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�How many kids were there?� I asked. I knew Harm had always wanted siblings and that he�d never had the chance. He was constantly wondering why his mother and Frank never tried to have children after they got married. Biologically speaking it would have been possible, and, from what I�ve learned about Harm�s mother and stepfather, they both adore children.
�Four. Bill, Melissa, Dana, then the baby of the family, Charlie. He�s about five years younger than me and I never really spent much time with him. I spent most of my time with Dana. And, before you ask, yes, we did date. In my senior year, after I got back from Laos,� Harm said. �It ended when I went off to college. Dana was very practical about it, citing the percentages for long distance relationships and how my future in the Navy and her future in medicine would end up tearing us apart anyway. I didn�t want to lose her as a friend, and I knew that would happen if we continued dating while on opposite sides of the country. It was easier to lose my girlfriend than the first person I had really been able to open up to after my dad went MIA.�
I reached out and trailed my hand down his arm. Talking about his father still hurt, even after he found out the truth. Harm smiled softly and took a large step so he could open the door for me. His little gentlemanly traits like that used to bother me, they used to make me feel like he was trying to treat me like the little woman who couldn�t even open a door for herself, but I quickly learned that it�s just another part of who Harmon Rabb Jr is.
�Mom and Frank moved to La Jolla not long after I left for college and I made new friends and Dana made new friends and our friendship sort of fizzled out,� Harm continued. �The last time I spoke to her was the day I started the Academy. I needed one of her patented pep talks complete with the infallible logic she�s known for.�
�Is it weird, seeing her again?� I asked. I�d run into ex�s before and, even if I was completely over them, there was always a certain level of weirdness that hovered over the encounters.
�A little,� Harm admitted as he unlocked the office door. �But not the way you�re thinking,� he added once we were safely inside where no one could see us.
�And what, pray tell, do you think I�m thinking?� I asked, tilting my head to one side and looking up at Harm playfully.