“How did you end up in SWAT?” She nibbled on another cheesy fry. “Did you go straight into that when you became a cop, or did you do something else for a while first?”
“Actually, when I first moved to Dallas, I worked as a paramedic.” He picked up his bottle of beer. “I was a combat medic in the army for almost six years and was sure that’s what I wanted to do for a living after getting out.”
She’d known he was in the army before becoming a cop because that had been in the personnel record she’d been able to put together on him. But she hadn’t known he was a paramedic. “What changed your mind?”
He fell quiet for a moment, the crease in his brow making her think maybe she’d brought up something he didn’t like to talk about.
“I found out that just because you can do something, it doesn’t mean you want to,” he said softly. “Hell, at one point, I thought I’d make a career of the army. In fact, I was only a few weeks from reenlisting when things changed.”
She sipped her iced tea, not wanting to push. While she wanted to know everything she could about Trey, forcing him to talk about something that obviously upset him didn’t sit well with her.
“I was in a firefight in Afghanistan,” he murmured, pausing to slowly eat another fry before continuing. “I was hurt bad and my best friend was injured even worse, but somehow, we both made it out. The army wouldn’t have let me re-up even if I’d wanted to—they had concerns about internal damage if I ever tried to do another airborne jump—so I got out and joined Dallas Fire and Rescue. The first time I showed up at the scene of a major car accident, every injury and death I saw in combat came back to me, and I realized I’d made a mistake. I left DFR the next day, but I still wanted to be able to help people, so I joined the DPD. I did about a year in patrol before my SWAT commander suggested I join the team.”
Samantha didn’t say anything as the server placed their plates of food before them. Part of her wanted to know what had happened to Trey in Afghanistan, but the other part didn’t. The thought of him being hurt made it hard to breathe.
Not trusting herself to speak right then, she concentrated on biting into her burger. It was juicy and perfectly grilled with the perfect ratio of cheese to beef.
“I can understand why you wouldn’t want to be a paramedic anymore, but I heard somewhere that you’re one of the SWAT medics.” She glanced at him as she dunked her cheeseburger in a pile of ketchup. “That means you treat your teammates’ injuries, right?”
Trey looked confused for a moment and Samantha hoped she hadn’t slipped up and said something she shouldn’t have. “I read in the paper that you’ve received several commendations for using your paramedic skills to treat your teammates’ injuries,” she added.
He shrugged. “It’s different when it’s my teammates. Time has helped blur some of those old memories, too. It’s not as bad as it used to be.”
“I’m glad.”
Samantha had never known anyone who’d been in the military, but she could imagine the atrocities Trey had seen in the army. No one should have to experience that stuff.
“You were right about this place,” she added, hoping to lighten the mood. “These burgers are awesome.”
As they ate, Trey talked about what it was like to be part of SWAT. While she didn’t learn any deep, dark secret that might explain any of the weird crap that had gone on around the team, she learned enough to know Trey did some really dangerous stuff, he adored his job, and he loved his teammates.
His pack.
She didn’t realize they’d been talking for hours until she looked around and realized that it was almost closing time. The burgers and cheddar fries were gone down to the last little nibble. Heck, there wasn’t even any cheese left on the plate to scrape up. A warm sensation swirled inside as it dawned on her that she’d never been on a relaxed, effortless date in her life. And even though she’d eaten more than her share of cheese fries to go along with her burger, when Trey asked if she wanted to go for ice cream, she didn’t even consider saying no.
There was an ice cream shop just a few blocks away that made fancy desserts using liquid nitrogen. The place looked like a lab, complete with billowing steam coming out of the high-tech mixers. There were so many flavors on the menu and toppings to go with them that it was difficult to choose, but she and Trey finally decided on double scoop waffles cones with cheesecake-flavored ice cream mixed with pieces of Oreo cookies.
As they sat on a bench in front of the shop, eating ice cream, Trey told her about his family and growing up on a soybean farm in North Dakota. From the warmth in his voice, it was obvious he loved the wide-open spaces and working the farm with his family, but he admitted the idea of becoming a farmer like his parents, brothers, and sisters hadn’t been something he wanted to do.
“That’s why I joined the army,” he added. “I wanted to see some more of the world, and once I did, there was no way I could go back. I mean, I go back to visit my family on the holidays, and they’ve come down here to visit me a few times. But it’s hard for them to get away from the farm for long, so I mostly make the trek to see them.”
She smiled. It was nice to hear he was close with his family. “I can understand not wanting to move back to North Dakota after traveling around the world for six years in the army, but what brought you to Dallas? Were you stationed in Texas when you got out of the military?”
Trey didn’t answer and when the silence continued to stretch out, Samantha got the feeling he wasn’t comfortable discussing it. Maybe it was too personal. Or maybe he’d finally caught on to the fact that they had spent the whole night talking about him. She hadn’t necessarily intended to do that, but whenever he’d posed a question about her background, she found herself steering the conversation back to him.
“You don’t have to tell me why you settled in Dallas if you don’t want to,” she said softly, finishing up her cone and realizing that his was long gone. “I get that some things are too personal to talk about on a first date.”
“Yeah, I guess they are.” His mouth curved into a small smile. “Is that your way of asking me out on another date? You must be eager to use up your second favor.”
Samantha laughed, relieved she hadn’t messed anything up beyond repair. “Do I need to use a favor to go out with you again?”
She hoped that wasn’t the case. And not merely because she still wanted to learn whatever it was he was hiding from her. The truth was, there was something special about this man. Something that attracted her to him like the proverbial moth to a flame. And she desperately wanted to know why that was.
“No, you don’t need to use another favor to get a second date,” he murmured, his gaze becoming more heated by the second. “You just need to say yes.”