Nerd and the SEAL

by Grady, D. R.

  “Bombs are tricky, and even the best laid ones can surprise you.” All SEALs understood that while fun, explosives were to be treated with respect.

  “That’s what must have happened to Lamont. He was surprised by that bomb detonating. I wonder if the traitor had something to do with him getting caught in the backlash.”

  “Maybe. Was the traitor there that night?”

  Janine shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m not sure if Lamont even remembers everything that happened before the bomb exploded. Most likely he won’t recover that part of his memory.”

  “He took an injury to the head?”

  She shook her head. “Mainly his chest, but the shrapnel managed to hit nearly every other part of him. He was pretty beat up when he came in. That he survived even long enough to tell me about the traitor and that you were in danger was impressive.”

  He heard the intensity in her voice and swung around to watch her. Did Janine have feelings for Michael Lamont? That was a weird thought. “And?”

  “I’m fairly certain he’ll live. He’ll walk and talk just fine. No problem. But I’m not sure he’ll ever be able to be an operative again.”

  “I’d heard rumors that this was his last assignment anyway.”

  She turned to stare at him now. Her amber eyes glowed with a ferocious light. He could now feel the same intensity he had heard earlier. “His last?”

  “I’d heard from reliable sources he was tired of the operative work. Told his superiors this was his last job.”

  “But you never verified that information?”

  He shrugged. “How could I?”

  She smiled. “True. You’d have had to ask him or his superiors, and that could prove difficult. But you do seem to know a lot about a man who’s supposed to be a big secret.”

  “Sure, but so is my team. We know a little about him, he probably knows a little about us. If you worked on his team why wouldn’t you have heard those same rumors?”

  She sighed. “I worked on his team, but I didn’t know his name or anything about him, other than some of his skills and weaknesses. I didn’t know the identities of anyone else on the team. And still don’t.”

  That sounded like an odd way to be a team member. “Why?”

  “Because in the event of capture, they couldn’t beat information out of me I didn’t have.”

  She said it so mildly, so calmly, as though she participated in a tea party, rather than a discussion about being beaten or tortured for government secrets. He must have blocked out the danger of her assignment. He shouldn’t have, because of his own skills. But this information shocked him.

  He couldn’t help but gape at her. “Why would you agree to something like that?” He heard his voice rise with that question. He sounded like an over-bearing big brother – pretty much how he felt at the moment.

  “I was qualified.” She was so matter of fact it made his back teeth grind together.

  “You’re a woman.” Why he felt compelled to point that out he wasn’t sure. One of her eyebrows rose in a superior manner. He could have kicked himself. He knew she was a woman, she certainly knew she was a woman. But she was also his little sister, and he couldn’t handle the thought of her in danger.

  “So?” She shrugged. “I’ve been beaten before.”

  His mouth dropped open. He could feel it. But how to close his mouth escaped him at the moment. The commander in him was yelling questions too fast for him to comprehend, while the big brother in him was appalled.

  “What?” His jaw clenched several times before he managed even that word.

  She nodded, and he saw she didn’t meet his eyes. “When our mother died, there wasn’t anywhere else for me to go but to an uncle. The whole village knew he was a drunkard, but he was family. I had to go there. That was the law.”

  “You were raised by a drunken uncle?”

  She nodded.

  “How old were you?”

  “I was five when I went to live with him.”

  “How soon before he began beating you?” He couldn’t believe he was carrying on this conversation with Janine in such a reserved, civil manner. The urge to yell at the injustice proved strong. He’d been adopted into a loving, caring, and safe home. She’d been abused.

  “I think within the week.”

  “Within the week? You were five?” His voice rose again. Slow down, he ordered himself.

  “Yes.” He noticed her island cadence thicken into full lilting softness.

  “There was nothing anyone could do to help you?”

  “Some of the neighbor ladies helped me when they could, but their homes weren’t much safer. Most of the men had lost their jobs, so they turned to drink. Many of them were violent. I wasn’t the only one who was beaten. It was a way of life, Ben.”

  “A way of life? To be hit?” He couldn’t believe the differences in their childhoods. Guilt would have wracked him if he wasn’t so numb.

  Her shrug was casual. “I didn’t know any differently. And I learned to give him no satisfaction.”

  “What does that mean?” He thought he’d ask now, while he had little to no feeling.

  “I refused to cry out. I refused to beg for mercy. He seemed to like when I reacted, so I didn’t. By not saying or doing anything, sometimes it made him angrier, but it made me feel better.” She still wouldn’t meet his eyes. But the island intonation was very strong. A sure sign she was distressed. Yet he couldn’t seem to break their conversation off. He needed to know the entire story.

  “How did you do it?”

  “I don’t know.” Another casual shrug. “He came to hate me, I think. Even when he wasn’t drunk, I think he hated me, because I wouldn’t react to any of his hits or jibes. But he did provide for me. I can’t fault him for that.”

  “You can’t fault him for providing for you? After he beat you?” Disbelief and denial shot like a lighting strike through him.

  “He didn’t sell me into prostitution as some of the girls’ own fathers did.”

