Ultimate Courage

by Piper J. Drake

  “Do they have counselors to help you?” Elisa was absolutely sure his sharing would make a difference. With her, but with a professional, too, who could offer more advice.

  “Yeah. Cruz has a contact for a decent one over in Jersey at McGuire Air Force Base.” Alex sighed. “I didn’t want to go because it’d give my late wife’s parents leverage if they do decide to take me to court for custody of Serena. But I was avoiding public places more and more.”

  “And avoiding those situations wasn’t helping you handle them.” She snuggled into the hollow of his shoulder. “What can I do?”

  “Well, I realized the first weekend you were here that we have a mutual friend with unexpected talents.” He chuckled. “Seriously, if Souze hadn’t been there, things could’ve gone south fast.”

  “Really?” She struggled to figure out when he was talking about, but there’d been a lot going on that first weekend, and he’d been out and around Revolution MMA with Souze on her behalf multiple times.

  “Yeah. I was caught up in one of my…moments. He poked and nudged me until I came out of it.” He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tight. “It could’ve been bad, but Souze brought me out of it. Natural instinct. His behavior could be positively reinforced. He could be trained to recognize the signs earlier and respond. There’s a lot of other behaviors he could do to help me in public places. He could be trained to sit facing the opposite direction I’m facing when I stop so I don’t have to worry about what’s on my six. He’d be keeping watch over the rear approach for me. He could be trained to circle around me to make people in a high traffic area give me room and create a safe personal space. He’s smart enough to learn several other behaviors to help deal with situations as they come up.”

  She lifted her head and nodded. “He’s a big, intimidating dog. Some people would give him space just because he is the dog he is.”

  He smiled. “Exactly. I’ll need to work it out with Forte and probably coordinate with the psych over at McGuire, but Souze could become a PTSD service dog. And if he can help me function, I can be there for Boom whenever and wherever she needs me.”

  Elisa couldn’t stop smiling. “I’m so glad for you all.”

  “All?”

  She stretched her neck and kissed his jaw. “Yes, all. Serena gets you. You get Serena and Souze. Souze gets to stay here with people he likes, doing interesting things that have nothing to do with chasing down awful people. I think it suits him.”

  And she was attached to the black and tan fur monster, too.

  Alex was silent for a moment. “Will you come out with Souze and me for our first outing to test this?”

  “You and Souze have been going out in public.” Confused, she tipped her head to the side.

  Laughter danced in Alex’s eyes. “Yes, but this time it’ll be with this purpose in mind and I can’t think of something I want to do more than take you out to dinner.”

  “Oh.” She bit her lip and blinked back emotion. “I’d like that a lot.”

  More than that. To be included, be a part of it. She’d love to.

  “Good. After work, I’ll get Cruz or Forte to give you a ride with a two-hour head start over to Revolution to get freshened up. Then Souze and I’ll come pick you up for an early dinner. Sound good?”

  She smiled. “Absolutely.”

  He kissed her then, and his hands roamed over her.

  Laughing, she came up for air. “We do have work today.”

  He growled against her throat. “And it’ll still be there for us.”

  “I refuse to be late!” She squirmed and gasped when he slid a finger inside her.

  “We’ll be quick.”

  She clutched at his shoulders and answered, breathless, “Okay. Quick. Quick is good.”

  He was ready. It was hot. And oh wow, his idea of quick blew her mind.

  * * *

  “I’m home!” A ten-year-old whirlwind blew into the front reception area.

  Elisa smiled. Or maybe she was still smiling from when Alex and she had made it back to Hope’s Crossing just a couple of hours earlier. “Welcome back. Your dad’s wrapping up the first morning agility class and then he’ll meet you up at the house for second breakfast. Mind if I join you two?”

  She loved the idea of second breakfast on the weekends. Actually, the men of Hope’s Crossing did it all through the week because they ate like training athletes. Five to six small meals a day. But on weekends, they did it so Boom could snack with them and get in quality time with her father.

  “Duh. Food is always better when you join us. Dad actually talks.” Boom stampeded past the front desk. “Heading up to the house now.”

