Contract with a SEAL (Special Ops: Homefront Book 3) (18 page)

“Thanks. I needed to hear that. I just… I
just can’t wait any longer. Every day seems too precious these days. All I keep
thinking is, ‘what if?’”

“I know. But don’t think about that now.
All I want you to think about is what it will feel like when you see him walk
off that ship and into your arms. When are you coming back?”

“He’s asked for a week of leave so we can
squeeze in a quickie honeymoon. We’re flying to Palm Beach.”

Gawking, Vi’s eyes widened. “No way.”

Maeve smirked. “Way. The same place you
married that asshole. But God, it sure was beautiful, wasn’t it?”

“It was. The only right thing about my wedding
was the setting. I’ll call the manager there. I know him personally and he’ll
take good care of you.”

“Oh, Vi, that’s wonderful. Thanks.” She
shut the top of the suitcase gently and zipped it up. “Stay out of trouble till
I get back, okay? And call my cell if anything changes with Mick, of course. My
plans are always changeable.”

Mine too, Vi suddenly realized, the
distance between her and New York growing further by the second.

Vi grabbed one of the suitcases off the
bed. “Promise me you’ll have someone take lots of photos.”

“I promise,” Maeve said, grabbing the
other one. “Jack will have someone from his team come as a photographer or
something. And you promise me something.”

“What’s that?”

“Go to Joe’s Change of Command.”

Glancing over her shoulder as they went
down the steps, Vi shook her head. “Oh, I can’t promise that.”

“You told him you’d think about it.”

“Honestly? That was just because I knew I
couldn’t bear to say goodbye to him face to face.”

“Have you talked to him?” Maeve asked,
opening the garage door.

“No. I just texted him last night to make
sure he got home safe.”

“I think you should go, Vi. He needs you
there.” She loaded her suitcase into the back of her convertible and reached for
the one Vi held in her grip. “I waited too long after my divorce to give love a
chance. I wasted so much time putting up walls around myself, not letting
people get too close. Don’t be like me. Today is all we know we have.”

“I won’t.” She hugged Maeve close,
feeling a warmth that was striking, and promising herself she’d never go without
friendship again. “Thanks, Maeve. Thanks for being… such a good friend to me.”

Maeve sat in her car. “Of course. I’ll
call you guys as soon we’re married. Love you.”

“Love you, too.”

“Okay. Here I go.” Maeve slammed the car
door and gave Vi one final thumbs-up before pulling out of the driveway.

Standing at the edge of the garage, Vi
wiped her surprisingly moist eyes as she watched the future Mrs. Falcone disappear
down the lane. “Drive careful, my friend.”

***

Vi was never very good at keeping her
mouth shut.

So it wasn’t any surprise to her that
this secret was sizzling like acid in her throat for the entire next day. By
the time the phone rang that evening, Vi had nearly exhausted herself just
staying silent.

Bess was the one to pick up the phone. “Hi,
Maeve! Did he arrive yet?” she asked obliviously. Her brow wrinkled and she
glanced at Lacey. “She told me to have you pick up the line in your bedroom.”

Oh boy, this is it.
And when they found out that Vi was in
on it, it would all hit the fan. Standing innocently, Vi excused herself to the
family room, and parked herself on the sofa, preparing herself for the
inevitable confrontation.

In the other rooms, she heard exactly one
cry of “No way,” three squeals, and one “I’m gonna kill her” that she was quite
certain came from Lacey. Which would mean, of course, the “her” was Vi. Lacey
never did like it when her sister kept anything from her.

After voices resumed a normal pitch, the
two eventually ended up looming above her seat in the sofa, with their hands on
their hips.

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell us.”
Lacey glared at her sister.

“Yeah,” Bess echoed.

“She made me promise, guys. Either of you
would have done the same thing, right?”

Lacey dropped her arms to her sides.
“Yeah, I guess. I’m just stunned that she’d actually elope, especially after
convincing
me
that
I
shouldn’t elope. Remember that?” she darted
a look at Bess.

“I remember,” Bess nodded. “I’m glad for her,
though. And I’m the one who has the most to lose.”

“How’s that?”

“I have to tell Abby that she doesn’t get
to be flower girl in Aunt Maeve’s wedding.”

Vi groaned. “I hadn’t thought of that. She’s
so cute in a flower girl dress though, you could probably rent her out every
Saturday at the Naval Academy chapel.”

 “Leave it to you to think of my
kid’s first money-making scheme.” She laughed, stepping toward the kitchen. “Well,
I better check on the roast or it will be beef jerky by the time it’s dinner.”