  He closed his eyes, wondering if he would have grown as strong as his sister seemed to have done if their mother hadn’t put him up for adoption. Janine had seen and known unbearable atrocities as a child and teenager, but she grew into the strong and confident woman seated before him. It was a wonder she hadn’t turned to alcohol or drugs.

  “How did you escape?”

  “I studied hard. I was determined to catch the eye of some of the missionaries who came to Tolaliel. One of the women helped me gain a scholarship in Atlanta.”

  “What happened?”

  “I left the island at age seventeen and never looked back.”

  “What happened to the uncle?” He couldn’t call the man their uncle, since none of the men who bore that name during his childhood had been anything but loving and protective.

  “I received word that he contracted a disease and passed.”

  “I’m sorry.” But the apology didn’t appease his guilt.

  She glanced sharply at him. “For what?”

  “For your childhood.”

  “Why should you apologize?”

  “Because mine was perfect. I couldn’t have had a better one if I’d asked.”

  “That’s not your fault. It’s not your doing, either. I’m glad you could escape. My mother tried to live so she could raise me, and I know she loved me very much. Sometimes I could remember her arms around me in love, and I’d go to sleep after being scared or beaten with that image.”

  He took some comfort in that. If Janine remembered her mother’s love, then she had something to comfort her. He rarely wondered why his mother had given him up through the years – because he was a Morrison, he was meant to be Ian and Heather Morrison’s son. Still, sometimes in the dark of the night, he wondered.

  “Yes. I knew that, and her love helped me to live the next day.”

  How could he make up for the difference in their childhoods?

  “You can’t make up for our childhoods, nor should you, B
en. I’m not upset about what I’ve been through.” She gave an honest smile that still wrenched his heart. “Think about it. When you conquer something in childhood, you don’t fear it in adulthood.”

  And what she was trying to say finally clicked. “So you offered to be a part of this special team because you knew you could handle being beaten?” He thought he sounded incredulous, but then, that’s exactly how he felt. This amazing woman had volunteered for a difficult, horrific assignment, because she knew she could handle it. How many men had he encountered who had flunked that part of their jobs? More than he could count. Yet his own sister...

  “I was approached about participating. I applied, passed the tests, and was given a slot.”

  She might have been discussing the weather, so casual was her statement, but being a SEAL, he had a good idea what she had endured to obtain her “slot”. She’d “passed” being beaten. With what she just told him, she probably blew their socks off. Here was a woman, a female they could beat, who wouldn’t utter a sound. Very few people could claim such skills.

  Yet, staring into those amber depths, he could see she held no bitterness. Her eyes were topaz pools with amazing facets, but her serenity wasn’t manufactured. Janine had earned that peace within herself.

  Here was a woman who had probably been to the depths of despair and pain, yet she had triumphed through those experiences. And was likely a better person for her childhood. When most would have become bitter or angry, Janine showed the signs of tranquility associated with monks.

  “How long have you been on Lamont’s team?”

  “Who said I was on his team?” She looked genuinely confused, but he figured that was a ploy. Apparently revealing such information would prove dangerous, so she played dumb.

  “Sorry. How long were you on one of these teams?”

  “Five years.”

  He nodded. Five years was a long time, but not unheard of.

  “Remember, I’m retired now. I’m just a surgeon in the Hershey Medical Center emergency room. Of which I’m quite happy about.”

  “You like your new job?”

  “Very much. The hospital is a top one in the nation, and there are a lot of interesting and dynamic things happening there. I love the town, too.”

  “And your new family?”

  She smiled, and he saw tears well in her eyes. “Especially my new family.”

  He held his arms open and his sister entered them with a soft hiccup. How he’d been so lucky as to share a parent or two with this woman, he didn’t know. But he was very grateful for the amazing women in his life.

  Someone was looking out for him. He needed to remember his luck might not hold out.

  He went to sleep that night with Janine’s revelations weighing heavily on his mind. She had suffered. He still didn’t want to believe the vast differences in their childhoods, but he could look forward to their future.

  A future that included his sister and Treeny. Hopefully Treeny planned to share her future with him.

  Thinking of Treeny and their relationship made his heart squeeze. A union he had waited a long time for. Both women were important to him. When he leaned back on his bed and stared at the ceiling, he was glad for Janine’s revelations and his new relationship with Treeny. But he did wonder. With both Treeny and Janine here did he owe them a lot more of his time? Shouldn’t they be more important to him than his job?

  Chapter 28

  Treeny threw the last of her things into the bag and hefted it to the door. Pete danced around her ankles, nearly tripping her. “Pete, move,” she berated, but the pup ignored her.

  Puppy teeth sank into her sock and with a fierce growl and amid much tail wagging, Pete tugged. She bounced back for a moment, barked with her shrill puppy voice and aimed for the sock again.

  Raising her foot helped, but Pete just went for the other one instead. Rolling her eyes, Treeny stared down at the dog, and wondered if she should change her socks. But then another clean pair of socks would get drooled on. When they left she planned to exchange the socks for sandals anyway so she left them.

  Rachel burst through the door, and Treeny pointed to her sister. “Pete, go chew on Rachel’s socks.”

  “I’m not wearing socks,” Rachel said mildly and glanced around. “Do you have everything?”

