Contract with a SEAL (Special Ops: Homefront Book 3) (14 page)

“No. They’ll wrap it. And take it in a
carry-on bag. It’ll be fine.”

He nodded. “Okay. Two down. I’m glad we
stopped in that shop that had the Irish wool sweaters. She’ll like that blue
one you picked out for her.”

“Does it get cold in Sedona in the
winter?”

“A bit. It’s usually about ten degrees
warmer than it is here,” he said, paying for the vase at the counter.

“Really? I hear Sedona and I think of
Arizona’s deserts. The only place I’ve been out that way is Phoenix.” Vi picked
up a snow globe of Annapolis and tilted it, watching the snow consume the tiny
skyline.

“Sedona’s further north. About halfway
between Phoenix and the Grand Canyon.” Taking a bag from the woman behind the
counter, Joe walked back over to Vi. “You like snow globes?”

“Yeah, I do. I used to have one as a kid.
Got it when we went to Mackinac Island in Michigan. My plan was to collect them
so I could always remember all the places I’ve been.”

“How many did you collect?”

“Just the one. The nice ones are really
overpriced and as a kid I was really—”

“Practical with money?” Joe finished for
her.

Vi smiled. “Yeah, that’s one way of
putting it. Stingy is more fitting, though.”

They stepped back into the chilly street.
The snow was starting to accumulate, and Vi was happy she had thought to wear
her leather boots with her jeans today.

“We better get you home before it piles
up anymore. Did Lacey get back home yet?”

“Yep. I got a text from Bess that they
pulled in a few minutes ago.” She glanced sideways at him. “Um. Actually I only
have front wheel drive. It already might be too much.”

Joe glanced down at the few inches of
snow on the ground, questioningly. “Well, I don’t have four wheel drive either.
But I’ll follow you back to your house to make sure you made it okay. It’s
doesn’t seem too bad yet. How does that sound?”

Feeling a savage butterfly fluttering in
her stomach, Vi turned to him slowly.

Did she dare do this? But if she had
learned anything from Mick’s sudden injury, it was to seize the day.

Her eyes meeting his, she swallowed. Hard.
“Actually, I was thinking it might be better if I just stayed with you till the
plows came through. Got enough room in that hotel room to share?”
Please
don’t say no.

A smile touched Joe’s lips. “I’m still
leaving in a few weeks, Vi. I don’t want you—”

“Getting hurt. I know.” She couldn’t lie
to him, for some reason. She knew she would be hurt when he left. “But you
could kind of save my reputation a bit.”

“How’s that?”

“A two-night stand sounds so much better
than a one-night-stand, Joe.”

Joe wiped a snowflake from her cheek.
“Well, if it’s your honor that’s at stake here. I really don’t have a choice,
do I?”

Biting her lower lip, she moved her head
slowly back and forth. “No. I don’t think you do.”

“In that case,” he began, handing her his
bag and then lifting her off her feet and into his arms, “I better get started
right away.”

Giggling hysterically—she had never
been swept off her feet by a man in her 32 years—he carried her two
blocks back to the small hotel, making her feel light as a feather in his arms.

Still holding her, he managed to open the
door to the bed and breakfast and bid a greeting to the stunned woman at the
front desk as if he carried a woman around in his arms every day.

Vi’s face was flushed with laughter as he
nearly dropped her, fumbling for his room key. Somehow, he managed to make his
way inside, tossing her on the bed.

“I can’t imagine what that woman downstairs
must be thinking, Joe.”

“Probably that I’m about to get lucky. Is
she right?”

“More like
I’m
about to get
lucky.”

“However you want to spin it, lady. I’m
yours till 11 hundred hours tomorrow.”

And right now, for Vi, that was enough.

***

The next morning, Vi felt the familiar sensation
of having his arm draped over her. But this time, she had no plans to bolt to
her car and escape. This time, she’d savor it as long as she could. Somehow the
moments seemed sweeter now, after being reminded how quickly it can all change.

He shifted slightly, lifting his head off
the pillow, so that he could see her open eyes. “You’re awake.”

“Mmm.”

“No running out the door this time, okay?
I’m fully prepared to tie you down if I have to.”

“That might be enticing enough for me to
put up a bit of a struggle,” she said, her eyes flashing in challenge.

