Page 15

Because they were moving so fast, Rowan was nervous about meeting his friends. So far, she'd met a few, and they were all cool with her, which made her feel better, but she worried they wouldn't like her. The military, especially special forces, was more like a family, and most families didn't like new people coming in.

She spied a group of men who were tall, except for one of the guys who was much smaller than all the rest. They all had beards and longer than military regulation hair. There were two women standing close to them who seemed to be a part of the group.

“So the women, what are their names?” Her voice might have sounded a little strained, but neither Shine nor Thario said anything about it.

“Nichole and Danika,” Thario said.

“I guess you know them, too?” Rowan asked.

Thario nodded. “Yes. They’re both great.”

She hoped this went well. She wanted these people to like her. Rationally, she knew her fears were silly, but her emotions weren’t always rational. She was an accomplished person who knew her own worth, but she had this fear of losing Shine. Maybe it was because she'd already lost him once and had only found him again by chance.

After the accident, she'd checked the list of dead time and time again, praying she didn't see his name. A part of her always wondered if she'd missed his name on the list and he had died. Now, she knew he was alive and well but getting over the fear of losing him had been hard.

Shine parked, and they got out of the car. Frog ran up to each of the men and gave them a sniff before going back to Thario's side. She was thankful Thario was there because everyone wanted to say hello to him before they turned their attention to her, giving her a chance to observe them all.

“And you must be Rowan. I’m Nichole.”

She shook the woman’s hand and was greeted by Danika next.

“I’m Danika. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Hello, it’s nice to meet you both.”

“So you’re Rowan?” a man with dark hair and blue eyes asked.

She turned to him and smiled. He was big, strong-looking, and didn't seem to be smiling. He didn't look mean, but he didn't look welcoming.

“This is Griz,” Shine said. Then he went down the row, telling her the names of each of the men.

She laughed as the last one was introduced. “It will take me a while to remember all of your names.”

“That’s okay,” Squat said. “We don’t mind repeating our names. It’s a lot to keep up with.”

“Thank you.”

Apple came over. “So you both were in the plane crash. That’s amazing that you survived.”

She shrugged. “It was hard to get over. My parents came to pick me up from the hospital and wanted me to fly home. I couldn’t get on the plane. We drove.”

“Oh man, that’s rough. How long did it take you to fly again?”

"Years. I became a psychologist because of it. Then, one of my professors challenged me to overcome my fear. I couldn't even talk about planes or flying. A small plane crashed close to campus, and I freaked out. The professor knew I needed to overcome that fear, or I'd never make it as a psychologist. He bought us plane tickets that were cheap, and we went on the flight together. It was to some small city in Idaho I would never travel to, but it did the job. He kept me calm by telling me stories and helping me learn techniques so I could fly."

Apple flashed a big smile. “Wow, that’s awesome that he did that for you.”

She nodded, remembering the man fondly. "I think it was because his daughter died from cancer the year before, and he said I reminded him of her. He wanted me to make it. He was older and didn't live long enough to see me get my doctoral degree, but he knew I was doing well in the program. I was one of the people who went to the hospital to sit with him on his last day, so I got to say goodbye. It was hard, but I'm glad I was there."

Danika reached out and squeezed her hand. “That was very sweet of him to do that for you.”

“It was. He was a great professor who cared about his students. I would have been hampered if I hadn’t taken care of the fear. It was completely valid, but still, it would have held me back.”

Apple turned to Shine. “How did you get over the fear?”

Shine shrugged. “I embraced it. I signed up for jumps. It was masochistic, and I knew it. I woke up with nightmares for a while, but I figured out how to deal with the fear.”

Rowan looked at Shine with wonder. “Very masochistic.”

“I’m better now. I’ve learned how to deal with fear and move past it.”

Thario shook his head. “Wouldn’t have gotten through BUDs without dealing with it.”

"Honestly, the crash pushed me to improve. I knew I could survive a plane crash and deal with the pain so I could survive BUDs."

Sharp put his arm around Shine’s shoulder. “I knew you were a badass. I’m glad you’re on my team.”

Rowan could see the pride in Shine’s eyes. Finding him again was amazing. She was lucky to know him. She should have looked earlier, but he may not have been ready for a relationship, and she’d been married for a while, then recovering and finding herself after the divorce.

“Are you all ready for me to start the meat?” Griz asked.

“Yeah,” Squat said with another slap to Shine’s back. “I’m hungry.”

Rowan liked the group. They were good people who seemed to get along. She didn’t want to get too deep into analyzing them, but she liked how they interacted. They seemed to have a healthy relationship with no real problems.

Danika came over and sat next to her on the bench. “How long have you been in California?”

“Three years.”

“That’s cool. Do you like it?”

She nodded. "I do. The weather is great, and I have plenty of work with so much military close by. It's really a great place for me to live and work. "

“That’s good.”

“What about you? How long have you been in California?”

“Not long. I knew Sharp from high school.”

“Wow, so we both knew them from high school. That’s wild.”

Danika smiled. “It is.”

Nichole sat down across from her. "I met Jay before I came out here. We were at the same resort. Then I saw him again, and now we're together."

Danika laughed. “You saw him by being rescued by his team.”

Nichole shrugged. “I was being held captive overseas, and he was on the team that was sent in.”

Shock pulsed through Rowan. “Wow. I’m glad you were rescued. That must have been scary.”

Nichole shivered. "Yeah, it was. I'm a reporter, and I was doing a story on medical facilities that operate near war zones."

“Oh, I remember that. It was very disturbing to watch from home.”

Nichole’s lips turned down in a frown. “I haven’t gone back and watched the videos. It’s too traumatic. But yes, it was disturbing.”

Rowan couldn't imagine being held captive. It would be difficult to get over that. None of her patients had ever had to deal with something like that. It wasn't her area of practice, so she didn't have to really think too deeply about how to recover from something so traumatic. It was nice seeing Nichole happy. Then again, who wouldn't feel safe with this group of guys around? They inspired confidence with their size and how in control they seemed. She really hoped things with Shine worked out because she wanted these people as friends.