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"I agree. Right now, I just want to find Jack and help him get better."

"That's the goal, but we probably won't accomplish that tonight," he said, sipping his wine and settling back against the booth. "Tell me more about younger Rachel, the one who went back and forth and didn't feel like she fit in. Were you in sports?"

"No. I was in the library or the lab. I liked doing experiments in high school, testing hypotheses and watching things transform. I even liked dissecting the frog in biology class. I was fascinated by how things worked. And the lab was a controlled environment. We didn't experiment without creating the right conditions. That was the perfect structure for me." She gave him a smile. "I told you before I'm pretty boring. I always have been."

"You weren't boring the night we met."

"Maybe it was the door that you hit me with. It knocked me into a different state of mind."

He laughed, smiling with her, liking how things had finally gone from tense to easy. She really was a beautiful woman with her bright blue eyes and her silky dark hair. The first time he'd seen her, it had been hard to look away, and it was even more difficult now.

As their gazes clung together, she took another sip of wine and said, "You're staring at me."

"I know. I can't seem to stop."

"Well, you should stop. And then you should tell me about younger Tyler and what he liked to do when he was growing up."

"I did not spend any time in the library or the lab. I liked to explore: the town, the woods, the river, and the hills. I'd go all over on my bike, sometimes on my own, sometimes with friends. I had a ton of freedom. But if you did something wrong, someone would happily tell your mom," he added with a grin.

"That must have been a problem for a rule-breaker like you."

"It was. When I was a kid, I couldn't find a rule I didn't want to break. I was a handful, according to everyone in my family. My brother was the perfect child. Me, not so much. I was always cutting school, especially when I got older. I took my dad's car when I was fourteen and drove it down the road behind our house. I drank alcohol out of soda cans. If there was trouble, I tried to find it, because otherwise I was bored out of my mind."

"You just needed to get out of there."

"I did. I don't know why. It wasn't like anyone was mean to me. I had good parents. I had a sibling. I had friends. I was just so eager to see the bigger world."

"Well, you did that. And you're still doing it." She paused, giving him a thoughtful look. "It seems like one good thing that was ingrained in you early on was a love for your country. Maybe you joined the Army to see the world, but I don't think that's why you stayed, why you rose through the ranks, why you became an elite operator. And why, even now, you're still fighting for your country. You're a patriot, Tyler."

"I was raised that way. But my family wanted me to protect our family home and business over the entire country. Unfortunately, I had a skill set better suited for that."

"Thank God you did, because you've done great work. I read a lot about your team when the whole Evan thing happened, and while a lot of it was classified, I could see how important your unit was to the success of some very vital missions."

"We had some good moments." He refilled his glass and hers.

"I was going to stick with one glass," she protested.

"In case you change your mind." He sat back as servers brought their food to the table.

"This is a lot of food," she murmured, picking up her knife and fork. "But the meat is cooked perfectly."

"You would know. You're the chef." As he sliced his steak, it felt incredibly tender, and the first bite fulfilled that promise.

As they ate, their conversation dwindled, but the silence felt comfortable, and the food was delicious. He had a feeling this happy and peaceful time wouldn't last long. He would enjoy it while he could.

After dinner, they shared a decadent chocolate dessert that he could have lived without, but Rachel had looked so excited about seeing a lava cake on the menu that he couldn't say no when she'd asked him to share. When they'd finished the cake, they finally had to pay the check and head back to the car.

"I think I drank a little too much," Rachel said, as she stumbled down the step leading into the parking lot. "It's a good thing you're driving." She paused, giving him a sharp look. "You are okay to drive, aren't you?"

"Yes, I'm fine. I only had a glass and a half."

"That's true. I drank more than you did, which is very unusual for me," she said as they got into his car. "I'm really not a drinker. I don't like to feel out of control, you know?"

"I know," he said with a smile. "You definitely like to keep control of things. But you're not falling-down drunk, just a little tipsy. It's not a crime. You shouldn't be so hard on yourself, Rachel."

"You think I'm a control freak, don't you?"

"I think you learned early on how to survive in a chaotic world," he said.