Bride Protector SEAL (7 page)

“I’m coming,” Allie responded. One glance at the clock made her throw back the comforter and leap out of the bed. “Why didn’t anyone wake me earlier?”

“Swede said you didn’t get to bed until late. We decided you needed your beauty sleep.”

Allie crossed the room to her dresser and selected a pullover blouse. “Are you saying I’m looking more like a hag lately?” She ripped her sleep shirt over her head, put on a bra and dragged on the clean shirt she’d wear to town.

“I wouldn’t say that,” her father said. “But you have had dark circles beneath your eyes. I think you work too hard.”

Allie stuck her feet into her jeans and pulled them up, securing the zipper. “Well, that plays right into my plans for today. I’m going to Bozeman to pick up my wedding dress. That means I won’t be around to help out in the hay field until late this evening.” She grabbed a pair of walking shoes and the high heels she’d wear under her wedding dress and opened her bedroom door.

“The hay won’t be dry enough to bale until tomorrow. Take your time.”

“Thanks, Dad.” She glanced at her father, sensing he wanted to say more, but couldn’t come up with the words to express the emotions playing across his face. Well, as much emotion as Lloyd Patterson ever expressed. The man was taciturn and rough around the edges, but Allie knew deep down he loved her and Hank, and only wanted the best for them.

Her father stared at her for a moment longer. “I heard what happened last night.”

Allie’s fists clenched. She shouldn’t have slapped Swede for kissing her, and she sure as hell shouldn’t have kissed him in the first place. Today, after she picked up her wedding dress, she’d call Damien and confess that she was confused and scared and…well…she’d come up with a good reason for kissing her bodyguard. Although, she couldn’t at the moment, other than she’d wanted to more than she wanted to breathe. “Look, Dad, what happened last night won’t happen again.”

His brows furrowed. “How do you know it won’t happen again?”

She squared her shoulders. “Because I’m not going to let it.”

Her father shook his head, his gaze narrowing to a slit. “I don’t see how you can keep it from happening again until they catch the guy who did it. From what Sheriff Barron said, you didn’t even get a look at the license plate. How will they find the shooter if you didn’t even get that?”

Allie almost laughed out loud at her father’s words. Holy hell, she’d thought he was talking about the kiss. Thank goodness the people who knew about that would remain the only two. Until she confessed to her fiancé.
If
she confessed. “You’re right, Dad. It could happen again. We just have to hope it doesn’t.”

“I’m just glad your friend Swede was with you. I can’t imagine what would have happened had you been alone.” He took her hands. “With the wedding so close, and this shooter still on the loose, don’t you think you should consider postponing?”

What was with everyone trying to convince her to postpone or call off her wedding? “It was probably a random act. I’m getting married on Saturday. I’ve spent too much money on everything, and it’s non-refundable.”

“That’s no reason to get married. Here you are in trouble, and your fiancé isn’t anywhere around to keep you safe.” Her father dropped her hands, a scowl making deep grooves in his forehead. “What kind of man doesn’t take care of his woman?”

“He’ll be back before the wedding. You can ask him then.” Allie stepped past her father. “In the meantime, I have a wedding dress to pick up at the bridal shop.”

“I really wish you’d stay here at the ranch. I don’t want to see you hurt.”

“I’ll have Sadie, Hank and Swede with me. If I need help, they have offered to provide it.” She didn’t wait around to argue further. Allie hurried down to the kitchen.

“You’ll have to hustle if you want breakfast before you leave for your appointment at the dressmakers.” Georgia held out a plate of fluffy scrambled eggs. “Hank called. He and Sadie will be at the gate in ten minutes.”

“I’m not hungry. But thanks.” Allie aimed straight for the coffee pot, poured half a cup and downed it, burning her tongue. With her father’s words and the images of her dream still rattling around in her head, Allie braced herself and stepped out on the porch.

Swede sat on the porch steps, scratching Ruger behind the ears. When he heard the door open, he stood and faced her. “I’ve been thinking.”

Allie marched down the steps and out to her truck, her keys in hand. “That’s nice.”

“What happened last night—”

“It didn’t.” Allie turned to face him. “Nothing happened last night. Get it?”

Swede pressed his hand to the cheek Allie had slapped the night before. “Sure felt like it happened.”

“Don’t ever let it happen again.”

“I wasn’t the only one kissing.” He grabbed her arm and forced her to stop and look at him. “You weren’t fighting me.”

Allie glared and looked back at the house. “Shh. Whatever happened cannot happen again. On either side.”

“Trust me. I won’t kiss you again.” He let go of her arm, walked to her truck and stopped next to the passenger side. “Not unless you ask me.” His lips twitched on the corners.

