“I can tell that you hated every minute of it.” Terri was smiling.
Nate’s eyes took on a faraway look. “I liked the people. We met some so rich they thought they were gods—and others who were so poor they were starving.”
“And you got along with all of them,” Terri said.
“More or less. But I had to learn how. Kit has a ferocious temper and he hates stupidity. And trust me, we saw a lot of that!”
“But then, Kit retired. Why didn’t you stay on?”
Nate took his time answering. “I’ve never said this before, but Kit hurt my feelings. Injured my ego. He’d never mentioned retiring. We were in the desert, sitting by a campfire, and he told me he was going to retire and go to Summer Hill, Virginia, to get the woman he loved. In all our years together, I’d never heard of the town or the woman. I knew his ex-wife, but their relationship was more rage than love.”
He took a deep drink of his wine. “One thing about Kit is that when he makes up his mind, he doesn’t change it. Just six weeks later, he was out of the service and I was left behind.”
“How did you do without him?”
Nate laughed. “Since most of the things he and I did were...how do I say this?...off the radar, my record was very tame. No one knew what to do with me, but since I had a business degree, I was given a desk job.” He grimaced. “I was put to the task of dealing with big financial accounts.”
“So you were back where you started.”
“It was like my years of following my uncle around the world had never happened. They all thought I’d been Kit’s secretary. They’d dump papers on my desk and give a couple of taps and say, ‘Need it by Thursday.’ At one point I ripped my shirt open and showed the scars of three bullet wounds that I got when Kit decided to get involved in a tribal war. But my official record said that when that happened, I was on recreational leave. I’d actually been in a hospital fighting for my life. Kit’s blasted secrecy had been carried through into my record.”
“And then you met Stacy.”
“Yes. Kit met her in Summer Hill and got her to go to DC. He wanted her to meet his son.” A muscle in Nate’s jaw began to clench. “You know how it is. Blood is thicker than water. I walked into firing rifles in front of that man, but when it came to introducing pretty girls, he only wanted his son. But Rowan was fed up with his dad playing matchmaker, so he invited me to go to dinner with them.”
“And you and Stacy fell for each other.”
“It wasn’t difficult since Rowan was on his cell most of the meal. I knew that first night that Stacy was exactly what I’d missed out on. I was thirty-three years old and every cousin my age, every guy I went to school with, was married and had at least one kid.”
“And even Kit had left you for a girl.”
Nate grinned. “Right. I left the service. I didn’t look back. I had to endure lectures about ruining my record, about losing my pension, all of it. But I’d made up my mind.”
“Like Kit,” Terri said.
“I guess so. But it was really Stacy who made me decide. She’s pretty and educated and talented and...” He shrugged. “You know her so you understand.”
“So that’s what you’re going to do with your life? Marry Stacy, have kids and open a financial office in Summer Hill?”
“You make it sound boring, but that’s exactly what I’m going to do. My uncles, Mike and Kane, are geniuses with money, and I’m going to start a branch management firm. I’m going to help people prepare for retirement, that sort of thing.”
“That sounds like an excellent plan. Well thought out and sensible.”
Nate looked at her, trying to see if she was being sarcastic or not, but he couldn’t tell.
She smiled at him. “If you don’t like that work, Dad will give you a job at the lake. In fact, I’m sure he’d let you run the whole place. He and Elaine could go travel and see the world.”
Nate was watching her as she kept her eyes straight ahead, but he couldn’t tell if she was serious or joking. He decided to go the lighter way. “Would I have to get my real estate license?”
Terri grinned. “Oh yeah. That’s a big part of the job. Showing houses to clients and hearing them complain that everything is wet. You get to explain that lakes are liquid.” She turned to him. “Is Stacy a water person?”
“I don’t know. I never asked her. We lived in an apartmen
t in DC and she liked it. She used the pool a few times.”
“That’s good for you,” she said. “I wish you all the best the world has to offer.” The words came out with more feeling than she meant to expose. She could feel Nate looking at her.
“What about you?” he asked. “You have a plan for your life?”