Hot SEAL, Independence Day

by Elle James

  The wooden box next to the potbelly stove contained old newspapers. Jack opened the potbelly stove, wadded up newspaper and arranged kindling on top of that. Then he found a canister of long matches on a shelf above the potbelly stove, pulled one out, lit it and held it against the newspapers. The paper blazed and eventually caught the kindling on fire. Once that was burning, he laid a dry log across the kindling. Soon, it caught and burned. He closed the door to the stove. Already the temperature in the cabin had been dropping once the sun had set.

  “The stove should keep us warm until the fire burns out,” Jack said. “I’m going out to start the generator. I don’t know about you, but I’d like to get a quick shower before we try to figure out what we want to cook for dinner. If you want to shower, you can go first. I’ll be cleaning the fish. That’s going to be our dinner tonight. Do you even like fish?”

  She nodded. “I do.”

  “Do you know how to cook fish?”

  Again, she nodded.

  “Good. I’m going to filet it while you get your shower. Just a word of warning, though. There’s no hot water heater. The generator is strictly to pump the water.”

  “Great,” she said. “I guess that means it’s going to be a really quick shower.”

  He grinned. “Yup. It’s the same water that comes from the mountains…snowmelt. It’s going to be icy cold.”

  Anne grimaced. “Then I’ll make do and make it quick.”

  “Good girl.” He smiled as he left the cabin to go back out to where he’d left the fish hanging on a peg on the outside wall.

  Soon, Anne heard a generator starting up. She took that as her cue to hurry up and get that shower. She grabbed the bag of clothes that they’d purchased in Vegas and carried them into the tiny bathroom.

  Towels hung on pegs on the wall. She turned on the faucet, and water spit out of the pipes until it became a steady stream. She kicked off her shoes and quickly stripped out of the clothes she’d been wearing since she’d left her apartment, what felt like ages ago.

  Anne shivered as her feet hit the cold floor. The bathroom did not have the benefit of the heat from the potbelly stove. If she’d been alone, she might have left the door open to get some of the heat from the other room. She inhaled deeply and stepped beneath the spray. The icy cold water stole away her breath.

  Fortunately, there was soap, shampoo and conditioner on the ledge against the wall. After lathering her hair, she used the same suds to skim over her body. She rinsed quickly, her teeth chattering, applied a dab of conditioner to her hand, rubbed it into her hair and rinsed that just as quickly. In less than three minutes, she shut off the water, grabbed the towel and rubbed the moisture from her body.

  Then she ripped into the package of underwear, pulled on a pair of pink ones and slipped one of the T-shirts over her head. The jeans were stiff, but at least they were a little warmer than nothing, even if they were a little big for her. They would have to do. Maybe she could find a belt or a bit of rope to tie around her waist to keep the jeans from falling down. In the meantime, she’d have to just keep pulling them up.

  When she was finished, she stepped out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her hair. She hadn’t thought about it, but she didn’t have a brush. Maybe Jack would have one that she could borrow.

  Jack still hadn’t come in from outside. She rummaged through the box that Sadie had packed for them. In it, she found a bottle of prenatal vitamins, solving the mystery of whether or not Sadie knew she was pregnant. She also found a brush inside and sent a silent thank you to the mega movie star with a big heart. Jack had been right. Sadie was down to earth and a caring person. Anne was blessed to have met her. Not only that, but she also hadn’t said anything to anybody else about her suspicions that Anne might be pregnant.

  The only other person who knew that she was pregnant was Derek, and she’d led him to believe that he’d killed the baby. She hoped he continued to think that way. She was holding the bottle of vitamins when Jack walked back through the door. She shoved it behind her back, her cheeks heating.

  He held out a pan. “Got the fish ready, you sure you know how to cook it?”

  “Yeah, but if you have a certain way that you like it, then you better let me know now.”

  “Let’s see what kind of spices we have available to us, if any.” He crossed to the open shelves against the wall and rummaged through the containers. “Well, here,” he said, “is some cornmeal if you’d like it fried, and a bottle of olive oil. And there’s also a container of garlic flakes and pepper.”

