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the door of Josh’s apartment just off campus, and Danny handed her a bag of the plain chocolate chip cookies. “We come bearing baked goods.”
    â€œAwesome! I love your cookies.” She stepped back and allowed them in, her eyebrows rising as she took in the number of cookies he and Cindy carried. “Danny, how many people do you think are going to be here?”
    â€œWell, according to Cindy, we made a million cookies, so I’d guess about seven or eight.”
    As Lacey laughed, Cindy fought back a smile and gave him a pointed look. “I told him he’d get labeled an overachiever.”
    Josh came through the sliding glass door on the far side of the open concept living room and kitchen. “Man, you guys were busy. But when it comes to homemade cookies, you can never have too many.”
    Danny gave Cindy and Lacey a triumphant look. “See? We made just enough.”
    They both laughed, and Cindy knew she’d made the right decision to come along. Alex and Halbert arrived, along with another veteran and his wife. The guys went out back to grill burgers and hotdogs while the three women took over the kitchen, setting out the dishes people had brought with them.
    Ideas for her paper kept up a steady stream in Cindy’s mind throughout the evening. The other thing occupying her thoughts was Danny. She caught him watching her from across the room several times, and she had to wonder if he was trying to reconcile her presence in a group of veterans or if he was interested in her. It was too soon to tell if he liked her; she didn’t even know if she’d be interested in more than friendship with him. But that didn’t keep her from pondering the possibilities.

 
Chapter Five
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    â€œHey, Cindy!”
    She turned around as Danny jogged up the path through the quad. Late afternoon sun reflected off the windows of the library, and she moved to the side to avoid the blinding glare. Shaking her head and laughing as Danny stopped before her, she said, “You know, this whole jogging thing is getting to be a habit with you.”
    He grinned and shrugged. “Can I help it if I always spot you when you’re a couple hundred yards away, and I don’t want to make you wait too long while I catch up?”
    â€œYou’re so thoughtful.”
    â€œThat’s the way my parents raised me,” he said with a chuckle. “So, where are you headed?”
    â€œNowhere, really. I’m just wandering around and enjoying the cooler weather those storms brought us. I have some homework I ought to do at some point, but I can work on it later.” Especially if he had a better suggestion for the evening.
    â€œI’ve got some people coming to my room to watch a movie in a little while. You want to join us?”
    The thought of spending more time with him sent a tingle of anticipation down her spine. “Sure, why not?”
    During the walk back to the dorm, they discussed various scenes from a photography perspective. Shame burned through her when she realized she hadn’t considered the veterans’ lives past their time in the military. Somehow, she’d skipped over the fact that veterans were people, first and foremost.
    Her thoughts shifted to how to write her research paper to highlight veterans as people who happened to have served in the military. She was so focused on it that she jumped, startled, when Danny touched her shoulder.
    He gave her a questioning look. “What are you thinking about so hard?”
    Heat crept into her cheeks. “My research paper. Talking to you keeps giving me ideas for it.”
    â€œIs that good or bad?”
    â€œIt’s definitely good. The more ideas I have, the better my paper will be. Most of what I have now is boring statistical information. The ideas you keep giving me bring in a more personal angle, which is great since I have to make twenty-five pages interesting.”
    His eyes widened.