Page 11 of Pursuit of Honor

“What is this place, anyway?” Law asked, glancing around the dimly lit entry hall as visitors chattered excitedly on their way toward the exhibit.

“The research academy is Sweetwater’s pride and joy,” she said before going into a brief explanation as the academy employee unzipped her bag.

For Piper, the academy was a relatively new addition to the town. It hadn’t existed when she was a kid, but she knew that if it had, she would have loved it. From the aquarium to the reconstructed rainforest to the planetarium, the academy was built to research biomes and ecological systems. The place housed everything from a giant alligator swamp to a temperature-controlled desert habitat, to a coral reef tank. All of it designed for teaching, research, and conservation. On paper, an academy devoted to science would have been the complete opposite of Piper’s interests, but nature was one of her biggest inspirations—after the love she had for her family.

“I did warn you it was pretty dorky,” she said, when she was finished explaining, surprised that he had been listening attentively the whole time.

“Everything cool is also kind of dorky when you think about it,” he said.

She laughed. “Did you just make that up?”

“Yeah,” he answered, an amused glint in his eyes. “But honestly, I would have thought this was pretty cool if I had something like this as a kid.”

“Yes, exactly,” she said, nodding, too excited to contain herself. When Piper was on a roll, she found it difficult to rein herself in, to the endless frustration of her family. The Ryans were much too in control to let their emotions get the best of them. A lesson that Piper kept trying to learn, despite constant failures to do so. “That’s why I made all this artwork.”

“Holy smokes, you made these?” he asked, sounding impressed as the employee took out the ceramic figurines she’d packed.

Piper nodded shyly, suddenly feeling a little self-conscious over the compliment implied in his tone. She still hadn’t gotten used to praise, even though she’d been a professional artist for a couple of years now. And although she didn’t think he had to like her work, he did sound genuinely impressed, which made her feel all warm inside.

“Yes, I made these,” she said, her face heating.

The employee was carefully taking out the individual pieces, unwrapping the protective layer of paper and setting them down on the desk. Each piece was a realistic recreation of local wildlife that lived in the water or near the shore.

“This is badass,” he said, reaching out to pat the ferocious, open-mouthed great white shark she had crafted.

“Yes, the shark was a huge hit with my dad. I think it’s the first thing of mine he’s actually liked.” It had taken her a while to figure out what kind of ceramics a military man like her dad would appreciate, but apparently, it was sharks. Looked like it was the same with Law.

Piper couldn’t help but smile at that. She liked that she could figure out certain details about him, like solving a puzzle. He was so mysterious that each new thing she learned felt like a small treasure.

“I want to buy it,” Law said as he leaned in closer to examine the shark.

Her eyes widened. “What? Really?”

“Yeah. I’ll take the shark and the stingray,” he said.

“Wow, the kids would really appreciate that,” she said.

“Kids?”

“Yes, the artwork is a donation to the academy,” she told him.

“Hold up. You’re donating all this?” he asked, his words laced with what sounded like admiration.

Her face heated again. “Yes. It’s not much, really. I made these for the academy’s gift shop. All the proceeds will go to a charity that pays for underprivileged kids to come to the academy. That way every kid gets the chance to learn and explore, not just the kids in private schools.”

“See, I knew you were a nice person,” he said.

“Oh, it’s no big deal really,” she insisted, though she felt herself standing just a little bit straighter. “Just think of it as something to remember me by.”

“You know I could never forget you, Piper.” His voice was low, edged with something that might have been longing. It was desperate, but forceful the way he spoke. As if he meant every word. As if he was already filled with regret that their time together was running out.

Or maybe she was hearing what she wanted to hear. A false echo of the thoughts she was keeping to herself. Desperation to make their time last longer. Determination to make every moment count. By that point, her face was on fire and she was too tongue-tied to say anything back to him.

Luckily, they were quickly distracted by Law making his purchase and minutes later, the items had been packed and left at the desk for them to collect later. Without speaking, they both wandered down the hall to the underwater exhibit. Looked like they each had the same idea. That was how in sync they were with each other.

Piper felt the protective weight of his arm on her back as they walked by the first tank of the exhibit. To her amazement, she realized he was pulling her close. A silent attempt to keep her safe as a huge fish with the biggest teeth she had ever seen swam up to them.

From the outside, they must have looked like a happy, long-term couple just going sightseeing for the weekend, but she was freaking out on the inside. Because his muscular, tattooed arm was wrapped around her possessively and it was like he was claiming her in front of the crowd of people. Her stomach did flip-flops the moment he touched her. Not to mention, her legs started to shake when she felt his hard body against hers. There was no denying how muscular he was, especially since he was lugging around that heavy rucksack like it didn’t weigh anything while he kept her close with his other arm.