Page 24 of In the Arms of a Hero

“Agreed!” Belinda said. “Anyway, we’re independent women who don’t have to have a man.”

“Agreed,” Bess said, mimicking her. Then she sighed. “We might not have to have one, but I wouldn’t mind a romp now and then.”

One of the new employees poked her head through the doorway. “Belinda? A man out here says he's supposed to meet you.”

Bess wiggled her eyebrows, and Belinda threw a dish rag at her. Walking out, she was stunned to see a handsome man, probably only a few years older than her, with a camera strappedaround his neck and a nice smile on his face. Walking forward, she thrust out her hand. “I’m Belinda.”

“Nice to meet you, Belinda, I’m Daniel.”

Turning, she waved goodbye to Bess, who waggled her eyebrows again. They walked outside, and she was thrilled that the March day was mild with no blustering wind. Turning toward Daniel, she said, “You mentioned wanting to go to Easton?”

“Yes,” Daniel nodded. “I thought about taking a group of students from my History of the Eastern Shore class there, and this would give me a good chance to take some pictures and get to know the buildings a bit better.”

“That sounds good. I haven’t been out there in a while.”

“This may sound forward, but do you want to ride together? I’d be more than happy to drive and bring you back here since it’s on my way, and you’re giving me a free photography lesson.”

She usually would have refused to get into a car with a stranger, but she’d checked with her friend Joanne, who worked at the community college, and had made sure they employed him. Joanne dated Bryce, who worked for the Virginia Marine Police. This made him a coworker of Andy, making her think of Aaron.Great… all roads lead back to Aaron.Forcing those thoughts down, she smiled up at Daniel. “That sounds great.”

He nodded and guided her to his car. As he opened her door, he apologized. “I’m really sorry, but I’m a huge snacker, and my car is usually messy. I managed to pick up all the potato chip bags and shove them into the back. Now that I think about it, I should have bought some of Bess’s pastries for us.”

She laughed, finding him easy to talk to. “No worries,” she said, holding up a bag. “I took care of it.”

“Damn, that’s perfect.” He sat behind the wheel and smiled at her before turning back to the windshield and pulling out of the parking lot.

It didn’t take long to come to the little town of Easton, the county seat of North Heron. As they drove along the road, the few shops and restaurants were dominated mostly by the large sheriff's department, the county jail, and the court buildings. Staring up at the sheriff's department, it struck her that was where Aaron came to work every day.

“It’s amazing, isn’t it?” Daniel asked.

“I’m sorry?”

“Oh, I didn’t get my whole thought out. My students tell me that’s such a bad habit of mine. I was referencing how large the county's law enforcement and judicial buildings are now compared to that.” He pulled into a parking spot and pointed at the small, historical buildings set to the side. The remnants of a small brick jail and the historic courthouse were situated in an area known as The Green.

“You’re right,” she said, already looking at how the sun and clouds were positioned for various photographs.

They climbed from the car and walked over to one of the buildings. She began by explaining the lighting and shadows of this time of day and how they affected the look of the buildings. She then moved into camera angles and the story that different photographs could tell, even of the same subject.

Daniel was interested and plied her with excellent questions.

Before she knew it, two hours had passed, and she had to admit she’d had a wonderful time.

“Would you ever consider teaching a class?” he asked, turning his attention to her.

“Photography class?” Her brows lifted in surprise.

“Yes! I think you’d be amazing, and the college is always looking for someone to offer a class.” He winced, then shook his head. “I have no idea how much something like that would pay, and it might be on more of a photography club rather thanan actual college class for credit. But if you’re interested, I can certainly find out more.”

While her weddings and events photography were paying her bills, it would be nice to be paid to teach photography to help augment the lower income during winter since brides loved their spring, summer, and fall weddings.

They walked back to the parking lot and stood at his car for a moment as they continued talking. She pulled out her camera bag and set it on the hood of his car, showing him a few of the more advanced filters and lenses she used.

He joked, “So that would be for a close-up, especially if someone wanted to do something silly, right?”

He struck a ridiculous pose, and she laughed as she snapped his picture. Then they stood close together as he peered down to look at the pictures on her camera screen. He was taller than she, although not as tall as Aaron. Hiding her grimace, she hated that she was still comparing other men to him.

Not wanting their time to take an awkward turn, she turned to put her camera back in its bag. “I think that’ll do it for today’s lesson. I hope you learned something helpful.”

“This was more than I could’ve hoped for, Belinda. I feel like I should pay for your time. I can’t believe you volunteered to do this for me.”

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