Two Weeks With a SEAL (The Wakefield Romance Series) (13 page)

"What's
wrong," he asks, concern flowing with every word, his eyes widening as I
meet them, "why are you crying?" He's here. He's safe. The blood and
the smell from my dream flow in my mind, the tears falling freely again as I
pull his chest to me, my hands gripped to his white 'wife-beater' tank.
Wrapping my arms around his waist, I openly sob, the sound being pathetic and
childish, but I needed to get it out. I eventually calmed to the point where I
could stutter to tell him about my dream, my voice hitching and breaking at
every turn, his arms tightening around me as I finish. "Shhh," he murmurs
his cheek on the top of my head, "nothing like that will happen."

"How do you
know," I snap, pulling out of his hold to turn my reddened and puffy face
to look him in the eyes. "You don't know," I cry, my palms trying to
push away from him but he held me tight, pulling me against him, tighter than
before, almost crushing the breath from me.

"I know," he
whispers and I can feel the hurt in his voice, "I can't promise anything
other than I will do my duty and do my best to protect my brothers and my country."
He squeezed me tighter and I closed my eyes, burying my face in his chest
between his muscles. "I'm sorry for dragging you through this, but I'm a
SEAL, it's what I do. I love you and I love my job."

"I love you,"
I mumble into his chest, moving my chin to rest on his sternum, my eyes locked
on his. "I'm just afraid," a few more tears slide down my cheek,
joining their companions sliding down my neck. His blue eyes roamed my face,
his hands pressed hard against my back, his fingers spread wide.

"I know you're
afraid," he said, kissing my lips lightly, then my cheek, his beard
scratching into my neck as he nuzzled tight to me, "but I need you to be
strong. It's all that I'm gonna ask you for, is to be strong. For you, for my
momma and for me. Just be strong," the hitch in his voice breaks my heart
and I wrap my arms around his neck, Chad lifting me off my feet and just
holding me, both of us not saying a word there in the kitchen doorway.

We released each other,
my heart still hurting, but knowing that he needed me to be strong. I resolved
to bear the brunt and trudge through. After splashing my face with ice cold
water, we sat at his cute little breakfast nook, eating a very good breakfast
he had prepared. After putting the dishes in the sink, Chad chased me up the
stairs, his fingers pinching at my side and butt the whole way, my laughs and
screams breaking the heavy silence that had hung over us. Surrendering to his
smile and touch, we make love on the hallway carpet, just outside the bedroom
door, my fingers digging into his back and shoulders as he bit at my ear.

"What do you wanna
do today," I ask, flopping down on the bed in my panties and bra, watching
him pull on a pair of jeans. His tight little butt was magnificent, his abs
looking like a twelve pack because they were so defined. Bringing myself back
to life, I say, "You wanna go get some more of the stuff from my trailer
and then have lunch at the diner?"

Rolling to my back,
grabbing the jeans I had laid out for myself, I watch him behind me as I pull
them on, his eyes locked on me from the mirror, trying to look like he was
checking out his beard. I took my time, wiggling as much as possible before
springing to my feet to hop and jump around buttoning and zipping them up,
turning my face back to him, seeing him try to act like he wasn't watching me
intently. "Yeah, that sounds good," he says, his eyes down to his
dresser but I can see the sly little smile on his lips and I can just imagine
the naughty little thoughts that are running through his head.

It was a sunny January
day as we pulled into my driveway, the air was crisp but not frigid. A good day
to do some work like packing. We had stopped at the small hardware store in
town, picking up packing tape and boxes along with Chad picking out three cans
of burnt orange colored paint, saying that he wanted to re-paint the kitchen.
We packed all of the little nick-knacks that had accumulated over the years,
separating it into a 'keep' pile and a 'donate' pile on the front yard. Leaving
the major appliances and furniture [except for the new bedroom set that I had
just purchased which we agreed to put in the spare room at the bottom of the
stairs] Chad and I packed his Silverado full of my belongings, locking my
childhood home up and heading into town for lunch.

