Cav heard the wistfulness in her tone, that faraway look in her eyes. “What happened next?”
“I started to cry as my dad led Goldy out of the alley. I begged him to bring Goldy home, that I couldn’t stand to see him being killed for dog food.”
“And your dad? What did he do?”
“He couldn’t stand to see me cry,” Lia said wryly, shaking her head. “He told me to dry my tears, that he’d buy Goldy and we’d get him sent by trailer to our farm. I was the happiest kid in the world at that moment.”
Grinning, Cav said, “I can see it now. Your Dad is like lots of us guys, we hate to see a woman or child cry. We feel helpless because we can’t fix it.”
“Funny, Dad always said that, too.”
“Was he in the military?”
“No.”
Cav wanted to ask her how she got into the Army, but restrained himself. “Not only do you rescue animals, you also rescue kids that need help. Is that why you joined Delos?”
Instantly, her face became soft and maternal. This woman could not keep a game face if she tried! Cav was secretly thrilled, because if he couldn’t pry Lia open verbally, he had his non-verbal skills in place to get to her.
What threw him was that she trusted him enough to answer his questions without wondering why he was asking them. Cav felt their connection strongly. There was no doubt about it.
She was going to be more than just an assignment, as someone to be protected at all cost. As a contractor, he was not to allow any emotional ties between himself and a client. But damn it, this woman invited those feelings without even realizing she was doing it. Cav didn’t think for a moment that she was like this with everyone, but who knew?
“I’m a sucker for kids and animals, that’s true.” She smiled and gave a slight shrug. “I mean they’re innocent. Vulnerable. They need to be protected by the adults and the community around them. That’s the way I was raised, and that’s who I am today.”
Images of his own childhood brought up anger and regret in Cav, if she only knew about his sordid childhood. Hell, going through BUD/s, the six-month SEAL school for recruits was easy compared to surviving daily with his cocaine-addicted father. Cav never knew, from the time he woke up in the morning, if he would see nightfall.
“That’s a good way to be raised,” he agreed, trying to keep the feelings out of his voice. “Do you have brothers? Sisters?”
“No, I’m an only child.”
“And your Dad is a beet farmer in Oregon. What does your mother do?”
“She’s a CPA for a bank in Ontario, Oregon. She’s actually the head of the department.”
“You have a set of brainy parents, then. You said you were in motor pool? Did your dad teach you about mechanics at a young age?”
She smiled a little. “I think you’re inside my head, reading my mind, Mr. Jordan.”
“Call me Cav.” He shot a glance toward her. “How would you like to be addressed?”
“Call me Lia.”
“So, Lia? Did you help your dad in the barn, fixing the tractor and that sort of thing?”
“Yes. I’ve always been fascinated with machinery. I think I got my Dad’s gene for that stuff. At the Delo’s school, I took care of the electric, plumbing and air conditioning. If it broke, I tried to fix it first before calling in an expert. It saved our charity money, and I got to use my skills.”
“What else did you do there?”
“I wasn’t a teacher, although I love to teach. I didn’t have the certificates for it. I made the kids’ lunches and two snacks in our small kitchen. I was also the manager of the facilities, for lack of a better description.”
“A jack of all trades and master of all of them, I bet.” Cav met her gaze and felt as if a hand had gripped his heart in that moment. Right now, at this minute, Lia looked so much younger, fresh and alive. And then he realized as the armada sped out of San José, on a four-lane freeway heading north toward the forest and jungle, that she had finally—finally—relaxed. Not only that, she was beginning to trust him. That meant a lot to him, because in Cav’s business trust was the last thing you ever gave another person.
Every human was a potential threat, a potential killer. Cav trusted no one, but it was natural for him, having grown up in a family where he knew his father couldn’t be trusted not go after him or his helpless mother. At first, his mother had tried to protect Cav, but after his father gave her a broken nose, arm and jaw one year, her spirit was broken.
So Cav’s legacy was to trust no one. Maybe that was why he never got into any serious relationship with a woman. He didn’t trust women, either.