Page 31 of Butterflies and Hazel Eyes
“What about a passcode into the device?”
“We’ll change that too. Only the people using them will know it. If it gets out to anyone else, you have an extremely narrow group of people to accuse. Make sense?”
“It does,” he agreed. “What are you going to use?”
“The unlock password is a four-number key. I’ll use 1862.”
He laughed in a surprised and oddly tickled way. “How random.”
“No, it’s pointed,” I explained. “The famous lepidopterist Margaret Fountaine was born in 1862.”
“Whoa.” He paused. “How do you know about Margaret Fountaine?”
“I’ve been doing some research to learn more about lepidopterists. Did you know she had a diary of more than a million words? A million handwritten words,” I said in shock.
He gave me a palms up. “I did know that, but I am a lepidopterist. I think it’s the perfect date to use.”
Once I had the new passcode set, I moved on to the password. “You’ll use the same list I gave you for the website, but again on rotation every month. Never use the same one more than once a year and never the same one you’re using for the server that month.”
He leaned over and took my hand off the iPad. “I know I’m fortunate to have hired Charity Puck. Not only is she brilliant at her job, but she’s beautiful. Thank you for spending so much time protecting my business. Saying thank you doesn’t seem like enough.”
I squeezed his hand and met his gaze. “It’s simple. Find a solution to this pesticide problem so I can eat, and we’ll call it even.”
I winked as I started my work again, but the truth was, what he wasn’t paying me in monetary rewards was made up for in emotional rewards. If I could just stop running from everything and everyone, I might be able to have a normal life. At least as normal as possible for someone who grew up shut away from the world. The last eleven years have been about therapy for me. When I went to juvie, they offered me counselors, love, and answers to my questions about why I’d had to grow up in the kind of environment my dad created. They offered me a place to be angry without hurting anyone, and they offered me a second chance I may not have had if I’d run away or become emancipated. Juvie was usually portrayed as the worst place to be, but for me, it was a saving grace of stability, discipline, and love I’d never had before.
The last six years had been about answering three questions. Who am I? What do I want out of life? And how am I going to get those things? Every mile driven was a minute of my childhood forgotten. Every bucket list entry was an experience I missed in childhood. For the last two thousand and one hundred days, I’d been running from my past. I hadn’t figured out how to stop yet.
“Tell me some of your bucket list items,” he encouraged.
I let out a relaxed chuckle to keep him from worrying. “You noticed I was lost in thought,” I said without glancing up.
“Your face is uniquely expressive when you’re working, but those expressions are rarely about your work. I have a feeling your brain runs away with the past when you’re concentrating on those lines of code. It’s time to express those thoughts so you can deal with what needs dealing with and let it go.”
I glanced up from the iPad. “I’ve let go of what needs to go, Gulliver. Most of it, anyway. The things I hang on to are kept for a specific reason.”
“Which is?”
I held the power button down on the iPad, restarted it, and waited. “A reminder there is always a way out of any situation. My parents never believed that, and I refuse to be another statistic. I’ll do what I have to do to survive, but I’ll never compromise my morals to do it. Sticking to such a simple idea has taken me down a road that has never asked me to compromise to get to the next day. The situations I’m faced with are sometimes difficult, but there has always been a way to keep my moral compass intact. I can say it’s not easy, especially when you have the skills to make a lot of money quickly.”
He nodded pensively, his fingers fidgeting with the ice pack on his knee. “I’m sure your hacking skills are highly sought after by the people trolling the darker side of the Web than the light.”
Another mirthless chuckle left my lips. “The pay is four times what I’m making now, but there is no reward in that kind of work. I’ll stay aboveground in the light, make enough money to live and be happy, and maintain my ability to sleep at night.”
“You have the right idea about life, Charity,” Gulliver said, his smile turning bright as he gazed at me. “It’s what I love about you. You don’t mince words, but you’re open, honest, and caring.”
I swallowed hard, and the words stuck in my throat.It’s what he loves about me? How do I respond to such a statement? Do I gloss over it? Do I say something? Do I ask questions?Maybe it was nothing more than him using a common phrase without thinking about it.
“Now, the bucket list,” he said instantaneously. “I know about the northern lights. What are some of the others?”
He leaned back as if he wanted to motor past his unexpected drop of the L-word, so I did too. “Let’s see, one of the first was to drive the Pacific Coast Highway from start to finish,” I said as the iPad lit up again with life. “It was breathtaking. I camped in Limekiln State Park and visited the waterfalls. The beauty there wasn’t unlike what you’ll find here. I made sure to see the Bixby Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge. I visited Hearst Castle, which was massive and took me nearly an entire day to get through. The indoor pool was breathtaking, and I wanted to take a swim more than anything.”
He raised a brow in question. “I assume taking a swim is a no-no?”
“A big no-no. You can’t even dip your foot in the pool.”
“What else did you do?” he asked, prodding me along.
I typed while I talked so I didn’t waste time in clearing the pad of its data. “While I was in California, I had to visit Disneyland, of course. Ever since I was a little girl, I desperately wanted to ride the Teacups, so I made sure to get to Disneyland as quickly as possible. I’d like to go back someday with my child. It was fun, but I think experiencing it with a child would make it even better.”
