SEALs of Honor: Cooper

by Dale Mayer

  “Did he put her through school?”

  “No. Doc is gifted and was granted scholarships the whole way.”

  “So she has no debts and doing well. Good for her.”

  “And that’s where the problem comes in. He wanted her to pay him for having been there while she’d been going through school. Something about wanting a payment for his support against her future earnings. As in if they’d stayed married then he’d be expecting a higher quality of living.”

  Cooper snorted at that.

  “The judge said that if he’d kept his pecker in his pants then his complaints might have more grounds. As it was the assets since the marriage began were split as evenly as possible. She got her car. He got his Jeep. There was minimal cash but that was split as well.”

  “All common in today’s world.”

  “Exactly. Greg also broke off with his girlfriend a few months back.”

  “So he’s reassessing his position and might want to try his hand with his ex-wife.” Cooper snorted. He doubted Sasha knew. Typical. “Where did you get this by the way?”

  “A combination of public documents and gossip. He’s navy. Nothing is secret here.”

  “So true.” He tried to keep his voice normal, but his tone ended up cool, detached. Maybe Markus would let it pass.

  “Cooper…” Markus hesitated. “What’s up?”

  Damn. Of course he’d notice.

  Cooper hated to bring it up. Markus had lost his wife and they’d been terribly in love. He’d been devastated. That hit had taken him years to get over and said much about the relationship.

  Cooper rubbed the back of his neck. “I just wondered, is this really the state of today’s marriages?”

  “Not all of them but too many, yes,” Markus said. “You never got married?”

  “No, I haven’t found anyone to go the distance. And I have no intention of getting married until I find one who will,” he said. “It’s not that I don’t believe divorce is the best or in some cases, the only answer, but I don’t want it to be my answer.”

  The passion in his voice was hard for him to not hear himself. “I want to know she will be there for me, capable of handling the times I’m away, and not complain if I work too hard, that she’ll be there when I come back.” He sighed. “Sorry, didn’t mean that to come across so vehemently.”

  “Understood. With so many of your friends finding partners the issue becomes a hot button.”

  “In many ways.” Cooper groaned. “My brother has been divorced twice already, and he’s paying child support for four kids. Now, he’s looking at doing it a third time.”

  “It’s more common than you’d think,” Markus, said. “Unfortunately.”

  “I know and if he’s happy then good for him, but I want something different for myself.”

  “I do too, but I have to admit to being concerned that having found love and lost it that there won’t be a second time around for me.” His smile came through the phone as he added, “But having known the joy once, I am definitely willing to try again.”

  “There will be.”

  The phone call ended soon afterward. As the coffee dripped beside him, Cooper stared out the window.

  “Problems?”

  He smiled and turned to face Sasha, giving her an improvised version of the conversation. “No, just one of those philosophical issues. Markus lost his wife in a diving accident, and he’s concerned that was his only chance at a perfect love.”

  Sasha nodded and walked to the coffee pot. She filled the cups he’d set out. Cooper hadn’t even realized the coffee was ready.

  “I’ve seen a lot of that. The shock and the fear after a traumatic loss. It’s always difficult to move on.”

  “Do you agree with it?” he asked curiously.

  “Agree that there is only one love per person?” She shook her head. “No, not at all. I think we have multiple chances at love. We also change and grow and what we wanted at sixteen is very different than at sixty. And the type of love or even our definition of what love is changes with time and experience.”

  “So we can all have someone…”

  “I’ve seen proof of that over and over again.” She smiled at him. “I might deal in the medical world and see death on a regular basis, but that doesn’t mean I don’t see the good side of it as well.” She stared down at her cup. “People are resilient and the human spirit even more so. Given the right conditions we can all be crushed and the opposite is also true. We can all thrive.”

  “Sounds like you’ve thought about it a lot.”

  She laughed and walked through to his small living room. “I was always one to question the universe growing up. Medical school showed me we have so few answers, that all possibilities must be examined to find the right solution. Divorce taught me…” Shadows came into her eyes. “…that two people can have very different perceptions of the situation.”

  “I’m sorry for that. I don’t know your husband.”

  “Good,” she said. “One of the hardest things about a divorce is the friendships, and the splits that happen as a result of it.”

  He nodded, having been a friend to various halves of relationships. “It’s hard on the friendships as well,” he said. “We visit both people. I have several divorced friends. We often did barbecues at each other’s houses, yet suddenly, we’re placed on a side.” He shrugged. “I’ve really liked several wives that put me on the husband’s side. It’s a rejection of us too. And it’s painful to watch friends split. Sometimes it’s easier to back away.”

  “I found that as well. Greg was Navy with navy buddies. It seemed like everyone was uncomfortable around me so I’m the one who backed off.”

  “And maybe they were uncomfortable because their friend had done wrong, and that’s something they had trouble with.”

  She tilted her head to the side. “It’s possible. Several didn’t believe it, or not at first. I’m not sure when the details came out as I left.” She sighed. “If the details came out.”

  “No regrets about leaving?”

