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“I guess I’m stubborn.” He sipped the sangria .
“Stubborn and loyal—those aren’t bad things .”
His eyes darted to the table. “Loyal. Right .”
“Cole, don’t do that. I know what you’re thinking .”
His blue eyes lifted. “And what’s that ?”
“You’re thinking about Ryan. You are loyal to him. He’ll understand this .”
He shook his head. “I don’t want to talk about your brother tonight .”
“But we have to — ”
“No.” His voice was firm .
I sighed .
“Ok. So the Dunes. Do you know what you’re going to do next? Will you finish your engineering program ?”
“How do you know about that?” Cole withdrew his hand .
I wasn’t sure if I had touched on a nerve that was better left alone, but I wanted to know what his plans were. “Lots of little birds on the island told me you were in grad school. I want to hear more about it .”
He laughed. “If I go into all the engineering stuff, I think I’ll bore you to death .”
“Try me. I’m a good listener.” I wanted to know the kinds of things that appealed to Cole. He was naturally gifted in fixing things, but I could tell he didn’t like it .
His military career was over. And he was a single dad. He had to have a passion other than motel .
He leaned across the table. “Ok, my concentration is in composite material development .”
He might have well just started speaking in Spanish again. But, I prodded him to continue .
I sipped the sangria. “Composite materials? Ok .”
“I picked up a lot in the Corps. I was cross-trained. So when Amber had Grayson I knew I needed to get back to school. I couldn’t be hired sniper and I didn’t want any of the government contract jobs .”
“Why not ?”
He shook his head. “Those guys are gone more than guys on deployment. It wasn’t worth it with a new baby .”
I tried to picture Cole holding an infant. It made him instantly hotter .
“Anyway, I signed up for a design class and one of the professors sort of took me under his wing and introduced me to composite material design. Basically, we try to find ways to use the best materials that create the most energy, cost the least, and work. I saw a lot of programs like that in the Middle East. Work the most out of the little you have .”
I smiled. “Sounds a lot like Dune Scape .”
“Yeah, but on a different level .”
I was impressed .
“It’s kind of like a puzzle. I like trying new materials together to see what happens .”
“Like what kind of things?” I asked, liking the way his eyes lit up when he talked about engineering .
“I’ve been focusing on the composite of wind turbines. There are some grants in the works to start a wind power program for the island. I thought I could stay in South Padre and work for the company who lands the grant. It would be the perfect fit.” He lifted the sangria. “I can run the Dunes on the side. I can Grayson in a preschool. I think it will work .”