In an instant, he was on top of her,
holding down her arms, letting his immense, and surprisingly ready, body cover
her completely. “Don’t try anything. I may have to put some of my SEAL training
to the test.”

“I sure hope so.”

Still atop her, he pressed his warm lips
against her as he loosened his grip. “About that agreement of ours,” he
murmured, his mouth barely parted from her own.

“Yeah?”

“Well, we did the date thing pretty well.
My party. Your gala. Don’t you think?”

“Mmhm.”

Angling his chin, his lips curved. “And I
kind of need a favor.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. This thing I have to go to. A
party. On New Year’s. I was sort of needing a date.”

A trace of disappointment edged into the
confines of her heart.

Another party. Another night of
pretending she had feelings for him, even though those feelings had become
very, very real. But for the assurance he’d be in her life a little longer? She’d
play the role. “Sure. Sure I’ll go.”

“Great.”

“Will it be another party for your teams?”

He pulled up from her slightly, allowing
the chill of the air to touch her breasts. “No. None of them will be there.”

“Well, who will be?”

Tracing the curve of her chin with his
fingertip, his eyes met hers. “Just you and me. Still interested?”

Her heart swelled. “Even more
interested.”

It has been said that the holiday season
is a time for children. And never had those words rung more true to Vi than
when she saw little Abigail tear into a mountain range of brightly wrapped
presents beneath Maeve’s tree on Christmas morning.

The night before, Abby hadn’t been sold
on the idea of a big, bearded guy in a red suit coming into her
house—sack of gifts or not. Bess had sat with her in front of the fire
reading
The Night Before Christmas
, and Abby came away from the story
nothing less than terrorized, imagining a perfect stranger breaking into her
home through the chimney. Throw in the flying reindeer, and Vi was certain Abby
would be on the couch of a psychiatrist by the time she was thirteen trying to wipe
the terrifying image from her subconscious.

If Bess hadn’t been sleeping in the same
room as Abby right now, the poor child wouldn’t have slept a wink all night.

But by the time the toddler had made it
through tearing open the first package, the Santa legend had her firmly in its grasp.

Vi smiled at the memory. Like herself,
Abby was focused on the bottom line. If the Big Guy brought gifts, then maybe
she’d let him into her house, after all.

After the last present was unwrapped, Vi
dubbed her “Hurricane Abby” for the way she tore into the pile, wrapping paper
and ribbons flying through the air. Two hours to wrap them, Bess had claimed, and
only five minutes to undo all her hard work.

In the wake of the whirlwind, Bess
whipped up some omelets and fried bacon. Ahh, frying bacon. The best smell on
the planet, Vi decided that morning.

Lacey then dragged Vi along with the rest
of them to catch the early service at the Naval Academy Chapel, meeting Edith
there. The air was redolent with pine in the chapel, and there was a crush of
people in the pews. The service held even Abby’s attention for a full twenty
minutes, till her pre-tantrum restlessness set in and Lacey slipped her an iPhone
on mute so that she could play an alphabet game.

Edith was in her element here, completely
surrounded by people who truly adored the older woman. Giving so much time to
the Academy, both as a volunteer and as a plebe sponsor, had elevated her to
celebrity status in this crowd, just like Joe had said.

Vi watched her acknowledge people, warmly
introduce them to the others who held her court, as the friendly group around
her expanded, making everyone feel like a part of her close-knit circle. Lacey
was like that, Vi thought as she observed her. Lacey had the talent for drawing
people close to her. She’d end up like Edith one day, with an immense chapel
filled with people who didn’t just know her name, but truly cared about her.

It comforted Vi to know that. Even with
all the stress Lacey was facing now, and likely would continue to have being
married to Mick, Lacey would survive because she had a gift for making people
care about her.

Because she cared about them… so much.

Maybe that was the trick to it, Vi
pondered, as the service continued. All Vi’s life she had struggled with
friendships. But had she really cared about any of them? Or had she kept her
distance, not wearing her heart on her sleeve like Lacey always did?

By the time Vi emerged from the huge
chapel doors letting the cold winter wind strike her, she would admit that it
was the most beautiful service she had ever witnessed. She felt somehow privileged—no,
even honored—to be standing there, among so many military members coming
from all branches, praying for those who were far from their families this
year. Standing next to her sister, singing the carols that they had sung
together as children was an experience Vi would never forget.