The tiny diner, Ray's
Place, was its normal Monday lunch time busy, construction workers and mill
workers filling the booths and counter seats. Old Man Dow, Harlan's
grandfather, was the first of many to say hello to Chad and I, shaking Chad's
hand and telling him that they were proud of his service to our country and we
made our path to our booth slow and steady. He swatted my butt as I plopped
down on the red vinyl covered bench seat, sitting across from him, a sly smile
on his face as some of the older men whistled at his action as a blush filled
my face.

"Now Chad Payne,
you shouldn't do that in public, it embarrasses us girls," our waitress,
sweet Janice Ludwell issued. Her gray filled brown hair spun and pinned into a
tight bun at the back of her head, her white apron stained with coffee and
other messes from the morning. She was Duke Orr's aunt and mother to his prick
of a cousin, Jesse. Jesse was a year older than me and the prepiest country boy
I'd ever met. Wearing sweater vest and khakis more than jeans and t-shirts. He
worked at the local credit union just down the street from the diner and he
walked around town with an arrogance that stunk like a skunk. He was also
famous for scooping up Duke's 'left-over' girls, the ones Duke was tired of or
bored with.

"Well I'm mighty
sorry to offend you, Mrs. Ludwell," Chad issued with his heart shattering
smile on display as Janice poured coffee into our mugs. I stuck my tongue out
at him quickly before she turned to me, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"I'm sure sorry
bout your momma, Ray," she issued, her brown eyes full of sadness and at
that moment I wasn't quite sure if it was because my mom was dead or that
Janice wouldn't have a pie baking partner at this year's county fair. Nodding
my head, I put the coffee to my lips, wincing at the boiling hot liquid. Seeing
that I wasn't ready to give her an order, she smiled and skirted away,
"I'll give you lovebirds a minute," winking as she moved to the next
booth, filing their cups.

Locals stopped by the
table on their way out and their way in, all inquiring different things to
Chad. The men wanted to know about where he was headed, which he couldn't tell
them so he skirted the issue by asking them how they were, how they thought the
crops were going to be this year. He sent them away with smiles and laughs, his
leg brushing mine under the table the entire time. The women wanted to know
whether or not he had any single friends that were looking for girlfriends or
they asked me when the wedding date was, which I blushed at more than once
saying that we weren't planning anything just yet, Chad giving me a crooked
smile each time the question came up. Word travels fast in a small town and it
seems as if everyone just assumes we're engaged already.

He ordered his usual
chicken fried steak with extra mashed potatoes, gravy and maple carrots while I
got a Belgium waffle with local raspberries on top. The cook, Bubba Jake, had a
massive raspberry patch behind his trailer, picking and freezing them every
summer to serve throughout the winter at the diner. I enjoyed them as often as
I could because they reminded me of my childhood. When Randy, Chad and I use to
wander through those very same raspberry bushes playing tag and snagging as
many berries as our hands and shirts could hold, running back to Chad's mom's
trailer with red juice stains on our faces. We would be scolded but laugh it
off through the entire thing because our mothers would enjoy the berries they
confiscated from us after we were in bed.

The food was laid in
front of us, steaming, Chad's face lighting up making a giggle pass my lips as
I spied Duke and his little posse coming in the front door, his eyes meeting
mine. "Incoming," I say, nodding over Chad's shoulder as I put my
eyes to my plate, pushing the berries around on the warm buttery waffle.

Chad's hand went to my
knee under the table, his fingers digging into my jeans and I knew that he
would kill Duke if he had the chance. I needed to keep the situation cool, at
least in here, because I know Chad wouldn't hold back. The room seemed to hush
as Duke led Jesse, Garth and Jarrod towards our table, a sly smile on his face.

"Hey Ray," he
winked at me, "yur lookin' hot today." I gave him a quick, weak smile
without looking up at him, my eyes focused on pushing the whipped cream around
with my fork. His hands crept onto the table, one by my elbow and the other by
my coffee, his face getting closer by the second. Chad's fingers squeezed my
knee tighter, making me wince. "Look a'me when I'ma talkin' to you
girl," he said, his breath stinking of chew and Coors.

"Back off
Duke," Chad ground out, his eyes darting to Duke's mocking face, his jaw
set, "leave us alone." Duke's laughter rang out through the dining
room, the faces of the locals turning even more in our direction, and I can see
Bubba come out from the kitchen, his overly round build blocking the doorway.