Vi glanced at her sister and was pleased
to see no fury blazing in her eyes. “You’re really not mad at me, right?”

“No. You were just doing what you were
told. And I guess this was the right thing for them. We never really know what
life holds for us, do we? I always pictured them having this huge wedding at
the Academy chapel. And me…” her voice trailed.

“You what?”

Lacey heaved a deep sigh. “I’ve decided
to put the house in San Diego on the market.”

“What? Lacey, no. Owning your own home
was your dream.”

 “Mick is my dream.” Lacey sent her
a wayward smile. “And the doctors say he’ll be in this treatment program for
the next six months. Last week I talked a little to Maeve about the possibility
of staying here during that time. She’d be thrilled to have the rental income,
and Bess is just happy to have a roommate. Of course, you’d be stuck with me
too, you know, till you get a condo. How would you feel about having me around
here a little longer?”

“Fine, of course. But I really don’t
think you should sell the house. Joe told me you could rent it. Those places
near bases fly off the market.”

“Vi, I’ve got too much on my mind right
now to take on the role of landlady, you know?”

“Then I will for you.”

“That’s nice of you. But I don’t want
that either.”

“Fine then. I’ll just cover it for six
months. I’ve got the money, Lacey. All that lemonade stand loot we collected
together earned a bit of interest over the years, okay?”

Laughing, Lacey tossed her head back onto
the pillows. “I have no doubt it did. Remember the time we sold lemonade to
those construction workers for a dollar a cup?”

Vi narrowed her eyes, unwilling to let
Lacey change the subject. “Let me do this for you, Lacey. You’re the only
sister I have.”

“I know. But I’m really happy about my
decision. Well, kind of. I haven’t talked to Mick about it yet, and I doubt
he’ll like the idea at first. But he’ll see my point eventually.”

“
I
don’t even see your point.”

“Think about it, Vi. I just fixed the
place up. It looks fantastic. I’m pretty sure I can make a profit on it if I
put it on the market. Right now, everything sparkles. This is the time to sell.
Not in six months or a year after some short-term renters have trashed the
place.”

Vi crossed her arms in front of her. “I
thought I was supposed to be the one to be thinking of profit and the bottom
line.”

“You rubbed off on me. And now you’re the
one getting sentimental, telling me to cling to a place that is really just an
address. Wherever Mick is, that’s my home. That’s all I need.”

Vi’s heart was breaking for her sister, yet
at the same time, Vi found herself longing for what she had. To feel that kind
of connection with someone… only a month ago, Vi would have thought she was
incapable of that.

Till she had met Joe.

Vi paused a moment, then shifted in her
seat toward her sister. “When did you know you were in love with Mick?”

Lacey’s eyes widened at the change of topic.
Or maybe it was the subject itself—Vi wasn’t exactly the kind of person
to toss the “L” word around like a football. “You mean, when did I fall in love
with him, or when did I know he was the man I was destined to be with forever?”

“You mean there’s a difference?”

“Oh, yeah. I fell in love with him pretty
quickly. I mean, how couldn’t I? But love is just a feeling. You fall in love
plenty in your life. Each time it has a different meaning. A different depth.”

“So when did you know he was the one? The
One with a capital ‘O’?”

Lacey smiled. “It was when he left for
Afghanistan. Before we were engaged. I had known I loved him, but there was
this new complexity to it after that. Like I’d give up anything to see him come
home alive.”

“You must really understand why Maeve
wants to elope now, huh? With him being gone for so long.”

“Yeah. And I’ll understand what you’re
going to go through.”

“Me? What do you mean?”

“Joe’s Change of Command is tomorrow,
right?”

Shrugging carelessly, Vi averted her eyes.

“Aren’t you going?”

Vi shook her head. “I don’t think I have
it in me to say good-bye in person, Lacey. I’ll call him tomorrow night. I
promise. But I just can’t go down there and watch him leave.”

“You know, you’ll regret it if you
don’t.”

“Quite the contrary.”

“You’ll go. I know you, Vi, and you’ll
go.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because Vi Owens always comes through
for the people she loves.”

Four bells rang out in the SEAL team
training bay, and the crowd of about 150 hushed as the emcee announced the
arrival of the incoming commander:

“Captain, United States Navy, arriving.”

The four sideboys and the military
members of the audience saluted as the Captain proceeded down the red carpet. He
held his salute at the end of the sideboys till the high-pitched piping was
complete.

Another four bells signaled Joe’s
arrival.

“SEAL Group, arriving,” the emcee stated
as Joe stepped onto the red carpet and proceeded to the same pipes as the
incoming commander. But at the end of his pipes, a single bell, a stinger, rang
to signify he was still in command of the teams.

