The flippin’ weather? “Your home is beautiful, like you’ve found Florida’s little best kept secret nestled back here.”
“It’s a temporary place, just for their short stint.” Sunny thumbed a crumb from the corner of her mouth. “Some folks think I’m crazy for not picking an inexpensive condo and a more flashy setting, but I value my privacy.”
Short stint? Liam was moving soon? Suddenly sitting here was more than about killing time. Sitting here offered her an inside peek at what life would be like with Liam. Forget about denying she could ignore whatever it was she felt for him. She’d been trying that for six months and it hadn’t worked. “What do you mean about a short stint?”
“The guys are filling a billet here because the reserve squadrons were undermanned. They’ve been working on some special project. It’s all temporary, which isn’t that unusual in the military, from what I understand so far. We’ll be moving soon.”
“Where to?” And why was she already considering options for expanding the therapy dog operation?
“Haven’t heard yet.” She sipped from the earthenware mug.
“That doesn’t bother you? Not knowing where you’ll be living next?” Rachel had made a point of being in control of her life since Caden died.
“Would it do any good if I let it upset me?” She broke off another bite of pineapple-mango muffin. “There’s nothing I can do to change the way things are. To live with the man, I have to live with the circumstances.”
“Must be nice to have a marriage that solid. Um, I assume you’re married. I thought Liam said you were. Sorry if I—” She stuffed a piece of muffin into her mouth, chewing extra long on the sweet bite of pineapple.
Sunny shoved to her feet. “Don’t worry. We are married. I am officially Sunny Rocha. So my name is basically Sunny Rock.” Grinning, she filled two dog bowls with water. “But Sunshine Rock would be even worse, and there you have it.”
This woman was such a natural, at ease in her skin and so nonjudgmental. She was going above and beyond, and they’d never even met before. Rachel’s hands gripped the mug until they numbed. The enormity of it overwhelmed her. “Thank you for helping us, no questions asked. Liam’s lucky to have friends like you two.”
“I believe the both of you will manage just fine on your own. You used to work search and rescue stuff, right?” She placed one of the water bowls on the floor for Disco, the other for her dog.
“With my dogs. Yes. How did you know?”
“I’ve heard about you.”
“But I just got here yesterday…”
Sunny laughed softly as she reached into a cookie jar and passed the cookies to—the dogs? “The major got a little wasted at a beach picnic we threw right after they all got back from the Bahamas. He talked a lot about you before he passed out on the sofa.”
Forget wondering about the dog treats. She wanted to ask what he’d said. Desperately. But that would sound… desperate? Exactly.
Sunny took her chair at the table again, sitting cross-legged. “You don’t have to ask. I’m happy to spill all the deets. You made quite an impression on him in those three weeks you two spent together. He talked about how tough you were finding survivors. How tireless. He said if the air force ever let females into the pararescue field, you would make the cut.”
Hearing how he’d thought of her every bit as much as she’d been unable to forget him was exciting and unsettling. Although was she even the same woman he’d been taken with back in the Bahamas? The loss of that identity hit her all over again, surprising her with the new ways it could hurt her. “Yet I burned out and stepped away from search and rescue. Guess he was wrong about me.”
“I don’t know if I agree with you on that, but hey, no matter.” She leaned closer, her voice low. “He didn’t just talk about work. He said how you didn’t take crap off anyone, how you stood up to him. And he thought you were smart for giving him his walking papers, since he sucks at marriage.”
An obstacle she still wasn’t sure how to overcome. “That whole three divorce thing is tough to overlook.”
“This is a rough career field for relationships, no question.” Shadows chased through her eyes before she looked down into her coffee.
“If you don’t mind my asking, doesn’t that worry you?”
She looked up, eyes resolute. “Not being with Wade worries me more.”
Her stomach clenched. She knew too well how much it hurt to lose a man she loved. This conversation was definitely veering too close to painful territory.
Rachel reached down to let the husky mix sniff her hand. “What’s this handsome fella’s name?”
Sunny eyed her for a second before smiling, seeming to accept the need to shift gears. “My dog’s name is Chewie. We worked together as travel guides in Alaska when I, uh, lived off the grid.”
“That explains why you chose to live in a more secluded spot here.” And all of the natural touches to the bungalow. “If you were so remote, how did you two meet?”
“Wade thought I needed saving.” She rolled her eyes. “He parachuted into an Alaskan blizzard only to have me show him the best place to camp and ride out the storm. And here we are.”
“You’re lucky to have found each other.”