Nerd and the SEAL

by Grady, D. R.

  But what if Treeny woke in the middle of the night, afraid and alone? Will, her brother-in-law, and sister lived in the same house. Will was big and if angered, would be an enraged bull in terms of strength and power. Not someone you wanted to face in the middle of the night unless you had the skills to back up your attack.

  Plus, Mitch didn’t live far away. Mitch was a Marine who could make heads roll if necessary. Max lived down the road and while mild-mannered, he was as big as Will. Ben had no doubts that if someone in his family was threatened, Max would crack heads.

  Then there was General Emma. The smallest of the bunch, but he wouldn’t make her angry, and he was a SEAL. No one in the family discussed how Emma knew some of her self-defense techniques, but she could take care of herself and anyone near her. In an emergency, Treeny could call his aunt.

  Or his mom. Heather Morrison would tear anyone apart who threatened one of her chicks. And even though Treeny wasn’t technically hers, his mom would go to bat for her. The Morrisons considered her family.

  Taking the turn for the highway, he thought more on Treeny being a part of his family. She had always been there. From the time they were teenagers, anyway. He now had the power to make her membership into his family permanent. For some reason, that both terrified and pleased him.

  Treeny as his permanently was certainly something he needed to pursue. But how did she feel? He knew she wanted him. But did she want him permanently?

  Would quitting his job for something with better hours help? Probably. Yet he’d put so much of himself into becoming a SEAL. Only a choice few possessed his skills. He was the commanding officer of one of the most elite Special Operations teams in the world.

  Could he give that up?

  Did he even want to?

  Chapter 26

  Treeny rolled her shoulders wearily as she pushed open the door to the outside. She was glad to be going home. Even though she had no thoughts for supper, at least she was finished with work for the day.

  Another summer virus had reared its ugly head and they were busy again this week. To add to her stress, she’d heard nothing from Ben, while the nightmare from her teens had replayed several times ever since he left.

  Could she handle this? Missing him and worrying about him all the time he was gone. At least Mitch and Lainy could email from time to time. Lainy knew periodically that Mitch was okay. And KC and Max had emailed at least once a day – a vital reassurance for Max.

  So far Ben had emailed her... never. She shoved a hand through her hair before diving it into her bag in a grappling search for her keys. Triumphantly, she held them aloft, surprised and pleased to find them so quickly.

  “Hello, Dr. Deveau, what kept you?” a familiar deep voice quipped behind her.

  With a gasp, she spun, dropped her keys and bag, and flew into Ben’s open arms. She didn’t give him an answer other than to claim his lips for a long, much needed kiss.

  “When did you get home?” She gasped, then sucked in a desperate breath before kissing him again.

  She felt him laugh, but he kissed her back with as much gusto as she figured she displayed. Kissing him was even better than she remembered.

  “Just now. Kiss me again,” he demanded and she didn’t need a second invitation.

  “Get a room,” one of her fellow doctors directed with laughter in his voice and she groaned. She had completely forgotten where they were.

  “We’re displaying too much PDA.” Ben stroked her cheek. His kiss-moistened lips glistened in the afternoon sunlight and she wanted to kiss him all over again and show more public displays of affection.

  “Maybe. I’m supposed to be a professional, but I really want to keep kissing you.” She ran a hand down his face.

  “Why don’t I take you to supper?” Ben’s hot eyes trailed after his own stroking hand.

  Her knees felt less than stable and she decided maybe she should sit down somewhere. Eating would require sitting. That worked.

  He tugged her to the passenger side of his truck and assisted her in. He picked up her keys and bag and handed them to her. She wanted to kiss him again. So she did. She vowed to keep the kiss short. She only partially succeeded.

  When she finally released him, he wore the grin of a well kissed man. “So, where do you want to eat?” He slid into the driver’s seat, but from what she could see, struggled to keep his hands off her. She found she didn’t have a problem with that.

  “I don’t care. All I care about is that you’re there.”

  He took them to a local restaurant they both liked. She clutched his hand while they were seated, so happy to see him. Being with him was like a second wind for her. Energy bubbled.

  “I take it you missed me.” They’d already given their orders to the waitress.

  Grinning, she cocked her head. “I don’t appear to be the only one with that malady.”

  He returned her grin, and again slid a hand down her face, like he memorized the contours. Then he smoothed it over her hair. She closed her eyes to better enjoy the caresses.

  “I’ll admit to being eager for my assignment to hurry up and end.”

  “I think what I hate the most about you being gone is that we don’t have any contact with each other. I don’t know if you’re okay or not.” Her mouth pulled down. She hated the unknown. She hated losing men she loved.

  “I know, baby. I don’t like not being able to contact you, either.” She liked the way his eyes shone with a regretful glow.

  “I know Lainy and Mitch, and Max and KC were apart but they at least could communicate regularly.” She hoped that hadn’t come out as a whine. No one liked a whiner.

  He smoothed over her hair again, and tugged a curl between two long, strong fingers. “But we have something they didn’t.”

  “What?”

