Page 24 of Keeping Penny

“I’d love that. To just sit and relax for a moment. Thanks.”

He had a brief reprieve to think of the best way to broach the topics he’d wanted to discuss without Bowie overhearing. His brain was working overtime, and he had a strong compulsion to help this woman and her child…if she’d let him. He understood pride, but he hoped she’d accept his help, if only for Bowie’s sake.

He steered Penny toward the library, hoping against hope they’d find one of the private rooms open. He was looking forward to getting to know the woman at his side a little better. Doing so would either deepen the connection he already felt with her, and hopefully make her feel the same. Or he’d realize he was simply feeling responsible for her because she’d been in his chopper during the evacuation.

The latter was doubtful, because there were lots of people he’d rescued, both in Gabon and in his past. And he’d never felt such an instant attraction toward any of them. Hadn’t ever bought them clothing and treats from the commissary. Hadn’t wanted to introduce them to his friends.

Hadn’t desperately hoped he’d get to see them again, once they arrived back in the States.

Penny Burns was different, and he wanted to know everything about her. He could only hope she felt even a tenth of the same.

CHAPTER FIVE

Penny wouldn’t say she was nervous about what Pyro wanted to ask her, but she was extremely curious. He seemed uneasy, but she couldn’t think of anything she’d said or done that would make him feel that way.

She and Bowie had found the library during one of their trips around the ship, and it was a great way to pass some time. Bowie loved being read to, and Penny always felt closest to her child when the girl was snuggled in her lap with her head on her shoulder as she listened to a story. They’d moved on from picture books to chapter books, and Bowie soaked in every word.

She’d also noticed the small private rooms—which had glass windows, allowing the occupants to be seen but not heard—though she’d had no reason to use them. There was no one for her to contact. Besides that, they were full when she and Bowie had been there.

To her surprise, there was an open room this time, and Pyro immediately put his name on a signup sheet to use it. Users were only allowed twenty minutes in the room, to be fair to everyone who wanted to have some privacy.

There was a small table with a computer, as well as two easy chairs. When Pyro shut the door behind them, the silence was a nice change from the constant hum of voices and the ship’s engines. Penny immediately thought of Bowie, and how much she’d probably appreciate the quiet of the room, given her hearing was so sensitive because of her disability.

She sat in one of the chairs, and Pyro settled into the other beside her.

“I feel as if I need to apologize for something I said earlier.”

Penny racked her brain, trying to think of what he might be talking about, but came up empty. Fortunately, he kept talking.

“I thought you were being flip when you said you were good. I couldn’t understand how someone who’d been through all the things you had could possibly be good. I didn’t mean to push.”

Penny wrinkled her nose. “I think I’m the one who should say sorry. You were simply trying to ask about my welfare, and I kind of unloaded on you.”

“No,” he said firmly. “I was being judgmental, and I should’ve taken you at your word. But you said some things then, and more recently, that make me think we’ve got more in common than simply being in Gabon at the same time.”

Penny tilted her head in confusion. That she and this amazing pilot might have things in common seemed almost ridiculous. He was an esteemed Night Stalker with a close-knit group of friends. His clothes weren’t falling apart from age, he was obviously well-fed, and, based solely on what he’d bought for her and Bowie, he definitely had fewer money concerns.

“Believe it or not, I’ve been where you are, except I didn’t have a mom who gave a shit, like you so obviously do about Bowie.”

Penny stared at him for a beat. What did that mean?

He didn’t make her guess.

“I was in the foster system from around the age of three until I aged out at eighteen. I was in a total of twenty-two homes in those fifteen years. Some were good, some were bad, and others were downright awful. I had some foster parents who were in it simply for the cash, and as a result, they spent as little money on me as they could, including not feeding me. A couple of them making me rely on just free school meals for food. I’ve been hungry, Penny. Once, I rationed a ramen noodle packet over a weekend, eating the noodles dry just to have something in my belly until I could get breakfast at school again on Monday morning.

“I was picked on, made fun of, told I was stupid, and ignored by teachers. I rarely had new clothes, moved them from house to house in a garbage bag, and I had no friends because of how often I had to switch schools. I started working at a restaurant—in the kitchen, where no one could see how young I was—when I was fourteen.”

“Pyro,” Penny breathed, feeling horrible for the man sitting next to her…and how quickly she’d made assumptions about their common struggles. She had a hard time wrapping her mind around the life he was describing when compared to the person who flew helicopters for a living.

“But like I said, I also had some good foster homes. Ones where I could eat as much as I wanted, where I got my own room, clean clothes, and felt like a true member of the family.”

“Why did they give you up?” she asked, then felt embarrassed for asking such a personal question. But Pyro didn’t seem offended or put off.

“Various reasons. None having to do with me, not that it made me feel better to have to pack my stuff and get shuffled to another house. One time the father got a job out of state, and another time, the mother was killed in a car accident, and the dad was overwhelmed with his biological kids and suddenly becoming a single father.”

“I’m sorry. But you’ve done…you’re amazing, Pyro. You’re a Night Stalker. I might not know much about the military, but even I’ve heard how incredible you and your friends are. How you’re the best of the best.”

“Thanks. It took a lot of hard work, perseverance, and suffering along the way.”