She shook her head and scanned the printouts one more time, then pointed to a spike at the end of each graph. “What does this correlate to?”
He huffed a laugh and muttered, “You. Getting out of the pool.”
She remained silent a long second before quick, deep laughter rolled out of her. The kind of laughter that made Austin grin. “Oh my God, that’s hilarious.”
He was pleased by her lighthearted attitude. This subject could get so awkward. “Like I said, they’re definitely guys.”
“I’d better go give those guys a break from Bella bending their ears.” She turned away, then back. “Oh, I’d like to run in the mornings, if that’s okay.”
That idea put a damper on the zing he’d been feeling. “Where do you plan on running?”
“Just around the property. Thought I’d find my way down to the beach. I’d like to get my bearings, see if there are any learning opportunities hidden in the jungle.”
“I’m sure there are,” he said, “but my training site takes up a good portion of the land to the northeast.” And he had all kinds of equipment and supplies there that had the potential to harm. “And there’s a natural pond on the property near the border, which draws jaguars. They generally hunt at night, but an early morning run is still dangerous.”
“Jaguars.” She said the word with reverence and awe. “I’d love to see one.”
Damn, he liked this woman’s zest for life. But around here, that needed to be tempered so she didn’t get hurt. “Not up close and personal without a weapon, you don’t. There’s one male hanging around that’s pushing two hundred pounds. The guys call him Kujo. Once, he grabbed a cow from the neighbor’s property that weighed a lot more than you. Not only did he kill it, but he dragged it into a tree, where he ate it.”
That doused her excitement a little. “Oh my God.”
“Yeah. They’re serious predators here. Let me show you the area tomorrow. Then we’ll figure out a safe jogging path.”
“Perfect. Six a.m.?”
“The perimeter is about five miles. Are you up for that?”
“Yep.”
Of course she was. “Then make it five thirty.”
“Done.”
When she exited the office, Austin had to force himself not to watch her walk out. Then he took another fifteen minutes to get his head on straight as he organized the files and put things away.
Once his desk was clean, he stared out the window, but he didn’t see the gorgeous ocean view. He was deep inside himself, trying to ferret out the annoying sensation that had been plaguing him since he’d first seen her.
When a scan of his mind didn’t uncover the problem, he started downstairs for lunch.
“We’ve been in Mogadishu for four months,” Beau was saying.
“I’ve heard the violence has ebbed.” This came from Everly.
Austin paused on the steps, out of sight but within earshot.
“Still get something every day,” Beau said. “Just before we took leave, a car bomb killed a dozen civilians.”
“When I was there,” Everly said, her voice a subdued hum, “a car bomb was the least of our worries.”
“When was that?” Beau asked.
“Two-thousand ten.”
Beau pulled in a breath between his teeth.
“It was after the worst of the wars a few years earlier,” she said, “but still crazy violent. Easily one of the hardest assignments I ever had. Kids getting chewed up and spit out by landmines, hostile forces opening fire on the public. Yeah, I don’t miss that.”
Kids getting chewed up and spit out by landmines. Hostile forces…