The wall on the left was lined with built-in bookshelves behind an antique desk. The front half of the room was arranged as a sitting area, with a leather couch and two matching wingback chairs in front of a large window.
“Have a seat.” He gestured at the couch and slid the doors closed. Then he opened a small liquor cabinet. “Whiskey all right?”
“Yes, thanks.” I sat and took a deep breath. My skin prickled with another surge of adrenaline.
Harold handed me a glass of amber liquid. Then he sat down in one of the chairs. He swirled the ice in his glass, took a sip, and rested it on the arm of the chair.
“I won’t beat around the bush,” he said. “I’d like to know your intentions toward my daughter.”
I actually laughed. I couldn’t stop myself.
“You think this is funny?”
I wiped the smile off my face and took a long drink of liquor. It burned going down and focused my attention. “No, sir,” I said at last. “It isn’t funny at all. The timing is. I thought you might get to know me first, or wait till right before we left. I didn’t think you’d ask straight out. Sir.”
He didn’t tell me to call him Harold. Instead he leveled his icy blue gaze and waited. I had visions of seasoned Captains withering under that stare. I wasn’t even a wet-behind-the-ears Ensign. My heart made the jump to light speed, but I took a deep breath and faced him squarely.
“With all due respect, sir, that’s between Christy and me.”
“Excuse me?”
“My intentions. Our intentions. They’re between Christy and me. Sir.”
He cocked his head to the side and studied me. He looked so much like an older, craggier version of Christy that I almost laughed. Again.
“You’d better explain,” he said at last.
I took another deep breath and a sip of whiskey. I wouldn’t have been able to speak otherwise. “I like your daughter,” I said. “And she likes me. I don’t know about our long-term prospects, but I’d like to find out. I think she would too. Sir.”
“What makes you say that?”
“I’m here, aren’t I?”
His eyebrows twitched the barest fraction before he controlled them. He
had years more experience than Christy, but I could see where some of her temperament came from.
“I don’t mean to sound arrogant, sir, or cocky.”
“Then you need to work on your approach.”
“Maybe.” The alcohol was finally starting to reach my brain. “But look at things from my perspective…”
“Enlighten me,” he said with an economical gesture. His expression didn’t change, but he sat back in his chair and took a sip of whiskey.
“If Christy didn’t think we have a future, why invite me here?”
“Why, indeed?”
“Because family is important to her, and she wants you to like me. She wants me to like you.”
“And do you?”
“I like Danny a lot. I just met the rest of you.”
“And you think that telling me to mind my own business, especially where my daughter is concerned, is going to score points with me?”
“Yes and no. Up to now, you’ve been the man in Christy’s life. If she and I are going to have a relationship, I need to be the man in her life. Which means I’ll have to stand up to you sooner or later.”
“And you thought ‘sooner’ was the better option?”
“You said so yourself, sir, you don’t beat around the bush. Besides, it’d be a lot more painful—for both of us—if I backed down now but stood up to you later. Wouldn’t you agree?” I took another sip of whiskey. Keep the courage coming.
“No, I don’t think I would.”
“What would you think if I were a young Ensign who’d just stood up to you on principle?”
“I’d have you court-martialed for gross insubordination!”
It was my turn to stare at him.
He narrowed his eyes and studied me. “You’re a cool one, all right.
Danny said you were.”
“Not really. I’m scared out of my wits right now,” I admitted. “My mouth is so dry I can hardly speak, and I’m pretty sure I have more adrenaline in my blood than oxygen.”
He actually laughed at that, the first crack in his stern façade.
“But I’m willing to stand up to you because I think your daughter’s worth it.” I gave him a moment and then continued, “I once read that courage is
grace under pressure. I don’t know if I’m being graceful or not, but I know for a fact that I’m under a lot of pressure.”
“So you think you’re demonstrating courage? As Hemingway said, grace under pressure?”
“I do, sir. I thought about this a lot when I accepted Christy’s invitation.
From what she’s said about you, I kinda thought we’d have this conversation.
You just… seem like the type, sir, if you don’t mind me saying so. And you’re pretty damn intimidating.”
He nodded agreement.
“But I came here anyway. I walked into your office, even knowing what I was about to face. And then I looked you in the eye and told you something you didn’t want to hear. If that isn’t courage, I don’t know what is.”
He thought about that for a long time. Then he finished his whiskey and savored it before he swallowed. He nodded at my empty glass. “Another?”
“I’d feel guilty drinking another man’s whiskey if we’re going to be…
adversaries.”
He laughed again. “Well, we aren’t going to be friends, but I’ll share my whiskey with you. You’ve earned that much.” He stood and took my glass.
“Thank you,” I said when he returned.
“Drink up.” He took a healthy swig himself.
“If you don’t mind, sir, I’d rather wait. The first was to steady my nerves.
At this point I need my wits more than anything.”
His eyebrows rose deliberately. “I believe Daniel was right.” He considered me for a moment. “Christy tells us you want to be an architect.”
I didn’t bat an eye at the change of subject. “Yes, sir.”
“Why not the military? Your father served, didn’t he?”
I’d put a lot of thought into how to answer that little gotcha question, too.
“Yes, sir,” I said. “But I want to serve my country a different way.”
“And you think building malls and country clubs is serving your country?” He scoffed.
“Yes, sir, I do.”
“Then by all means, young man, enlighten me.”
“This house you live in.” I gestured with my free hand. “It was designed by an architect. You serve your country, and this house serves you. It protects your family and keeps them safe, which allows you to do the same for other families.” I continued before he could argue. “And what about the hangars for your planes, the docks for your ships? The maintenance buildings and
supply depots? Those were all designed by architects.
“So I may not serve my country directly, like you do, but I’ll design buildings that people will live and work in. And that indirectly serves my country. I mean, you couldn’t do your job without people like me doing my job. So if you think I don’t serve my country, then try serving it when your wife and children and grandchildren don’t have shelter and security at home.”
I was tempted to tell him that I was a voracious reader, everything from ancient poetry to modern military science fiction, but I decided to deliver my coup de grâce without context.
“Amateurs discuss tactics, sir, but the professionals discuss logistics.
Logistics start at home.” I paused for a heartbeat. “So tell me, Admiral, would you rather discuss the tactics or the logistics of serving our country?”
I sat back and swallowed hard. The lump in my throat didn’t go away, and my muscles felt twitchy from the effort of sitting still, but I’d made my point. Whether he chose to accept it or not was up to him.