by Bella Juarez
“Yes, Captain?” Anna asked.
“Hold on just a minute. I’ll be right back.” Jack left her standing at the door.
Jack raced downstairs to his own room. He picked up his phone charging by his bed and made a quick call.
“JJ? I can’t make it today. Something came up. I’ll call you tomorrow,” Jack said.
“Whatever, tadpole. You might not catch me tomorrow. I might be at church when you call.”
Jack snorted and laughed. “What church might that be? Saint McP’s? The altar of Irish whiskey? I’ll call you later.”
Jack hung up the phone and realized he’d left Anna standing in her doorway. Dumbass! She must’ve thought he’d lost his mind. He reached her room and knocked again. He waited.
“What’s up? What are you doing?” Jack asked.
“Sir?” Anna looked annoyed with the question. “I was reading a map of the base.”
“For?”
“I need to run some errands.”
Getting a straight answer from her always seemed to turn into an interrogation. He’d more success with al-Qaeda than he did when he talked to this woman.
“To do?” Jack asked.
“Uh, well I was planning on doing some laundry today and I need to find a Wal-Mart or Target,” Anna said tentatively.
“Well, I can get you there. How about we do that after the tour?”
“Tour? That wasn’t on the list, Captain.”
“A tour of San Diego. Surely there’re some places you’d like to see. There’s the Gaslamp Quarter, take a tour of the harbor, the fish market, La Jolla Beach, a winery, Old Town. There’s all kinds of museums in Balboa Park, if you’re into that sort of thing…” Jack trailed off.
“I appreciate the invitation, Captain. But it’s really not necessary. Just a trip to the store would be fine.”
“Okay, fine. We’ll talk about it on the way to the store.”
“Let me get my shoes on,” Anna said with resignation.
Jack stepped into her room without an invitation and watched Anna’s routine. The subtle smell of her perfume surrounded him as he watched her crisscross the room. He could get used to watching her, he thought to himself with some amusement. Something is coming up all right…
Jack had a lovely vision of Anna crossing the room and reaching for the jacket that hung on the back of the chair next to where he was standing. He would be blocking her reach. He visualized what he would make her do for that jacket.
Jack recalled the collision they had in the passageway back in the building they shared. How she felt, even if it was briefly, against him. He didn’t realize how curvy she was then. Ever since, there had been a very powerful attraction, although he couldn’t explain why. Jack realized with some uneasiness he felt a connection to Anna. He found himself making any excuse he could to be around her.
Jack let his eyes wander down her body and smiled to himself. Anna had been really embarrassed when she ran into him that day. He recalled how she’d blushed when he put her phone back together and handed it to her. He would love to see that blush again. Oh yeah, you’d pay for that jacket. He quickly rebuked himself, almost physically shaking his head to clear the thought. She’d never shown him the slightest interest. She’d always been professional and rather standoffish, he observed. Jack was lost in thought when Anna spoke and hadn’t heard what she said to him.
“I’m sorry, what was that?” Jack asked
“Would you please give me my jacket?” Anna asked as she picked up her bag.
Baby, I’d love to give it to you. The snake in his head hissed. Jack lifted the soft material from the chair back and handed it to her. Damn it! Everything about her was soft or smelled good. This was would be a long day and taking one for the team would be painful.
As they left the post, he pulled onto Silver Strand Boulevard, which ran the length of Coronado. Jack saw that Anna was deep in thought as they crossed the harbor bridge into San Diego. He noticed she watched as the sights went past. She seemed distracted when they stopped at a red light.
“Captain?” Anna asked.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Can we stop?” Anna asked, pointing at historical old Harbor Town buildings.
“Sure, where do you want to go?”
“The farmer’s market inside that old village.”
“Farmer’s market? There’s a really big one in Old Town and I believe you’re in luck. It’s on Saturdays. I also think it’s near a Target.”
“Oh, okay.” Anna shrugged.
