Page 15 of Tango (Hunt Brothers Search & Rescue #4)

Alice

T ucker Hunt is not at all what I expected.

I mean, he’s great with computers—which I did expect, given everything I read—but there’s so much more to him. The guy is funny, strong, kind, and that’s not even mentioning the absolute delight it is to look at him.

All lean muscles and bright blue eyes.

Keep it together, Alice, you have a murderer and hacker to catch.

As we’ve sat here in the café, I’ve seen him talk to everyone.

And I mean everyone. The waitress—who he called Talia—as well as her husband Conner, who works back in the kitchen.

Then he spoke to not one but two teenage girls who came in with “technical questions” we all knew they threw together when they saw him in the window.

They’re not the only ones either. Everyone who caught sight of him in the window swung in, either to ask him questions about different things he’s helping with around town or check in on his family.

The guy is apparently a celebrity here in town. Or at least, that’s what it feels like.

“You sure seem popular,” I comment.

He grins, and a small dimple pops out at the corner of his mouth. “That happens when you grow up in a small town.”

“And go to war? Become a hero? Step up to run a search and rescue company where you continue playing the hero?”

Something darkens in his expression. “Something like that.”

“I don’t mean anything by it,” I reply. “Seriously, no sarcasm here. I just find it interesting that you’re so incredibly well known around here yet appear to be so humble.”

“Appear to be?” He arches a brow.

“It could be a facade. I’ll know once we’ve spent more time together.” I smile at him, feeling so incredibly light compared to how I felt even a few hours ago. This peaceful lunch, where I can momentarily pretend we’re just friends catching up, has been exactly what I needed.

“Let me know if you figure it out,” he jokes back.

“As soon as we’re done here, we’ll head over to the store and get you some more clothes, toiletries, things like that.

Then we’ll head out to the ranch. I guess our moms have really hit it off, so they’re cooking dinner together.

We can swing by and see them before heading to my house. ”

“That would be great.” Even though I’m dying to get my hands on his computer and find out who’s trying to frame me, the desire to see my parents is even greater than the desire to clear my name.

I take a deep breath. Since there’s not much else to talk about, I decide to pry a bit into the life of the man in front of me.

“So tell me, Tucker Hunt, what was it like growing up in such a small town?”

“Great, actually. I mean, it had its challenges. Everyone knows everyone and all that. But in the same way, we all support each other. Like a big family.”

“I like that. I always thought the idea of a small town was great.”

“Never lived in one?”

I shake my head. “My parents and I lived in Sacramento when I was little. After that, I bounced around homes all through California, but none of them were small. Once my mom and dad adopted me, we stayed in San Diego.”

“When I was a teenager, I used to dream of the big city,” he confesses with a laugh. “But I knew I never really wanted to move.”

“Yet you joined the service. Special Forces, right? Army?”

He arches a brow. “Did your research, huh?”

“I did.”

Tucker nods appreciatively. “I wanted to see the world. Three of my older brothers were already in the service, and I was just in awe of them. They were superheroes in my eyes. Strong men off to save the world. So, I enlisted right out of high school.”

“Your twin brother went in too, right?”

Tucker’s expression darkens. It’s a storm that passes over his face but is gone just as quickly as it came. “He did. What got you into computers?”

Touchy subject. Got it. I file that away for later. “My dad. He loves computers, gaming, and all that. I’d been with them for only six months before they bought me a computer. That’s when I knew it would stick.”

“Computers?”

I shake my head. “The family. I’d stayed with other families over the years, but no matter how well I behaved, I kept getting shuffled back.

By the time I met the Sterlings, I was so jaded that I actually ran away once.

It was right after that when they bought me the computer.

” I smile, the memory a heartwarming one.

“They sat me down, and I remember thinking to myself, ‘Well, here we go again. Time to go back,’ but they started going over internet safety with me. I don’t even know if I remember everything they said.

I just stared at them, completely shocked they would want me. ”

“They seem like great people.”

“They’re the best,” I reply with a smile, as Talia walks up with our food.

“Here we go. A cheeseburger with onion rings and ranch dressing. And a brisket burger with french fries, a side of mayonnaise, and ketchup.”

“Thank you, Talia,” Tucker says.

“You are welcome. Anything I can do for you guys?”

“Nope, we’re good, thanks,” he replies.

“You’re welcome,” she tells us then turns and leaves the table.

“Can I say grace?” Tucker asks.

“Go for it.” I close my eyes, fold my hands, and bow my head.

“Lord, we thank You for this food. Please let it nourish our bodies and grant us the strength we need for the day. Please guide us as we move through the next few hours and lead us to the truth. I ask this in Jesus’ name, amen.”

“Amen,” I reply, then crush an onion ring into an onion oval and dip it into the ranch dressing. I nearly groan with delight as it crunches in my mouth. I am so hungry. It’s been over a week since I had anything that didn’t come in a bag.

Glancing up, I can’t help but stare at Tucker in horror as he mixes the ketchup into the mayonnaise, then adds black pepper to the concoction.

After a few moments, he glances up and sees me staring. “What?”

“What in the world are you doing?”

“Mixing the best dipping sauce in the world.”

“Um. No. That, my dear Tucker, is an abomination.”

“An abomination?” He finishes mixing the concoction with a fry then eats it before retrieving another fry and dipping it into the ketchup and mayonnaise mixture. “Don’t knock it before you try it.” He holds it out to me, and I stare at it.

