Page 23 of Pride

EIGHT

Fisher

I suspected the issue with Major Pratt wouldn’t end well. As a result, I’d been reluctant to move forward with Anna, especially from a sexual standpoint. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt her. Being sexually involved with her over a four-day period – and then going back to prison – would have been selfish and inconsiderate on my part.

Now that I knew I wasn’t going back to prison, I viewed things much differently.

I hadn’t been to Oceanside – or to a beach – since my infantry training. Being there brought back memories, and with them came a flood of emotion.

“This is awesome,” Anna said, waving her hand toward the horizon. “As far as you can see. Nothing but ocean.”

I twisted my bare toes into the wet sand and recalled the many nights I surfed until the sun set against the western horizon. “It’s tranquil, isn’t it? Being here? Seeing it?”

She grinned. “It is.”

“I loved this beach when I was training here. I’d come here every chance I got.”

“So, you’ve been to this exact beach before? Walked on this sand?”

“I have. I’ve walked on this sand, surfed these waves--”

“Wait. What?” Her eyes went wide. “You can surf?”

“I can.”

“Can you show me?” she asked excitedly. “Teach me?”

“I will. If you want me to.”

She watched the waves crash ashore for a moment, seeming fascinated by it all. When she turned to face me, her smile had faded.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

She looked up. “It’s just. I don’t know. I left everything back there. In Texas. It wasn’t much, but it was all I had. Being with you has been awesome, but this is kind of a wakeup call. I need to get a job, I don’t have a car, I haven’t got any money, and I don’t have anywhere to live.”

“You can stay with me.”

“Thank you. But. I still need to get my life together. I spent way too much time with Josh, and I have nothing to show for it but a bunch of emotional scars.”

I reached for her hand. “I’ve got as much or more emotional scars than anyone. I don’t have a family, and I’ve lost touch with all my Marine brothers. I think I wanted to come here in the hope of finding one of them. The chances of that are pretty scarce.”

Her eyes narrowed slightly. “You don’t have any family?”

The thought of proceeding with my adult life without them was unsettling. I shook my head. “They were killed in a car wreck when I was a senior in high school. Losing them was what prompted me to join the Marines.”

She squeezed my hand. “I’m so sorry.”

I pulled her into me and wrapped my arms around her. After a long embrace, she looked up. “I don’t have any family, either.”

“What?”

She chewed her bottom lip as she responded. “I never knew my parents. I went from foster home to foster home until I was old enough to run away. Then, I went from that to the abusive prick I was with. My life’s been interesting.”

“So, you’ve got no one?”

She shrugged. “Not that I know of.”

“Looks like all we’ve got is each other.”