Contract with a SEAL (Special Ops: Homefront Book 3) (13 page)

“You’re in the best place. The doctors
here are the leaders in the field.”

Mick just stared at the door that his
wife had just exited. “Lacey.”

Just one word, yet so filled with
meaning. “You didn’t have much time for a honeymoon stage, did you?”

Mick shook his head.

“Is she staying at Maeve’s now?”

Mick nodded.

“Then she’s in the best place, too. She’s
got friends and her sister to support her. And she’ll stick by you. Believe me,
I know it.”

Mick cocked his head in question.

“Remember, I had two that left me. And
I’ve watched dozens of military marriages disintegrate outside of my own. I
know the signs. Lacey’s the kind that will stick.”

“My team.”

“—are as worried as hell about you.”
Joe cut him off, not wanting him to wonder just yet whether he’d ever return to
the SEALs. “I got word from Pender about your injury. He told me so that I’d
come up and check on you personally. They’re all keeping tabs on you, but I
think they wanted to hear an update from someone who’s not a doc.”

“Can’t go back,” Mick said, his eyes
empty.

Joe noticed he said “can’t” rather than “won’t.”
“You mean, you don’t think you’ll be able to be a SEAL after this?” He sat in
the chair at Mick’s side. “Don’t worry about that now. You just focus on
getting strong enough to go home with that gorgeous wife of yours.” His eyes
locked on Mick’s. “Once a SEAL, always a SEAL, Mick. You know that.”

Mick gave a slight nod, and Joe hoped he
remembered how the bond of SEAL brotherhood doesn’t end.

“Lacey told me—” There was a
lengthy pause as Mick formed the words. “—that you’re dating Vi.”

Joe froze. Women sure did talk, didn’t
they? But if Lacey had been hanging out here in his room holding up 95% of the
conversations with Mick these past few days, he imagined she would have
mentioned just about anything to fill the air.

Cautious in his response, Joe only replied,
“We’ve been out a couple times.”

The tiniest hint of a grin appeared on
Mick’s lips. “If you hurt her—” he began.

“I know,” Joe interrupted, laughing. “You’ll
kick my ass. All the more reason for you to get better quickly, Mick. You’re in
no shape to do it now.”

***

Vi caught a glimpse of what seemed like a
smile on Lacey’s face when she emerged from the elevator. She sprang from her
seat and headed in her sister’s direction.

“You’re smiling,” Vi said, overflowing
with hope. “Oh, please tell me some good news.”

Lacey’s eyes were glazed over in tears. Happy
tears this time, Vi guessed from the wide grin that continued to spread over
her sister’s face.

“He recognized me, Vi. He remembers me.”

Gasping, Vi embraced her sister. “Oh, I’m
so happy.”

“There are still huge voids. Especially
about the mission or how he got here. Maybe it’s selfish, but I don’t even care
about that. I just keep thinking that if he remembers me, and how much I love
him, we’ll get through this.”

Vi took both of Lacey’s hands. “What does
the doctor say?”

“It’s a really good sign that he’s getting
some of his memory back so quickly. But he also warned me this could be as good
as it gets. They have no way of knowing. He’ll likely be here for the next few
months, at least. His brain has to relearn how to do a lot, but right now,
they’re just trying to figure out how much is lost and what is left. He can’t
even walk now. Can’t feed himself. His hands shake so badly. But the doctor
said they have therapies for that.”

“Do you think I can go talk to him now? Just
say hi?”

“Sure. We can try. Just don’t be
surprised if he doesn’t recognize you.”

“I’d be more surprised if he
did
recognize
me,” Vi admitted. “I’ve been a deadbeat sister-in-law.”

“Have not.”

Vi shrugged off Lacey’s denial. “Come on.
Let’s get some food in you.” Vi guided her sister toward the cafeteria-style
selections. “The coffee here tastes like battery acid, and I swear the eggs are
really some form of plastic. But the raspberry Danishes they have today are halfway
decent if you just eat the center.”