  “We’re not separated the entire eight months to a year. We can kiss each other, and hold each other,” he said and looked speakingly around the room. “We can see each other whenever I’m home between jobs.”

  “True.” She thought of how much Lainy would have cherished meeting Mitch in person during the year they spent learning about each other. They had been physically parted by an ocean. She thought of how much KC spoke of wanting to hold Ryan and Max. Of how frantic she’d been when they came down with the flu and she wasn’t there to attend to her males.

  “Maybe I do have irregular hours,” he said, and she quelled the urge to snort. Irregular hours were the epitome of his life. But what he said was true. “But I’ll be home for entire days on end sometimes.”

  She bit her lip. “I know other couples do it, some even with children. How?”

  “The job is a part of their lives. The kids adjust with no difficulty. I know some of the guy’s wives hate their hours, but they work through problems when they happen. The relationship means more to them than the separation.” The emotion in his eyes was intense. Her heart fluttered.

  He reached for her hand. She curled her fingers in his. His hand was so much bigger than hers, and quite masculine. “Some of the guys said they created more trouble for themselves than if they had simply let things be.”

  She frowned. “What’s that mean?”

  “They tried to look for problems and fix them, rather than dealing with the issues when they came. Why borrow trouble?”

  “Isn’t that an Aunt Monica saying?”

  “Yeah.” Ben nodded, a grin twitching around his lips.

  She kept her eyes on their interlocked hands. “I suppose that’s something.” She raised her eyes to meet his. “I miss you so much when you’re away, though. Especially now that we’re dating.”

  “That makes sense. All the guys said once they developed a schedule, as much as a SEAL can, their lives improved.”

  “Don’t the other guy’s wives have trouble with not knowing where they are and what they’re doing?”

  “No. My former commanding officer’s wife said she always has his arrival to look forward to.”

&nb
sp; “I guess that’s something. Seeing you again after a couple of days or weeks is exciting. My heart does a little flipping thing.”

  “It does?” He sounded incredulous.

  “Definitely. But then, I’ve been missing you so much, when I finally see you in person, it’s like the culmination of all my hopes and fears.”

  “That’s what my former CO’s wife said. He thinks his unusual schedule has kept the spark in their marriage.”

  She cocked her head as she pondered that. “Do you think we could live like that?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know. We’ll have to figure out what works for us.”

  “Right. I suppose that makes sense. Do they have children?”

  “They don’t. Well, she’s pregnant now, and he’s a little worried, because a baby will change their dynamic again. But he’s also excited.”

  She liked the glow in his eyes. She hoped it boded well for their future.

  “Ben, do you want children?”

  His hand tightened on hers. “More than I ever suspected. But I want them with you,” he said boldly and her heart faltered, then accelerated to a gallop.

  “That’s how I feel,” she whispered. “I didn’t think about babies until you came along with romance on your mind.”

  He smiled. “I’m not saying I want kids right away, because I don’t. But when I think of kids, you’re involved.”

  “That’s how I feel.” She stared at their hands again.

  Before he could comment, their food came and they lost the moment. As she dug in, Treeny wondered how they’d manage. If he stayed in his job and they had kids, whenever he was away it would be like she was a single parent.

  Deciding to wait until later to worry about that, she asked another question. “Where are you staying this time?”

  “With Janine.”

  “She’ll be thrilled to see you again. We have lots of pictures to show you of her shower.”

  He frowned and paused with a forkful of roast beef halfway to his lips. “Shower?”

  “You didn’t hear?” Ben shook his head and she grinned. “Well, General Emma,” he groaned and the sound upped her grin, “decided we should throw a baby shower for your mom and sisters, with Janine as the ‘baby’. I’d call it a huge success.”

  “How did Janine react?” He sounded fascinated, but looked like someone who had just witnessed a ten car pile-up.

  “Extremely well. She cried. We all did.”

  “Were there men there?”

  “Yes, but the few who came stayed outside with the kids. They all ate cake, but didn’t watch any of the proceedings.”

  “Smart guys.”

  “Yes. And Will came a little later. Since KC, Lainy, Rachel, and I all were a part of the planning committee.”

  “Ah, you were volunteers,” he said with a huge grin. She dipped her fingers into her water glass and flicked the liquid at him. He laughed.

  “Like you haven’t been a member of General Emma’s army of volunteers before.”

  “Of course I have. I was commiserating. Didn’t run for the hills fast enough, did you?” he teased.

  “I didn’t get a chance to run for the hills. She called.” She wrinkled her nose.

  Ben stopped eating. “Now that’s a new tactic. I’ll stop answering my phone.” He mock shuddered.

  She grinned before eating a French fry. “She’ll still find you. Don’t worry.”

  He sighed. “Yeah, she’s hard to say no to.”

  “Like you’re ever given the opportunity.” She stared at him with a frown. “I didn’t know we could say no.”

  “People have, but they disappear, never to be seen or heard from again,” he said sagely and she sniggered.

  “Right. That’s what I was afraid of when I agreed to help. But we did have fun. We were all a little overworked, but Janine and your mom and sisters seemed so touched by the party. Janine’s official now.”

  “Official for what?”

