“Me too, Dene," she said. When I cocked an eyebrow, she smiled and traced my face with her fingertips. “In my studies, I ran across the word that the old English used for the Viking warriors. They called them Dene, or what eventually became Dane. I thought it appropriate for you.”
I kissed her softly, my heart warming. “It’s fitting, given what I’ve turned to religiously. I'll treasure it, Abs. Maybe I can get it tattooed on my body somewhere."
"I was thinking of maybe having it tattooed on mine," Abby replied with a smile. “And what do you mean? Are you into Norse mythology or something?”
I shrugged and shook my head. “I don’t know—kind of. I started looking for something to believe in after my conviction. But it started a little before that.”
"Tell me about it," Abby said softly, rolling back and pillowing her head on her arm. "I want to know everything about you, even the dark parts."
I nodded and rolled onto my stomach, tenting my chin on my hands and looking out at the river beyond. "I guess part of it was my upbringing. My family was one of those weekly churchgoing families—every Sunday, like clockwork. But there was nothing happening despite all that praying. It continued in the Army, as some of the biggest assholes I knew were also some of the most churchgoing. Still, I tried to keep at least a little bit of faith, but after what happened in Iraq, I practically gave up on it. So I thought about it, and I picked Norse mythology because it seemed to fit what I was going through. It's a religion where everything pretty much goes to hell, and the good guys get screwed in a major way. Kinda fit in with my outlook on life back then."
"And now?" Abby asked. "Do you still think that life sucks and then you die?"
I rolled to my side and kissed her nose, shaking my head. "I don't know for sure, but things do seem to have taken a turn for the better.”
Chapter 13
Abby
Unfortunately for our desires, regardless of how long we wanted to stay there, I had to go home eventually. As it was, we stayed until the sun started to go down, then had a casual dinner at a little country barbecue place. "I never realized just how voracious an appetite you have," I said as he came back from the buffet with his third plate. "Have you been starving yourself or something?"
Dane grinned and shook his head. "No, but I did work up quite an appetite this afternoon. And it’s a bit of an old habit that I've not quite worked past yet."
"What's that?" I asked, enjoying the rich pork myself.
"Until recently, I mostly just ate to live," Dane said simply as he used his plastic fork to split a biscuit in half. He took forkfuls of the spicy barbecue and put it on the halves, making an open-faced sandwich that he started consuming in efficient, neat bites. Despite it being his third plate, and the barbecue being soaked in nearly an obscene amount of sauce, his shirt was spotless, a far cry from my own.
"Luxury for my family was getting eighty-twenty ground beef to go into our mac & cheese casserole. The Army was the same way, and Leavenworth . . . well, you can guess what that was like. In any case, during all that time, I ate enough to not be hungry, but I hated a lot of what I had to put in my mouth. On the rare occasions that I was able to have delicious food, I ate as quickly and as much as I could. I never knew when I'd get another chance to indulge in it again."
"Well, now that you won't have that issue, it’s a habit I suggest you look at breaking unless you want to end up the size of a small elephant," I teased.
Dane immediately set his fork down and pushed his plate away. “Well, I’m still going to have some Key Lime Pie.”
I couldn't help it. I laughed. "Dane, I'm not saying don't enjoy tonight. It's actually kind of cute to watch. You act like a man, a real man. I've spent too many meals surrounded by frat boys who worry about their six-packs and their haircuts. So enjoy. I guess what I was trying to say, not too successfully, is that your life isn't that way anymore, and you don't have to worry about it."
Dane thought about it, teasing the pile of barbecue with his fork. "Abs, we seem to have something going here, but I don't want to be a kept man. I never have been and never will be.”
I blushed and looked down, twisting my napkin until it started to tear. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean that either. I'm just trying to say, money isn't important to me. And I’m not going to live off of Daddy for the rest of my life—something I should have started already. I’ll admit, I'm self-centered, I'm greedy, and I'm spoiled rotten. In other words, I'm your normal girl."
Dane laughed and pulled his plate closer. "You are far from normal. In fact, you're pretty exceptional."
* * *
When I got home, Daddy and Brittany were enjoying a movie together in the family room, looking comfortable together. I hadn't seen them like that often before, and I had to admit that it was nice to see. They looked like a normal couple. "I'm back."
"Did you have fun, sweetie?" Brittany asked, leaning against Daddy.
"I did. The water was nice," I lied. "How about you guys?"