Jack drove on to catch I-5 or the five toward Old Town. He smiled slightly as he watched Anna grab hold of the armrest as they went up and down the steep hills.
“Are you okay?” Jack asked as he pulled into a particularly steep parking space.
“A little hilly here, isn’t it?” Anna asked as she opened the car door.
They walked to the area sectioned off for the farmer’s market. Jack could tell immediately Anna was in her element because she transformed. There were all sorts of foods, crafts, and fresh flowers. She strolled through the market confidently, walking through the rows of vendors. She took her time in evaluating the food, explaining to him what it could be used for, how to prepare it, even in a microwave.
Anna walked the rows of plants and flowers and taught him how to find the fresh flowers that would last and the flowers that would fade by the end of the day. She was a different person than the shy computer geek she liked to play. She was alive and Jack could see her almost sparkle in the bright California sun. He genuinely liked the person he was with. This was the woman he wanted to get to know. After a couple of hours strolling through the market, Jack convinced Anna to eat at a local restaurant in Old Town. They were seated outside in a beautiful veranda.
“Why aren’t you a chef?” Jack asked. Anna sighed and looked away. “Anna? Don’t shut me out please. You can trust me. I’m not trying to hurt you. I’m asking because you seem so much happier. Are you really happy playing around with computers?” he asked gently.
Anna took a deep breath and looked at him.
“I had to get away. I had to do something different. My daughter was killed five years ago in an accident.” Anna hesitated for a moment, and even though he couldn’t read her expression through the large sunglasses her pain was almost tangible. “It was awful, Captain.”
“Jack, and I’m sorry,” Jack said, correcting her softly.
“Sir?”
“Call me Jack, please. Even most of my guys call me by my name.” Anna said nothing. “I think you have enough professionalism to know when addressing me by my rank is appropriate.”
They were silent for a moment. Jack gave her some time to process what he was saying. He looked away for a moment.
“Why did you move to San Antonio?” Jack asked.
“I’m from San Antonio.”
“Really? So you could show me around, take me to see the sights?” Jack teased.
“Cap—”
“Yes, Ms. Santiago?” Jack asked sternly.
“Jack, I really don’t get out much.”
“Yeah? Why not?” Jack could tell this was turning into another interrogation.
“I don’t know,” Anna said.
“Who would? Don’t you have friends?”
“I have friends.”
“Boyfriend?” Jack teased.
Anna giggled and shook her head. “No, that’s the last thing I need right now.”
“Why?”
“Because, I just don’t need that right now. I stay busy,” Anna said, taking a drink of her water.
“Busy? You don’t have a boyfriend and you don’t go out much. What do you do?”
“What do you do?” Anna countered.
“Me? I work, I hang out with Mac, some of the other guys. But mainly, I work. I used to like taking long walks on a beach, too, until I joined the SEALs. They cured me of that little hobby.”
Anna giggled again.
“So why don’t you ha
ve a boyfriend?” Jack asked.
“Because I’m not in high school. Why don’t you have a girlfriend or a wife?”
Haha! Jack was poking at that little temper of hers. He’d seen a glimpse when he’d told her about her reassignment. Anna was smart and she’d bested him on more than one occasion without even trying. If he didn’t watch her, she could probably run circles around him.
“I don’t know. I guess I’m a workaholic. I’ve never been married and I don’t have a girlfriend per se,” Jack said.
“Per se?” Anna picked up her glass for a drink.
“Why? Are you interested in the position?”
Anna started choking on her drink. Jack smiled wickedly. He got his wish. There was that blush.
“Me? N–No.” Anna stuttered. She looked shocked by the question. “Maybe we ought to change the subject?” she asked quickly.
“Why? Does the thought seem that bad?”
“It’s wrong,” Anna said shortly.
“Who says?” Jack pushed.
“You’re my boss. Maybe this whole outing is a bad idea and we should get back.”
