Chapter Six
was sitting at my desk going over paperwork and trying not to cry when a man who looked like he'd just walked out of an advertisement for every branch of the military pushed through the door and dropped his duffle bag in front of my desk. I looked up at the tall broad-shouldered man who was sporting several days worth of stubble, but still managing to look impeccable and wondered what he was doing in my office.
"Can I help you, sir?" I choked out as I tried, and failed, to stop staring at him. He was wearing a dark short-sleeved t-shirt and a pair of dark blue jeans that looked like they were brand new. Both fit him like a glove. I could see that he had multiple tattoos on each arm, but I couldn't tell what they were as I couldn't stop staring at his eyes. They were a shade of amber that seemed to change color as he scanned the room talking it all in. I couldn't look away.
"Can I help you?" I repeated in a stronger voice this time. "I'm Echo Frost, Dr. Powell's assistant. And you are?"
The man turned and stared straight into my eyes for what felt like an incredibly long time before he held out his hand and said, "Pleased to meet you, Ms. Frost, I'm Lieutenant Ryan Lucas Powell, Dr. Alan Powell's son."
I inhaled sharply before taking his hand and pumping it a few times. I had known that Dr. Powell had a son, but I'd never seen anything but childhood pictures, and Dr. Powell had never talked about his son in any way that led me to believe he was an incredibly good looking man.
"It's nice to meet you, sir," I said in a shaky voice, then remembering where I was and what was happening, I added, "I'm so sorry about your father. He was a good man who was very kind to me and I'm going to..." I trailed off as the lump in my throat threatened to push upward.
"You don't have to call me sir," he smiled as he pulled his hand back. I blushed when I realized I'd held on, and then dropped my eyes to my desk as he continued, "You can just call me Ryan. I'm here to pick up a few things from my father's office and Mr. Baines said you were the one who held the key. Is that correct?"
"Yes, si — Ryan," I nodded as I opened my top desk drawer and grabbed the keys. I quickly walked over, stuck the red key in the lock and turned. The door swung open and I flipped on the lights. It was the first time I'd opened the door that day and it felt overwhelming as I realized that Dr. Powell would never be sitting at his desk asking me to bring him the days tech reports or inquiring whether the labs he'd asked for had arrived. I put my hand over my mouth as if that would hold back the flood that was threatening to break through my emotional dam. I sagged against the wall and felt Ryan's hand on my shoulder.
"Are you okay, Miss Frost?" he asked quietly.
"Echo," I said softly. "If I call you Ryan, you call me Echo."
"Are you okay, Echo?" he said leaving his hand on my shoulder. It was large and warm, and it felt comforting to know that he was there in case my grief was going to pull me to the ground.
"I'm...I'm... I'm fine," I stammered. I felt ridiculous. I was standing here being comforted by Alan Powell's son. I had no right to be as sad as I was, and yet I couldn't help it. "I'm so sorry."
"It's okay, you cared about him, I get it," Ryan said.
"But you're his son!" I cried as the tears began to flow. "I'm just his office assistant and I have no right to be this sad."
"Sure you do," he said squeezing my shoulder. "You cared about him, and he obviously cared about you. It's natural to be sad."
"How do you know he cared about me?" I said wiping my eyes grateful for the steady hand holding me up.
"He let you keep your job," Ryan grinned. That made me laugh, and pretty soon we were both laughing. Ryan said, "He was not an easy man."
"No, he most certainly was not," I said shaking my head as I recalled the times during my first few months on the job that Dr. Powell had handed back papers with things circled red and told me to fix the errors. I'd quickly learned to triple check everything I typed for him, but after six years, he would still occasionally drop a report on my desk saying that it needed a bit of work.
"He was demanding," Ryan said. "Very demanding."
"But he never asked me to do anything he wouldn't do himself," I said as I raised my hands to my face to cover the tears that were again flowing. Ryan moved around in front of my and wrapped his arms around me so that the backs of my hands were pressed against his chest as I cried, "I miss him so much already!"
"I know," he said as he patted my back and rested his chin on the top of my head. I could smell a hint of his musky cologne, and it made me feel a little dizzy as he held me close. I could feel his muscles through the t-shirt when I pulled my hands away and buried my face in his chest. I clung to him as I cried harder. He didn't say a word. He simply cradled the back of my head with one hand and wrapped his arm around my waist as he waited for the storm to pass.
When I finally felt like I'd cried all the tears I had, I pulled back and looked up at his face. He held my gaze as I noticed that his amber eyes contained flecks of gold and green, and I felt like I could get lost in them. Suddenly aware of how close we were and that my body was starting to respond in a way that was totally inappropriate, I stepped back, while wiping my eyes and trying to smile bravely. Ryan returned the smile and dropped his hands, and I felt saddened by their absence.
"You probably want to take a look around without someone over your shoulder, don't you?" I asked as I walked to the desk and grabbed a tissue from the box on the corner.
"I'd just like to sit here and think," he replied. "If you don't mind."
"Not at all," I said as I headed to the door. I wondered if he'd felt anything when he'd let go of me, then I shook my head to clear the thought and smiled weakly as I said, "If you need anything, just let me know, okay?"
"Thank you, Echo," he said as he turned toward the desk and rested his hands, palms down, on its surface as if he could pick up some kind of vibration. "I'll let you know if I need anything."
I ducked out of the room and quietly shut the door behind me as I went back to my desk. I didn't turn around to see what he was doing, but for the rest of the afternoon, every nerve ending in my body was on high alert waiting for Ryan to re-enter the room.