  “I can make this happen,” she said, “with the garlic, pepper and the olive oil. If you would hand me that box of aluminum foil, I’ll get started.” She found a cast iron Dutch oven on another shelf, rinsed off the dust, applied a layer of olive oil in it and set it on the stove to heat. Everything else, she laid out on the table.

  “While you’re doing that, I’ll shower the smell of fish off my hands.” He grabbed a T-shirt, sweatpants, and headed for the tiny bathroom.

  Anne smiled at the thought of the big man fitting inside the small space. The bathroom was small enough, the shower was even smaller.

  She tore off a piece of aluminum foil, spread it out on the table, laid the fish in it, doused it with olive oil, garlic flakes and a healthy portion of pepper. Anne thought it would have been nice to have a lemon as well. She went to the box that Sadie had packed and surprised herself by finding a little bottle of lemon juice amongst the other things Sadie had packed.

  She sprinkled lemon juice over the fish, wrapped the foil around it, stuck it in the Dutch oven on top of the potbelly stove that had become hot while she had been in the shower. Since the pot was already warm, it wouldn’t take long to cook the fish.

  In the meantime, she found a can of French-style green beans, some dried bacon bits and a small saucepan. She used a manual can opener to open the can, poured the green beans into the saucepan, sprinkled the bacon bits over it and added some of the garlic flakes, then set it beside the Dutch oven on top of the potbelly stove. Before long, the smell of garlic and fish filled the air, making her stomach rumble.

  Jack emerged from the bathroom shaking the water from his hair. “Wow,” he said. “That cold water would wake the dead, but there’s nothing more invigorating. How’s it going? You need some help?”

  “Sure, if you want to lay out the plates. I’ll check the fish.” She felt warmed by his offer to help. Her parents had always chipped in and done their part. Since her mother had worked outside the home as well as her father, they’d shared the household responsibilities.

  Not Derek. When she’d still been working, she’d come home to clean up after him and to cook a meal for him. He’d never offered to help, not even to set the table or clean the dishes afterward. Not only did Jack set the table, but he also found another pot, filled it with water and added teabags to it. “Sorry,” he said. “They only had decaffeinated.”

  “That’s all right. I like decaf.” She didn’t tell him that she couldn’t have caffeine because she was pregnant. She wouldn’t know him long enough that it would make a difference to him if he found out she was, which was kind of sad.

  When she opened the foil, the fish was fluffy and white and smelled heavenly, even to her sensitive stomach. She found a spatula and served up two portions of the fish onto the plates, handing them to Jack, one at a time. He added a portion of the green beans and laid the plates on the table.

  “This looks amazing,” he said.

  “It’s pretty simple. The fish is healthy, and the green beans are roughage,” she said.

  “Looks perfect to me.” Jack held out the chair in front of one of the plates. “Please, take a seat.”

  Anne did, and he scooted the chair in behind her. She waited until he sat across the table from her. As soon as he did, he popped up again and went to the shelf against the wall. He came back with a candle, candle stick holder and a match. He set the candle in the holder, struck the match and lit th
e wick. “Now it’s a proper dinner,” he said. “It almost feels like a date.”

  Anne glanced down at the food on her plate, suddenly not hungry.

  “Did I say something wrong?” Jack reached across the table and took her hand.

  She stared at where their hands were combined and shook her head. “No, it’s just that the last date I was on was with Derek, before I realized what an ass he was.”

  He didn’t try to keep her hand in his. She could easily have pulled hers free, but she didn’t. “I’m not Derek,” Jack said. “I would never hurt you, and I would never hold you prisoner.”

  She looked up, her gaze capturing his. “I want to believe you, and I think I do.”

  He raised his other hand. “I know I can’t tell you to trust me, a person has to earn that trust, but I promise you I will not hurt you. In fact, if it would make you feel better, I can sleep outside tonight. You can have the cabin to yourself.”

