Page 18 of Hollow Moon

“No. I guess I want you to know that I don’t have to invent reasons to get close to anyone.”

She could understand that.

They were very close now.

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For long moments neither of them spoke, but a whole bundle of thoughts whirled through Knox’s head. About himself. About her. About the two of them. Usually he had no problem dealing with silence, but now he filled it with a question. “If we were speed dating, what else should I know about you?”

She took a moment before answering, and he thought she might be wondering how much to reveal. “I come from a family where guys were valued more than women. My parents favored my brother, and I was always working hard to prove I was just as good. I went to nursing school, partly because women aren’t supposed to be doctors. I have a stable job. My brother flits in and out of crazy schemes. My dad has bailed him out of bankruptcy a couple of times.”

He turned to face her. “That’swhat you think is important?”

She raised one shoulder. “I guess I wanted you to know I have stuff in my background that’s not . . .” She paused for a moment. “Admirable.”

“You’re admirable,” he said quickly.

“I try to be honest—and pay my own way.”

“And you care about helping people.”

“Yes.”

He dragged in a breath and let it out. Before he could change his mind, he said, “I’m the new guy at Decorah Security. I think I was trying to prove I could bring in something big on my own. And I got caught.”

“You’ll be able to tell them when you get back.”

“I hope so.”

“What did you do before you joined Decorah?”

“A bunch of dead-end jobs. I worked in a warehouse. I drove a delivery truck. I mucked out cages at a little zoo and daydreamed about letting the animals go free. But that would have been bad for them—like the kid in the book. They probably would have been shot.”

With perhaps too much insight, she asked. “Did you try to talk to them—like the kid in the book?”

“Yeah. That particular fantasy didn’t work for me.”

“You didn’t want any kind of career?”

He dragged in a breath and let it out. “My parents didn’t believe in spending money on their kids’ college education. I was pretty much on my own.” Maybe he was revealing too much when he said, “I didn’t get along with my dad. I wanted to get the hell out of the house. That was my main goal. Then I had to support myself.”

“How did you end up at Decorah?”

“My cousin worked there. He thought I’d fit in.” He shook his head. “Iwasfitting in. Until I screwed up.”

She raised up to look him in the eye. “You didn’t screw up.”

“What would you call it?”

“Bad luck.”

He snorted. “Bad judgment.”

“Stop beating yourself up.”

She could have moved away from him, but she stayed where she was.

It was strange how close he felt to her—closer than to any other woman he’d met. And yeah, convenient that his delusional mind had come up with an intimate idea to “save” them from aliens.

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