  “She’s officially part of the Morrison family.”

  He looked bemused. “I already thought she was.”

  “She is, but General Emma wanted to make her officially official.” She tried hard not to grin at his perplexed self.

  “Right.” He forked up some coleslaw and stared slightly askance at her, but didn’t comment again.

  She thought that was a good sign.

  They spent the rest of the evening together. He didn’t return her to her car until late that evening. He insisted on following her home to make certain she arrived safely.

  As she watched his taillights disappear around the bend, she missed him already. But this was something she would have to get used to. He would leave her randomly throughout the years. Because that was his job.

  If she didn’t become accustomed to him leaving, she had no future with him. This is why people dated – to see if they were compatible. She didn’t think she could handle a life without Ben. Losing him on a permanent basis now might be easier than having him and losing him suddenly and forever later.

  The dream image rose up again in her mind, and she shuddered. The scrape of boots on stone and the smell of fear unfurled within her and Treeny nearly cried out. She couldn’t live through that horrible experience again - no way.

  Chapter 27

  “Janine, it’s me,” Ben called softly as he let himself into the house.

  His sister appeared in the doorway of her office. “I see you’re finally home.” A faint smile lurked around her lips.

  “Are you laughing at me?” He could tell she was at least mildly amused.

  “Perhaps,” she answered and he appreciated her serenity.

  “How’s the former Michael Lamont?”

  Janine’s face was in shadow, but he saw her stir slightly. “Where did you get that name?”

  “We worked with him a few months ago. I was pretty sure he’s the operative who “died” last week.”

  She stared at him for a few moments. “When I left on Thursday, he was rallying just as one would expect from a secret operative.” She shrugged.

  “You left him in critical condition?”

  “Yes. He’s in the care of a very revered and trusted doctor. I’d trust that doctor with my care.”

  Ben nodded. “I hope he pulls through.”

  “Did you and your team find the traitor?” Her voice was mild, but since she trusted him with classified information, he decided to offer her some peace of mind.

  “What makes you think we went after the traitor?” That didn’t stop him from teasing her though.

  She laughed softly. “Remember, I know Admiral O’Riley. He wouldn’t leave a stone as huge as a traitor in his midst unturned. Especially if that traitor was a threat to one of his SEAL teams. And who ‘killed’ one of his best agents.”

  “How well do you know Admiral O’Riley?” Ben kept his own voice soft, but he expected she would hedge.

  “I served a tour with him in Kuwait.” Her shrug was casual. He had to admit she was very good. Nothing in her body language gave away her unease, but he felt sure it was there, he could feel the emotion undulating between them.

  “But you knew him long before then, Janine.” He didn’t even form a question, because he knew O’Riley and Janine’s relationship predated her first tour of Kuwait.

  “Why do you want to know this information?”

  “You’re my sister,” he said and his heart grew at that news. “I want to know everything there is to know about you. I know O’Riley pretty well myself. But I also know his enemies. And he’s an admiral, so he’s made more than a few. I’d like to know how you figure into that.”

  “What do his enemies have to do with me?”

  He let the silence lengthen before he answered. She didn’t rush to fill it, and his respect for her grew again. “His enemies are also his teams’ enemies.”

  “Why do you suspect I’m on some team?” Janine danced around the question as adeptly as he expected her to. There was some interest
in her voice, but no real alarm.

  “You recognized one of his top secret operatives in the field. I have enough knowledge to know he didn’t tell you who he was. But you figured it out. Only someone trained could recognize him.”

  She sighed and indicated he follow her. Janine moved into her office and sank gracefully into the chair she had probably vacated when he entered the house.

  “You don’t have to tell me military secrets. You know I wouldn’t ask that. Nor could I. I have my own secrets.”

  “Technically I am retired. So, your knowing that I was a part of a Special Operations team isn’t likely to get you killed. Although, Ben, it might.” Her gentle emphasis on the might should have alarmed him, but it didn’t. Like he told her, he had secrets too. Danger was a part of their business. Knowing Janine shared in that only deepened his connection to her.

  “I know a lot of things that could get me killed. I’ve had a few other run-ins with the men responsible for Lamont’s injuries.” He didn’t elaborate, but then he didn’t need to. She could fill in the blanks.

  “Lamont was responsible for his own injuries. Yes, he was after those men, but he set that bomb. He simply didn’t get out of the way in time.”

  His eyes widened. “Lamont set that bomb?” He still couldn’t believe it when she confirmed the statement with a brisk nod. “He killed all those terrorists? Single-handedly?”

  She nodded again. His new knowledge was reflected in her eyes.

  He couldn’t stay seated, so he rose to his feet and paced as he thought of the information she had supplied. “Janine, for a man to do that...”

  “Yes, I know. He set the bomb up so it’d look like they had done so, hoping to make the organization collapse.” She stared hard at him. She deserved any new information, so he nodded, telling her without words that Lamont had accomplished what he set out to do. “However, when the bomb went off, he wasn’t out of the building yet. He’s not certain why the bomb went off when it did, because he calculated that he should have had at least five more minutes.”