Page 28 of Hidden Hero

He placed his hand over his heart and, with an exaggerated, theatrical voice, said, “I can’t think of anything better right now than to share a beach towel with you.”

She lost the battle to keep from laughing as she shook her head. “You, Detective Pickett, either have your standards low, or you’re full of shit.”

“Neither!” he protested. “I am uttering the absolute truth. I’d love to have a chance to sit and get to know you better. And remember, you’re supposed to call me Jeremy.”

She started to put the towel back down on the sand, then suddenly stopped, looked toward his kayak, and frowned in uncertainty. “Jeremy, while I don’t mind sitting with you this evening, I don’t want you to be in the dark trying to get back to wherever you left your vehicle.”

He glanced down the beach. “I left from my house, which is several miles away. If I could impose on you, I’d ask you to give me a ride home later. If I can leave my kayak at your place, I can pick it up another time.”

“Sure.” She shrugged. “That would be fine.” Soon, they were settled on her towel just as the sun lowered in the sky, sending pink, yellow, and orange to swirl with the various blue hues.

“Do you often kayak at sunset?”

“I don’t get to go out on the water as much as I’d like to. You know what our jobs are like.”

She nodded but remained silent.

“And I don’t really care what time of day I go out. But if I get to see the sun setting, that’s a bonus. Of course, I’m not usually so far from home when it sets.”

She smiled and sat with her knees bent and her arms wrapped around her shins. She wasn’t uncomfortable with him, finding that she’d like to talk to him more, but was once again aware that she was not a sparkling conversationalist when it came to small talk.

“Did you grow up around here?” he asked.

She smiled, more at ease answering questions.This, I can do.“No. My parents are in South Carolina. My dad is a neurosurgeon.”

“A neurosurgeon?” Jeremy turned his gaze to her, now ignoring the sunset.

“Yes.” She smiled with pride. “And he’s brilliant but also funny. He has a presence that makes you smile when he walks into the room, and he puts his patients at ease.”

“And your mom?”

She smiled softly. “My mom is also a doctor but works in cancer research. Specifically breast cancer.” She looked out over the sunset, her smile still in place as she thought of her parents. “My dad says that in a surgeon’s world of egos, when in a group where they all try to talk over each other, he fell in love the instant his gaze landed on my mother standing quietly to the side.”

“A man who knew what he wanted,” Jeremy said with a chuckle.

“I know a lot of people wouldn’t understand.” She turned her full attention to him again, a smile bubbling from deep inside. “He said that after only a minute of talking to her, he knew she was brilliant, dedicated, and the perfect balance to him. She works with some patients, especially when leading studies, but much of her work is in the laboratory.”

His gaze held hers, then dropped to her mouth. “It sounds like you have a lot of your mom in you.”

Suddenly aware of him staring at her mouth, she looked back toward the water and nodded. “Yes. I always respected how my dad never tried to force my mom into situations she didn’t enjoy being in. And I was lucky that he respected that in me, too.”

He opened and closed his mouth, saying nothing.

She felt he wanted to ask more, so she said, “You’re wondering what he thinks about me being in pathology.”

He grimaced and nodded. “I suppose that’s the detective in me. There’s always another question in my mind.”

“Originally, he encouraged me to enter the same field, thinking we could work together. But I… it wasn’t for me. I’m not… I’m not as comfortable with patients. That’s why I leaned toward research.”

She stared out over the water, but in her peripheral vision, she tried to see his reaction. She was surprised when he simply nodded.

“I get that,” he said. “We all have different things we’re good at.”

She turned to stare at him, pleased to see no smirk on his face. He held her gaze and interest.

“And becoming a medical examiner?” he prodded.

“When I started into medical research, I discovered that I loved pathology. I’m inquisitive and find what the human body can tell us fascinating. Whereas most doctors look at the living body, for me, I know there is much we can determine after someone has died. And family members have questions. Many times, they’re dealing with their grief, but they need to know what happened. I can give them that closure.”

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