Scott’s teammate.
Aleck chuckled. “I don’t seem spoiled? I’m not. My parents made sure I knew how lucky I was when I was growing up. We volunteered a lot at our church, helping others less fortunate than us. My parents worked their asses off to get where they are. I’m glad they don’t have to worry about retirement or anything like that. They’ve earned everything they have.”
“And he’s working on paying them for his condo,” Pid threw in. “Just in case you were thinking he’s a rich kid living off his parents’ money.”
“They’re being stubborn about it,” Aleck added. “Every time I transfer money to them, they put the exact amount in the retirement account they started for me when I was a kid. It’s annoying.”
“Oh, yeah, poor baby. So annoying,” Elodie teased.
“Hey, watch it,” Aleck retorted.
Elodie thought he was teasing her right back, so she rolled her eyes. But a second later, she tripped over a tree root growing across the trail and went flying forward. She careened into Aleck’s back, knocking him over. Just before she fell in a heap on top of him, Pid grabbed her waist from behind.
For a second, Elodie had no idea what happened—then she struggled hard not to laugh at poor Aleck. He’d landed face first in a thick patch of mud in the trail, and when he stood, he was literally covered from head to toe in the thick dark brown muck.
“I-I’m sorry,” she stuttered. “I thought you were responding to my snarky comment. I didn’t know you were actually trying to warn me about the trail! But…oh my God…you look hilarious.”
Everyone was laughing now, so Elodie didn’t feel too bad about laughing with them.
Then, before she could even react, Aleck lunged forward and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a bear hug.
“Ack! Gross! No!” she screeched as she squirmed and tried to get out of his hold. When he finally let her go, Elodie looked down and saw that he’d managed to transfer quite a bit of the mud to her.
“There. Now we’re even,” Aleck said with a grin. His teeth looked very white in his mud-smeared face and he seemed awful proud of himself.
