The SEAL’s Ward

by Katie Knight

  “Exactly.” Jed’s hackles rose at the guy’s condescending tone. Part of him wanted to rub it into their faces that the FBI had basically taken the Jacksons’ accident case out of their hands but decided against it. Irritating these guys wouldn’t help him, no matter how good it might feel. “It does seem suspicious though, right? Who would tamper with my house like this?”

  “Who indeed,” said cop number two. “How old is this structure, Mr. Tremayne?”

  “I don’t know, forty or fifty years old. Why?”

  “Bet you have a nice insurance policy on it, eh?” Davidson asked.

  Annoyance fizzed inside Jed like a can of soda ready to explode. He fisted his hands in his pockets. “What exactly are you implying?”

  “Nothing at all, sir.” Cop number two finished scribbling in his notebook then met Jed’s gaze directly. “Just know we’ll be doing a thorough investigation on this as well.”

  “Right.” Jed couldn’t stop himself from taking a step forward, a small muscle ticking near his tight jaw. “Well, if you’d done this much thinking about the break-in, maybe we’d have caught the people responsible. My mortgage is up-to-date, guys. Sorry to disappoint you. Never missed a payment in ten years.”

  The cops nodded to the gas company worker then Jed before heading back to their squad car. “We’ll be in touch, Mr. Tremayne.”

  Jed gave the worker a side glance then headed back inside, calling out over his shoulder. “Fix whatever you need to make this place safe again.”

  “What happened?” Tess asked once he’d stalked into the living room. She excused herself from Nala and pulled him aside to whisper, “Is everything okay? I saw the cops pull up.”

  He tugged her out in to the hall, peering back into the living room to make sure Nala wasn’t listening in. “No, everything’s not okay. Someone tampered with the gas lines.”

  “What? Why?” Tess frowned. “Who would do that?”

  “I don’t know. But whoever it was knew what they were doing. The man said the hose had been swapped out for a smaller one. It wasn’t wide enough and let more gas leak into the house. That’s what you and Nala smelled this morning. Thank God we caught it before someone got hurt.”

  “Agreed.” A knock sounded on the door and Tess excused herself to go answer it. “Jed?”

  Wandering back out into the living room, Jed spotted the worker on the threshold. “Sorry, sir. But for safety reasons, we’re going to have to evacuate you and your family until we get that line repaired. Shouldn’t take too long, but you understand. Maybe come back in an hour or so?”

  “Sure.” Frustrated and mind racing, Jed helped Nala get her coat and a book to read while Tess grabbed her purse and jacket from her room upstairs. They met out on the front porch. He felt restless and needed to do something, take some action so he didn’t feel helpless. “Uh, why don’t you walk down to the park with Nala. I’m going to run back to the warehouse. I’ve got a couple of calls to make and a few loose ends to tie up there. When I get back, we can go out to dinner at the pizza place. Sound good?”

  “Okay.” Tess took Nala’s hand and flashed him a brave smile, though he could see the fear behind it. The urge to pull her into his arms and kiss away her concerns was nearly overwhelming, but he shoved it aside. Stay cool, stay calm, stay detached, he reminded himself. That way, when she ultimately dumped him, it wouldn’t be quite so devastating.

  “Hey, sweetie.” Jed crouched in front of Nala. “Tess is gonna take you to the park for a bit while the guys fix the house and get rid of that funky smell, okay? Don’t worry. Everything’s fine.”

  She gave a small nod. “Can’t you s-stay?”

  His chest ached at her words. God, he wished he could. But it was better this way. He needed to focus on work, focus on keeping them protected. That was what was most important. “I’ll be back soon, sweetie. I promise. Then we’ll have dinner and you can tell me all about what fun you had at the park.”

  He straightened and gave Tess a weak smile. “Be careful. If you see anything at all, don’t hesitate to call me.”

  Tess narrowed her gaze. “There’s something you’re not telling me.”

  Oh, there was a ton he wasn’t telling her. Like how much he enjoyed her company. Like how much he needed her in his arms at night. Like how he had no idea how he’d ever survive once all this was over, when Tess and Nala left him, and he went back to his normal, boring, lonely life again.

