A Sense of Duty: A Former Navy SEAL Falls in Love and Begins a New Journey with his Private Consulting Company: Dark Horse Guardians (15 page)

The white Bentley was waiting outside and the driver started the engine. Eliot kissed her cheek as she slid into the leather seat. "Goodnight, Lara." he said, his brown eyes fixed upon her. Surprising her again, Eliot slid into the backseat with her. "I'll ride along with you. I owe you an apology." In the backseat of the Bentley, Eliot slipped off her purple leather glove and held Lara's hand. "I'm sorry for my forward behavior tonight, Lara." His eyes were filled with apprehension. "Will you let me take you sailing this spring?" Lara smiled. "That sounds lovely, Eliot." He pressed her for another dinner date, this time at a popular restaurant in the city. He kept her hand in his until they pulled into the driveway of the pink Victorian. Before she got out of the car, Eliot leaped out before her. He took her hand as she emerged from the Bentley and immediately embraced her. His lips found hers and she put her hand on his chest. "Eliot…please." Eliot got back into the car and disappeared into the night. Lara climbed the creaky stairs to her condo and stripped off her clothes. She brushed her teeth and washed her face in the bathroom, knowing Ben was a wall away. Slipping beneath the coolness of the covers felt wonderful. She was asleep within five minutes. It had been an exhausting, tumultuous day. Her dream was a hazy vision of Ben and Einstein eating breakfast in his kitchen.

~Ben~

He watched the white Bentley come and go, and noticed Eliot's frantic attempt to kiss Lara when they parted. This was something Ben felt he could not compete with. Eliot Stone was a rich trust-fund
brat who was single, good-looking, and could offer Lara everything that he couldn't. The main point being Eliot was single, and Ben was not. Eliot could offer her wealth, and one hundred percent of his time. Ben could offer her financial comfort, but his time would be split between Lara and Dark Horse, always. Ben wondered what her evening had been like. Eliot undoubtedly pampered her. The thought ran through Ben's mind: was Lara having intimate feelings about Eliot Stone? Was she planning to work for him at the firm upon graduation? Was he calling her and texting her everyday? Suddenly, Ben felt the ugly sting of jealousy as it swept over him.

It was quiet in Lara's apartment. He assumed she had gone directly to bed. He knew she was exhausted from the events of the past two days. He felt that Lara would only be happy with him. If only he could get Sienna to sign those divorce documents. The divorce could then proceed through the complex Canadian court system and that could take months. Only then would he be free to make progress with Lara. He made a mental note to call Sienna again tomorrow. He needed to somehow convince her to agree to sign the paperwork. He rolled onto the floor and proceeded to do push-ups for the next twenty minutes. Then he did pull-ups for a while. Then he left his condo to go for a long run. But when he returned, he dropped into his beautiful four-poster bed still unable to sleep. Breathing heavily from his five mile run, Ben couldn't stop thinking of Lara. Last night she slept in his bed. He held her in his arms as she wept. He wanted nothing more than to run to her apartment and knock down the door. He lit the vanilla musk candle in his bedroom and closed his eyes.

~Lara~

The renovation of Ben's office was now fully underway, and Lara was getting a glimpse into Ben's life. She was in and out of his office on a regular basis. Einstein loved the extra attention and enjoyed the workmen who came in to paint or make deliveries. The budget was substantial. Lara kept the décor period, yet different from all of the other offices at the university. Other professors stopped by to watch the progress. They were all envious of Ben, even though they tried to disguise it… except for Harris. He was excited and pleased. Lara made sure there was a special space for Einstein. She expertly organized the built-in bookcases with Ben's impressive collection of books, interesting objects and unique pieces of art. She interspersed the books with found items from his travels around the world. It was a masculine office. While she was in Ben's office, she noticed a newspaper folded to an article about a house that imploded in Portland. The news story reported that investigators thought the bomb-makers had blown themselves up accidentally. She finished reading the article, wondering if it was the handiwork of Dark Horse.

Going through the boxes Ben asked her to unpack, Lara searched for clues about his past life. She needed to incorporate modern devices into Ben's office plan as he was a high-tech guru. He had a flat screen television and an iPod that needed to be worked into the design. Lara sourced a beautiful antique grandfather's clock. Not only was the clock a beautiful original work of art, it had a hidden storage compartment that she never would have found if the auction house had not shown it to her after purchasing the piece.

