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Step by step.
… Drawing to a halt by the fence line that separated the two branches.
Watching in the distance, she marveled at the planes landing. The scream of the engines, seeing them glide rear wheels down first before tipping the nose slightly and then coasting to their position in the line… quickly followed by the next plane, then the next. It was almost processional and there was a beauty to seeing them in motion.
Turning her head, she saw the Jeeps and trucks returning to the base from their own excursions and held her breath. No mad rushes, no erratic movements, no skidding to a halt or screaming for medical help… just an uneventful day of patrol.
Looking at the sky, she watched the sun set standing there, knowing she was blocking the path and moving slightly for the other joggers — just intent on watching… and why?
She didn’t know.
The blue on the horizon faded to an angry orange before settling into a deeper bluish purple as the sun moved out of sight. It would be pitch black out here before she knew it… and standing here for five minutes, twenty minutes, or three hours wouldn’t change anything.
That was his world – and this was hers.
The two did not mix.
Looking one more time at the black shadows of the planes against the fading light, she sighed heavily and continued her run.
CHAPTER5
SPARKY
Austin,
Military communications specifically state that you cannot give away your location. I’m assigned as a medic to a base – and even that will probably get scrubbed in the filters.
Giselle
P.S. – Why?
* * *
“She’s…here?”Austin whispered aloud, reading her email in shock.
Giselle hadn’t said as much, but the abrupt withdrawal and terse response about protocol to push him away was telling. She could have said, ‘I’m stationed in Alabama’or ‘I’m in Texas’… or anything else – but she refused to answer him and then asked ‘why’?
Why do you think a guy wants to know where a girl is?he thought wryly, realizing that if she was nearby, then perhaps he could meet her… and clicked on the other email from Giselle.
Yup, she was backpedaling and explaining that she was afraid. He also noticed that she never bothered to reply to his last email either. Yep, she was ‘hiding’ from him, as much as being the ‘girl next door’ could in this isolated, strange world. He understood her being afraid of what all of this was…
So was he!
Who wouldn’t be afraid to put themselves out there and end up being smacked down… but the problem was if you didn’t try, then you would never know.
Fear never stopped him from being bold, doing the unthinkable, or talking to a girl out of his league. Everyone put their pants on one leg at a time, just like him. If he let fear paralyze him, then he would have never made it as far as he had in his career.
Emailing her over the last three weeks had been the best time he’d had so far in forever… and didn’t want it to end. Instead, he would need to find a way to draw her out of her shell, appealing to her curiosity.
He wanted to meet her, to see what she looked like, and say ‘hello’.
Giselle,
I understand, and you are right. I forget sometimes out here in the middle of nowhere about protocol… and appreciate the reminder.
It’s been a long week and I’ve really enjoyed taking a breather for myself, jogging around the base. People would say that’s absurd, because of the heat – but if you do it early in the mornings or just before sunset, it’s not so bad.
So, let’s chat about this mysterious haven we are dreaming about. Would you want to imagine a place with ice and snow… or maybe some place desert-like? You mentioned castles? Wouldn’t it be silly to imagine us touring a castle in Scotland or England? What about Italy? It’s not a long flight from my secret location, but I don’t know about you.
