Fiona changed her mind about her and Henry's date at least a dozen times in two days. Henry joined her for coffee in the mornings and worked alongside her during the days, but neither said a word about their upcoming trip to Austin. It had gotten to the point that Fiona had begun to think that she had imagined the entire thing., that was until Becky called to see if Fiona was going to join them. After a brief instant of hesitation, she agreed to meet them in Austin.

Her friend's squeal of delight had almost deafened Fiona. She was in it now, for better or worse.

When the hour of six struck, Fiona was ready to go with her overnight bag packed. She had half hoped half worried that Henry had forgotten, but he was right on time as he took her bag from her while she locked the back door.

His charming smile behind his thick beard made her relax a little. It was only Henry, and she had nothing to worry about. Maybe she would have a little fun.

"Are you looking forward to the few days off?" Henry asked as she started his truck down the drive of the house.

"I think so," Fiona nodded, settling into her seat.

"Why do you only think you will have a good time?" Henry looked over at her with a frown.

Fiona shrugged. "I'm not a very social creature. Remember I told you I was shy?"

"But these are friends from way back?" Henry reminded her.

"Friends whom I haven't seen in over two years. One of whom has a new fiancé that I've never met." Fiona was dreading meeting him. Living in her little bubble on the ranch wasn't helping her social anxiety.

"I'm sure you will be fine," Henry tried to reassure her.

"There is something I need you to keep mum about," Fiona looked over at him, noting his hands on the wheel and how his body took over his side of the truck.

"Sure," Henry agreed before she even told him what she didn't want him to share.

It made Fiona smile. "My friends don't know about my family."

"They don't know about any of them or just the famous ones?" he asked, hitting the nail on the head.

"The famous ones. They know my parents are ranchers, but that's all." Fiona worried her bottom lip nervously. Would he think badly of her because her friends didn't know that side of her? Some would say that it meant her friends weren't really her friends if they didn't know all of her secrets, but no one knew all of her secrets.

Henry nodded. "I get it."

"You think you get it, but you don't really." Fiona shook her head. "I had so many hangers-on in high school that when I went to college, I promised myself I would start over and keep that part of my life secret." Fiona shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"I get it. When I met your family, I was too young to know that any of them were famous, and when I did find out, I was impressed for a minute, but in the end, they were just my extended aunts and uncles. There is a strong probability that if I had met them later when I realized their fame, my relationship would have been affected by that knowledge. It is something that I have thought about from time to time." Henry pulled the truck out onto the highway and started to pick up speed. "For the record, I don't make a habit of throwing your family's fame around for my own gain."

Fiona immediately felt terrible. "That's not what I meant!" she insisted. Open mouth and insert foot. It was her life story.

"I didn't think you did, but I wanted to assure you that your family's fame is a private matter. I'm sorry, I did it in such a poor manner." Henry shot her a grin.

"There's something else that's been bothering me besides meeting a new person." Fiona turned to look out the window. "I'm worried that I am using you to impress my friends." Her voice was soft.

When Fiona snuck a look at Henry, he was grinning.

"It's not funny!" Fiona insisted, upset that he was laughing at her. "I know how it feels to be used." She wished the words back as soon as she said them.

Henry's smile faded, and he was silent for a time. She was afraid that he wasn't going to say anything. They would be trapped in Austin together without either one saying a word to the other for two days.

"I was smiling because I'm pleased that you think I can impress someone." Henry smiled again. "If it would make you feel better, I can introduce you to my friends as well. I know they would be floored that a beautiful woman such as yourself was willing to go out with me. We can impress each other's friends."

Fiona looked at him, startled by his words. "You cannot tell me that you, Henry Mercer, do not have women falling at his Navy SEAL feet." It was such an improbability that she shook her head.

"It's true. Believe it or not, I am a shy guy myself. I don't like attention, and most women make me nervous. It's an ongoing joke among my teammates. My code name is Shadow." Henry grimaced as he said it. "I lead from the shadows and let the other men take all of the attention."

Fiona took a moment to absorb what Henry said. "I would think you would want to tell everyone that you were a Navy SEAL."

"It's not a secret, but I didn't become a SEAL for bragging rights." Henry used his truck's mirrors to go around a slow-moving truck.

"Then why did you? Was it to serve your country and save lives?" That was the only other reason Fiona could think of why someone would want to put themselves through the trails of becoming a SEAL.

"No." He was silent, and Fiona could see him gathering his thoughts.

"It's all right. You don't have to share." Fiona didn't want to make him uncomfortable.

"I don't mind sharing with you, but it's not something I've ever put into words before, so I need a moment to gather my thoughts." Henry's eyes squinted as he searched the horizon.

Fiona patiently waited for him to find the words. She had the feeling she was about to learn something significant about Henry.

"Lee and Kate adopted me. Did you know that?" He shot Fiona a look and watched her shake her head.

"No, I didn't" It made Fiona feel like the worst friend ever.

"Don't worry. We don't talk about it much. I had a very rough childhood. My birth father left before I was born. My birth mother was an alcoholic, and the state took me from her before I was five years old. They gave me to my Aunt, who was just as bad at my mother, but she was better at hiding it. I think she took me in because she liked the monthly checks the state gave her to keep me." He took a deep breath. "Between my mother and aunt, there were always men in my life, but no real men, if you get my meaning." Henry looked at her once more to see her nod again.

Fiona was having a hard time listening to his story. All she could imagine was a small boy looking for love.

"I used to climb a tree and watch Kate. I would wish that she was my mother. She was everything a mother should be to me. It was a sense I had the moment I met her. Her son had died a few years before I met her, but I didn't know that for a long time. She was a mother without a son, and I was a son without a mother." Henry's smile was sad. Fiona didn't know who he felt sad for, a motherless boy or a mother without her son.

"Then Lee entered both of our lives. I hero-worshiped him the moment I saw him. I thought he could be someone to help convince Kate to be my mother. Then he brought a few friends to visit, and it was the first time I was around real men, good men. At first, I was frightened of them. They were big and loud, and they were always giving each other a hard time, but I realized it was all good-natured and that they were very close like brothers."

Henry kept his eyes trained on the road. "Then I learned they were SEALs, and that hero worship grew. When I was nineteen, I made a really bad decision, and I saw how truly spineless I was." There was a long pause, and she watched him swallow hard at a memory that haunted him. "I knew what I had to do. I talked with Lee, and then I enlisted in the Navy."

Henry took a deep cleansing breath. "I became a SEAL because I wanted to be strong like my heroes."

It was Fiona's turn to swallow hard as she fought back the tears. She had never realized he had led such a life.

"So, you see, I'm shy too. The Navy helped a lot, but that shyness is always there. I'm still that little boy in a tree wishing for a dream that seems too far out of reach."

"But your dream did come true, Henry."

Henry nodded. "Now we need to find out what your dream is and see what we can do to make it come true."

Fiona turned her head to look out the window once more. She didn't want him to see that he had always been her dream. She wasn't watching him from a tree, but she had been watching him from afar for over fifteen years, and her dream didn't appear as if it was going to come true anytime soon.