  She shook her head. “No way. You spent a whole night on the road because of me. If anybody slept outside, it should be me. You deserve a comfortable bed to sleep in.”

  He smiled. “I appreciate that.” He gently squeezed her hand and let go. “But we’ll move the beds apart as soon as we’ve finished dinner. We can even move these chairs in between, if it makes you feel better.”

  She shook her head. “No, that won’t be necessary.” She tipped her head toward his food. “Now, eat before it gets cold.”

  He chuckled. “I can’t believe you caught the first fish. That’s just my luck.” He winked. His chuckle warmed the air in the room, and suddenly, she was glad she’d stepped across that balcony onto his and stowed away in his truck. For the first time in weeks, she started to have hope for the future.

  Chapter 12

  Anne moved her hand to her lap, loving how warm and strong Jack’s fingers had felt curled around hers.

  Derek had never held her hand, unless it was to keep her in one place. His intent had been to dominate. From what Anne could tell about Jack, his intent was to soothe and to make her feel comfortable, not to intimidate.

  Her gaze drifted up to meet his across the flame of the candle. He seemed to be a good man. She appreciated that he’d seen the need for a candle at dinner. It was a nice touch. Feeling better and freer than she had in the past three weeks, she dug into the fish, savoring the garlic and peppery flavor. She ate every bite, and then consumed the green beans, going back to the sauce pan for seconds.

  Across the table Jack chuckled. “Now, that’s more like it,” he said. “I don’t think I’ve seen you eat more than two or three bites at any given meal.”

  She gave him a weak smile. “I usually have a good appetite…just not lately.”

  His smile faded. “You have good reason. I can’t imagine the stress you’ve been under, both physically and emotionally.”

  “I keep hoping that this too shall pass,” she said. “It’s just hard to imagine when I know how determined Derek can be about his…possessions.”

  “Well, hopefully, being off the grid will slow him down and give Swede a chance to dig into his activities on the web. Maybe he can find a way to put a stop to Derek by exposing his activities to the authorities…through an anonymous tip, of course.”

  “Yeah, but would it be enough to put him away? If he’s not in jail and he’s loose, he’ll come back after me. Especially if he thinks I had anything to do with putting him in jail.”

  “Well, we’re off the grid right now, so you can relax a little. We’ll keep our eyes open just in case.” Again, Jack reached across the table to take her hand. “I’ve got your six.”

  She smiled. “You don’t know what that means to me. Since my parents died, I’ve had no one to lean on. I thought I’d found someone in Derek.” She snorted. “Boy, was I wrong.”

  “I won’t let you down,” Jack said. “With Hank’s team backing us, we’ll get to the bottom of it. In the meantime, you’re with me for the two weeks that I’m here.”

  Anne nodded. “I hope that’ll be long enough.”

  Jack’s brow creased. “So do I.” He released her hand and gathered his plate.

  Anne stood and took her plate as well, and then carried it to the sink. She filled the sink with cold soapy water. After she rinsed the pot that she had cooked the green beans in, she filled it with clean, cold water and set it on the potbelly stove. “Do we need to bring more firewood inside?”

  “Probably,” he responded.

  “Now would be a good time to get some,” she said. “We have to wait to do dishes until the water gets hot enough.”

  Jack pulled on his boots. “A few more sticks of firewood wouldn’t hurt to keep the cabin warm tonight. The temperatures drop down pretty quickly after the sun disappears behind the mountains.”

  Anne slipped her feet into her shoes and noticed a flashlight hanging on the wall by the door. “If you’ll hold the flashlight, I’ll carry the wood,” she offered.

  Jack shook his head. “No way. You carry the flashlight. I’ll carry the wood.”

  She gave him the side-eye stare. “You know I’m pretty strong for a female.”

  He raised his hands. “If you really want to carry the firewood, I’ll let you. Knock yourself out.”

  She grinned crookedly. “Not really, but I just wanted you to know that I can do hard work, too.”

  He returned her grin. “I know that, and you pack a pretty wicked elbow to the gut, even if you haven’t had self-defense classes.”