It was the last time he would hear that
stinger, at least in this job.

Joe held his salute until the stinger
fell silent, and then he stepped on the stage.

It should all be pretty customary to him,
a Change of Command, the ceremonial passing of responsibility from one leader
to another. The customs were embedded in Navy heritage, ingrained in Sailors
from the moment they first pin on their warfare insignia.

For Joe, with a father in the Navy, they
ran even deeper, playing a part in even his earliest childhood memories.

He thought of his father now, as the
invocation was read by the chaplain, and of his mother who had always sat dutifully
in the front row of these ceremonies. No matter what the orders were, where it
would take his father or his entire family, there she had sat, calmly, trying
to keep Joe and his sister silent during the lengthy ceremony.

It had never bothered Joe that there was
no wife in the front row for him at these things. Two divorces early in his
career had certainly soured him to the idea. In fact, he had even relished the
freedom of being able to move from command to command without the guilt of dragging
a family along with him, or worse—having to leave them behind.

Till today.

Why? Why now would it bother him? It made
no sense.

Just because six weeks ago he happened to
spend a little extra time with someone who quite literally had squirmed her way
into the deepest caverns of his heart?

Violet Owens was not destined to be
sitting in the reserved seating, acting like she was irrevocably tied to him. Like
she’d be pining away for the next year of her life, waiting for him to return.

She wasn’t even here, dammit. And that
was for the best.

After only a matter of weeks together,
she needed the freedom of being able to spend the year ahead free of worry. He
had spent his childhood watching the Navy etch wrinkle after wrinkle into his
mother’s brow.

Joe knew his mother never regretted it. But
it was different with Vi. They had barely started this relationship—if he
could even call it that. He had never even told her that he loved her.

Even though he did.

As Joe saluted the Color Guard holding
the U.S. flag, a soprano sang the National Anthem. After the colors were
posted, the speakers began. Joe tried to pay attention, but his mind was
strangely distracted. He could only think of Vi, feeling a warm heat casting
over him as though she was there, watching him.

He tried to picture her, where she was
now. Sitting in front of the fireplace at Maeve’s house. Or taking down the
Christmas decorations. Catching up on email on her laptop.

But he couldn’t picture her in any of
those places. He could only see her here, watching him, taking part in this
final act of Joe’s command.

It wasn’t until two-thirds of the way
through his own speech when he spotted her.

She grinned slightly, he could see, even with
the distance between them. Sitting a few rows from the back, her eyes were
locked on his as he spoke.

He hoped he didn’t stumble in his speech.
Today was not about his personal life. It was about acknowledging the work of
his teams, and passing off command to a very capable leader. Yet still, his
eyes were drawn to her more with each passing word.

She came.

It was the first time in over a decade he
had invited a woman, outside of his mother or sister, to attend his Change of Command
ceremony. He had almost been grateful to Vi when she had told him that she
couldn’t attend. Yet now, seeing her there, he couldn’t have imagined the
moment without her.

The final words of his speech came and
went, and he raised his chin slightly, steeling himself for the moment of
turnover. “I will now read my orders,” he said, looking down at the piece of
paper he held in his hands, and reading the words that would pull him to the
other side of the world for the next year.

At the close of Joe’s orders, the
incoming commander stood, reading his own orders.

Joe looked at him directly. “I am ready
to be relieved.”

The incoming commander saluted Joe and
responded, “I relieve you.”

“I stand relieved,” Joe said, returning
the salute.

They both turned to the ISIC, the
Immediate Superior in Command.

“I stand relieved,” Joe repeated to the
ISIC.

“I have assumed command,” the incoming
commander stated to the ISIC.

And with that, Joe Shey was no longer the
commander of the SEAL teams at Little Creek.

It was over, and Joe couldn’t help
feeling like the most important part of his time here at Little Creek had come
only weeks before he was poised to leave, after Vi had walked into his life.

In silence, Joe now took his seat,
listening to the speech of the incoming commander. The man profusely
acknowledged his family, thanking them for standing by him through the years. Glancing
to his left, he saw the man’s wife and two children quietly in attendance.

Joe’s mind drifted to an image of a
couple hundred acres of grape vines. To the dream he confessed to Vi—a
house with a back porch overlooking the span of slightly hilly land just
outside the Shenandoah mountain chain. Sitting on a porch swing watching the
sun sink lower in the sky, casting its golden glow over the land.

Who would be sitting with him then? Years
after the Navy had figured out he had nothing left to give? He had promised
himself he’d never marry again till he retired. But could he really assume that
he’d find the right woman then if he dared to wait?