 “You’ve spent so much time down
here this week. I really appreciate you driving me all the time and hanging out
here. If things had gotten worse, I would have really needed you here.”

“And here I’ll stay.”

Lacey shook her head. “No. I’m driving
myself tomorrow. I’m going to have to get used it. I’m just so grateful to have
Maeve’s house to stay at.”

“When I buy a condo, I’ll have an extra
room. You can stay with me there if it would be easier.”

“Thanks. But I think if it’s okay, I’ll
just stay where I am. Something about being back in that house makes me feel
better.”

Vi smiled, picturing Maeve’s backyard. “It’s
that water view. It’s soothing.”

“And something else. It’s just one of
those houses that—”

“Comforts you,” Vi completed for her. “I
know. I feel it, too.”

With street lamps draped in thick
garlands with red bows, and a flurry of fat snowflakes speckling the air,
Annapolis’s Main Street looked like a Christmas card. Each door along the
street was decorated with a wreath, some pocked with shiny balls and plastic
candy canes, others with a simple bow.

Even in the morning hours, some of the
holiday lights were twinkling, and they brightened Vi’s newly regained cheer
even more. With a full night of sleep under her belt—her first full night
in nearly a week, this morning was the first time Vi had felt a dash of the
holiday spirit again.

The season was a time of joy, and Vi was
hoping for one of those famed holiday miracles for her sister and Mick.

Vi stepped into the deli and let the
smell of fresh-brewed coffee and warm maple syrup fill her senses. It was a
more delightful scene than the hospital cafeteria, and Vi soaked it in, grateful
for a morning off from that routine.

The booths and bar stools were almost
entirely filled, but she spotted Joe at a table in the corner. Waving, she
headed in his direction.

Joe stood as she approached and gave her
a light kiss on the lips. For all that they had shared, the simple kiss
shouldn’t have had such an effect on her. But for the way it made her body
simmer, she was surprised it didn’t melt all the snow that had collected on the
top of her head.

“You look like you got a good night’s sleep.
Am I right?” he asked.

Vi’s eyes lit. “Yes. And Lacey, too. I
can’t say the same for Maeve, though. Ever since Mick got injured, she seems to
be even more terrified about what might happen to Jack while he’s away.”

Joe nodded sagely. “That’s a natural reaction.”
He pulled his coat off his side of the booth and placed it on the side where Vi
had planned to sit.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“You’ve sat on the hard seats in that
cafeteria for too many days while you sat waiting for Lacey. I’ll be damned if
I’m going to let you sit in another hard seat today while I’m around to fix
it.”

Her grin was wide as she sat on his soft
winter coat. “You have no idea how much I appreciate that.”

“Oh, I do. I’ve had so many missions
where I’m sleeping on a cold slab of cracked cement or a pile of rubble. That
first time I lay down on a real mattress after that is better than any sex I’ve
ever had.” He winced, remembering the company he shared. “Until last weekend,
that is,” he quickly added.

Vi laughed. “You’re lucky you amended
that statement, or you would have ruined my first good mood in nearly a week.”

“Is Lacey at the hospital this morning?” His
eyes were playful as he adeptly changed the subject.

Vi nodded. “She said she wanted to drive herself,
but turns out Maeve and Bess really wanted to see Mick, so they went together. Abby’s
at Edith’s this morning. She’s sort of a close friend—babysits for Abby a
lot.”

“Edith Baker,” Joe specified.

 “You know her?” Vi glanced up from
the menu. “Oh, that’s right. You met Edith at the wedding.”

Joe chuckled softly. “She might be Edith
to you and Lacey, but she’s Mrs. B to me. Probably every mid who graduated from
the Academy knows Mrs. B. She sponsored so many of us. And even the ones she
didn’t sponsor, like me, somehow wound up hanging around her house by the end
of the year.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. That woman is like an icon at the
Academy. They’re honoring her at this year’s graduation, you know. I’d come up
for it, but I’ll be a half a world away, unfortunately.”

Vi glanced back down at her menu, uneasy
at the reminder that he’d be going.