  “I think so. I can’t believe there was a storm at the lake. Do you think the damage is bad?” She refused to wring her hands like some mindless maiden, but she now understood some of the headaches involved in homeownership.

  With a shrug, Rachel bent and picked up a bag. “I don’t know. We’d better move, though. Will’s in a hurry to check out the damage.” Rachel straightened and looked at her.

  “Do you think there will be a lot?” Treeny heard worry and fear in her own voice.

  “I don’t know. I mean, our cabin has stood for a long time. I doubt it’s gone anywhere. But yours is fairly new, so we’ll have to wait and see.”

  “Yes.” She heard footsteps on the stairs and leaned out the door.

  Ben bounded up, kissed her, and relieved Rachel of the bag. Fortunately, he also swooped down and picked up Pete, too.

  “Keep her, please,” Treeny begged.

  He moved Pete until her nose was level with his. “Are you irritating your mom?” Pete barked. He laughed. Treeny shook her head.

  “What’s she done?”

  “She keeps chewing on my socks. Both of them are wet. This is the third pair today.”

  “Pete,” he mock scolded. “Don’t you know you’re not supposed to act like a puppy?” Treeny swatted him on her way to the kitchen.

  “Is this the last of your things?”

  “No, I’ve got another bag in the kitchen I’m taking.”

  “Okay.” He disappeared with Pete.

  Her niece, Camille, popped her head around the door. “Aunt Treeny, Dad wants to know if you’re planning to take your car, or if you’re going with us?”

  “I don’t think there’s room for me, sweetie.”

  “Sure there is, if you don’t mind being squished,” Rachel said.

  “Okay.” She bit her lip.

  “Why don’t you ride up with Ben, and if he gets called to work, you can come home with us. We won’t be bringing as much back,” Rachel suggested and Treeny nodded.

  “That’s perfect. But remember, Pete will be coming back with me.”

  Rachel grinned. “I think we can handle Pete-the-barracuda-dog.”

  “Good, cause I’m not so certain I can.”

  Ben’s arms came around her from behind and she sank into him. “I can’t believe you’re saying such mean things about Pete. She’s a great dog.” He nuzzled her neck.

  “You take her for a spell then Mr. Nice Guy.” He shook his head no. Frantically.

  “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

  “She’ll be fine once she’s past this chewing stage,” Rachel assured them.

  “Maybe we should stop by the pet store on our way to the lake. Then we can buy her some things to chew on so she leaves my socks and ankles alone.” She rubbed a palm down his very nice arm.

  “That’s a great idea.” He took the bag she carried. This meant he let her go, which she didn’t like.

  She locked the door and followed him down the stairs, Rachel and Camille ahead her. When they left the doorway, Treeny raised her face to the sun. Such a gorgeous day, it was hard to believe they had such a fierce storm last night.

  “Did you get a call about damages to your cottage?”

  He nodded. “Yeah, I think we all did. It’s good to go and assess the situation.”

  “I needed a half day off work today, that’s for sure,” she muttered, thinking she should feel a lot more guilty about leaving early, but she didn’t.

  “You did,” he agreed solemnly as he assisted her into his truck. Pete climbed into her lap. They waved goodbye to Rachel and Will and set off for the pet store.

  When Ben pulled up in front of their cabins, her heart dr
opped. “Oh, my,” she murmured, hearing something similar fall from his lips.

  They crawled out of the truck slowly, as though they didn’t want to face what they saw. “No, a tree did not fall through both of our houses.”

  “How on earth did it manage to go through both cabins?” Ben raked a hand over his hair.

  “The tree split in two before it fell, that’s why both of your homes were hit,” the caretaker said from behind them.

  “You saw this happen?” Treeny placed a hand over her heart. She hadn’t heard his approach, so he scared her. Apparently Ben had heard him, because he didn’t seem surprised by the man.

  “No, I didn’t see it, but me and Finley tried to keep as much of the rain out as possible. Course by the time this tree split and fell the rain had let up quite a bit. Shouldn’t be too much damage inside,” the caretaker answered and puffed on the pipe protruding from his mouth.

  She couldn’t remember ever seeing the man without his pipe. A spurt of smoke drifted up from the plain wooden piece. Why she was thinking about his pipe at this time, she didn’t know. Probably because it was easier than assessing the damage to her new home.

  A quick fumble in her bag didn’t produce her keys. Pete whined behind them, and she and Ben turned. They forgot to let her out of the vehicle. “I’ve got her,” Treeny said and opened the door. Pete emitted a piercing puppy bark and leapt from the truck.

  Rolling her eyes, she went back to searching for her keys. She located them in the bottom of her bag, and after a brief wrestling match, managed to remove them from the purse. Ben, of course, had already opened his front door and disappeared inside.

  She inserted her key and turned it. The branches from the downed tree greeted her as she swung the door open. A shove opened the door enough for her to squeeze inside. She appraised the situation and was grateful the tree hadn’t fallen in the direction of the back wall. Then she might have extensive kitchen repairs. But this looked to be manageable. Sort of.

  “What do you think?” Ben stood behind her and she was grateful for his presence.

  “It could have been much worse.”