Allie contemplated hurling her keys at him. How dare he laugh at such a huge mistake? She refused to rise to his bait. Instead, she climbed into the driver’s seat, fit the key into the ignition and started the engine.

Swede tried the handle on the passenger side. “Hey, unlock the door.”

For a moment, Allie considered driving off without the infuriating man. One glance at the bullet holes in his truck changed her mind. She popped the locks and waited for him to climb in.

“I thought you were going to leave without me.”

“Believe me, I almost did.” She slammed the gear into reverse, backed up and turned around, heading for the gate.

As agreed upon, Sadie and Hank were waiting in Hank’s pickup. Bear, in one of Hank’s White Oak Ranch trucks, waited behind them.

Allie waved as she passed the two trucks and drove all the way into Bozeman without saying another word to Swede.

“Stop at the hospital. Hank, Bear and I want to talk to the kid who got cut up.”

With a nod, no words, Allie turned and headed for the hospital, pulling into a visitors’ slot.

Allie turned off the engine but made no move to get out. “I’ll wait out here.”

Swede was halfway out of the truck. “Like hell, you will.” He rounded to the other side and grabbed her door handle.

Moving quickly, she hit the door lock. Her gaze went from the lock to his eyes.

Swede frowned and tried the door handle. “Allie, don’t be ridiculous. You can’t stay out here by yourself. Please, unlock the door.”

She stared at him for a long moment and then sighed. Who was she kidding? She might as well paint a big red bulls-eye on her and the truck.

She tapped the button releasing the locks and slid out of the truck.

S
wede let
out a long breath and touched her arm. “I’m sorry for anything I’ve said or done that makes you not want me to protect you. I promise not to touch you or make you uncomfortable. But please, don’t lock me out.”

Allie shook her head. “No, that was childish of me. I won’t do it again.” She held up her hand. “I promise.”

The other two trucks pulled in and parked nearby. Sadie joined Allie and took her hand. The men surrounded the women as they entered the hospital.

At the information desk, Bear asked for Thomas Baker, the soldier brought in with knife wounds.

The volunteer keyed something into the computer and waited a moment. Then she looked up and smiled. “He’s in ICU.”

“How is he?” Bear asked.

The gray-haired lady shrugged. “You’ll have to speak with the nurses in ICU. They’ll be able to tell you more.”

They rode the elevator up to ICU.

Nurses hurried from room to room, tending to seriously ill patients, taking vital signs, administering medication and trying to make their patients more comfortable in an uncomfortable situation.

Hank approached the nurses’ station and asked to see Thomas Baker.

“Are you a relative of Mr. Baker?” the head nurse asked.

“No,” Hank responded. “I’m a war veteran, come to pay my respects to the young soldier. He deserves a whole lot more than what he got from the low-life who did this.”

The nurse nodded. “Agreed. But rules are rules. Only relatives are allowed into the room. Unless Mr. Baker requests to see you.”

“We’d like to talk to him about the attack, in case there is anything we can do to help, or keep this from happening to others.”

“Isn’t that what the police are doing?” asked the head nurse. “They were in an hour ago, after Mr. Baker woke.”

“I imagine they are doing a fine job of finding the attacker,” Hank said. “But we’d still like to help.”

The woman behind the counter stared at Hank for a long moment and finally said, “Get the family’s permission to visit with Mr. Baker, and I’ll bend the rules for you this once.” Her eyes narrowed. “But, if you do anything to upset my patient, you’ll be thrown out of here so fast you won’t know what hit you.”

Hank held up both hands. “We’re here to help, not hurt.”

“His mother and father are in the ICU waiting room. You can catch up with them there. They must agree or you’re not getting in to see the young man.”

“We understand,” Bear assured her.

As they walked away from the nurses’ station, Allie asked, “What if you can’t get in to see Baker?”

“Bear will be making an appointment to visit with the soldier’s commander,” Hank said. “Maybe he can shed light on what happened.”

In the ICU waiting room, the only other people present were a man and a woman appearing tense and exhausted.

Hank stopped just inside the door. “The rest of you should find a seat. I’d like to talk to Baker’s parents with just me and Bear, so as not to overwhelm them.”

“Right.” Swede followed Allie to a seat on the far side of the waiting room. He sat on one side, and Sadie sat on the other.

A few minutes later, Hank, Bear and Baker’s parents left the waiting room.

Swede wished he could be a fly on the wall in Thomas Baker’s room, but he was content to be next to Allie. With all of the attacks on her and then this one on Baker, he wasn’t comfortable leaving her alone here in the hospital. Forget about leaving her out in the parking lot.

Allie turned to Sadie. “Have you had any morning sickness, yet?”

Sadie shrugged. “A little, but nothing unmanageable. I still can’t believe we’re having a baby in seven months.”

