Contract with a SEAL (Special Ops: Homefront Book 3) (17 page)

“I’m just saying, Sir. What then? I may
be the one who can’t walk unassisted right now, and I’ve lost some of my memory,
and I talk like I’ve been drinking hard liquor. But I’ve got Lacey, and the
rest of my life with her. If I hadn’t snatched that brass ring when I saw it,
right now I’d be a mess.”

Joe nodded. “You’re right about that.”

“You might like pulling rank on guys like
me, talking down to us when we’re doing something wrong, calling us ‘son,’ but
you’re not much older than me,
Sir
.” He put emphasis on that last word.
“So you’re eyesight can’t be so bad that you’re not seeing the brass ring
you’ve got within your reach right now.”

Ouch
. Mick was worse than Becca. “You always were one to speak
your mind, Mick.”

“Yeah, and now I can actually blame the
TBI, so I better take advantage while I can.” Mick smiled, glancing at his
clock. “The game’s on in ten minutes. Want to watch?”

Joe nearly refused, knowing he needed to
hit the road and get back home. The movers were coming tomorrow to box up his
stuff and he had plenty to do right now. But somehow, the idea of watching the
game with Mick for a while seemed oddly appealing. “Sounds good.”

She had been dreading returning to work
the day after New Year’s. Yet she’d admit, by the close of the day, it was good
to have the distraction of people around her, and deadlines looming. Another
correspondent was out sick, and Vi had to fill in on-air for a couple hours.
Slapping a smile on her face, along with a lot of makeup, made her seem happier
than she felt inside.

Vi popped her head into the open doorway
of her boss’s office. “Hey, Ken. Mark said you wanted to see me before I left?”

“Yeah, Vi. Come on in. Shut the door.”

An unpleasant chill shot down Vi’s spine
at the words. Being her first day back at work, she had assumed that Ken had
called her into his office for the standard post-vacation briefing. A closed
door usually meant bad news.

This was exactly why Vi so rarely went on
vacations. Too often she’d seen workplaces grow accustomed to someone’s
absence, invariably followed by the dreaded pink slip. After only being on the
job here in DC a matter of weeks before Mick’s injury, it wasn’t exactly like
she was ensconced in the fabric of the workplace. Half the people were still
thinking that Vi Owens was based in Atlanta.

 “Sit down, Vi.” He cleared his
throat and leaned his arms on the edge of his desk. “How was your time off?”

“Good. Mick’s doing much better. He’ll still
be in the hospital for a long time though.”

“Yeah, sorry to hear about that. TBI is
serious shit. Moran did a piece on it last month. Did you see that?”

“No, I must have missed it.”

His elbows on his desk, he steepled his
fingers together. “So listen. You’ve made quite a buzz for yourself recently.”

Confused, Vi scrunched her face. “A buzz?
How?”

“You and that SEAL commander.”

“Oh, at the correspondents’ gala, you
mean.”

“Yeah. You were kind of the golden couple
of the night.” Ken laughed. “I’ve got Marlow breathing down my neck to get the
guy in for an interview, by the way. Any chance of that, you think?”

Vi laughed. “Not a snowball’s chance in
hell.”

Ken grinned back. “Didn’t think so.
Anyway, you’ve gained a hell of a military and veteran following off of it. Have
you seen how many people have started following you on Twitter since that
night?”

Vi shrugged. “I didn’t really check
Twitter while I was on vacation.”

“Well, your photos are all over the
place.”

“From the gala?”

“Not just there. From Walter Reed. You,
holding a vigil for your brother-in-law in the cafeteria. They’re all over the
web.”

Furrowing her brow, Vi recalled a few
people who had recognized her at the hospital and asked for a photo with her. Vi
hadn’t really thought twice about it.

Laughing, Ken cocked his head to the
side. “You’re the military’s favorite girl right now.”

“I hadn’t really noticed, Ken.”

“Well, New York has.”

Her ears perked up.

Ken leaned back, putting his hands behind
his head in the tall leather chair. “Tracy Keller just got offered a job on Fox
Business. She’s given her notice. So they’re going to need someone to fill her
spot.”

Heart pumping, Vi’s eyes widened. “Are they
offering it to me?”

