and married. I came along pretty quickly, but then I think they had a couple of miscarriages before my brother came along. They’re wonderful parents, but even when I was in elementary school, I knew that they were older. My friends’ moms didn’t have hair that was already turning gray. Other kids my age went to amusement parks with their parents, and my parents preferred more sedate vacations. We lived in an older neighborhood that actually had retired residents, so there weren’t a lot of kids to play with.”
He cocked his head to the side, noting the wistfulness in her voice. “Were you lonely?”
Shaking her head, she held his gaze. “It was all I knew. I occasionally had a friend over to play with or would go to their house, but I wasn’t unhappy. At least not until I became old enough to visit with other friends who had wild, crazy, fun families.” Laughing, she said, “Like yours.”
“And your brother?”
“We weren’t very close when we were children, probably due to our age. I was six years old when he was born, so I was already in school. By the time I was a teenager, he was just a pesky younger brother. Now that we're adults, we’ve become closer. He’s in the Marines, so we don’t get to see each other very often, but he said he’s not going to reenlist after this tour.”
The server came back, setting their huge plates of food in front of them. Refilling their iced teas, she left, and Harper and Sean stared at their plates for a moment in awe. A giggle slipped from her lips. “I forgot how much food this is! I’ll get a box, and it looks like this will be my lunch for tomorrow... and maybe dinner, too.”
They dug into the spicy deliciousness, and he was glad he took his cue from her and ordered the same thing. Their conversation was light as they continued to eat, and he relaxed, enjoying her company.
He leaned back in his seat, sipping his iced tea. “I remember one time visiting a classmate at his house. He was an only child, and their house was quiet and orderly. I actually thought it was nice for him to be able to get his work done or listen to music or read a book without a thousand people all pulling at him.”
“I suppose we simply get used to what we grow up with, and it’s only with time and age that we think about how something could be different. My grandmother came to live with us when I was in high school, so I didn’t often have friends over. Looking back, I’m sure that was harder on my brother, constantly having to stay quiet.” Wiping her mouth with her napkin, she leaned back in the booth. “I’m still close to my parents and talk to them at least once a week. They don’t care for traveling, so they haven’t been to Hope City very much, but I try to get to North Carolina a couple of times a year. Hopefully, they’ll visit soon.”
She held him captive with her dark eyes and he almost missed her next question. “You said that in the Army you were Military Police. Was that something you always wanted to do?”
Swallowing his last bite, he nodded. “My dad was in the FBI and had moved up the ranks from investigator to supervisor. When he was an agent, he and my mom lived in several places. I was actually born in Florida, but we moved here when I was a baby, so this is the only place I remember. Growing up, I watched every police show I could, thinking that was the best job ever.”
“Being the oldest of six kids, you probably had to act like a policeman sometimes with your siblings!”
“God, yes. It wasn’t easy. I never wanted to be the big, badass brother, but I also didn’t want my siblings to get in trouble. So, whatever rules my parents set down for us, I tried to make sure they followed them.” He glanced down at her plate, seeing that she had eaten almost half of her lunch and appeared to have finished. Wanting to prolong their time together, he asked, “How did you get into the insurance business? Especially dealing with fires?”
Barking out a laugh, she held his attention once more with her bright smile and twinkling eyes. “You know how you just said that being a policeman was the only thing