“Anna. Stop. I’m messing with you! I’m sorry if I went too far.”
“That’s not funny! What would you have done if I would have said yes?” she snapped.
“I never thought you would, Anna. I wouldn’t be here if I thought things would go that far. But by the way you’re reacting—”
“Seriously? Can’t you stop!” Anna said, cutting him off.
Jack looked away, fighting the words that were threatening to come out and detonate this situation. Anna seemed to pick up on his little internal fight and looked squarely at him. He looked at her and started to speak.
“Don’t. You’re in the military and I know you can take orders, even when you don’t like it. Use that filter, please,” Anna said.
“I’m not known for my filter.”
Anna shook her head and looked away. “Why am I not surprised?”
During lunch, Jack convinced Anna to take a tour of a local winery north of San Diego. They drove for an hour and made the tour. Jack hadn’t had a day of just screwing off in some time, and he was really enjoying himself. He normally didn’t spend this kind of time with any woman. Anna was different, but he’d known that from the beginning. She was very witty. She started to relax and when he gently dished out his teasing, she would give it right back. Jack still couldn’t break her from calling him Captain and keeping him at a distance. It was driving him crazy and making him want her that much more.
The day was ending when they arrived at their quarters. Anna remembered she needed to make that trip to the store. Jack smiled and looked away because he’d forgotten his promise to take her to the store.
“Okay, give me a list and I’ll go get you what you need while you start your laundry,” Jack said.
Anna hesitated. “No. I need to go and you need to do something else while I’m shopping.”
“Get me a list. What’s so hard about that? Jesus, Anna! You turn everything into a damn interrogation!” Jack snapped, frustrated.
“I really don’t think you want to pick up some of the things I need, Captain,” Anna insisted.
“A list,” Jack commanded.
“You want a list? Okay!” Anna snapped.
She can be so moody sometimes, and after such a pleasant day. Jack followed her into her room as she angrily scribbled a list for him. He remembered why he didn’t date women his own age. She walked up to Jack and handed him her list. He quickly scanned it and then looked at her.
“Get to it! I’ll see you when you get back. I’m going to do my laundry,” Anna quipped.
Jack stood there a moment returning her defiant glare. Damn it! She did it again! Anna was waiting for him to back down. Baby, you’re playing chicken with the wrong guy and payback is a bigger bitch than you. Jack wanted to say those words more than anything but decided against it.
“Okay. I’ll be back.”
* * * *
Anna waited in the laundry area reading a book on her e-reader. She briefly wondered how Captain O’Malley was making out with her list. She put the reader down on her lap and watched the clothes tumble. She was perplexed. As much as she denied it to herself, Tammy was right. Captain Jack O’Malley was a panty dropper, and if she wasn’t careful, her panties just might come off for him.
Jack’s military-style light brown hair and emerald-green eyes made him a contestant for the cover of a romance novel. Add his hard body in or out of uniform and you had a package that just screamed great sex. And that scar! How many times did she have to fight herself to keep from touching it or even kissing it? Today, she’d noticed a couple more scars. Anna could imagine having a scavenger hunt all over his body looking for scars. That boy could make a nun break her vow and get play in a convent. Shit, he could have a one-man orgy!
Anna shook her head. She would have to be dead not to be attracted to him. Captain O’Malley stirred something inside that scared her, something she’d suppressed after Marc died. Captain Jack was making life very difficult because he seemed to be all over her. He was pushing her in a direction she really couldn’t go right now.
Anna knew she was a passionate and temperamental creature and instinctively she knew Captain O’Malley was, too. She had to keep a wall between them before he sucked her inside and made her lose herself. The second she allowed him to breach that wall, it would be like two planets colliding. Jack O’Malley wouldn’t give an inch. Neither would she, and they were both too set in their ways to change.
