Page 18 of Keeping Penny

Bowie frowned. “What’s conceited mean?” she asked.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m starving,” Pyro cut in. “How about we go get some chicken fingers?”

“Yes!” Bowie exclaimed.

Thanks, Penny mouthed to Pyro. She wasn’t ready to get into a conversation about conceit at the moment.

She followed her daughter and Pyro to the chow line, impressed with how good everything looked. She’d kind of assumed food on a ship this big would be less than stellar, but her mouth was watering at all the delicious smells.

“Get whatever you want, there’s no limit,” Pyro told her.

Penny nodded and grabbed two trays, one for her and one for Bowie. She described everything that was on the buffet to her daughter and filled her tray, mostly with chicken fingers and fries, but managed to get the little girl to agree to some green beans and carrots as well. She shook her head at Pyro when he motioned toward the dessert options, relieved when he didn’t mention them. Her daughter had a sweet tooth. That hadn’t been an issue before, with their lack of funds, but now that the options were unlimited, she didn’t want Bowie to get too used to eating junk food.

“You want to carry your tray?” Penny asked, ever mindful of Bowie’s independent streak. At every opportunity, she wanted to prove that she could do everything a sighted person could do.

To her surprise, Bowie shook her head and tightened her hold on Pyro’s hand.

He smiled at her, letting her know it was all right, then headed back to the table.

Penny took a deep breath. It was definitely going to upset Bowie when they arrived at their destination and Pyro and his friends went their separate ways. She didn’t want to think about the tears and meltdowns Bowie would have when she had to say goodbye.

Of course, she realized that her daughter wouldn’t be the only one sad to see the last of this man. He’d made her feel seen more than anyone had in a long time. It was a heady experience. And it didn’t hurt that he was so awesome with Bowie.

She wondered anew if he had a kid back home. Because he was a natural. Surely that was because he was used to being around children.

The thought was a little depressing, but she pushed it to the back of her mind. She was not having a fling with Pyro. He was just being nice. She had to remember that, for her own mental health. It would be hard enough to start over, again, but it would be even harder if she was constantly thinking about how much she missed a man she barely knew.

Taking a deep breath, she put their trays down on the table and pulled out the chair for her daughter. One day at a time. That was her motto. Life would do what life would do, and she just had to hang on for the ride. She’d learned that the hard way, and she thought she’d managed pretty well, all things considered. She’d continue to do so because of Bowie.

Her daughter gave her a reason to stay positive and keep putting one foot in front of the other, even when life seemed to want to squash her like a bug.

CHAPTER FOUR

It was very different having a kid at the table while they ate. Bowie talked nonstop, as if she was best friends with the adults sitting around her. Pyro saw a few longing looks from other men and women in the chow hall, as if they were missing their own kids, which made him appreciate Bowie and Penny being with them all the more.

While he and his fellow Night Stalkers didn’t have children, it was a nice change from the usual small talk they engaged in while eating. It wasn’t a chore or a nuisance having Bowie around. She was funny, adorable, and actually very smart.

But it was the woman sitting to his left that had most of Pyro’s attention. He was trying to figure out what it was about her that was so appealing. Her calm demeanor, for sure. It didn’t matter what happened, she didn’t lose her cool. From Bowie spilling her cup of water to being evacuated from a hotel roof…she took it all in stride.

Pyro had a theory, one he hadn’t told to many people because he didn’t think they’d understand, but he had a feeling Penny would. When children had traumatic things happen to them growing up—deaths of loved ones, serious illnesses, homelessness, to name a few—they tended to cope better when shit happened to them as adults. After all, a spilled cup of water was no big deal when compared to losing a parent when you were little.

The theory was certainly simplistic, and most likely could be debunked by people smarter than him, but he’d lived it. He was a good example. He simply couldn’t get upset about things that others freaked out over because of the shit he’d gone through as a child in the foster care system.

He saw that same…knowledge?…of shared trauma in Penny’s eyes. Having a child who couldn’t see had to have been a huge blow, and while he didn’t know how she’d coped with it back when Bowie was born, she barely seemed to acknowledge her daughter’s blindness now.

No, that wasn’t true. The dozens of little things she did to make Bowie’s life easier made it very clear Penny was constantly aware of her daughter’s disability. She shifted her cup away from her wildly gesturing hands while she spoke, so it wouldn’t get spilled a second time. She quietly told her where things were in her space, and explained things she saw around them without thought.

But she didn’t get upset or stressed or hysterical when things went wrong.

Pyro thought back to her reaction to people stealing some of her and Bowie’s things. She didn’t demand justice, didn’t yell or scream or cry about it. She and her daughter had apparently decided that whoever had taken their things, probably needed them more than they did.

Which was a joke. From his perspective, Penny and Bowie needed everything. She hadn’t mentioned family back in the States, and he had no idea what her financial situation was, but from everything she’d told him about their life in Gabon, he deduced that they had very little money, if any.

Which had him thinking about something else she’d mentioned. When he’d stupidly questioned her “we’re good” statement.

She’d said she was paying off her deceased husband’s debts.

He had no idea what that meant, but his gut told him it wasn’t good. Like the man hadn’t just run up a credit card or two. Of course, she wouldn’t be the first widow to have to take on unpaid debts…but he had a feeling her situation was more than simply sending a check to a bank.