Ken gave a little shrug. “Not officially
yet. I shouldn’t even be telling you, but I know you’ve been looking for a
condo. So as a boss, I can’t say anything for certain yet. But as a friend, I’m
telling you to not jump too quickly into buying.”

“I haven’t even been looking the past
couple weeks, with all that’s been going on.”

“Good.”

Her mind racing, Vi was barely a participant
in the rest of their conversation. If they were thinking of offering her the
same position as Tracy Keller, that would be a big promotion. More money. More
air time. More prestige.

But further from Lacey.

She felt the inward tug-o-war as she
stepped out of Ken’s office in a daze. She could find a nice rental in Gramercy
Park again till she found a place to buy. Eat cannoli in Little Italy on Friday
nights. Catch a rehearsal at Lincoln Center. And just to be working back on
Wall Street, where all her dreams had begun—the draw was pulling her
closer to New York with every moment…

…and further from her sister.

They’d still keep in touch. She wouldn’t
let things go back to the way they were, barely able to squeeze in five minutes
to catch up with her on the phone. Vi would make the trip down here several
times, too, while Mick was still at Walter Reed. If she was as popular as Ken
had suggested, the network would certainly oblige her a little extra time off.

But Lacey needed her right now.

And Vi needed
her
. That was the
stunner, Vi thought as she stepped from the building and headed to the parking
garage. Here Lacey was, with an injured husband, and yet it was Vi who somehow
felt stronger for having her sister close by.

She turned on the ignition of her car and
exited onto Pennsylvania Avenue, headed toward New York Avenue. The drive home
to Annapolis had become so familiar to her. And even in the short time that she
had been in the area, she had grown excited about the idea of settling in
Washington, D.C.

But wouldn’t she be a fool to pass this
opportunity by, and then wind up here in D.C. on her own if the Navy ended up
moving Lacey and Mick someplace else?

Her mouth curving downward as she entered
onto Highway 50, she thought back to the past ten hours—trapped in a job
she disliked, talking about politics, budget talks, and threats of government
shutdowns. That wasn’t her calling. If she were in New York, she be able to
focus again on the markets—on the stocks, bonds, bills, and funds that
she had spent the last decade of her life following. No, make that the last
two
decades of her life, since she bought her first stock at 12.

She’d take the job, if they offered it to
her. She knew that in her gut. Having always followed the dollar signs, there
was no debating the money she’d make. Hell, with the extra income she could
even help Lacey and Mick out if his injuries didn’t get better. If he couldn’t
regain the ability to walk unassisted, there would be things they’d need. A
house where he could get around more easily. Maybe nursing care. Shaking her
head, her stomach burned. She didn’t like to think of that possibility, but it
was still there. And military disability would only cover so much.

Exiting the highway, Vi was met with the
red brick government buildings of downtown Annapolis. Even the newer buildings
were made to look older, melding perfectly into the character of the city. Like
Williamsburg, in many ways, it seemed a city frozen in time with its brick
paved streets and historic schooners filling its harbors.

Bursting with pubs, the locals sometimes
joked it was a “drinking town with a sailing habit.” Whatever it was, it was a
city that didn’t take itself too seriously.

Maybe that was why she liked it. She had
spent too many years taking it all so damn seriously. Like this, she thought,
as she pulled into Maeve’s driveway. She was already stressing about a job
offer that hadn’t even been made yet.

Stepping from her car, the Bay called to
her, in the same way Lacey had often said it did to her. Pulling her winter
coat snug across her body she bypassed the house and stepped into the snow in
her boots. Walking onto the dock, it was so quiet that she could hear her boots
crunching the snow with each step. The grey water was pocked with white caps
that stretched out as far as the horizon.

With every splash of water against the
shoreline, another thought rushed into her mind.

Her sister needed her.

But the money would be great.

She really liked the DC area.

But she detested her job.

She had dreamed about working in finance.
Not being another bobbing, babbling face on a TV screen.

But the money…

Standing on the dock, she recalled what
Joe had asked her on New Year’s Eve.

Why not quit? Why not try something new?

Frowning, she stalked back to the house. People
often talked about gazing out at the peaceful water, and finding all the
answers to their questions. But Vi only seemed to find more confusion.

The house was quiet when she went inside,
but she had seen Maeve’s bedroom light on from the front of the house. She
padded lightly up the stairs, not wanting to disturb the wonderful silence, and
stuck her head inside Maeve’s open door. “Hi.”