  “It came naturally,” she said, her eyes narrowing. “Deep down, I think I’ve wanted to do that for a long time. I just didn’t dare when I was by myself. The consequences would’ve been pretty painful.”

  Jack cupped her cheek. “I’m sorry you’re having to go through this.”

  She covered his hand with hers. “You have nothing to be sorry about. I brought it on myself.”

  Jack frowned. “The hell you did. You have to stop thinking that way. Derek’s one sorry excuse for a human being. There’s no reason for a man to hit a woman. You did nothing to deserve that.”

  She nodded. “Well, I appreciate that thought. Derek didn’t agree. He had all kinds of excuses for hitting me.” Anne dropped her hand from his.

  Jack let his hand fall to his side.

  She turned and reached for the flashlight, switched it on to test the batteries, and then opened the door and shined the light out into the darkness. She was pretty shocked that it wasn’t that dark. The clear night sky was filled with a blanket of stars that made the land around them almost as bright as day. The starlight even glistened on the river. “I don’t think I need this,” she said looking down at the flashlight.

  Jack stepped around her out onto the porch. “Leave it on. Where the wood is stored might be cast in shadows, and who knows what varmints might be out at this time of night.”

  “Good point,” she said and shined the light toward the ground.

  They rounded the corner of the cabin and made their way to the little lean-to on the side where firewood was neatly stacked.

  Anne carefully shined the light all around the cords of wood.

  “All clear?” Jack asked.

  Anne chuckled. “Looks that way.”

  He loaded his arms with five logs. “That ought to be enough for tonight, and maybe even tomorrow night, depending on how cold it gets.”

  Anne walked beside him as he carried the wood back to the front door. She hurried ahead, pushed open the door and held it as he carried his load inside. She placed the flashlight in its mount on the wall and went to take some of the logs off the top of the pile that Jack had carried in. She stacked them neatly on the floor beside the potbelly stove.

  Jack laid the rest of them on top of the stack and shoved one into the stove. The glowing embers from the original log stirred into a flame, wrapping around the dry log.

  By then, the water in the pot on top of the stove had heated sufficiently. Anne poured the hot liquid into the sink with the cold bubbly
water, making it warm enough to wash the dishes.

  Jack stepped up beside her. “You cooked. Let me wash.”

  “That’s okay,” she said. “I don’t mind.”

  “It’s only fair,” Jack argued. “Back home, whoever cooked got to sit down after dinner while the rest of us cleaned up. If we didn’t want to clean up, we took our turns cooking.”

  “Really, I don’t mind,” she said.

  Jack plucked a dish towel off the shelf above the sink. “Okay, but I insist on drying.”

  Anne washed the dishes with Jack standing so close she could feel the heat of his body. It stirred something inside her she’d thought had been lost forever.

  Jack dried, laying the plates, utensils, pots and pans back on the shelf where he’d originally found them.

  The cabin was so small it was inevitable that they would bump into each other several times during the process of cleaning the dinner dishes. Each time they touched, a shock of electricity rushed through her body. The contact at once excited her and scared her. How could she feel such raw longing for a man she had just met? She didn’t know. It was almost with relief that she finished washing the dishes, emptied the sink of water and rinsed away the suds.

  Jack dried the last pan and hung the towel on a peg. “I guess I should go turn off the generator now that we don’t need the water.”

  “I’ll carry the flashlight,” Anne said. “And you can show me how to operate the generator. I need to know how everything works.”

  Once again, they stepped out the door and went around to the opposite side of the cabin from the firewood where a shed had been built into the side of the wall. When Jack opened the door, a small animal skittered out.

  Anne jumped, let out a squeal and would have fallen backward if Jack hadn’t been there.

  He wrapped his arm around her and steadied her.

  “What was it?”

  Jack chuckled. “A squirrel. It probably has a nest inside the shed. I’ll check it out tomorrow, but right now, I’m just going to turn off the generator.” Still, he didn’t drop his arm from around her. “Are you okay?”