She came upon an unusual primitive sword and mounted it in front of Ben's desk so he could see it whenever he looked up. She noticed flash grenades, a stun gun and high-grade pepper spray were all stored in the locked top drawer of Ben's desk. Lara downloaded Ben's favorite music onto the iPod. She learned more about him through his taste in music, and she left the iPod docked and running on low. Lara had expected a tough guy like Ben to be a fan of hard rock, but she couldn't have been more mistaken. He liked Toby Keith, Eric Pasley, Dierks Bentley, Darryl Worley, Brett Eldredge, Matt Stillwell, Jason Aldean, Billy Currington, Five for Fighting, Luke Bryan, Lee Brice, One Republic, and Tim Halperin. Most of the songs were about love of country, love of service, or loving a woman. She particularly remembered the Tim Halperin song, "Think I'm In Love" and the night she danced barefoot with him in his parlor. She began to listen to the words of the songs and found them moving and poetic.

Ben had boxes shipped to his office
and he instructed Lara to sort through all of it. A shipment came from Prince Edward Island and it appeared to be some of his personal mementos. Opening one of the boxes she found photographs in a large envelope marked "personal". There were pictures of Sienna her large brown eyes had a doll-like stare. She was dressed in haute couture evening wear worthy of the red carpet. Her collar bone protruded from her gaunt body. Her arms were so thin they looked like bones loosely covered with skin. Her hair was bleached blonde and thinning. Sienna's lips were drawn into a straight line. Physically she represented the quintessential mean girl.

Ben had a massive collection of books and Lara knew she could garner a great deal of information about him by studying what he read. He had a full complement of Classic literature. She was surprised to discover that Ben was a lover of poetry. He had volumes of Keats, Shelley, Byron, Wordsworth, Shakespeare, Yeats, Tennyson, Browning, Kipling, Whitman, the list was endless. One poem in particular stood out to her. It was a page torn out of a book stained and wrinkled. The sheet of paper had what appeared to be multiple nail holes at the top. The poem was Invictus.

Invictus

Out of the night that covers me,

Black as the Pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever gods may be

For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance

I have not winced nor cried aloud.

Under the bludgeonings of chance

My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tear

Looms but the Horror of the shade,

And yet the menace of the years

Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll.

I am the master of my fate:

I am the captain of my soul.

William Ernest Henley

Lara caught her breath as she read the words. This poem was about Ben and his personal war. She took the ragged page, smoothed it out with her hands and slipped it into an envelope. She would have it framed and placed next to the sword in his office. It had to have deep meaning to him. He had taken it with him to the far corners of the world.

Ben also had a substantial history library, in fact it rivaled Professor Harris' in its scope. She turned over book after book written about ancient battles and many books about the Spartans of Greece. Among the volumes she found The Battle of Marathon 490 BC, The Battle of Cajamarca 1532, The Battle of Hastings 1066, Siege of Orleans in France 1429, The Battle of Tours 732 AD, Surrender at Yorktown 1781, Battle of Waterloo 1815, Battle at Gettysburg 1863, Siege of Stalingrad 1942, and the Invasion of Normandy 1944. Then she sifted through more volumes of battles: The Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Spanish American War, the Civil War, World War I, World War II, The Korean War, Viet Nam, and the Gulf War. There were books on the French Revolution and the Russian Revolution. He had hundreds of books on the history of fill-in-the-name of the country: Israel, Pakistan, India, China, Russia, the Persian Empire, Iraq, and Afghanistan, to name a few. There were also many volumes about Native Americans. Ben was a Renaissance man.

