Elowen shrugged. “My biggest rebellion was only taking jobs men would usually do. I just liked those jobs better. I enjoyed proving I could do anything they could, maybe even better than they could.”
“Well, you certainly have proven you’re capable of construction.”
“Now that I’m older, it’s more about proving it to myself. No one from my past, well except Justin, I mean Griz, knows about this. And that’s okay. I’m satisfied.”
Asher nodded. “I’m satisfied with my life now. I really wasn’t before. Now I’m good with how things have worked out.”
“Same,” Danika said.
Elowen wasn’t sure how things would work out with her and Griz, but she was excited to find out. They were good in the bedroom, and she liked his company.
She was here in the mountains, and he lived in San Diego. But he’d hinted that he might retire. It wasn’t her secret to tell, so she kept her mouth closed. If Griz wanted to tell them that he was retiring, he would.
Chapter 15
Griz was havinga great time with his buddies, but he really wanted to spend some time with Elowen. So far, they’d had a fun time together. He didn’t know if it was being on vacation, away from his normal routine, or if they really were good together. He hoped it was that they were just good together.
Way too soon he would be heading back home and back to work. The idea of not seeing Elowen for weeks on end made him antsy. He would need to figure out a way for her to come see him until he could get some time away.
At least he didn’t live on a ship. He’d done that enough in his early days. Maybe that was one of the reasons he didn’t like living in the city. Out here, he felt like he could go anywhere. In San Diego, he could go places, but there were so many people, so many buildings, he couldn’t get far without running into a place he couldn’t go.
“You all ready to go back?” Shine asked.
Squat grabbed his gear. “Yes.”
“Cool. Tomorrow we’ll go for a hike instead of fishing,” Sharp said.
“Maybe we could all hike,” Apple said.
Jay chuckled. “I don’t know how far Nichole will want to go. We could do a workout in the morning then hike with the women.”
Sharp turned to Griz. “Do you think Elowen knows any good hiking paths around here?”
Griz shrugged. “Probably.”
On the walk back to the cabin he didn’t see the camera until he turned around and looked back. He had to ask Elowen about that. They made it back to the cabin and found the women had consumed two bottles of champagne. Elowen came over to give him a kiss, and he was expecting her to be a little tipsy, but he could tell she was sober.
“You good?”
She chuckled and nodded. “These women are great. Thank you for introducing me to them.”
“I’m glad you all are getting along. But I’m sad that we’re almost down to only a week left. The days have flown past.”
She grabbed his arm and squeezed. “I’ll have a few free days about a week after you leave, then I’ll have a week, and in the deep winter months it’s too cold in the mountains for guests.”
“We’ll figure it all out.”
She glanced over her shoulder then leaned in close. “You haven’t discussed it yet with your friends?”
He shook his head. Maybe he should bring it up while they were here. But he didn’t want to announce his retirement then head out on a mission. It would be bad luck. Not that he believed in luck, but sometimes things happened on the battlefield he couldn’t explain.
“Not yet. Not something I really want to bring up now.”
She nodded. “I get it. Now then, I’m going back to my cabin to shower. I’ll see you this evening.”
“Sure. I’m looking forward to it.”
“Hey, Elowen, why don’t you join us for dinner tonight?” Danika called out before she could get out the door.
