Free One and Only by Bianca D'Arc Page A

pirate?”
    Atticus chuckled in reply. “Until recently, passage by sea was the only way to get from one continent to another. So, yes, I’ve sailed, but it wasn’t a profession or way of life for me. Spending the daylight hours in the hold was often uncomfortable and hard to explain.”
    “I hadn’t thought about that. Is it so hard? To live without the sun?”
    “Sometimes it’s the most difficult thing in the world. But sometimes…like now, since I found you, I wouldn’t trade my existence for anything. You are my sunshine, Lissa. All else matters not.”
    “I love you, Atticus.” She kissed his cheek and rested her head against his chest, closing her eyes, secure in his love. She drifted to sleep dreaming of the life they would have together.

Chapter Five
    “How’s the job search going, Kel?” Jena asked over crisp noodles in a local Chinese restaurant. Lissa and her friends were having dinner together, as they had every few weeks since college. The old group had stuck together remarkably well over the years after graduation. Their married friend, Christy, had even managed to make their dinner this month, though she was subdued as usual. Carly, owner of a small but successful software company, sat next to her, picking at appetizers as the conversation focused on Kelly.
    “Not good,” Kelly responded, dunking a noodle in duck sauce. “It’s the wrong time of year to get a teaching job. If only that other teacher hadn’t decided at the last minute to come back from maternity leave. The school bent over backwards to accommodate her and hung me out to dry.”
    “That stinks,” Carly said as she sipped her iced tea.
    “You got a raw deal there,” Jena agreed as the waiter brought their entrees.
    “How’s it going at the hospital? Did you get the cut in hours you wanted?” Lissa asked Jena after the waiter had gone.
    “We made a compromise. I get more on-call time and less on-duty time, but the hours are still about the same. Killer. I think it’ll be next year before I can really scale back the hospital obligations and pay more attention to my private patients.”
    “You know, even when you own your own company, it’s hard to scale back.” Carly sighed as she sat back in her chair and looked at her friends with weary eyes. “I’m thinking of taking a breather from the installations.”
    This was big news. Lissa knew all about Carly’s work, designing and installing custom software packages. The job took her all over the country and she’d be away on an installation for weeks at a time. Lissa thought Carly had enjoyed the work and the travel, but she could see the lines of fatigue around her friend’s eyes and the shadows beneath.
    “You work too hard, Carly. I think it’s a good thing to delegate some of the work to the people you hired. That’s why you hired them after all.” Jena wasn’t shy with her opinions.
    Carly nodded. “I think you’re right, but it isn’t that easy to get out of entanglements. I’ve got one more contract I have to work on myself out in Wyoming. I liked the area when I went to make the proposal. Maybe I’ll stay there for a while and get away from it all.”
    “Sounds like a good idea,” Lissa said, though this was the first time Carly had spoken about moving to another part of the country. Still, it didn’t sound like she planned to stay there permanently. An extended vacation would be good for her.
    They talked a bit more about their respective occupations, but Lissa kept mostly silent while the others griped. She had to break her news at just the right moment and was worried about how to phrase it, though she’d been rehearsing this scene for days in her mind.
    “So what’s new with you, Lis? Any more news on that hunky guy who saved your life?” Carly asked. She’d been filled in on the whole scenario, though she’d been away on a job when Lissa had been in the wreck.
    “Actually,” Lissa patted her lips with the napkin and realized her time