Allie grinned. “I can’t wait. Hank’s going to make a great father. And I’m over-the-moon about being an aunt.”

Swede listened to the ladies talking, a little envious of Hank. The man had a family and a baby on the way. Wow. Nothing could be more grounding than having a child and a wife. A glance at Allie made him wonder what it would be like to be married to a woman like her, and to have children. He could picture an auburn-haired little girl running through the yard, her curls bouncing on her shoulders. She’d laugh and play with her mother, beautiful and carefree.

Too bad that child wouldn’t be his. That thought caught him by surprise. He’d never considered himself good husband material, especially after all the operations he’d been on. Shooting other people and being shot at did something to a man. As if the nightmares, ducking at every loud noise, always easing around corners and looking behind you for the enemy weren’t enough, trying to fit into a society at once familiar and yet foreign was a challenge in itself. Most people Stateside were only worried about what they were cooking for dinner, not whether they would live to see their next meal.

Like so many other combat veterans, Swede found the transition hard and didn’t wish his problems on anyone. Especially an attractive, independent woman like Allie.

Sitting with Allie and Sadie, hearing talk of renovating a room for the baby reminded Swede that his buddy Hank was getting on with his life. He’d been through everything Swede had, and more. If he could move on and give himself a chance at a real life with a family and children, why couldn’t Swede?

He glanced at Allie.

Reynolds didn’t know how good he had it. His fiancée was amazing. She’d make a great aunt, and an even better mother.

Hank and Bear entered the waiting room five minutes later, their faces grim.

Swede stood. “What did you learn?”

“Baker is lucky to be alive,” Bear said.

Hank pushed a hand through his hair. “From what his parents and the nurse said, his attacker gutted him and left him to die.”

“Was he able to give a description of the attacker, or any kind of motivation?” Swede asked.

“No,” Hank said.

“He wasn’t involved with a girl, so no ex-boyfriend issues.” Bear’s jaw tightened. “The kid was jumped walking home from getting a lousy hamburger yesterday evening. He didn’t provoke anyone or start a fight. Hell, he’d barely said two words to the server at the hamburger joint.”

“Bear is headed to Baker’s unit,” Hank said. “Since it wasn’t a robbery, and he just returned from a deployment, maybe his commander can tell us whether or not he’d had any troubles with other unit members.”

“I’ll be with the ladies all afternoon.” Swede nodded toward Hank and Bear. “Let us know what you find out.”

“Will do.” Hank glanced at Allie and Sadie. “You two stay close to Swede. If there’s a nutcase walking around stabbing people, we don’t want him taking a crack at you.”

Sadie and Allie stood and edged a little closer to Swede.

“We’ll stay with him,” Sadie said, giving Swede a sad look. “Poor guy. He’ll have to put up with sitting in a bridal shop while we try on our dresses.”

“I can handle it,” Swede said. Better to suffer through a female shopping trip than to worry whether or not they’d make it home alive.

Bear smirked. “Better you than me, buddy.” He winked at the women. “Not that spending an afternoon with two beautiful women sounds bad at all, it’s just all that talk about fabric and lace makes me itch.”

“Same here,” Hank agreed.

Sadie pointed toward the exit. “We could do without your negativity. The final fitting of the bride’s gown is supposed to be a happy, optimistic time. We’re better off without the two of you.”

She hooked Swede’s arm. “Come on, Swede, we’ll have a nice afternoon, despite those two.”

Hank snagged Sadie around the waist and hugged her to him. “Kiss me, you ornery woman, before I turn you over my knee and spank you.”

She laughed up at him. “Not in front of the others.” And she kissed him, long and hard, melting into his body.

Swede shifted uncomfortably, bumping into Allie.

“Disgustingly mushy, if you ask me,” Allie whispered.

“I heard that,” Sadie said, breaking off the kiss.

They walked to the elevator together, returned to the ground floor and exited the hospital.

Hank left in Bear’s truck. “I’ll have him drop me off at the bridal store when we’re done poking around.”

Sadie drove Hank’s truck while Allie and Swede rode together the few blocks to the bridal shop.

Inside the building, the attendant hustled Sadie and Allie to the dressing rooms. Another attendant showed Swede to a cushioned seat to wait. Around him were full-length mirrors and more seats. He chuckled quietly. If his SEAL teammates could see him now, they’d howl with laughter. Badass SEAL surrounded by tulle and taffeta, or whatever it was they made wedding dresses out of.

Sadie was first to emerge from the dressing room in a pretty sky-blue dress. She lifted her skirt and walked toward Swede. “What do you think?”

He shrugged. “It’s nice.”