  She shook her head. “None. It’s over.”

  “He’s broken up with his girlfriend.” He hadn’t meant to let her know. Still he found himself watching her face intently.

  She laughed. “Okay, now that explains why he contacted my mother. I didn’t see why he’d give a shit if he was still with her.”

  “You don’t think he’d care about you getting kidnapped?”

  “Maybe. We were together for years so you’d hope he cared enough to be concerned. But if he’s broken up with Maureen then he’s looking for a replacement.” She grinned up at him. “I’m not it.”

  “Good.”

  He left it at that. But he could feel her speculative gaze. And ignored it.

  He’d be a fool to not be interested. And he didn’t just want her…he wanted so much more.

  Chapter 16

  Sasha filled their coffee cups as Cooper’s phone rang. She carried hers out to the back deck to give him privacy. And to give herself a moment to just relax. She didn’t want to consider all that had happened so far today, and if the media found out about it, her life would get even more difficult.

  That was not the way she’d like her mother to hear the news. She quickly dialed her.

  And got no answer. She redialed, hoping her mother was out shopping and not hiding from reporters. When there was no answer, she left a voice message with a short message to call her back.

  By the time she’d done that, she picked up her empty coffee cup and wandered back into the kitchen to refill it. And found Cooper still on the phone.

  She topped his coffee cup up and placed it in front of him then refilled hers. She sat down and waited, her mind consumed with her mother. If it was any other day she’d not be so worried but after everything so far, well… She dialed her again. This time her mother answered.

  Jesus. Sasha calmed down and had a short conversation with her, letting her know what happened. “I’m
staying at a friend’s house. I’ll let you know what I decide to do from here on in.”

  “And please call Greg,” her mother cried. “I know he’s been missing you. He called again this morning. He’s really sorry for what he did. Please phone him. You need help. Even after everything, I know he’ll look after you.”

  Sasha rubbed her forehead. That was not going to happen. After saying good-bye she hung up and stared down at her phone.

  “Problems?”

  “No new ones,” she quipped. “My mother. She thinks I’m better off with a man. So she wants me to call my ex. She thinks he’s a great guy whose fall from grace is forgivable. Apparently he called just after I left her house.”

  “Interesting timing.”

  “What does the timing have to do with anything?” she asked, studying the look on his face.

  “If he’d done the job, he’d have known then that you were on your way home and to get out of there.” He pulled out a notepad and said, “We should have the police on the case pull the phone records and see where he made the call from.”

  “Well, we know it was Greg calling,” she countered. “My mother knows him very well.”

  “And loves him too?”

  “Yes,” she said with a shrug. “What can I say? She doesn’t know all the details, and I don’t want to get into it with her.”

  He grinned. “Hey, I can’t blame you. Who wants to air the dirty laundry?”

  “Not me.” The last thing she wanted to do was go into detail about how her mother thought Greg was the best son-in-law ever. There was a part of her that still wasn’t sure if her mother blamed her. As if she hadn’t been wife enough that poor Greg had been forced to find another woman to take care of his needs. Her mother had been very happy with her father all those years so tended to look at relationships with a bright happy innocence. But with the understanding that being a wife came with specific responsibilities to keep her man happy. Sasha didn’t have the same perspective. Especially now.

  “The officer you spoke with before did not request the meeting.”

  She stared at him, the warmth draining from her face as a rush of white ice raced in. She swallowed. “What?”

  “You heard me.”

  She shook her head. “I heard you but I didn’t quite understand. Why did Theresa tell me he did then?” She knew her voice was rising but she didn’t get it. “Why would she do that?”

  Cooper reached across and covered her hand with his. “I don’t know,” he said in a careful calm tone. “But we will find out.”

  She stared into his gaze, trying to find a secure footing in the rocky foundation. “I wonder if she wanted to talk but thought I wouldn’t take the time unless there was a reason?”

  “We also have to consider that it wasn’t Theresa contacting you to change the meeting.”

  She frowned and glanced at her cellphone. “We have to find her.”

  Cooper nodded. “The police are looking.” He stroked the skin on the back of her hand. She swallowed hard as she thought about all the things that could go wrong with someone like Theresa. The events that had already taken place.

  “I hate to think of her in trouble,” she confessed. “We’ve already gone through so much.”

  “And she might be just fine,” he said quietly. “What do you know about her?”

  “She flew over with me and we sat together. I got to know her a little, not that she was very forthcoming,” she said candidly. She studied the kitchen table thinking of all the conversations she’d shared with Theresa.

  “Theresa was always depressed, despondent,” Sasha said abruptly. “She worked hard, but the conditions were difficult for her. The pain and the suffering. The sheer hopelessness of the numbers just added to it. There might have been something going on in her personal life too, but I avoided those conversations because of my own situation.”

  “Was she ever suicidal?”

  Sasha frowned. “I don’t think so. We were friends but life was busy. I was dealing with shit myself and when there was time that wasn’t the topic of choice. I told her if she ever needed a place that she was welcome to stay with me. But we were so busy…”

  “So there wasn’t much time to sit about and socialize.” He squeezed her hand. “I get it. But I also work with a team, several teams of men, and I do have a basic understanding of who they are inside.”

