“Don’t have to what?” Jay asked as he came into the kitchen.
“Griz volunteered to go pick some blackberries for us.”
“Oh, nice one, Griz.” Jay looked him up and down. “You going for a run?”
He nodded. “I need to stretch. I’m sore from sitting in the car.”
“Gotcha.” Jay grab a mug for coffee then turned to him. “Enjoy the run. If you don’t get enough and the ladies want more berries, we can all go out and pick some.”
“Thank you, Griz,” Nichole said.
“Yeah, thank you, Griz,” Rowan added.
Amelia picked up a can of tomato paste. “When you get back, we’ll have pizza. We’re proofing the dough now.”
“Cool. Pizza sounds great. I’ll be gone for about an hour.”
They all waved and said bye as he left out the side door. He drew in a deep breath and let it go. The air was clean up here. The scent of pine and flowers washed over him as he moved away from the house. It was different from the salt and sand, but good. It reminded him of home.
It was weird that thoughts from his past kept invading. He’d woken up more than once to dreams about when he was a kid, well, a teenager. He’d had a dream the night before of a water gun fight he’d had. The memory of that day was probably off like most memories from childhood were.
He’d gone home that evening and found his momunable to get out of bed to cook dinner. His dad had been cagey, and when he’d snuck into his mom’s room against his dad’s wishes, he’d found out why his mom was stuck in her bed.
Anger twisted through him and he pushed the memory away. That was the last thing he wanted to focus on during this run. He didn’t know why his past was coming back up so much. Maybe it was the anniversary of his mom’s death. He still blamed himself for that. If he’d not left…but back then, his father had been much bigger and stronger.
He ran a few miles through twisting paths, and up higher into the hills before heading back to find the blackberry patch. He must have gotten turned around because he popped out in a clearing around a small cabin.
Griz paused and drew in a deep breath, glancing around as he tried to figure out where he’d taken the wrong turn.
He heard the unmistakable snap of a rifle being readied and he stood up straight, raising his hand.
“I suggest you turn around and leave.”
The woman walked into his view and he couldn’t help but smile. She was tall with broad shoulders. Her build was athletic, like she worked out a lot. Her hair was short, and he imagined she got mistaken for a man, but she was all woman. That was obvious from this angle.
“Sorry. I’m staying at a cabin and got turned around. If you’d point me in the right direction, I’ll get out of your hair.”
“Navy?”
The question threw him off, and he nodded. “How did you know?”
She lowered the gun. “I own the cabin. You were making a hell of a racket coming down that path and Ididn’t know if you were some half-crazed, drugged out camper or what.”
A bark of laughter escaped his lips. He probably looked scary. His hair had grown out, and he hadn’t trimmed his beard in a few weeks. Part of it was the deployment they’d come back from, and another part was the fact he was close to retirement.
“I probably look scary. Name’s Griz, and I promise I’m not drugged out, but I am probably half-crazed for sticking with the Navy for so long. I was trying to find a blackberry patch and get some for the women before I go back.”
“I saw them yesterday at the patch. I’m glad they want to pick some. I know the animals rely on the fruit, but so much of it falls to the ground and rots. I go by El, and I’m headed that way. Want to walk with me?”
He nodded. “Sure. That’d be great. I usually have a better sense of direction, but I wasn’t paying attention.”
El waved him on and he followed, trying not to pay too much attention to her nice behind. He glanced over to the trees, seeing a bird he didn’t recognize. He used to sit at the top of the barn and watch the birds. They were interesting, though when people found out he watched them, they made fun of him, so he didn’t tell many people about that hobby. “It used to drive my mom crazy when we didn’t get to the berries before they fell to the ground.”
El glanced over at him, her lips tipping up in a smile. “Did you grow up on a farm?”
“I did. It’s much different from where I am now.”
“I guess that means you live in San Diego with your wife.”