“Allie wanted sky-blue to remind her of the Montana skies. I like the sentiment.” She turned away and stared at herself in the mirror. “Although, it’s a good thing she’s getting married Saturday. I don’t know how much longer I’ll fit in this dress.” She ran her hands over her belly. “It won’t be long before I start showing.” She smiled, her eyes glazing with tears. “I’m going to be a mommy. And Hank’s going to be a father.” Sadie glanced at Swede in the mirror. “It’s a big change from fighting the Taliban and ISIS, huh?”

Swede nodded.

“Ta, da!” The attendant who’d disappeared with Allie opened the dressing room door and stepped aside with a flourish. “And we have the bride. Isn’t she beautiful?”

Allie stepped out of the dressing room, her cheeks a rosy red, her gaze locked on Sadie.

“Oh, Allie.” Sadie clapped her hands together. “You look amazing.”

Swede swallowed hard past the constriction in his throat.

Allie, the cowgirl who could ride like she was born in a saddle, who loved ranch life and getting her hands dirty, had transformed from girl next door to…Oh, hell, a radiant and beautiful princess in a lacy white dress that hugged her body from the strapless neckline all the way down past her hips where it flared out, ending in a long train. The attendant had swept up her hair on her head and fixed it with a pearl comb.

Allie’s gaze shifted from Sadie to Swede. She didn’t say anything.

Swede could only stare. This woman was preparing to marry another man. How could he comment when all he wanted to do was say
No! Don’t marry Reynolds! He doesn’t deserve you.

To keep from uttering those words, Swede had to get outside. Fast. He pushed to his feet and walked out of the viewing room, out of the building and into the fresh Montana air. There he sucked in a long, steadying breath. Then another. No matter how many breaths he took, he couldn’t seem to get enough air into his lungs to ease the pressure.

One thing became very clear to him. He didn’t want the bride he was sworn to protect and get to the church on time to marry Damien Reynolds.

“
W
hat the hell just happened
?” Allie stood with her hands on her lace-covered hips, staring at the empty doorframe Swede had just passed through.

“He’s a man. They can’t handle all this girl stuff.” Sadie tilted her head to the side and tapped her chin. “Or, is it that he didn’t like seeing you in a dress you’d be wearing to marry another man?”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Allie turned her back to Sadie. “Unzip me. The dress is fine. We can leave as soon as you’re ready.” She couldn’t wait to get out of the dress shop. Really, she couldn’t wait to ask Swede why he’d run out like a cat with his tail on fire.

“What’s up between you and Swede?” Sadie asked.

“Nothing,” Allie replied, a little too quickly. She took a deep breath and answered more slowly. “Nothing. I’m marrying Damien on Saturday.”
Come hell or high water.

“Look, Allie, you don’t have to go through with this wedding.”

“I accepted his proposal. I’m marrying Damien on Saturday.” She refused to be a wishy-washy bride. Having made her decision, she should stick to it.

Sadie finished unzipping the back of the dress and turned Allie to face her. “You don’t have to marry him.”

“I keep my word.”

“This is a case where you can break your promise, if it doesn’t feel right.” Sadie squeezed her hands. “From the look on your face, it doesn’t feel right, does it?”

“I don’t know.” Holding the front of the dress up, Allie turned to the mirror, trying to see what Sadie saw in her face. But all she saw was a cheater who’d kissed her bodyguard. “I need to see Damien. Everything will be okay once he’s back in town.”

“Will it?” Sadie rested her hands on Allie’s shoulders.

“This is all pre-wedding jitters. I’ll be fine as soon as Damien is back in town.”

Sadie planted her hands on her hips and stared at Allie in the mirror. “Okay, assuming you really love Damien, and you still want to marry him, tell me why. What’s so great about him that you can’t see yourself with any other man?”

That was the problem, Allie
could
see herself with another man.
Swede.
Hell, he’d been the groom in her wedding dream. What was the matter with her? Damien was everything a woman could want in a husband. “He’s handsome,” Allie started. In a preppy, businessman way. Not in that rugged, outdoorsy way, like Swede.

Not helping.

“So? Handsome isn’t everything. I work around extremely handsome men in Hollywood.” Sadie snorted. “Trust me, handsome isn’t everything.”

“He’s a very successful businessman,” Allie stated.

“So, he knows how to make money. How important is that to you? You and your father haven’t wanted for anything. What can money buy that you don’t already have?”

“I can travel more. See the world.”
Damn was she that materialistic?

“With a man you’re not sure you’re in love with?” Sadie crossed her arms over her chest. “I’d rather stay home. I’ve been on sets in different countries. Without someone you love to share the excitement of exploring a foreign country, the trip is just sad and lonely.”

“Damien’s a fine horseman. Swede never rode a horse until he came to Bear Creek Ranch.”

Sadie’s eyes widened, and she pointed a finger at Allie. “Ah ha! You’re comparing Damien to Swede. You
do
feel something there, or you wouldn’t.”