  He backed away and pulled out his car keys from his pocket. “No secrets here. I’ll see you guys soon. Have fun and be careful.”

  “You too,” Tess called, walking away hand in hand with Nala.

  Jed watched them go, unable to shake the feeling that his chance for a happily ever after future was leaving with them.

  Later that night, after Nala was asleep in bed and Tess had snuck into Jed’s room for another round of sex, Tess found herself unable to doze off. The stressful day could’ve had something to do with that. No matter how she turned it around in her head, the fact that someone seemed to be targeting Jed and Nala to hurt them had her scared.

  Moonlight cast long shadows across the white ceiling, the fuzzy gray shapes of leaves and branches from the oak tree outside the window swaying in the breeze. Jed snored quietly beside her, his arm wrapped possessively around her waist, its warmth both comforting and worrisome.

  They’d been together now, at least between the sheets, for going on two weeks. And yes, he was everything she could have hoped for and more in bed—strong, skilled, sexy, and sweet. But it was high time she reined in her wayward heart and pulled back her feelings. She’d known from the start this was a risk. She was prone to falling too hard, too fast, especially with a man who carried wounds on his soul—emotional or physical. She was a helper, a caretaker, and damaged men called to her on a bone-deep level.

  It had happened with Theo. He’d been her everything and the day he’d died, her world had shattered. She’d struggled hard to get back to where she was now, and Tess didn’t want to lose it all again because she got attached when she damned well knew she shouldn’t.

  Jed stirred in his sleep, nuzzling his face into the side of her neck, murmuring soft endearments against her skin, and tucking her close to his chest. Her resolve melted a little bit more. Man, she’d felt so lonely, so isolated for so long that she wasn’t ready to give this up yet.

  Maybe it was selfish. But dammit, a girl deserved to be a little selfish sometimes, right?

  Besides, she was a grown woman. She could do this. She could continue sleeping with him and keep her heart safely tucked away, out of the equation. People did it all the time. Yet as she lay there, stroking the warm skin of Jed’s forearm and listening to the steady sounds of his deep breaths, she knew she was in trouble.

  Then there was Nala.

  Despite her vows not to get involved in the little girl’s speech impediment and stick to only tutoring her, Tess had been unable to stop herself from giving minor corrections or tricks Nala could use to help calm her stutter. Simple things, really. Things Tess had used herself when she’d been a kid and recovering from surgery on her cleft palate. Things like visualizing something positive to reduce your social anxiety. Or taking deep breaths. Or using small physical movements to divert her nervous energy elsewhere. Nala had taken to squeezing her fists when needed, same as Tess. Even just slowing down the speed of her words helped. It was small things that made a huge difference, at least in Tess’s opinion.

  She’d been thrilled to see Nala’s speech improve steadily since they’d been working together, and it made her reconsider returning to her career as a therapist. Initially, her plans for the future had been to save up enough money to open another bookstore, but perhaps she could do both. Own a bookstore and return to speech therapy. It was something to think about, anyway.

  The thought of leaving Nala and Jed behind at some point made her heart pinch with sadness, but it was inevitable. She’d known going into this that it was a temporary assign
ment, a way to get back on her feet and get back on track with her life.

  She’d just never imagined she’d care so much—about Nala, about the work. About Jed.

  Tess rolled over onto her side and snuggled back into Jed, enjoying his heat and his protection while she could. Soon enough it would be over and she’d be back to her cold, lonely life. Best to enjoy this closeness while she could, because Tess knew better than anyone how quickly it could be taken away.

  Twenty

  “How’d you guys like to go sailing today?” Jed asked one Saturday morning at breakfast. It had been a stressful week at the warehouse, implanting all the new security technology and getting the teams up to speed on using it all. He was ready for a break, and the weather was perfect to take the Island Packet Estero out for an end-of-season run before they stored it for the winter. “You said you like the water, right, Nala?”

  “Yes, please!” The little girl squirmed in her seat. “I’d love to go on your boat!”

  “Eat your eggs first, sweetie,” Tess said, grinning at Nala then turning to Jed. “I’ve never been sailing before. I’m not a very strong swimmer either. Is it safe?”