  Elisa actually glanced up from entering the data for the latest new client and did a double-take. “Whoa. Hold it.”

  Boom froze, ducking her head and lifting her shoulders as if cringing would hide what Elisa had already seen.

  “Let’s see.” Elisa stood up to see over the high counter of the reception desk better.

  Slender shoulders slumped, and Boom turned to face her.

  No laughing. Laughing would be bad. “I take it you ladies had a sort of makeup experiment last night?”

  Boom heaved an exaggerated sigh. “This morning before breakfast.”

  Oh, dear. So the raccoon-style eyeliner and mascara had been on purpose and not the result of a night sleeping with it on. “I see. And all of you have similar…looks?”

  “Maybe?” Boom scrunched up her face. “Marlene brought her mom’s makeup kit, and we each did our own. Grace and Marlene have more practice.”

  “Ah.” Elisa struggled for a light tone. “Even with someone teaching me, it takes me a couple of tries to get it the way I want it to look.”

  A dam burst inside Boom. “I don’t get it. I don’t. You and Lyn and Sophie always look like yourselves. I don’t want to look like somebody else. What’s wrong with me?”

  “You’re incredible,” Elisa said simply. “Nothing’s wrong with you.”

  Boom stared at her for a moment. “Makeup is stupid.”

  Elisa chewed her lip for a minute. Boom was young, really young, and more interested in sports and mixed martial arts, to boot. Most of her friends were boys. That’s why last night’s sleepover had been unusual, according to Gary and Greg. But Boom was still a girl and going to school with other girls.

  “Here’s the thing. I don’t think liking any particular thing is stupid. I like what I like, and I try to respect what other people like.” Not the easiest perspective to maintain sometimes. “So if a person likes makeup, it’s their thing and that’s okay.”

  Boom grabbed a pen from the container and flipped it over and over between her fingers, clearly still agitated. Elisa watched her and wondered if Alex did the same thing.

  “Liking makeup doesn’t make you any less able because you can still go toe to toe with any of the boys at Revolution MMA.” Elisa tapped the counter in front of Boom, bringing the young girl’s gaze up to meet her own. “But being able to do anything the boys can do does make it kind of uncomfortable with some girls, doesn’t it?”

  “They shouldn’t matter.” The stubborn tone was something Boom had inherited from her father.

  Elisa smiled as she recognized it and admitted silently that she loved it in both of them. “They shouldn’t. But leaving yourself open to their kind of criticism isn’t fun, either. Besides, there’s a good reason to learn how to do your nails and experiment with makeup.”

  Boom’s eyes widened. “There is?”

  Elisa nodded. “Skills are always good to have and learning to do your own makeup is a skill. It lets you look the way you want, when you want, at will. You can go natural any day of the week with no cosmetics at all. And if you have the skill, on the one night in a million, you also can give yourself a Cinderella moment. All on your own. Minimum stress.”

  “I never thought about it that way.” Boom tipped her head to the side.

  Elisa shrugged. “You don’t need i
t. Honestly. You’ve got a great face with healthy, lovely skin and a natural blush to your cheeks. But if you ever want to learn, just so you know how to accentuate what you’ve got at the right time, we can sit down together.”

  Any person looked a million times better when they could step out with confidence in themselves. For Boom, ten was way too early for the works, in Elisa’s opinion. But a little dab of gloss here and maybe a touch of powder could do wonders for her confidence level in simply knowing she could do it if she wanted to.

  Then Boom could go back to being herself without the doubt.

  Boom nodded. “Let’s do it. I want to learn to do it right so I don’t ruin my face.”

  Elisa blinked. “Who said anything about ruining your face?”

  Though that was another consideration. It could totally happen with bad habits.

  Boom lifted a shoulder in a half shrug. “It’s one of the things those girls talk about when they make fun of girls who try makeup when they don’t know how. Mess up your face forever or end up with ugly, yellow fungus nails.”

  Ugh. No wonder Boom had been twisted up about this. Elisa would’ve been, too, even as an adult.