“You might want to let them know to get
home early,” Joe said casually. “There’s a big storm headed our way.”

Lost in her own thoughts, Vi looked up at
him, confused. “Who?”

“Lacey and her friends. They don’t want
to get stuck on the beltway in white-out conditions.”

“Oh, geez. You’re right. Thanks.” She
pulled out her phone and started texting her sister. “Shouldn’t you be headed
back home, too, then?”

“It’s already dumped six inches on
Virginia Beach. I’ll stay another night till the plows can hit the streets. There’s
nothing too pressing at work right now.”

Vi snickered. “You East Coast people are
so soft.”

“Soft?” Joe lowered his chin and gazed at
her. “I’ve never been called that in my life.”

Vi waved a hand dismissively in his
direction. “Lacey and I laugh at people like you. Back where we grew up, six
inches was still considered flurries. Around here, they shut down the federal
government every time a snowflake falls.”

Joe’s laugh was robust. “That’s right. You’re
from Chicago. So you won’t shy away from helping me get a little Christmas
shopping done this morning while the snow falls, so long as I’m stuck here?”

 “Sure,” she said so quickly that it
made her wonder what this man was doing to her. She hated shopping, preferring
to do hers online whenever possible. But heaven help her, she would hang out at
the mall all day if only to be by his side a little longer before he
disappeared from her life again.

The waitress came and took their orders.

“Where do you want to shop?” Vi asked as
the waitress departed.

“Just the shops on Main. Maybe off the
Circle on Maryland Avenue if we have time. I’m at a bed and breakfast across
from the Academy.”

“Who are you buying for?”

“My sister and nephew. I’m headed out to
Sedona to see them this Christmas.”

“That should be nice. Do you get out
there often?”

“Often as I can. Just was out there for
this past Thanksgiving. Becca lost her husband a few years ago in the war. It’s
been really hard on her and Brandon. So I try to get out there as often as
possible.”

“My God. Was her husband in the Navy?”

Joe shook his head. “Army. They were
stationed a Fort Huachuca when she got the news. She stayed there a few months,
but decided to move up to Sedona for a fresh start.”

“I’ve never been there.”

“It’s beautiful. The red rock formations
are ten times as incredible in person as they are on the postcards. Very
touristy, though. Everyone comes up there to feel some kind of vortexes or energy
centers or some damn thing they claim the rocks have.”

Vi’s brow furrowed, “Huh?”

“Some people believe the rocks have
special powers.”

A smile curved her lips. “And I’m
guessing you don’t agree.”

Joe laughed. “Do I look like someone who
believes in that sort of thing?”

“How about your sister?”

“Well, I know she believes in all the
money it brings into the town. She works in a shop that sells crystals. They
have special powers too, you know,” Joe added with a smirk.

“Of course,” she replied, grinning. In
her present mood, she’d happily believe in healing crystals, vortexes, magical
red rocks, or even leprechauns—though she imagined they were approaching
the wrong holiday for that one. “So what are we shopping for?”

“Well, I doubt I’ll find anything for Brandon
here. The only thing he likes these days is Minecraft. I already ordered him a
few books on it, a t-shirt, and a hoodie that looks like one of the characters
in the game.”

“Minecraft. I don’t even know what that
is.”

“Neither did I till it became his
favorite topic. It’s this weird computer game with 1980s graphics and a bunch
of strange creatures. I promised we’d build a snow golem while I’m out there that
he could put in front of his house this holiday.”

“What’s a snow golem?”

“Body of a snowman. Head of a
jack-o-lantern.”

“I don’t get it.”

“Neither do I. But that kid’s getting a
snow golem. My sister’s pretty ticked about it, though. Doesn’t exactly want a
snow golem in her front yard every year to ring in the holidays.”

Vi laughed. “Tell her it could be worse. Our
neighbor across the street puts a leg lamp in his front window every December.”

Joe’s jaw dropped. “He’s got a leg lamp? Seriously?
What I wouldn’t give to have one of those.”

“So you must have seen
A Christmas
Story
.”

