working class parents who’d always provided for their children without spoiling them. They’d had food on the table for every meal and practical clothes for them to wear. They hadn’t been name brand, and that’s definitely where Carl had learned his lifestyle.
When he’d been forced out of the military due to his multitude of injuries, his financial security had given him time and options to figure out what his next step was going to be. He’d been far too young to retire, and though he didn’t mind a game of golf or taking a day to go fishing, it wasn’t something he wanted to do on a daily basis.
He needed action and adventure.
He needed stimulation.
When Jon, aka Eyes, had called him approximately six months after they’d left Germany, it hadn’t taken long for new life to spark inside him. He’d been lost after coming home. Jon had told him he had a possible job for him that couldn’t be discussed unless he accepted — just what Carl had been waiting for.
Carl had been back in Philly since his release, where his family had raised him. If he wanted to take the job Jon was offering, he’d have to move to San Francisco, a place he’d never been particularly fond of.
While the pull to be back home had been strong, being there hadn’t been what he’d expected. He’d lost his sister to a drug overdose as he’d been recovering from his injuries in Germany. That had nearly done him in where the insurgents hadn’t been able to.
His parents had been taken from him a few years earlier in a car accident caused by a drunk driver, which was what had led to his sister’s drug addiction. She’d felt abandoned, not only by them, but by him since he was gone far more than he was around. He had a lot of regrets that he hadn’t been there for her and hadn’t been able to take more time with his dad after he’d retired.
Carl had missed out on a lot of family life while serving his country. But he had no regrets about serving. Without men and women willing to serve, people like his parents and sister wouldn’t have the freedom to live their lives the way they wanted. His dad always reminded him of that when Carl lamented about missing out on a holiday or a big family occasion. Hard work and service — be it to God, or mankind, had been instilled in him early in his childhood.
It hadn’t taken him long to accept Jon’s job offer. Philly would always be home, but maybe if he wasn’t there daily, it wouldn’t be a reminder of everything he’d lost. Maybe if he was away, he’d be able to remember all of the good things he’d grown up with instead of the tragic ending.
Carl had easily packed his meager possessions into the back of his long bed Ford F150 with room to spare beneath the canopy and began his cross country trek to the West Coast. When he’d gotten there, Jon had told him the story of how his new company had begun.
Carl was ripped from his thoughts as a timer went off. Why was he lamenting the past? It had to be those two days with Avery, four days earlier, and it had been better than anything he’d ever had before. It was making him think about his entire life.
How was it that one woman, one small, competitive spitfire of a woman changed his entire belief system in such a short time? He thought about how his dad had proposed to his mom after five days. His father had told him that when you knew, you just knew. Their love had been strong for thirty years before their life had been taken too soon. He had no doubt they’d have made it to a seventy-five-year anniversary if they’d been able to live out their lives.
But Carl wasn’t in love.
No.
There was no way he was in love after . . . how long had it been? Two weeks? Three weeks? He didn’t know. The man who could tell time by looking at the sun wasn’t quite sure how long he’d been seeing this woman. What was she doing to him?
His timer went off again and he jumped to his feet, shaking his head. He’d lost his appetite which was ridiculous.
He took his steak off the grill and carried it inside where he covered it to let it rest, allowing the juices to