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Our server appears at our table just as I ask her. “Can I get you anything else?”
I look at Shawna and shrug.
“No, I’m good,” she replies, and the server takes our empty plates. Then she turns to me and says, “I’d like to take a walk on the boardwalk.”
Cracking a smile, I reply, “That sounds fantastic.”
After paying the bill, Shawna and I walk downstairs, then head up the street to the boardwalk and pier. It’s a clear night sky, and the bright moon reflects on the water. There are a couple of other people on the pier, but that’s it. Lights dot the island across the Sound. It’s quiet and breathtaking. No wonder Shawna wanted to walk out here.
“I haven’t been out here in a long time,” she says, resting her arms on the railing and looking off into the distance. “I can’t even remember the last time I walked out on this pier. It’s been so long.”
“Really?” I ask, leaning my arms on the railing next to her. “Why not?”
She shrugs. “I don’t know. Just busy, I guess. If I’m not working, I’m with Noah doing other things. I suppose when you’ve lived in the same place for so long, you take what it has to offer for granted.”
“I get that,” I reply, thinking about all the touristy places back home I never visit. “So, you never answered me before. Tell me where in the world you’ve traveled to.”
Shawna hangs her head, then looks at me. “Um, the West Coast of the United States?” she answers as a question rather than a statement.
Surprised, I reply, “Wait, what?”
She nods. “Yeah, I haven’t done much traveling in my life. I’ve been all over the state of Washington, some parts of Oregon, and my parents took me on vacation to California a few times when I was younger. But that’s it.”
My eyebrows nearly hit my hairline. I’m stunned. “You mean to tell me you’ve never been anywhere else? Not even Canada?” I point my thumb behind me, where Canada is located just across the Strait of Juan de Fuca. You can literally see Vancouver Island from parts of this city, and she’s never been there?
Shawna shrugs. “It may sound crazy, but I’ve never been to Canada.”
Suddenly, all I want is to show Shawna the world. Although Port Townsend is a beautiful place, she deserves to see more. I’d love to be able to show her where I grew up in Ohio, the East Coast—hell, even glitzy Las Vegas. I bet she’d fall in love with Italy, Spain … there’s so much she should experience in her life.
And I want to experience it with her.
“Where in California have you been?” I ask.
“The LA area. I went to Disneyland a couple of times as a kid, and I remember going to the beach. That’s it, though.”
“Wow,” I can’t help but say out loud.
“I know,” she says as if she’s apologizing. Then she chuckles. “I need to get out more. I’ve been thinking about planning a Disneyland trip for Noah, Mom, and me. Maybe next summer.”
Realization hits that she hasn’t had the opportunity to travel. She became a mom at eighteen. She’s worked her ass off ever since to support her son, and she became a full-time business owner after her dad passed away. In what universe would she have time to travel?
“Sorry,” I say, not wanting to make her feel bad. “I didn’t mean it that way. You’ve got a busy life, so of course you haven’t had the time to travel. You’ll get to someday. I know you will.”
“I hope so,” she replies, looking across the water. “I’d really love to see more of the world.” Her head turns to look at me. “You’re lucky you’ve had the opportunity to see so much.”
“Yeah, well, maybe I’ve seen too much,” I reply under my breath. I turn to look at her. “There are some places I’d rather not have seen.”
She nods as if she understands. I’m sure on some level she does, but no one can truly understand the depths of what those of us who’ve been in combat have experienced. It’s a mind fuck, and it took lots of therapy to help me through it.
But I can’t blame her for not knowing. Shawna cares. I know she really does.
Suddenly, she shrieks and points at the sky. “Oh, my God! Did you see that?”
Looking in the direction she’s pointing, I don’t see a thing. “No … what was it?”
“A shooting star!” The childlike wonder on her face makes me smile. She’s adorably sexy, and I have to fight the urge not to take her in my arms, press her back against the pier’s railing, and kiss her hard like I did in the parking lot yesterday.
I can’t pry my eyes away from her. She must sense me watching her because she turns to look at me. When she finds me admiring her, she looks away and clears her throat.