  “Like what?” she challenged.

  “Like Mason is an honorable leader. Swede would carry me through a jungle to save my ass, Hawk is a man to call on if you need help, Shadow is…well it’s hard to define that guy, but he’s the one that does the worst of the jobs and never complains. Dane is brilliant and sees things others don’t. Markus is all bleeding heart although he does his best to hide it, and Evan has a bitter edge but it hides a man just waiting to be called in to help. I could tell you about so many more. Levi…Chase…Brett…”

  “I get the idea,” she said laughing. “I could say something about everyone too, but I didn’t spend much time with them. I worked, then slept and got up and worked again. I was only there three months and got thrown in the deep end from the first day. Not sure I ever had a chance to socialize, but yes, I do get an impression of everyone.” She marshaled her thoughts.

  “David worked hard but needed his downtime. I can see him at home doing a full day then coming home to the beer on the deck. He’s social and would have a core group of good friends. It hurt Theresa to see the children suffer over there. She did her work then walked away as if that was the only way she could keep doing the job.”

  He nodded. “That type of work is hard on some people.”

  “Ron handled it just fine. And energy, man he could work. He never complained. He was always there organizing more help and fundraising for medical supplies and specialists.” She smiled. “I’m seriously delighted to hear that he’s going to be fine.”

  “Anything to add about Theresa?”

  “Not really, other than I think she’s very unhappy and whatever sent her to the volunteer position, it didn’t help her underlying issue.”

  “Did it help yours?”

  She smiled. “Well, I’m feeling much better these days so maybe. It also created a new set of problems. There is always that sense of guilt for wanting to leave. I have skills to offer and to not offer them caused conflict.”

  “We see that aspect a lot too. We’re often sent to regions in need of aid, including our skills, and when the orders are given to withdraw, we withdraw.”

  His phone buzzed. He released her hand and checked it. “Mason says the police did check your neighbors and no one reported seeing any strangers around your house. There was a delivery vehicle in the area during the day, but no one saw him go to your house.”

  “So we’re no further ahead.”

  “Any idea where Theresa might be living? Did she mention her family, friends?”

  “No.” Sasha looked surprised. “I’m not even sure I asked her,” she confessed. “Good Lord, I’m a terrible person.”

  “Except we know you’re not so maybe there’s a reason why you didn’t.”

  “She wasn’t a terribly fun person to be around—or maybe it was me who wasn’t. Coming home was traumatic for me too.” She sighed. “Outside of the meetings I had little contact with her.”

  *

  Cooper studied her face. She’d had a rough time of it these last few months, but she’d held up like a trooper. “It would be helpful to know more about her friends and family.”

  “We’ll ask Ron. Maybe you could call David and ask him, I haven’t seen him since the last interview.”

  “He’s already gone again,” Cooper said. “But we can follow up.”

  She nodded, hugging her cup of coffee. “I need to look for a place to live.”

  “Are you sure? It’s a fast decision.”

  “With a fast reason.” Her jaw locked. “I don’t want to go back there.”

  “Do you have friends or family you can go visit w
ith for a few weeks? Make it a holiday at the same time?”

  “Maybe?” But she didn’t look at him. He waited. She sighed. “I’d have to deal with Greg then. And my mother.”

  He grinned. “Gotta love family.”

  She pursed her lips, then her gaze lit up. “I have a friend who is traveling right now. I might be able to contact her about staying at her place.”

  “And the invitation is open to stay here.”

  He could see her open her mouth to refuse then she closed it and nodded. “Thanks. I’ll see what I can make for arrangements.”

  “What are you going to do today?”

  “It’s a Sunday, right?”

  He nodded.

  “Do you work today?”

  He shook his head. “No.”

  Her phone rang suddenly. He watched as she opened it, checked the number and winced.

  “Does it help to avoid him?”

  She raised her gaze to his. Then shrugged. “No. I guess not.” She slid her finger across the screen of her phone. “Hello, Greg.”

  She left the phone on the table so he could hear too. There was a shocked silence then Greg rushed to speak. “Sasha?”

  “As you called me, I’d think so,” she said in a dry voice. “What do you need?”

  Not what do you want? Interesting. Cooper sat back and wondered.

  “Are you all right? I heard the news. I was really concerned.”

  “Thank you,” she said calmly. “But I’m fine. Mom told you that I was okay.”

  “Sure,” he said, his voice infused with caring. “But that’s not the same as hearing your voice.”

  “Right. I’m fine though, thanks.”

  And she raised her gaze to Cooper. “How’s Maureen?”

  There was a harsh gasp then Greg rushed to say, “We broke up. Months ago.”

  “Ah. Sorry to hear that.”

  “Have you heard from her?” he asked quietly. “She’d planned on contacting you.”

  “No, I haven’t. And I won’t,” she said with a note of finality.

  Silence.

  “I’m sorry.”