While Ben taught classes Lara worked in his office listening to the soft music on the iPod, Einstein's breathing as he slumbered, and the ticking of the stately clock. After the walls were painted a warm soft red, Lara filled his empty office with expensive overstuffed furnishings and craftsman style stained-glass lamps. She purchased a luxurious hand-made wool rug to cover the middle section of the floor. A down-filled sofa and five different armchairs were placed strategically around the room. The fireplace was no longer functioning and she made arrangements to have the flue repaired. There were permits and insurance riders to sort through, but she finally got the work finished with the permission of the campus capital committee, so the fireplace could actually function. The committee only allowed a gas log insert, but the beauty of the fire warmed the office. The mantle was original and full of scrolls and ornate carvings. It was the focal point of the room. She selected several photos of William as a young child and enlarged them. Lara carefully placed the photographs of William on the mantle. Also, she included an enormous photo of Einstein and placed it in the middle. There was also a
stunning photo of the cottage on Prince Edward Island. As with any client, Lara wanted Ben's office to represent his taste. As she stood back to make a final edit of the room, she hoped she had represented what was near and dear to Ben's heart in the choices she made for his office. Today Ben would see it in its finished state.

After teaching his second class of the day, Ben arrived at his office as usual for his lunch break. Lara had covered the mantle with a drop cloth planning a dramatic unveiling for him. "What's this?" he smiled as he strolled into his now beautifully renovated office. "I hope you like it." Lara said tentatively. With excitement, she pulled the drop cloth away and watched Ben's reaction to the renovated fireplace and mantle. His eyes quickly took in the photographs. He hadn't expected the enormous photo of Einstein and seemed particularly touched that Lara knew how much his dog meant to him. "It's perfect…Lara, you've done such an incredible job. I don't know how to thank you." Lara smiled with satisfaction. "Oh, you paid me very well. I would say that was adequate compensation. I am thrilled that you like it." Ben swept Lara into his arms, his face buried in her hair, he whispered, "Have dinner with me tonight." She blushed. Ben assumed that was a yes, "I'll pick you up at 7:00."

Lara received a text from Ben letting her know it would be a casual night, steaks at a roadhouse. With care, she chose comfortable blue jeans, boots, and a fitted T-shirt with an American flag on it. The word
roadhouse
to her meant country music, cowboy hats, and beer. She had recently purchased an old leather jacket to top off her outfit. She had stumbled upon it in a thrift store and it fit her perfectly as if it was meant to be hers. Brushing her hair, she decided to leave it loose tonight. As she carefully applied a soft rose lipstick, there was a knock on her door. Opening it she looked directly into Ben's enthusiastic face. He smiled as his eyes roamed over her, "Perfect…" he said softly, "Let's go." She watched as he climbed onto the motorcycle and she hopped on behind him. After securing their helmets, she reached her hands around his powerful muscular body and felt the cycle rev and take off. They drove through several small towns before arriving at the roadhouse. Lara was enjoying the ride more than Ben could have imagined.

This time Ben took her to a place that he loved to frequent with his SEAL brothers whenever they were in town. It was dimly lit with peanut shells on the floor. The name of the place was The Comfort Zone. Everyone wore boots and jeans. Flat screens were filled with sports of all types. Country music played in the background as the smell of grilling steaks wafted through the air. Lara gauged Ben's level of comfort as he walked in the door with her on his arm. He was at home here. Looking like an old barn inside, there were decidedly more men than women in the place. Several guys tipped their hats, nodded, subtly waved or made eye contact with Ben as he walked to a
corner table with Lara.

Before sitting, Ben slipped off Lara's leather jacket and his own and hung them together on a peg next to their table. "Are you
okay with this?" He gently asked his blue eyes filled with hesitation. "I love it." Lara exclaimed with a touch of excitement. Ben smiled with dimples and she sensed his relief. "After dinner, they open up the dance floor around 9:00. Maybe we can enjoy the music…" Their meal was simple and delicious….salad and steak. One by one, a parade of men stopped by the table as they finished their meal. Not one of them had a real name. They were all military guys and had nicknames like Hawk, Trace, and Hutch. They were marines, rangers, air force pilots, and SEALs. Their conversation would be brief and always a bit humorous and they had a special handshake thing. They all called Ben "Chief". To Lara it appeared to be a ritual of some sort to greet her and make her feel welcome. And, each one of them made Lara feel very comfortable, smiling and shaking her hand. And, just as Ben indicated, at 9:00 the music started. It was a simple set-up. A disc jockey played music from a remote corner of the room and requested songs were sent by those in the audience, along with a five dollar tip, during the dinner hour.