  “One hundred percent. I was a SEAL, remember? Water rescues are my specialty.” He gave her a coy wink before refocusing on his triangle of wheat toast, doing his best to suppress all the images of making love to a slippery, wet Tess in the middle of Pentagon Lagoon and failing miserably. Jed cleared his suddenly constricted throat. “Besides, we’ve got life vests too.”

  “I didn’t know you owned a boat,” Tess said around a mouthful of hash browns.

  “Yeah, a group of SEAL buddies and I chipped in and got one a few years back, and we kind of timeshare it. We’re always adding new people, and we all help with dock costs and maintenance and stuff. There’s a schedule and everything. I haven’t used my slots much this year with everything else going on.” He shrugged and hid a wince at the veiled reminder of the accident that had killed Nala’s parents. He gave the kid a quick side glance to see if she’d noticed, but she was happily munching away on her scrambled eggs with one hand while tapping away on her iPad on the other. Good. He looked back to Tess and continued. “This weekend was actually supposed to be Kevin’s, but he’s scheduled to work with the crew on the last of the camera installations so he offered to trade with me, if I wanted.”

  “Hmm. That was nice of him.” Tess sipped her tea. “Was he in the SEALs with you?”

  “Nah, I met him through work—though he was in the SEALs too. Later group. But he’s a good guy. Always willing to help out around the warehouse.” Jed finished his last bite of toast then pushed to his feet to take his plate to the sink. “He said he just did routine maintenance on the Freedom last weekend, so it should be all good to go. If you guys want to do it, let’s plan on leaving in about an hour. With the drive to the marina and traffic, that should give us a good day on the water.”

  “Sounds great!” Tess and Nala finished their breakfasts, then Tess helped Jed with the dishes before heading upstairs with Nala to get ready.

  By ten fifteen, they were on the road, heading for the Columbia Island Marina. Jed felt happier than he had in years, cruising southwest on 695 toward the Potomac. With Tess beside him in the passenger seat of his SUV and Nala in the back, things finally felt right. Way more so than he’d hoped for. He reached over to take Tess’s hand, then thought better of it and moved for the radio controls instead.

  “W-what kind of b-boat do you have?” Nala asked from the backseat. “Is it a yacht?”

  Jed chuckled. “No, honey. I wish. The Freedom is what’s called a sloop. That means it has a single mainsail with fore-and-aft rig and a jib.”

  “Can you say that again in English?” Tess asked, giving him a look.

  “Sure.” Jed laughed out loud this time, feeling in the groove with this subject. He loved sailing. “Basically, a sloop is what people think of when they imagine a sailboat. The mainsail is the big triangular sail just aft of the mast.” At Tess’s raised brow he smiled. “Sorry. Aft means the back of the boat. People also call this the stern. ‘Fore’ means the front of the boat, also referred to as the bow. So a sloop has one big triangular sail that sits behind the mast of the boat. Make sense?”

  Tess nodded.

  “Good.” He steered with one hand and rested his left arm on the edge of the window in the warm sunshine. Jed glanced into the rearview mirror to see Nala listening intently too. No better feeling than having the rapt attention of the two most important women in his life. “Now the mainsail is the largest and most important on the boat. Running along its bottom edge is a thick pole called the boom, which is used to steer the ship.”

  “And what about that other stuff, Jed?” Nala asked, her stutter more pronounced over the unfamiliar words. “The j-jib and the r-rig?”

  “Well, the jib is the next most common sail on a boat. It’s smaller and always sits forward or fore of the mast. And it doesn’t have a boom.” Jed glanced over at Tess and this time took her hand because dammit, it just felt good to touch her. She didn’t pull away, which he took as a good sign. “The rig simply refers to how the sails and masts are arranged on a boat.”

  “Huh. Interesting.” Tess said, staring out the windshield as she smiled. Her large sunglasses hid her lovely eyes from him. “With all the stuff you know, you must’ve been sailing your whole life.”

