He looked down at her dirt-stained hands. “Yeah. A flower definitely suits you.”
“The red poppy symbolizes loss, especially those lost at war. And I want to have an anchor woven into the stem to symbolize hope.”
He stared straight into her eyes, and his expression made her sizzle from head to toe. “That’s perfect. Really perfect.”
* * *
Ryan scraped a hand over his chin as he followed Emma back toward the main building. Holy shit, this thing between them had taken on a life of its own. Bringing her to Charlotte to get a tattoo would be a turning point, that much was for damn sure.
Trent pulled into the parking lot in his little Kia sedan, and Ryan headed his way. Emma beat him to it.
“You were so fantastic last night,” she gushed as soon as Trent had stepped out of his car.
“Thanks.” He tugged at his cap with a shy smile.
“You really have something there. I could feel it,” she said. “And it seemed like everyone else was really enjoying your music, too. I think this could be the start of big things for you.”
Ryan wasn’t so sure about that. Sure, the kid had a passion and talent for DJ’ing, but was that really a viable career? Seemed more like something someone might do for a few years until a real job came along. And that was fine, as long as he got his education so that he’d have it to fall back on.
Emma gave Trent a big hug before she headed back to the flowers she’d been planting when Ryan had come out and interrupted her.
“You did great last night,” Ryan said. “Made me real proud.”
“Thanks.” Trent ducked his head.
“I thought maybe you and I could work together out on the ropes course today.”
“Keeping an eye on me?”
“Nah.” Not entirely anyway. “Just thought we could spend some time together.”
“Okay. Cool.”
“I need to test out all the connections before we open the course for spring and summer activities,” Ryan said as he led the way down the path.
“So who uses it?” Trent asked.
“Companies can do team-building exercises or groups can rent it for a party or event, but one of us has to be there leading the exercises and supervising. It’s not open for free play, ’cept for us, of course.” He winked, and Trent grinned.
“It’s fun being here, working outside. Never did much of that in St. Louis.”
“You live in the city?”
“Suburbs.”
“Play any sports?” Ryan asked.
“Does the Wii count?”
Ryan laughed as he shook his head. He and his brother had almost nothing in common. Didn’t matter, though. “I thought we could start on the tires and work our way around the course.”
“Okay. What am I looking for?”
Ryan showed him how to spot structural wear on the tires and on the ropes supporting them. He and Trent sat side by side on tires, swinging slightly as they felt along the ropes for any signs of decay or wear.
“Did you know your dad? Or mine?” Trent asked suddenly as he examined the rope overhead.
“No. Mom went out with a lot of guys. I’m not sure if she even knew.”
