Page 23 of Edge of Steele
She shook her head. “Other side of town. About ten miles out. We rode bikes to get cones. We ate the ice cream and then rode back, but by the time we reached the resort, we had to jump in the lake to cool off.” She laughed.
“Sounds like fun.”
“It was. I had the best childhood.”
“I wish I could say the same thing.”
Her heart constricted. “I’m sorry, Finn. That’s the second time I was insensitive about the loss of your parents.”
“No. Not at all.” He waved a hand. “You can’t downplay your life just because I had some hard times. I had ten great years and memories before my parents died. And the rest was okay too. Mostly thanks to Felicia’s friendship.”
“That’s very mature of you.”
“Not hardly.” He shook his head. “I figured God gave me a raw deal and had a chip on my shoulder for a long time. Wasn’t until I became a SEAL that I figured out life is better if you learn to livewithyour hurt instead of livinginit.”
He glanced at her. “I don’t know if that makes sense, but it’s what got me through BUDS to get my trident. I discovered if I focused on the pain, it won. If I put my focus on the prize, I won. Same in life now. Focus on God. I win. Focus on all the painful things. I lose.”
“Makes perfect sense.” She let his comments settle in and looked out the window at the town receding and the highway ahead that led to the sheriff’s office and jail. She’d been living in the hurt of their breakup. Totally. She really hadn’t seen it until now. Running into him again told her that. She’d let it color so many parts of her life. Especially dating. Or more specifically—not dating for fear of being hurt again.
Would a change of perspective help with that?
Couldn’t hurt.
She looked back at him. “That’s a great way to look at life.”
“You’re way too quick with the compliments today,” he said. “I wish I could say I was living with things right now, but I’m not. Sometimes, maybe, but not all the time. This latest curveball has thrown me. Some days I succeed. A lot of them I don’t.”
“I get that,” she said to reassure him. “Not long after we broke up, my cousin Thomas was murdered. That took a lot out of our family. In some respects, we’re all just coming out of the terrible loss.”
“I’m real sorry that happened.” He cast her a sympathetic look. “Did they catch the person responsible?”
“Yes, and he’s been convicted and is serving a life sentence.”
“That’s something at least.”
“Yeah, sure. It is.” She swallowed the pain down to continue without tearing up. “But honestly, we all thought the conviction would bring more peace. It didn’t. Just a sense of finality.” Tears won out and pricked her eyes. She had to change the subject. No way she would cry in front of Finn today.
She pointed out the window. “There’s Russ’s office.”
Finn turned into the parking lot for the single-story building that covered a city block and had been built since she’d last vacationed here, so sometime in the past ten years.
He parked in a visitor’s space, and they got out. The sun had dipped below a thick stand of trees, and a chill in the air sent a shiver over her arms. Or maybe the chill was from their mission.
They were hunting down a bomber. A killer. And getting distracted for any reason and failing was not an option.
6
Finn held the door for Ryleigh to the wide lobby that served as a waiting area for the sheriff’s office. Large signs pointing to the right directed visitors to the jail. A hint of lemon cleaner lingered in the air, and the tile floors were spotless. Of course they were. The Russ that Finn was coming to know would insist his facility be tidy and clean.
Ryleigh headed for the front desk. Finn wanted to brush past her and take charge, but he had to do a better job of letting her do her thing and resist taking over.
The woman with silvery gray hair cut short and straight to her narrow chin looked up from behind the desk and flashed a smile. “Help you?”
Ryleigh stepped forward. “Ryleigh Steele and Finn Durham to see Sheriff Maddox.”
“Oh, you!” She stared past Ryleigh to Finn, and he didn’t like her over-the-top exclamation. “The SEAL who has every unmarried woman in town’s heart aflutter.”
“Retired SEAL,” he said, but did so between clenched teeth.
