Damn. He was in for a long weekend.
“So, you’re ready to settle down, yet you haven’t made the time to find someone to settle down with? Something’s a bit off there. You may need to rethink your game plan.”
She grabbed hold of his arm, using him for balance as she stepped up on the log. It made her about four inches taller than him. She looked even more beautiful from this vantage point, especially with the way the sun glinted off her lovely brown skin.
“What kind of woman are you looking for?” Leah asked as she wobbled slightly on the log.
The casualness of her tone caused an ache to settle in Caleb’s gut. It screamed curiosity,notinterest. It was likely she’d never entertained thoughts of being the kind of woman he was looking for.
“One who can handle the stress of my job,” Caleb finally answered. “I’ve seen firsthand the toll having a significant other who works in law enforcement can take on a relationship. My parents’ marriage couldn’t survive it.” He gingerly let her hand go now that she’d found her balance. “They divorced when I was in high school.”
“I’m sorry.”
Caleb shrugged as he bent down to pick up a couple of pebbles from around his feet. “They still get along, and now that there’s a grandkid in the picture, it’s almost like the days when they were happy in their marriage.” He pitched a smooth rock at the lake, watching as it skipped twice before sinking beneath the surface. “It also helps that my mom is now a lieutenant and not on the streets as a beat cop anymore.”
“Oh, so it’s yourmomwho works in law enforcement?”
Caleb nodded. “One of the best cops I’ve ever known.”
“I feel as if I should hand in my feminist card. I just automatically assumed it was your dad.”
“Nah. It’s my mom. Thirty years on the police force and a total badass. My dad’s a long time bus driver for the D.C. Public Transit System.”
He studied her face to see if she would show any reaction to hearing that he came from such humble roots. Granted, he didn’t know much aboutherroots, but he’d bet his last dollar she came from money.
“How often do you get to see them?” she asked.
Caleb wasn’t sure how he would have responded if he’d heard even a hint of repugnance in her voice, but there was none.
“I don’t get down there nearly enough,” he answered. “I haven’t been back to D.C. since Christmas.”
“I was there just this spring to see the cherry blossoms,” Leah said. “I want to go back next year. It was all so beautiful.”
“There weren’t many cherry blossoms in the part of D.C. where I grew up.”
She studied him for a moment. “Did that influence your decision to follow in your mom’s footsteps?”
“Actually, I first followed in my dad’s footsteps.”
“You were a bus driver?” Her head jerked back in surprise, causing her to wobble again.
“Army,” Caleb said, grabbing hold of her wrist to steady her. God, her skin was soft. Softer than soft. “My dad enlisted fresh out of high school. Only took him four years to decide it wasn’t for him. I lasted a little longer. Signed up at seventeen and did eight years before enrolling in the police academy.”
“I can’t imagine you as a seventeen-year-old holding onto a big, bad gun.”
“That was me,” he said.
“Did you get deployed?”
He nodded. “Only did two tours in Iraq, so I count myself lucky. I have a few buddies who went back three and four times.”
“Talk about taking a toll on a relationship.”
“Yeah, it’s not easy,” he said. “Although it didn’t get much easier once I joined the DCJ either. I’ve found myself in the middle of some hairy situations. That’s why I’m still single. It wouldn’t be fair to put someone through that kind of stress, not knowing whether or not I’ll make it home at the end of the day.”
“But that can apply to all of us,” Leah said. “A person can get hit by a bus on the way home from work, or drop dead of a heart attack. No one is guaranteed a tomorrow, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t make the most of your today.”
“You sound like a motivational poster,” Caleb said.
