Page 33 of Bravo

“Here it is,” she says. “Psalm 46.” She offers me the Bible, and I take a look at the words printed in black and white.

“‘So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea. Let the oceans roar and foam. Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge.’ That’s the one. Thanks.”

“Anytime. That’s cool that you have her Bible.”

“Yeah. Helps me feel close to her.”

“Do you want to talk about her?”

Yes.“No, I’m okay, thanks. I’m all about leaving the past in the past.”Especially since not doing so could lead to me being discovered.

“Fair enough. Here if you change your mind.” She cleans up our plates then brings the bakery box over to the table.

“What’s that?”

“Dessert,” she replies with a grin then removes the cover of the box, revealing a perfectly delicious-looking assortment of cookies. Everything from frosted to chocolate chip.

I select the latter. “So tell me about that deputy.”

“What deputy?” Her cheeks redden. “Oh, you mean Gibson?”

“If he’s the one you were chatting up at the café the other night, then yes.”

She grins. “That obvious?”

“Most definitely.”

She groans. “He’s the only one who won’t pick up on it. We went to school together, and I always had such a thing for him. He was cute, smart, kind…but we were just friends. I thought when I got back from school, maybe things would change, but he ended up marrying Kleo Yarring.” She makes a frustrated expression.

“I’m guessing you didn’t like her.”

“She was awful. And after they’d been married a year, she left him for a musician she’d been having an affair with since even before they were married.”

“That’s horrible.”

“It was. By the time I got home, he was so heartbroken that he could barely hold a conversation. I’ve been trying to keep close enough that, maybe when he’s open to it, he’ll seeme.You know?”

“I know.” I offer her a smile. “He’ll see you.”

“Maybe. Hopefully before I start going gray,” she jokes. “I want a family. It’s one of the main reasons I haven’t started my house yet.”

“Started your house?”

“Our parents gifted us each an acre to build our house on. My brothers have all finished theirs, but I’ve been holding off because the last thing I want to do is live in a big house all by myself. My apartment is bad enough as it is.”

Given the amount of time I’ve spent alone over the last couple of years, I completely see where she’s coming from.

“Your brothers weren’t worried about that?”

She snorts. “No, but after getting home from a mission, they enjoy the solitude. Bradyn came home last year and spent an entire week alone.”

“A week?”

She nods. “I’m still not sure what happened. None of them talk in any detail about what they’re doing, but whatever it was, was bad. I hated it for him. He stayed in his house and prayed his way out of the hole.”

“I imagine they deal with a lot of bad stuff.”

“Yeah, I wouldn’t know for sure, but that’s where I’d place my money, too.”

---