Anna took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes because she had the stirrings of a headache. She wasn’t on the rag, yet, but it was coming. Captain O’Malley’s proposition earlier at lunch was almost more temptation than she could bear. She considered it for a moment and shook her head. She was reading more into this than was there. There was no way someone like Jack would be interested in the person she’d become. Anna had worked to become one with the scenery, making sure no one noticed her. Anna had become an expert at hiding herself.
He wasn’t serious…Anna remembered his offer. “Are you interested in the position?” Yeah, right. He’d almost looked embarrassed at her reaction. She’d been defensive because she certainly wasn’t repulsed at the idea. She convinced herself that there was nothing. Captain O’Malley was just a nice guy being a flirt. In fact, flirting was second nature to him. She recalled his interaction with Markie.
No, this would never work out anyway. Anna was very jealous and possessive. Captain O’Malley was way too much of a player and too old to change. She rubbed her neck and eyes again. She would need a day off from Captain Jack. Anna needed to regain some balance and fortify her defenses.
* * * *
Jack watched Anna from the doorway. She was in another world. He watched as she rubbed her eyes. She almost looked like she was in pain. He smiled as he thought about the contents of the bag he was holding. Jack turned and walked to the vending machine in the hallway, retrieving two bottles of water.
Silently, Jack walked back into the laundry room and set the bag on the chair next to her. Anna didn’t move. She stared at the clothes tumbling in the dryer off to her left. He quietly reached into the bag and dug out the Midol she’d requested. She never moved or gave any indication she’d heard him. He shook his head because he was worried about her. Anna needed to be more alert to her surroundings.
Anna moved when Jack placed the cold water on her shoulder. She looked down and noticed the bag. Trying not to smile, she took the bottle of water and opened it. He handed her the Midol. She looked up at him questioningly.
“You look like you have a headache,” Jack said quietly.
“I do,” Anna confirmed, taking the package from him and opening it. “You probably know a little too much about me right now.”
“It explains a lot…Dragon Lady…” Jack teased.
Anna giggled and Jack took the seat next to her. He directed his stare at the tumbling clothes.
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“What’s that?” Jack asked, pointing to a gadget in her lap.
“It’s an e-reader. I can buy books in electronic format and download them to this. It saves space when I travel. Apple’s supposed to be coming out with something like this but with a lot more capability.”
“Yeah? You like to read? So do I. What kind of books?”
“Thrillers, detective, all kinds of stuff. If it looks good from the excerpt, I’ll pretty much read anything.”
“Romance? Harlequin?” Jack teased.
“Yeah, when I was like thirteen,” Anna snorted.
“Come on, Anna, an artistic woman like you, you’re a romantic. Admit it. I am.”
“Oh? So you read Harlequin, do you, Captain? Nope, I was married for eighteen years. Romance ended after a baby and diapers,” Anna quipped.
“Maybe you were married to the wrong guy. That does happen, you know,” Jack said knowingly.
Anna rolled her eyes. “Parent-teacher conferences, the all-night projectile vomiting…Oh and did I mention taxi services? Definitely not very romantic,” Anna droned on, making Jack laugh. He seemed to do that a lot around her. “But you wouldn’t know about that, would you? Never being married and doing the whole kid-raising thing,” she jabbed.
“If you keep up that attitude, when the right guy comes along, you’ll let him just walk by. Harlequin, by the way, is a great resource for us guys,” Jack said.
“Are you serious?” Anna asked in disbelief.
“Damn right! I got hooked on them the first time I went over to Iraq. Morale would send over books and put them in the day room. Can’t get enough of ’em. I’ve learned a lot.”
“Really? I’d have thought you were more the erotica type.”
* * * *
Anna regretted the words as soon as they were out of her mouth. She couldn’t stop herself because he seemed to push every single button she had. Jack’s eyes lit up as he looked at her.
“Are you? Got any recommendations?” Jack asked as he lifted the e-reader from her lap. “How does this thing work?” He turned it over and punched buttons, finally hitting the one that illuminated the screen.