  “Good call. I like your face, so I’ve got a vested interest in helping you keep it the way it is.” Elisa winked. “A lot of beauty regimens are mostly about properly washing and moisturizing your face, anyway. The better you take care of what you have, the less you ever need to tweak the way you look.”

  “Washing? Like taking those sugar baths you talked about?” Boom perked up at the idea.

  Elisa laughed. “There’s different kinds of stuff. Sugar scrubs could be for your lips once in a while but mostly you use the scrubs for the parts of your body that take a lot of abuse, like your hands and feet or elbows and knees.”

  “Break out the big guns for the extra rough spots.” Boom nodded sagely.

  “Something like that.” Elisa shook her head.

  Boom gave her that brilliant smile. “Thanks. I kinda like my face, too. It’s why I keep my guard up ’cause a punch to the face can ruin it, too.”

  Elisa raised her eyebrows. Apparently Boom had taken a lot of talk into consideration. “Good point.”

  Boom was going to grow up into one heck of a woman. Alex might not survive it.

  “You know, Dad spends a lot of time looking at your face.” Boom’s voice took on a sly tone.

  “Oh?” Nope. Elisa was not going to take the bait from a pre-teen.

  “He seems to like you whether you have makeup on or not.” Boom chewed her lip.

  Wait. Elisa deliberately stopped chewing her own.

  “I bet if you did your makeup all special, his jaw would hit the floor.” Boom tipped her head back as she continued to consider. “But most mornings he has a silly kind of smile on his face when he sees you before you’ve had your coffee, and you don’t wear makeup most days. So I guess that’s a different kind of like, too.”

  “Maybe.” Faint response, but it was the best she could manage.

  Alex watched her that much? And she hadn’t noticed. Well, maybe it wasn’t a big surprise since it seemed to be before she’d had her morning caffeine, but still, she’d never thought he paid much attention.

  “Yup. Maybe.” Boom bolted then, heading back to the kitchen and out the back door closest to her house.

  Outmaneuvered. By a ten-year-old.

  This round went to the Boom.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  The outdoor patio was a good idea.” Rojas watched Elisa take in the décor of the cafe with a soft smile on her face.

  This place was busy even on weeknights, a popular spot for couples of every age. Sitting inside would’ve been a nightmare for Rojas but out here, they could enjoy the autumn colors on the surrounding trees. The owners had set tall heat lamps out at intervals between the tables to keep patrons warm.

  Rojas had taken mental note of the various couples, mostly younger and middle-aged sets braving the evening. All of the wait staff were teenagers and in fact, the entire restaurant was run by young people. It was trendy and hip, with a sophisticated menu. Exactly the kind of place he’d wanted to treat Elisa to.

  Her dark brown hair was done in soft curls falling around her shoulders, and she’d worn makeup this evening, making her blue eyes brighter and somehow more striking. Her lips were even more tempting than usual, and he was sure he wasn’t going to get through the whole meal without wanting to steal a kiss. She was beautiful every day, and tonight, she’d highlighted a few of her charms specifically for him. He liked it.

  “This restaurant has some interesting backstory, according to Sophie.” He took a sip of his water. “And Cruz has brought Lyn here a couple of times for dinner.”

  “I like that it’s pet friendly.” Elisa leaned to one side to scratch the side of Souze’s face.

  Rojas liked the way Elisa thought about Souze’s comfort, too. The big dog lay next to his feet, relaxed and wearing a service-dog-in-training vest. Lyn had sent it along from her supplies since the vests they had at Hope’s Crossing were mostly military working or K9 dog vests.

  The staff at this café had welcomed them both and Souze, too, bringing out water for all three of them. Souze had his very own bowl under the table. As long as Rojas could remember not to kick the bowl, both Elisa and Souze would be happy with him. He hoped. It’d been a damned long time since he’d taken a woman out to dinner.

  Drinks, one-night stands, even 0200 breakfasts at a diner after a booty call. Yeah, he’d done those. But this was dinner. He wanted Elisa to enjoy it, and he wanted this to be the first of many.