  Memories of dark days locked in the attic for a week as punishment for talking back to his puritanical parents flashed into Jed’s mind before he could stop them. He let Tess go and gripped the steering wheel tight in both hands to ease the sudden stiffness in his muscles. After a deep breath to calm himself, he said, “Nah, I didn’t get out on the water much as a kid.” Not a lie. Not the whole truth either. “I always loved the idea of it, though. I guess maybe that’s why I fell in love with sailing so hard as a SEAL. The rush of the wind and the power and the freedom. I was the one who named our vessel.”

  Tess watched him for a long moment, the weight of her gaze burning a hole through him. While Nala hummed along with her tunes in the backseat, Tess removed her sunglasses and reached over to place her hand on Jed’s thigh, just above the knee, her look far too perceptive for his comfort. “We’ve spent all this time together, but I don’t really even know that much about you. Is Jed your full name or is it short for something?”

  He cringed, heat prickling his cheeks. Another burden, thanks to his Bible-thumping parents. Still, it was a small truth he wanted to share with her. “Promise you won’t laugh. I don’t tell many people about this.”

  “Promise,” she said, her expression solemn.

  “My full name’s Jedidiah. As in the old testament. Brimstone and fire and damnation and all that.” He fiddled with the radio again to distract himself. “My parents were very into their religion.”

  “Interesting.” She sat back, and her hand fell away from him. He missed her gentle touch immediately. “I kind of like the name. It’s strong, tough, no-nonsense. Like you. There’s a solidity to it, a trustworthiness. Jed’s nice too. It suits you.”

  A warm rush of gratefulness swelled inside him. He’d stopped letting people know his full name as a kid. Bad enough he’d gotten bullied at home. He sure as hell hadn’t needed more of the same at school or from other people. Later, when he’d joined the military, Jed was just easier and more comfortable. Honestly, he hadn’t spoken his full name in years. Until today. With Tess. If felt like another tiny connection between them, another secret shared. The thought both comforted and confused him. He shouldn’t want any more ties to her, but man oh man, did he.

  They arrived at the marina a short time later and piled out of the SUV to head through the maze of docks to the slip where Freedom resided. The air here was clean and crisp. Seagulls squawked overhead, and the gentle lap of water against the hulls of the ships eased the knot of tension between Jed’s shoulder blades.

  Twenty-One

  The Freedom was a beauty, gleaming in the suns
hine. Thirty-six feet of ivory-colored perfection. He climbed up the metal stairs onto the deck then reached down to help Nala and Tess onboard. Taking great pleasure in showing off his toy, he gave them a tour, starting at the helm where he pointed out the rig, showing them all the parts he’d described in the SUV as well as a few more they’d need to know to help him sail. Then he took them below deck to point out the full head—also known as the bathroom—as well as the full kitchen and the luxurious stateroom, complete with a fold-down double bed. He wouldn’t mind bringing Tess out here alone for a weekend to sail around the Potomac and explore each other under the stars.

  Since Kevin had done a full maintenance check the week before, Jed didn’t bother with more than a quick safety run through the rig and the controls at the helm before leaving the dock and steering them out of the Pentagon Lagoon Yacht Basin and into the Potomac proper. Lots of other vessels were out on this fine autumn day, probably hoping for a few last hours on the water before closing up shop for winter, same as Jed. When he was on the water, he felt more at ease and more himself than he ever did on land. With everything else going on lately, he’d forgotten how much he loved being here. As he gazed across the deck to where Tess and Nala sat near the bow, watching the scenery, their neon orange life vests gleaming in the sun, he couldn’t have been more pleased to share this with them.

  After an hour or so, Jed dropped anchor and went to join the others near the front of the ship.

  Nala set her tablet aside and stood. “I need to use the head.”

  She all but skipped away, obviously proud of herself for using the correct terminology.

  Jed grinned after her, waiting until she disappeared below decks before leaning in to kiss Tess. He’d been waiting to do this since they’d left the house and—

  “J-jed! Come q-quick!” Nala screamed, her tone nearly hysterical.

  He scrambled to his feet and ran toward the stairs leading below deck with Tess in tow. Before he even reached the top of the steps, his stomach nosedived to his toes at the sound of sloshing water from inside the cabin. That wasn’t good. Not good at all.