Aria stood at the bed of the truck that would take all the trash collected away. By all accounts, the cleanup was a raging success. The fact that people got to spend time with friends and that it was in some cases a family affair had been a hit. It had all gone off without a hitch until she saw the rowdy college kids making a mess at the far end of the beach.
She’d been about to march over to the bottle breakers herself when she saw Jace move in. From the first moment, Aria could only admire the command in him.
That square set to his shoulders. That focus in his narrowed gaze. She’d found it deeply attractive, but also unsettling.
It was unsettling because it reminded her of Troy. The gentle breeze felt both comforting and suffocating, as memories of her failed marriage filled the air like whispers of a lost love.
Aria closed her eyes, trying to shut out the flood of emotions that threatened to overwhelm her. The weight of her past relationship with her ex-husband, a soldier she’d once loved deeply, pressed heavily on her heart. They had shared dreams and aspirations, but somewhere along the way, the effects of his PTSD had taken hold, eroding the connection they’d once had.
Images of happier times flashed before her eyes—laughter, embraces, and stolen moments of tenderness. Those moments were overshadowed by the pain of witnessing the slow unraveling of the man she had vowed to spend her life with. She had seen the light fade from his eyes, replaced by an emptiness that she couldn’t reach.
Tears welled up in Aria’s eyes, her fingers clutching the orderly clipboard in her arms as if seeking solace. The ache in her chest grew with each passing memory as she realized how their love had become a casualty of the very war he had fought.
In times like these, she questioned herself, wondering if she could have done more, if she could have been stronger, more understanding. But deep down, she knew it wasn’t about her strength or devotion. It was about the demons that haunted him, the unseen wounds that tore at his soul, rendering him a stranger within his own skin.
Aria’s mind was a battlefield of conflicting emotions—the love she still carried for the man he had once been, intertwined with the pain of the shattered dreams they had shared. She had come to terms with the fact that sometimes love was not enough to heal the wounds inflicted by war.
Taking a deep breath, Aria resolved to focus on the present. She had been through the depths of heartache and understood the toll it could take, but she refused to let it define her future. And that’s when Jace appeared again in her vision.
He didn’t take a step toward the messy college kids. He simply stood his ground, his arms crossed, his stance full of command. She could see the young men bristle. Saw them rear up, then immediately back down. Not only did they back down, but they bent down and began cleaning up their mess. All without any physical altercations.
Aria blinked a few more times. What had just happened?
Whenever Troy was confronted with a problem, he’d dealt with it physically. Another guy looking at Aria—that would end with a fist to the guy's eye. Money problems—he would go down to the bank and shout at the teller. Steak medium instead of medium rare—well, there were restaurants in town Aria was still ashamed to show her face at.
But Jace? He hadn’t even raised his voice. And it looked like the problem was dealt with.
He’d said he was a soldier, hadn’t he? Maybe he hadn’t seen combat? Maybe his time in the service hadn’t broken him like it had her ex-husband?
Aria watched Jace from a distance as he worked tirelessly with the other volunteers to clean up the beach. She couldn’t help but worry that her strong personality might be intimidating him. She knew that she could come across as bossy and overbearing, and she didn’t want to scare him off.
As she made her way over to where Jace was working, she tried to soften her approach. “Hey, how’s it going?” she asked with a smile.
Jace looked up from his work and returned the smile. “Good, we’re making some real progress here.”
Aria nodded, relieved that he seemed at ease. “I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself. I know this isn’t exactly the most glamorous work, but it’s important.”
Jace nodded in agreement. “Yeah, it feels good to be making a difference. I’ve spent so much time overseas in villages and shanty towns trying to help better people’s lives. It feels really good to be back home on my country’s soil and doing something directly for the people of a community.”
Aria had no words for him. He’d confirmed he’d been overseas, in war zones, if the mention of shanty towns was something to go by. But he wasn’t brazen, and he wasn’t boasting. She had no idea what to make of him.
As she stood there dumb and mute, a commotion sounded from the trucks. The trash hadn’t been secured in the back when the driver took off. The truck went one way and the trash bags the other. All of the trash that had been collected spilled into a heap on the ground.
To make matters worse, the wind started to kick up, and the trash began to billow out, trying to return to where it had been originally discarded. All of their hard work was getting away from them. Volunteers rushed around, trying to keep everything under control, but it was too much to handle.
Aria’s heart sank as she looked around at the mess. She knew that this setback would delay the cleanup effort and cause more harm to the environment. She stood frozen, trying to figure out how to handle the matter.
“Are you okay?” Jace asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.
“No, I’m not. This is a disaster. All of our work has gone to waste.”
Jace scanned the beach, taking in the chaos. “Don’t worry, we can handle this. We’ll just have to work a little harder.”
“But how?” Aria asked, her voice filled with despair.
Jace took charge, quickly organizing a plan of action. He divided the volunteers into smaller groups and instructed each group to focus on a specific section of the beach. The younger men he sent to the farther reaches. For the elderly and children, he set up a parameter around the truck where most of the trash had fallen.
It was his original plan. Surprisingly, It worked. Aria watched in amazement as Jace's military training came into play. He barked out orders with precision, and the volunteers responded immediately. The trash was collected quickly and returned to the bags. This time, Jace secured the collection in the back of the truck himself. A cheer went up as the truck pulled off with the trash in tow.
Aria turned to Jace, feeling grateful for his quick thinking. "Thank you," she said. "I don't know what we would have done without you."
"I know this isn't how you planned for things to go, but sometimes life throws curveballs. It's up to us to handle them."
He was right. She couldn't let setbacks defeat her. She had to keep moving forward.
"Thank you for letting me help today," he continued. "I've been feeling…" He sighed, searching for the words. "I'm trying to find my place in the world now that I'm back on this side of it. It felt good to be a part of something again."
"Well, I was thinking, maybe I could thank you properly," Aria said, feeling her heart race. "Maybe a cup of coffee? On me, of course."
Her heart plummeted into her stomach when she saw his hesitation.
"I gave up coffee," he said.
"Oh. Tea, then? I make a great calming tea."
"Yes, you do."
That didn't sound like a yes. It didn't feel like a yes. Had Aria misread the signals? She hadn't dated anyone since her divorce. Before that, she hadn't dated at all. Troy had been her only. Her everything.
"You know what, just come into the café anytime and grab that tea." She was already backing away from him, from the offer, from the possibility. She turned to the crowd at large. "In fact, the next drink is on me for everyone who volunteered today."
A cheer went up in the crowd. Her friends and neighbors surrounded her, clapping her on the back for her hospitality and leadership. As they closed around her, she lost sight of Jace.
