Page 71 of Severed Heart

“Well, you have a terrifyingly accurate aim.” He swallows in intimidation as I take another top off before shooting holes through the water-filled bottle and blasting it off a fence post. “You’re a fucking headhunter,” he gawks.

“Like riding a bike,” I boast proudly, and he nods in approval of my use of the metaphor.

Just before sundown, Tyler starts a small fire on the top of a grassy hillside. Kneeling, he adds some of our collected kindling as the sun begins to slowly sink past his shoulder. Its descent merges the blue sky with a dazzling melody of pink, orange, red, and gold. The fire chases the slight chill now seeping over the land, the grass cooling under my bare thighs. I run my palms over my arms at its arrival.

“Cold?” he asks. “I can head down the hill and find a blanket.”

“I’m far too happy to be uncomfortable. This land ... this place has a magic kind of peace. This has been the perfect day, Tyler. Merci,” I whisper, hearing the slight shake in my voice. My spoken happiness clear in my words.

He stills at this briefly before responding. “My pleasure. We can make this a weekly thing if you want.”

I perk at his proposal. “I would be your new fishin’ buddy?”

He nods. “Slot is all yours if you want it.”

“I want it,” I tell him honestly. “For so long, I have wanted—” I stop myself as he tilts his head, his chocolate eyes prodding mine.

“What?”

“This land,this life.Your future was my dream for myself for so long. To soldier and then to settle in a place like your God’s country. To fish and hunt, to watch the sunset every single day as seasons change.” I sigh, palming the grass behind me as I inhale deeply. “I am truly happy for you, Tyler. For you to have this dream to make your future reality.” I feel the weight of his stare and shake my head in slight embarrassment. “I must seem like a simple woman to you.”

“Simple? Shit,” he chuckles. “That’s not a word to describe you—the opposite of the word to describe you, Delphine. And you loving to fish and hunt. Well, that description is pretty alluring for a lot of the men around here. Trust me.”

“I don’t at all care about that,” I tell him sharply, too sharply. Too brash.

“Sorry.” He shrugs. “I’m just saying you’re not simple, that’s all.”

“I know . . .” I bite my lip, and he tosses some kindling at me.

“Stop pausing,” he scolds gently. “Best friends don’t pause when they talk. That’s a rule.”

I nod. “I say that I don’t care, that is mostly the truth, but I know I make it hard for people to like me.”

“I like you,” he says softly, tossing the last of the kindling on the fire. “Andfuck anyonewho doesn’t. Like I said, you’re misunderstood. That much I know, so if they don’t want to take the time to figure that out about you, it’s their loss.”

I can tell he wants to say more, but I change the subject.

“How will we fish in the dark?”

He grins. “I’ve got us covered. Electric lanterns.”

“Smart,” I give in compliment.

“Yeah, well, some tiny French lady—who gives me a lot of hellacious orders—is always on my ass to stay prepared.”

“It’s good advice,” I boast as the sun starts to slowly disappear between the hills. “Soldier, do you prefer sunrise or sunset?”

“Sunset,” he answers quickly. “You?”

“Sunset.” I give him honesty. “Because it means I have made it another day.” A day fighting through the haze and farther from my past.

“I get that,” he tells me.

“You so often understand what I say, Tyler, and there is meaning behind it. Some people simply pretend. Dom is lucky to have you as a friend.”

“I’m your friend, too,” he reminds me.

“Then I am also lucky,” I tell him.