Grace's eyes widened. "Were they dating?"
"I don't think so." Damon shook his head. "But they were good friends. Anyway, after Aunt Faith moved here, Aunt Hope came to visit. It didn't take long for her to fall in love with Uncle James and decide to stick around. Then my mom did the same thing."
"I can see why. The people here are very nice. The slower pace takes some getting used to, but I kind of like it."
"Ah, that slow pace. It'll get you every time." Damon chuckled as he maneuvered the horses around several large boulders. "When we were young, Riley, Paige, Daniel and I couldn't wait to get out of this small town where nothing ever happened."
"And now they're all back." She gave him an expectant look. "Do you think you'll ever come back for good?" A spark of hope lit in her chest, which was ridiculous because she barely knew the man.
And yet, I'm holding his hand.
"I don't know." He stopped walking, and his gaze lingered on her face. His eyes dipped down to her mouth before meeting hers again. "Maybe."
What did that look mean?
And why do I want him to kiss me again?
Last night in the elevator was supposed to be a one-time thing. She wasn't supposed to ever see Damon again. Shocked by the intensity of the emotions he stirred in her, she pulled her hand from his. She wasn't sure what was happening between them, but she needed to put the brakes on it.
They were soon settled by the river, eating the chicken salad sandwiches, fruit salad, and veggies Charity had packed for them. Damon again entertained her with more stories from his youth, frequently making her laugh with his dramatic storytelling. He even managed to get her to talk about herself a little.
"So, are you ever going to tell me about the first time you kissed a stranger in an elevator?" Damon asked after a lull in conversation.
Grace tensed. She didn't talk about that because it meant admitting all the dumb choices she'd made that eventually led to her getting pregnant.
"I meant it when I said I don't talk about that." She gave Damon a tight, apologetic smile.
He must have seen something in her face that told him she was serious, because despite the disappointment in his eyes, he let it go.
Part of her wanted to tell him though. She wanted him to know why she’d done all the stupid things she did as a teenager. Because she was hurting and angry after her father abandoned them. She wanted him to understand how deeply she regretted her actions, especially when she learned her mother had breast cancer only weeks before Grace realized she was pregnant.
She’d told very few people what she’d done, and what she’d endured because of her mistakes, but she felt comfortable with Damon. His sympathy and compassion made her want to trust him.
"Earlier, you said you did a lot of things you weren't proud of." Picking up a twig off the ground, she broke it into small pieces. "Why did you do them?"
It wouldn't surprise her if he refused to talk about his past like she had.
Regret that mirrored her emotions filled Damon's face as he gave a sad smile and shrugged. "I'm not really sure. I guess I felt sheltered, growing up in this small town. Like I had missed out on something. When I joined the Army and was suddenly surrounded by guys who had much different standards than I was raised with, I gradually gave into peer pressure."
He picked up a small pebble and tossed it into the river. "I stopped attending church services and gradually distanced myself from God. Then I started going to bars with guys from my unit. Initially as the designated driver, but I eventually started drinking." He shook his head and grimaced. "It wasn't long before I started seeking out physical intimacy in relationships that were nothing more than superficial."
His reasons had been different from hers, but she couldn't judge him, because she had succumbed to the same temptations.
"What made you turn your life around?" Her question was quiet as she reflected on how she wished she'd had the strength to change her ways before things took a drastic turn for the worse.
Dark shadows flitted through his eyes as his shoulders hiked up. He picked up another rock—a larger one this time—and hurled it at the water. "It’s technically classified, but six years ago, on my first assignment as a ranger, a dozen of us were supposed to sneak into...a certain village and raid a...safe house. The goal was to remove...a high-value asset. We ended up with bad intel and got caught in the crossfire between...uh...a militant group and insurgents."
Damon squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head. "It wasn't like I hadn't seen action before, but I have never been so scared in my life. I lost one of my buddies that night, and another was seriously injured."
He was quiet for a long moment, no doubt reliving that horrific night. "It had been a long time since I'd prayed and never with that much fervor, but I promised God if he would spare my life and get me out of there, I would change my ways and stop doing all the things that went against the Christian values I had been raised with."
He tossed another rock. "It hasn't been easy, but I've got a buddy in my unit—Timothy McDonald, we call him Ronald, because of his curly red hair—who is also Christian. He has helped me get back on track and stay there despite all the stuff we face."
Grace had said a similar prayer the night she was attacked at a party she should never have been at. She'd survived what happened to her, but the damage was done and she'd suffered the consequences. In some regards, she was still paying the price for her poor choices even though she’d changed her life around too.
She hugged her knees to her chest. "After my dad left...I went through a rebellious stage, and I did a lot of things I'm not proud of either."
"Can I assume you've turned your life around too?" When she nodded, he asked, "What made you decide to change?"