“I’ve done some questionable things in my life. Trying that will not be one of them.”

He doesn’t sway. “Come on, Wonder, don’t be scared. What, you can jump out of a second-story window, but you draw the line at tasting new food?”

I take a deep breath. “Fine. But you get to apologize if this makes me sick all over this pretty diner.” I pluck the fry and stick it into my mouth without giving myself a second to think about it.

The flavor hits my tongue, and I have to genuinely chew slowly because—oh my— how have I been eating french fries without this? “That is—wow. Okay, Tuck, you win.”

His answering grin is so beyond attractive that my heart flips in my chest. Oh, no. No. I can be attracted — I mean, look at him — but I will not be distracted.

“I won’t say I told you so.”

“Humble man,” I reply then steal another fry and more of the sauce.

Tucker laughs, clearly not at all bothered by the fact he barely knows me and I’m already stealing his fries.

“So, I know you said you prayed, which is why you’re doing so well now.

But I have to say—you’re holding it all together quite impressively for a woman whose life has been turned upside down. ”

I take a bite of burger and wash it down with some sweet tea. “I learned a long time ago that life will often kick you when you’re down. More often than not, really. But there’s always a brighter day ahead.”

“That sounds like a story.”

I smile. “It is.”

“Care to share?”

Chuckling, I take another fry. “The night of my thirteenth birthday, I snuck out of the foster home I was staying in. I was still in Sacramento at the time, so I took a bus over to the cemetery where my parents were buried.” I take another drink.

“I remember just sitting there in the cool grass, crying my eyes out because I was so completely alone. Everything ached. My heart, my head from the crying—my legs from walking as far as I did to the bus stop. The things I’d seen while I was either with families or in the system haunted me. ”

The memory is still clear as day to me, so as I sit back in the booth, it’s as though I’m watching it play out right in front of my eyes.

“At some point, I fell asleep. I’m not sure how long I was out for, but when I felt someone shaking me, it was right before dawn.

The sun’s rays were just starting to sneak over the horizon.

” I smile as I recall what happened next.

“It was a man who woke me up. Mr. Samuel,” I say, recalling his name.

“He asked me if I was okay, and I just started crying again. I don’t even know why, but the tears just wouldn’t stop.

He sat down beside me and took my hand in his, then just held it.

And as the minutes passed, my pain began to dissipate.

My heart didn’t hurt as bad, my body didn’t ache, and the weight of everything just seemed less. ”

Tucker is watching me carefully, absorbing every word I say.

“After I stopped crying, I realized he’d been talking the entire time. I asked him what he was saying, and he told me he was talking to God and asking Him to take my pain. I told him that I didn’t understand, and I asked him who God was and why He would care enough to want to take my pain away.”

“No one ever talked to you about God?” Tucker asks.

“Nope. I can’t remember my parents ever talking about Him—granted, I was young when they died—but none of the foster families I was in ever spoke about God.

” I recall the warmth of the sun on my face as we sat in that cemetery, right in front of the stone bearing my parents’ names.

“Samuel was kind. He told me that God is the Creator of the universe. That He formed each and every one of us with His hands then sent His Son Jesus here to save us. Naturally, I was fascinated. I asked him so many questions; I don’t even remember them all.

” I smile as emotion wells up in my chest. “I just remember he was so kind, and he answered every question I had. We sat there as the sun rose over the horizon, and I hung on every word he said. Then he handed me a book and told me every answer I’d need for the rest of my life can be found in it. ”

“The Bible.”

“The Bible,” I repeat. “It was old and worn, but I still have it. It’s actually one of the few things I grabbed from my apartment before I ran.

Anyway, he told me that everything was going to be okay.

That God’s timing is perfect, and He loves me more than anything.

Samuel walked me to the bus stop, said goodbye, and told me that, if I ever felt lost, to pray.

And that, as long as I stand on God’s Word, everything will be okay.

That very same day, after the foster family called to have me sent to a troubled teen group home, I met the Sterlings.

” My smile spreads. “And everything began to look up. So whenever I feel overwhelmed or consumed, I pray. And it’s by His grace I’m making it through everything I’m dealing with right now.

Because if it weren’t for Him, I would have given up the second Ramiro’s life ended.

” As I speak the words, the image of Ramiro lying dead on that floor pops into my head.

I can still feel the sting of my bullet wound.

Feel the heat of the server tower at my back.

The fear coursing through my veins.

I eat another onion ring, hoping the distraction will pull me back to the present. And thank God it does.

“God has gotten me through a lot too. All of us, really.” He takes a drink of tea. “I’m glad you’re leaning on Him.”

I nod in response. “About a year after I started living with the Sterlings, I asked to go back and see my birth parents’ graves.

They agreed without hesitation, and when I got there, I asked around about Samuel.

I figured he had to work at either the funeral home or the church nearby, but no one had heard of him.

Honestly, I think some people thought I made him up.

I mean, a man wandering a graveyard at dawn with a Bible, preaching to strangers?

” I laugh. “They thought I’d dreamed him.

But I know he was there. And not just because I have a worn Bible to prove it. ”

Tucker smiles softly. “Maybe he was an angel.”

“I’ve definitely had that thought.”

“I believe God works in many different ways.”

I smile at him. “Amen to that.”