Maeve jumped in response. “Oh, you scared
the crap out of me. You’re not normally home till 7ish.”

“Not much traffic tonight. I think
everyone stayed home because of the snow.” Vi glanced down at a white gown laid
out on the bed in front of Maeve. “What’s that?”

Maeve looked flustered, which was unusual
for her. “Oh, this is just my Grandma’s wedding dress.”

“Can I see?” At Maeve’s nod, Vi took a
step toward it. “It’s beautiful. Were you thinking about getting married in
it?”

“Um, yeah.”

Vi’s eyes rested on the two suitcases on
the other side of the bed, half packed with clothes. “Are you packing to go
down to Little Creek?”

“Yep. I’m leaving tonight. Their ship is
due in tomorrow around 10.”

Vi narrowed her eyes again on the dress. “And
why do you have the dress out?”

There was a long pause till Maeve finally
spoke. “You can’t tell anyone,” she warned.

Vi stepped back, and sat nervously on the
bed. She hated secrets. “Um, okay.”

“We’ve decided to elope.”

Vi’s jaw dropped two inches. “Elope?” She
couldn’t even picture it. If there was a woman alive who seemed the type to
throw a behemoth of a wedding, it was Maeve. Hell, she had even been the one to
plan Lacey’s wedding. She was just
that good
at the whole wedding thing.

 “I just can’t stand it anymore, Vi.
Not being married to him. We waited too long as it is.” Looking wary, Maeve bit
the side of her lip. “And now with what happened to Mick? I can’t stand the
idea of Jack going away again without being married to him. I don’t care
anymore about the wedding. I just want to be his wife.”

“Oh, Maeve, no. Don’t elope. Look at the
great wedding you threw for Lacey so quickly. We can do something fast, just
like it. Geez, you’ve even got the dress. And you’ve already done all the
research for us. You need your friends with you.”

Maeve turned to her, eyes filled with
tears. “But that’s just it. Don’t you see? Mick can’t be there. And Jack would
want him as best man. And doing it without him there—well, it just
wouldn’t be the same. He’s family. Just like you and Lacey and Bess. If one of
us can’t be there, then I’d rather just wait till a time when we can all be
there. But at the same time, I can’t go on another day without being married to
him.”

Vi’s brow arched. “What does Jack think
about this? Have you talked to him about it?”

“We emailed about it a lot these past
couple days. And he agrees. His family is totally behind us, too, which
actually surprised the heck out of me.”

“Why’s that?”

“Well, my family can’t exactly complain.
I already did the big wedding thing once,” Maeve reminded her. “But they’ve
never seen him stand at the end of an aisle before. I really didn’t want to
hurt them. But they said they don’t care. They just want to see us do it.
Jack’s dad was a Marine. They know how fleeting life can be.”

“Are you telling Lacey and Bess?” Vi
asked, even though she knew the answer.

“No. I’m afraid they’ll talk me out of
it, and I just don’t want that. That’s why I was going to leave when no one was
home. I didn’t think you’d get home this early.” She smiled and hugged her. “But
I’m glad you’re here, Vi. And not just tonight. I’m glad you’re here for Lacey.
She really needs you. I wouldn’t feel right about leaving right now if you
weren’t here.”

Guilt wrapped itself around her heart and
squeezed—hard—as Maeve disappeared briefly into her bathroom. She
returned, carrying a toiletries bag and hairdryer. “When Mick is better, and
life is back to normal—or as normal as it can get—then we’ll throw
a huge party to celebrate our marriage. You know, so everyone can be a part. We’ll
plant a tree in the backyard just like Lacey and Mick did. Maybe we’ll even
renew our vows. I don’t know.” She shook her head, laughing. “All I know is
that if I don’t get in that car in the next ten minutes and become his wife
tomorrow, I’ll burst.”

“In that case, let me help you load up
the car.” Vi smiled and, gazing at her friend, she felt an odd tug at her
heart. “I can’t believe the next time I see you, you’ll be Mrs. Falcone.”

Maeve touched her fingers to her lips, and
her brow furrowed. “Oh, God. Do you think Lacey and Bess will forgive me?”

“Are you kidding me? Of course they will.
You need to do what’s right for you and Jack, Maeve.”