Page 35 of Sachie's Hero

“Okay,” he said. “What do you want to talk about?”

“Not our pasts,” she said.

“How about our futures?” he suggested. “Where do you see yourself in five years?”

Figuring her future was a safer subject than her past, Sachie opened up about a good dream she’d always harbored. “I want to buy a house someday. Not a townhouse or condo. I want a place with a yard.” She stared at the ceiling, imagining that house. “I always wanted a dog.”

“What kind of dog?” Teller asked.

“A rescue. It doesn’t matter how big or small. Just one that might not have had the best life. I’d like to give a dog like that a home where he’ll be loved and happy for as long as he lives.”

“Isn’t that what we all want?” Teller mused. “To be loved and happy for as long as we live?”

“Yeah,” Sachie answered softly. “Pretty much. Why is that so hard to achieve?”

Teller snorted. “I wouldn’t know.”

Silence stretched between them.

“What about you?” Sachie asked. “Where do you see yourself five years from now? Married, two incredibly cute kids, a house with a picket fence?”

For a long moment, Teller didn’t answer.

Sachie feared she’d pushed too far with the questions. “Maybe it’s time I closed my eyes and went to sleep.” She forced her eyelids to close, dreading the nightmares, but feeling awful for putting Teller on the spot about his future. “I shouldn’t have put words in your mouth. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Teller’s voice was warm and smooth, sliding over her like a gentle hand.

Sachie peeked at him from beneath her lowered eyelids.

He stared straight ahead, his gaze inscrutable. “I guess I’ve never thought that far ahead. For so long, my life was movement from one place to another, never staying long enough to set down roots or to get to know my neighbors. I didn’t get attached to anyone or anywhere, knowing I might not be there tomorrow. The only attachments I’ve grown were with my teams. They were the only people I trusted to have my back. And I had theirs.”

He didn’t have to say it, but Sachie knew Teller would give his life for his brothers in arms.

“It wasn’t until I came to Hawaii with my team that I even started thinking of purchasing a place of my own.” He laughed. “Most guys my age have a house by now, with a wife, kids and a couple of dogs or cats. I never pictured that for myself.”

“Because you didn’t have that growing up?”

He nodded. “At least, not since I was ten. Maybe I didn’t want to set myself up for disappointment or sorrow. I had no frame of reference other than the homes depicted on television or in the movies. But those weren’t real and definitely not attainable, especially while I was on active duty. I watched my buddies marry, divorce and never get to see their kids. It wasn’t for me.”

She stared up at him. “And now?”

“I don’t know.” He sighed. “When I first came to Hawaii, I wasn’t sure I’d stay. I probably wouldn’t have stayed but for my friends...my team. But this place is growing on me. Being a part of the Brotherhood Protectors gives me a purpose I couldn’t find in a corporate job. I can see myself actually putting down roots.”

“Daring to make it your home?”

He nodded.

“Does that frighten you or at least make you itch?” she asked with a grin.

“A little,” he admitted.

“Are you too conditioned to getting orders to move and feel like something will happen to send you somewhere else?” she asked.

He nodded. “I guess.”

“I get that. You don’t believe you can have permanence in your life, and it makes you hesitant to take a chance on anything that smells like permanence.” She closed her eyes again.

“I’ve been in some of the worst firefights and up against some of the worst of mankind. I’m not supposed to be afraid of anything.”

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