“Yep. One of those rare specimens who was actually born and raised in the area, only a few miles from where I live now. There’s an Air Force base nearby, and my parents both work for one of the defense contractors.”
“I was in the Air Force for ten years, but I was never stationed there.”
“Oh, my dad too. What did you do?”
“Security police to start, then pararescue.”
“You were a PJ?” she asked, shading her eyes to look at him. She wore his extra knit cap down over her ears, but he didn’t have another pair of sunglasses, and she wouldn’t take his when he offered, making the argument that blue eyes were more sensitive to the light. Probably true. “That’s what you meant by having paramedic training.”
He nodded.
“Bit of an understatement,” she said with a playful push against his arm. “That’s like calling a Navy SEAL a soldier.”
“Technically, they’re sailors.” But she was right. PJs were far more than just paramedics, both in medical knowledge and operating environment. As part of the Air Force’s special operations, they rescued service members and allies trapped behind enemy lines or under fire, including pilots and special operators—the old joke was that when a SEAL was in trouble, he called the PJs. “I’m surprised you’ve even heard of the PJs. The SEALs and Delta get all the media attention.”
“My dad made the same argument once, grumbling about how the Navy had a better PR machine.Top Guneasily could’ve been an Air Force movie with F-16s or something.”
Todd laughed. “He has a point. What did he do in the service?”
“Engineer. Just for four years. He’s much happier designing airframes,” she said with obvious fondness for her dad. “My mom too.”
“So you come by your affinity for numbers honestly.”
“Not sure I had a chance. But I don’t have the spatial intelligence they do. I can’t turn objects around in my head and tell you what they’d look like from another angle. Or read upside down. My mind doesn’t work that way. But numbers? They’re my bitch.” She grinned.
Todd laughed. Damn, he liked this woman. A lot. “Why’d you choose accounting and not a math major?” He couldn’t imagine anything worse than sitting at a desk running numbers all day.
“I guess I like the structure of it. The rules. Everything has to add up, to balance.” She watched a hawk circling overhead. “Numbers are consistent and reliable. They don’t lie.”
“Unlike people.”
She nodded. “Exactly.”
Lost in their own thoughts, they trekked on. Todd soaked up the golds and greens and the vivid blue sky, taking in Montana’s incredible scenery and shedding layers as the day heated up. Despite the freezing temps overnight, it would probably hit the sixties by noon.
As the morning wore on, they talked about his two older brothers, and what her life was like as an only child. He told her about his mom, who’d been an X-ray tech in the Air Force until he was six and then returned with Todd to Oklahoma after she and his dad divorced.
“That explains the accent.”
“What accent?” he deadpanned. It wasn’t that strong, but he didn’t sound like a West Coaster either.
“Okay,twang, maybe. Faint, but there.”
He shrugged.
“I like it.”
“I’m fixin’ to take a break,” he said, playing it up by mimicking his granddad’s much heavier accent. “You might oughtta join me.”
She laughed and followed him just off the trail to a large fallen tree where they sat side-by-side after he dropped his pack. “Might oughtta?”
“Might oughtta, might could, might should.” He found two protein bars and handed her one. “No commitment required.”
“I might could get used to that.”
He ripped open his snack, unable to hide his smile. “I knew you were a quick study, Cali girl.”
Her grin made his heart skip a beat. “Like,totally.” She tossed her ponytail, making the sun throw sparks off the red and blond highlights in her dark hair.
