"You should," he insisted. "Right now. I mean it's not like you've got anything else to do." When she grinned and rolled her eyes, he went on. "What do you dream of doing? The first step to making your dreams happen is writing them down."
She picked up her phone but didn't turn it on.
Sensing she needed more encouragement, he prodded. "What do you want more than anything else in the world?"
For a long moment,Grace stared at the tall, muscular soldier beside her. He was putting a lot of effort into keeping her calm, and she appreciated that.
What do I want more than anything in the world?
That was easy. She wanted to keep her mother with her for another thirty years. But that wasn't possible. All too soon, her mom would be gone, her brother Gabe married, and Grace would be alone.
"Come on, there has to be something you absolutely want to experience before you die." Damon's coaxing voice pulled her from her thoughts.
Grace forced a smile as she looked around the tiny compartment. "Assuming we ever get out of here."
"Of course, we're going to get out of here." Damon nudged her arm with his elbow. "Don't think about that, just focus on your bucket list."
Sighing, Grace opened her notes app on her phone. Making a bucket list was as good of a distraction as any, but it felt wrong to plan her future knowing it wouldn't include her mother.
"Just write some immediate goals or something that's important to you."
Grace stalled by taking the time to title the note:My Bucket List. Then her thumb hovered over the keyboard for several long seconds before she typed: 1. Get married.
She hesitated before writing the next item, because it had already happened, sort of. And she wasn't sure she deserved to have it happen again, considering the outcome the first time.
"It's more likely to happen if you write it down," Damon prompted again.
Grace believed in manifesting her dreams, but she'd been let down too many times in her life to get her hopes up over things that were so important. But because Damon was incredibly nice and patient, she'd humor him.
She typed into her phone: 2. Be a mother.
Grace sucked in a sharp breath as she recalled that difficult day over eleven years ago when she gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. Handing her over to social services was the hardest thing she'd ever done. But it was the best future she could give the child who would have been a constant reminder of the violent way she'd been conceived.
"Okay, let me see what you've got so far." Damon leaned toward her until his shoulder touched hers.
Grace drew in a deep breath, then let it out slowly. Part of her anxiety when she realized they were stuck, was caused by being trapped with a strange man. She'd worked so hard to overcome her fear of men, but occasionally, it crept up on her. It didn't help that her fear of men and her fear of close confines stemmed from the same event. One she tried to block from her mind.
She appreciated that the good-looking soldier had kept his calm and was doing his best to distract her.
"That's...uh...that's a good start, but those aren’t the kind of things I meant." Damon gave her a wry grin.
"You said I should write what's important to me and things I absolutely want to experience."
"I did. But those things are kind of a given. I meant things you need to plan and prepare for."
"You're a bachelor, aren't you?" Grace scowled at him.
His brow furrowed. "Yeah, but what's that got to do with anything?"
"It just shows how clueless you are."
"What?" His head jerked back, his eyes wide.
"Don't worry, you're not alone. Most men have no idea how much work goes into planning for marriage and preparing for a family. And I'm not just talking about once you're engaged or already pregnant."
He locked gazes with her, his face puzzled. "What do you mean?"
She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "A person doesn't just wake up and decide I want to get married and have a family. You have to consider the qualities you want in a spouse and do all you can to make yourself attractive to the opposite sex. Then there's dating... Just because you put yourself out there doesn'tmean you're going to attract the guys you're interested in, or that they will have the same goals and values as you."