  No pressure or anything.

  “But you haven’t been here yet?” Elisa tipped her head sideways, and he wondered how he’d ever manage not to nibble at her neck in public.

  It was a good thing the tables at this café had them sitting opposite each other. If they’d been in a booth, there’d have been some serious necking. “I figured we’d both have fun if it was a restaurant we’re both checking out for the first time.”

  He was rewarded with one of her bright smiles. She’d started smiling for real after they’d included her in Sunday brunch. The small, polite smiles the day or two before had been nice but didn’t chase away the sadness in her eyes. Now when she smiled at him it took his breath away.

  “New Hope is less crowded than I thought it’d be, the way Boom was talking about it.” Elisa sipped at her water.

  “Yeah, well, Boom runs up and down the streets trying not to knock anybody over.” Rojas considered the menu. It was prix fixe so he could make his choices up front and not worry about it through the rest of the meal. “A ten-year-old takes up a lot of space.”

  Elisa nodded in concession. “True. She was saying we should walk down to the end of the street and get cupcakes.”

  Rojas grinned and leaned forward over the table. “Two reasons we’re not going to do that. First, I’m told there’s really good desserts here. I think you’ll want to try these. And second, the cupcake store Boom likes is around the corner and way down the end of the main strip of stores here in New Hope and it’ll be closed by the time we walk there. If she was hoping we’d bring her some cupcakes, she can hope for dessert on a different day. Sophie’s probably baking something full of sugar and bad for us for tomorrow’s brunch anyway.”

  Elisa narrowed her eyes. “Ooh. Good points on all counts. Though I wouldn’t mind a walk through New Hope after dinner if you two are up for it.”

  He glanced down at Souze, who looked back up at him with eyes half-lidded, and shrugged. “Could be. Let’s enjoy dinner first and play it by ear. Any idea of what you want?”

  “I’m super hungry,” Elisa admitted. “The pickled beets and goat cheese look interesting, and the braised pork shank sounds amazing.”

  “It does.” He put his menu down. “I’m thinking I want to try the fried risotto balls and don’t tell Gary or Greg.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “Because of the innuendo they’d make
?”

  “Nah.” He shook his head. “Because there’s mushrooms in the risotto and they’d get on my case about eating fungus.”

  “They don’t like mushrooms?” Her brows drew together in her puzzlement. She was extremely cute.

  “It’s a long story involving Boom and this phase she went through where we had to justify to her why she needed to eat anything. We had protein and vegetables covered but fungus was a harder sell.”

  Elisa laughed.

  Dinner went faster than Rojas thought possible. Service was good. Souze was well behaved. Every table at the café was filled and it was a small space, but the outdoor seating had enough room for him to relax. He wouldn’t have chosen to sit outdoors if it hadn’t been for Sophie’s suggestion and the fact that Souze sat with him. Despite the GSD’s chill demeanor, his ears twitched back and forth with every sound. Watchful. Meaning Rojas could ease his watch a little. Enough to enjoy the evening.

  Elisa had just tried one of a trio of mousses, and her eyes almost rolled into the back of her head, when a woman in a dress suit approached their table.

  “Elisa! There you are!” The woman’s voice had been pitched to carry and everyone in the restaurant turned to look as she took the last few steps to their table.

  Startled, Elisa blinked up at the woman. “Julie. What are you doing here?”

  “Looking for you, obviously.” As the woman waved her hand, a strong mix of cheap perfume and hairspray wafted over to Rojas. “Your mother is incredibly worried, so when Joseph contacted us to let us know he’d found you, I offered to fly over on the first available flight.”

  He held his breath until he thought the evening breeze must have dissipated the pungent smell. “Did you fly in alone?”

  Julie looked at him as if she’d only just noticed him. “I don’t see how that’s any of your business, whoever you are, but yes.”

  Julie crossed her arms, forcing her low-cut shirt lower and showing off some very impressive cleavage. There was a calculating look in her eye for a split second and then it was gone. She was checking to see if he’d checked her out.