After they returned home, stuffed yet
again, this time with donuts from the coffee hour after the service, Lacey was
headed straight to Walter Reed to visit Mick. They were having some festivities
and a special dinner. Vi secretly prayed it would be better than the cafeteria
food that she had survived on for several days after Mick’s injury.

Vi chased her car down the driveway in
the snow, having forgotten to give her the gifts she had for both Mick and her
sister. She also dragged a big plastic bag from the mega toy store near the
mall.

“What’s this?” Lacey asked as Vi tried
passing the immense bag through the window.

Vi shrugged carelessly. “Just some teddy
bears.” The bag didn’t fit, so Vi took it to the passenger side of the car and
opened the door. “Fifty of them. They were on sale.”

Dumbfounded, Lacey stared at her. “Umm,
Mick’s really not the teddy bear type.”

Vi laughed, picturing her brother-in-law
in bed with a bear. Nope, that wasn’t going to happen. “Not for you guys. For
any kids you might run into today. You know, visiting their parents or
whatever? I saw so many come and go when I was sitting in that cafeteria, and I
figured a lot of the parents might not have had the time to shop much.”

Lacey’s jaw went slack, and tears filled
her eyes. “Vi, that’s really so nice.”

Vi rolled her eyes. “Oh, don’t go
thinking I’m getting soft or anything. Even Scrooge comes around at least once
a year.”

Lacey pulled Vi’s face down to her and
gave her a kiss on the cheek. “I love you, sister.”

Vi’s heart filled. “Yeah, I know. Me,
too,” she muttered trying to keep some semblance of the personality that she
had constructed over the past 32 years.

Back inside the warm house, the fire
crackled, the tree glimmered, and a glass of Maeve’s Irish eggnog awaited her
along with a seat on the sofa next to a napping toddler.

While Bess made dinner and Maeve was
upstairs on her computer, no doubt checking for any kind of contact from Jack,
Vi let her muscles relax into the downy softness of the sofa cushions as she
watched Abby’s eyelids flicker next to her. Dreaming of candy canes, sugar plum
fairies, and shiny, wrapped presents, Vi hoped.

Gazing up at the star at the top of the
tree, her thoughts drifted to Joe. Where was he right now? Sitting in front of
a tree with his nephew? Cooking dinner with his sister? In the garage, still
putting finishing touches on his snow golem, whatever that was?

Her fingers ached to reach for her cell,
but she stayed put on the sofa, consoling herself by stroking Abby’s fiery red
hair and watching her sigh softly from the contact.

By the time Vi had stuffed herself on
turkey after Bess had called them to the dinner table, and then gorged herself
with an extra slice of Bourbon Chocolate Pecan Pie, Vi had almost lost the urge
to call Joe. But only because her bloated stomach made it difficult to rise
from the sofa to get her phone.

Laying on the couch, she felt a strange
feeling settle over her, watching the dying embers in the fire, with no
interest in getting up to throw another log on. Was this relaxation?

Right now, there were no thoughts of what
needed to be done. She was one with the sofa, completely fused to the soft
pillows, without a desire to move or think or talk.

Until she heard the door from the garage
open down the hall.

Damn
. It was a nice feeling while it lasted.

Vi popped her head over the back of the couch,
and smiled at the sight of Lacey.

“Hey,” Lacey greeted her.

“Hey. How’s Mick?”

Lacey sighed. “He puts up a good front
for me. But he’s frustrated, I can tell. He’s not exactly the kind of guy who
accepts limitations on what he can do.”

“And that’s exactly why he’ll recover
well,” Vi pointed out.

“I hope so. But determination can only
get you so much. I worry that he’ll reach some kind of plateau, and then get
depressed when he realizes things aren’t going to get better.”

“And if he does, we’ll get him through
it.”
We
will, Vi confirmed to herself. She was not going to let others
take over the role of sister-in-law to Mick again. “Now sit down. I’ll get you
some eggnog. This stuff Maeve got is incredible. One glass and you’ll have to
remind yourself what your name is.” She hoisted herself off the couch.

“Yeah, it’s imported from Ireland by one
of the pubs downtown. Maeve stocks up every year.”

Vi returned from the kitchen with a large
glass in her hand. “Did you eat? We’ve got tons of leftovers.”

“No, they fed us at the hospital.”

“Was it a good holiday meal?”