“Of course. I watch it every year. Just
don’t tell any of my guys that.”

“I’ll ask where he got it from, if you
want.”

Joe shook his head. “Don’t even tempt me.
Not till I retire, anyway. I think leadership would probably frown on a
commander who puts a leg lamp in their front window on base.”

“Got it.” She pulled out her phone and
pretended to tap in a note to herself. “Buy Joe a leg lamp as a retirement
gift.” Glancing up, she smiled. “So when is that, anyway? How long are you
planning on staying in?”

“Well, my goal has always been to be the
youngest Admiral in recent history. So I’ll have to wait at least until they put
a star on my shoulder boards.”

“You think you’ll manage to do it?”

Joe gave a futile shrug. “Honestly, I
don’t think I stand a chance.” He gave a nod of thanks to the waitress as she
placed their food in front of them. “I graduated from high school a year early,
so graduated pretty young from the Academy,” he continued. “And I got promoted
three times early. I’m still falling short of the record by a year or two,
unless they get more aggressive with promotions these days.”

“So maybe you should retire now and quit
while you’re ahead?” And while you’re still alive, she completed her thought in
her head.

“Not on your life.”

“Overachiever,” she accused, spreading
cream cheese on her bagel.

“You should talk,” he countered.

Vi grinned as the waitress refilled her
coffee. “I used to think I was, till I met you. I think you raised the bar for
me.”

“So what’s next for you, Vi? What’s your equivalent
to making Admiral?”

Frowning slightly, Vi’s shoulders sagged as
she took a bite of her bagel.

His brow arched. “I’m sorry. Did I ask
something I shouldn’t have?”

Vi waved him off as she chewed. “No. Not
at all. But I feel like I’ve reached this point in my life where I’m really
wondering that. What is next? I kept just following a path, and as opportunities
arose, I’d grab them so long as they were tied to a bigger paycheck. But now
I’ve been looking at my life and wondering how the hell I got to this place I’m
at now.”

“If it helps at all, I think you should
be proud of all you’ve achieved.”

“Yeah, but what’s a better achievement in
a person’s life? A bigger income, or having friends around you? Real
friends—not the 150 business acquaintances who went to my wedding and
then didn’t offer any kind of support when the marriage fell part. And I’ve let
my relationship with Lacey fall short. I just got so busy.”

“Everyone goes through that with their siblings,
Vi. I have the same feelings about my sister sometimes. When her husband died,
I was in northern Africa. I couldn’t even make it home in time for the
funeral.”

“But at least you were doing something
for your country. I was only out for myself.”

“Or out for your parents’ approval still.
Like with the Williamsburg trip, right?”

Vi winced. “Ugh. I really like to think
that I advanced past that point by the time I hit adulthood.”

“At our core, we’re all still kids aching
for approval, Vi.”

Swallowing another bite, Vi cocked her
head as she looked at him. “Really? I don’t see you that way at all.”

“Then you’re not looking very closely. What’s
the difference between seeking another early promotion and seeking approval for
the job I’ve done? None. We all like a pat on the back by our family, our
teams, our leadership. We all want to level up.”

Appreciative for a good breakfast after
her recent ones had fallen short, Vi devoured her meal, enjoying the good
conversation just as much as the food.

As the waitress approached, he handed the
waitress his credit card. “So, ready to help me shop?” he asked Vi. “I’m pretty
useless at picking out things for women. Even my sister.”

“I’m no Maeve when it comes to shopping,
but I think I can give you some direction.”

Stepping into the cold, the snowflakes
quickly affixed themselves to Vi’s lashes. They walked arm in arm down the
snowy street, popping into the stores after glancing first in the windows. Vi
found a few things for Abigail she couldn’t resist—an oversized lamb
stuffed animal and a handmade wooden puzzle that was probably too old for her
now, but she might like when she hit her second birthday.

A hand-blown glass vase in a display case
caught Joe’s eye. “What do you think of that for Becca?”

“It’s beautiful.”

Joe pressed his lips together,
scrutinizing the piece. “My luck it will break in my bag on the flight.”