Page 19 of My Mail Order Valentine

"Oh yeah. She loves Italian food."

"But you better make a reservation right now. It might already be completely booked." He hesitates. "Listen, I think love is worth fighting for. The universe already brought you the girl. All you need is to put in the work."

"Yeah, I guess. Thanks, Captain."

I leave the captain's office feeling more confused than when I entered. I check my phone for the restaurant's number and make a reservation. I manage to persuade the owner to help me make the night special for Elena. They have a small private room that I can use.

My next stop is Where Hope Blossoms to order roses for Valentine's Day. I let Blossom talk me into buying a small bouquet of seasonal flowers for Elena. With that done, I'm ready to go home, but I'm not really ready to deal with everythingthere. So I drive over to Willow Hope bar to drink my sorrows away.

The bar is relatively empty for it being late afternoon. I don't want to sit in a booth by myself. I don't want to risk being pitied by the other patrons. So, I choose a seat at the bar next to a guy in a buffalo plaid shirt—a man after my own heart.

I drink my beer and snack on some trail mix that's in the bowl between me and the stranger. There's a game on the television, but I'm not paying much attention to it.

"You a firefighter?" he asks.

"What gave me away?"

"Logo on your jacket."

"Oh, of course. Yeah, I belong to the Hope Peak Fire Department."

"Tough shift?"

"Not really."

"Then why do you look like someone kicked your puppy?"

I shrug and then decide to introduce myself. "I'm Hunter."

"Fletcher. That's curious."

"What is?"

"I come from Hunter's Peak. In Colorado."

"What are you doing all the way over here?"

"Running an errand for a friend. She lives in Woodland Falls and had me do a delivery to Perfect Brews."

"I think I've heard of Woodland Falls. Is it nice?"

"It is, but I prefer my place in the mountains. Quiet, calm, and secluded."

"Yeah, that was my life before…"

I hold back from saying her name. Yes, my life isn't quiet and calm anymore, but that's overrated.

"You don't need to tell me. It's a woman. It's always a woman."

"It is, but it's complicated."

"Isn't it always?"

"She caught me by surprise, and now she's winning me over little by little. Every layer that I get to know about her enchants me, and it's at a point that I'm starting to worry I might not be able to live without her."

"So what's the problem?"

"She's dangerous. To others and to herself. I have a daughter that I have to protect."

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