Lacey frowned. “It sure wasn’t Bess’s
cooking.”

“Well, nothing is,” Vi interjected.

“Yeah. But it was better than most days.”
Her eyes distant, she took a sip of her drink. “I should be happy, you know? These
months that he’s been away, all I kept thinking was how much I’d love it if he
could make it home in time for the holidays. But this?” Grimly, she shook her
head. “I didn’t want it this way.”

“Of course you didn’t.”

Sinking her head back into the fluffy
pillows, Lacey sighed. “So, did you talk to Joe?”

“No. He’s with his sister and nephew. I
don’t want to interrupt.”

“I’ll bet he’d love the interruption.”

Vi shifted slightly to look at her
sister. “I have to watch things with him, Lacey. It’s not like
he’s—we’re—I don’t know. We’re not really dating in the normal
sense. He’s not my boyfriend or something.”

Lacey arched her brow. “You two might
have started off with some kind of weird arrangement, but I think you’ve passed
that, don’t you?”

Vi shrugged.

“You care about him right?”

“Of course.” Too much, Vi thought.
Far
too much.

“How much?”

Vi laughed at how her sister could
sometimes read her mind. “Usually I’m the sister that is supposed to be into quantifying
things, Lacey.”

“So do it. If Joe were a stock, how much
would you pay to be with him?”

“You’re funny.”

 “I’m not being funny. I’m being
dead serious.” Lacey set down her glass. “Okay, I’ll use your terminology. Is
he a buy, a hold, or a sell?”

“Okay, okay. He’s a buy. I mean, he’s
totally a buy. He’s smart and sweet, and sexy as hell. I love spending time
with him. He makes me feel—I don’t know—different. Alive. But then
there’s the logical part of me that would tell you, he’s a sell—in fact,
he’s a strong sell because he’s leaving for the Philippines in a few weeks. Who
knows how the stock will perform after a change like that?”

“But sometimes that’s when you end up
making the most money, right? When you take a risk?”

“Lacey—ugh. I hate it when you talk
stocks.” Vi leaned forward, planting her feet on the ground.

“Where are Maeve and Bess, anyway?”

“Maeve’s in her room. Still on her
computer, I think, hoping to get some kind of word from Jack. It’s so hard on
her. Bess is putting Abby to bed.”

Right on cue, they heard a squeal from
upstairs. Oddly, it was the squeal of an adult, not a toddler. Vi stood and
shouted up the stairs. “Everything okay?”

Bursting from her bedroom and dashing
down the stairs, Maeve was jubilant. “He’s coming home!”

“Jack?” Bess’s voice came from upstairs. She
raced to Maeve’s side. “Jack’s coming home?”

“Yes!” Maeve grabbed Bess in a hug and
they jumped up and down. Lacey bolted off of the couch and joined in the
embrace.

Just a few weeks ago, Vi might have
stepped back from the celebration, feeling the outsider. But now, she charged
into the group hug. “When?”

“Next week sometime.”

“How did you find out?” Bess asked.

“He just emailed me. Finally. I don’t
know where he is, just somewhere in the Atlantic. But I know that right now,
he’s headed home to me.”

“That’s all that matters.” Vi felt chills
just as a tear dropped from her eye. Since when did she become such a sentimental
sap? Oh, yeah, she thought glancing over at the front door.
When I first
walked through that door
.

Bess’s eyes were wild with delight. “This
is the best news. Mick is home and getting better, and Jack is coming home.”

“Is he okay?” Lacey checked. “And is the
team all right?”

“I think so. He didn’t have anything bad
to report anyway. I don’t think he knows about Mick.”

“I doubt it,” Lacey agreed. “They
wouldn’t have told him while on a mission. They don’t need anything to distract
them.”

“Do you want me to tell him?”

She touched Maeve’s arm. “No. Not now. Just
tell him when you see him. Right now, let him just look forward to seeing you,
okay?”

Maeve took Lacey back into her arms. “Oh,
Lacey, I wish it had been the same for you.”

“Me, too. But Mick is getting better. And
if we need to make some changes, then that’s what we’ll do.”

After retreating to her room, still
feeling a natural buzz from the good news, Vi stared at the phone sitting on
her dresser. It was probably better the way things were. Did she really want to
end up like Lacey and Maeve, constantly worried, wondering if someone would
show up on her doorstep to tell her that life had changed forever?