"Whatcha gonna do
bout it Navy boy," he grinned at Chad, his brown stained teeth on full
display, "you can't lay a hand on me, less you go to jail. And while yur
in jail, yur precious lil' Ray will be all by her lonesome. She gonna need
someone to keep her company," he tried to reach his fingers up to my cheek
but I slapped them away, the sound echoing throughout the room, bouncing off
the laminated surfaces.

"Yeah Chad,"
Jesse Ludwell chimes in, his mousy brown eyes peering over Duke's shoulder as
he lays his arm across the top of the booth behind my back, his fingers drawing
a line across my shoulders making me lean forward with a disgusted look on my
face. Chad's fingers squeezed even more into my knee and I put mine on top of
it, trying to keep him calm. "You can't be here to make sure your little
girl here stays faithful. She's been known to lay down for us before, what's
gonna stop her once you're gone?" His words shocked me, my mouth falling
open, my eyes going wide and rimming with tears at the accusation.

I could tell Chad had
had enough, his face flushing red before he jumped to his feet, getting nose to
nose with Duke, other men in the room getting up but hanging back. Waiting.
"Tell your little bitch to keep his mouth shut," Chad spit out in
Duke's face, "or I'll shut it for him." Chad's chest heaved in and
out, his eyes locked on Duke's face, his hand coming up to rub at his chin,
scratching into his beard.

"Jesse James
Ludwell," came the shrill command that only a mother can carry in her
voice, Janice coming around the corner like a plump little freight train.
Jesse's face paled, "Duke Wyatt Orr, get your trouble making asses out of
her before I whip both of you with my mixing spoon," she got right in
Jesse's face, waving a thick wooden spoon around.

Duke just smiled at
Chad, adjusting his Earnhardt Racing cap, moving the chew around in his mouth.
"We planned on havin’ some lunch Aunt Jan," he said, not letting his
eyes leave Chad's.

"Well you can go
get some drive-thru from the Sonic cuz you ain’t eatin' here," she said,
her chubby little hand on her waist as she still waved the spoon around at her
son and the silent Jarrod and Garth. "Get," she yelled, smacking
Jarrod in the shoulder making him jump.

"Till we meet
again, boy" I heard Duke whisper, brushing past Chad with bumping his
shoulder into him. The effect that he wanted he didn't get though, because as
he teetered off to the side bumping into one of the stools, Chad stood still as
a statue, watching him leave with the turn of his head. The four men left the
diner with sour looks on all of their faces, Chad taking his seat across from
me once more.

"I'm sorry," I
whisper, placing my hand over his, squeezing his fingers as he laces them into
mine. Jesse's words still echoed through my head, basically calling me a whore
in front of everyone here. I silently prayed that Chad didn't believe it. I
prayed that he knows I was being truthful with him when I had told him that I
had slept with three men in my life. Him, my college boyfriend, Bruce, and
Duke.

"Don't apologize
for them," he said, bringing his blue eyes to mine, squeezing my fingers
lightly and lifting my hand the place a kiss to my palm, "they'll be the
ones apologizing sooner than they think."

"Please don't go
after them," I say, leaning across the table, inching my face closer to
his.

"When you were
still asleep this mornin'," he gave me a crooked smile, picking at his
food with his fork. I know he's going to change the subject and I let him.
"Harlan came to visit me. He said he wanted nothin' to do with Duke, that
he was sorry bout goin' along with him and that he was havin' a party Wednesday
night out on the farm, invited us and I said yeah. He gave me his word that
he'll watch out for you when I'm gone," the serious look he gave me scared
me a little but I know that he's just being protective. Like Randy would've
been.

"Okay," I say,
going back to my food just as Janice came to our table, white Styrofoam
take-out containers in her hand.

"I'm real sorry
bout that," she said, her eyes darting from me to Chad as she set the
containers on the table, "these are for you to take home and lunch is on
the house." Turning to Chad she put her hand on his shoulder, "Don't
let my dumb-ass son or his bastard of a cousin ruin your time at home. They
both need a good ass kickin' and Bubba said he'd be willin' to help."