The brass ring, Mick had called it. Love didn’t
come along often in a lifetime. The first two times, he had been so young that he’d
grabbed onto it before even checking to see if it was the real thing, the kind
that could last.

But if this was the real thing with Vi,
they simply didn’t have the time to find out.

After a speech by the incoming commander,
the chaplain said the benediction, and Joe emotionally braced himself for the final
part of the ceremony.

The incoming commander departed the
stage, announced as “SEAL Group, departing.” The pipes blew, followed by a
single stinger.

And Joe followed. “Navy Captain,
departing.” The pipes blew. But no stinger this time. The silence somehow brought
an ache to his heart.

His job here was done.

***

Vi stood toward the end of the receiving
line, standing on her tiptoes for a glimpse of Joe. She was certain he had seen
her while he was giving his speech. Even though she was sitting in the way
back, she felt like her heart was right there with him.

There was so much symbolism to the
ceremony, and Vi wished that Maeve and Jack had been back from their honeymoon
so that Jack could have given her a play-by-play throughout. But she could feel
the gravity of some moments, like when Joe said the words, “I stand relieved,” Vi
had actually swept a tear from her cheek.

Slowly, she edged toward him. When she
finally stood in front of him, she wondered how he would greet her. A simple
kiss on the cheek? A handshake? What was appropriate in this setting?

She didn’t have to wonder long. He
embraced her, lifting her two feet off the ground and spinning her around in a
circle, earning a smattering of laughter and applause from the other people in
the receiving line. His lips met hers, not for long, not nearly long enough. But
his eyes were filled with joy. “I didn’t think you could make it.”

“I couldn’t stay away.”

“How did you manage to get through
security without me?”

Vi smiled. “Jack had a friend of his meet
me at the gate.”

“Remind me to put him in for an award for
that.” He kissed her again briefly, and held his lips close to her ear. “Stand
next to me while I finish up this line,” he said, and she nodded in response.

She felt slightly awkward, standing at
his side—not a wife, not even a girlfriend. But she’d savor the moment
anyway, even if they were just pretending once again.

Or was it pretend?

There was nothing false in the way Joe
looked at her, as he introduced her to the final people who were in line behind
her. Even if she knew he didn’t love her—couldn’t have possibly fallen
this quickly—there was something in his eyes so affectionate that she’d treasure
it always.

When the receiving line was over, Joe
took Vi back to his home. It looked so different without the decorations and
the tree—and the furniture, Vi noticed as soon as they walked in the
door.

“Wow,” she said, her voice nearly echoing
in the empty house. “You really are leaving, aren’t you?” Looking around, she
felt a lump in her throat form, remembering where his things once were. Small
holes were in the walls where photos and paintings once hung. A bare floor
beneath her feet had her longing for the soft rug he had placed alongside his
leather sofa.

Standing in the empty space where the
tree once stood, she wrapped her arms around herself and looked out the window to
the lake across the street. Joe might give Maeve the credit for decorating his
place, but it had been Joe himself, his personality, his essence that had
really made this house a home.

Coming up behind her, he wrapped his arms
around her waist, joining her as they looked at the cold lake shimmering in the
distance. “You would have slept better if you had stayed back in Annapolis. All
I have to offer you is an air mattress for the night.”

“I don’t mind. Besides, I’ve never been
able to sleep so well around you.” Her mouth hitched up in a smile even though
her heart was throbbing.

He brought his lips to hers, and she drew
in a breath as their lips met. Again, memorizing it, just as she had in front
of the hotel on New Year’s Day. And the morning after the correspondents’ gala.
What was their time together except a long series of good-byes?

Was it like this for all Navy couples?

Oh, no, she reminded herself. They got to
also look forward to the “welcome homes.” Wouldn’t that be powerful? Wouldn’t
that be intense? Imagining it, her lips still fused with his, she angled her
face slightly, allowing more of their skin to touch. Parting her lips, she
explored him, tempting herself, wanting more.

He pulled back momentarily. “I should
warn you that there will be about a hundred people knocking on that door in
about five minutes.”

Her eyes widened. “Really?”

Joe nodded. “Navy tradition. The people
closest to you come back to your house for a party after the Change of Command.”

“Another party?” She hadn’t realized that
she said it out loud, and fortunately shut her mouth for the next part of the
thought process.
Is that why you wanted me here? To pretend to be your date
again?

Oh, God. She hated herself for wondering.
Then she hated herself for
not
wondering before she had left.

“Unfortunately, yes. You can’t imagine
how many parties I’ve hosted with no furniture. But I have a lot of food in the
fridge.” He broke free from her arms and headed toward the refrigerator. “It’s
just casual. They probably won’t stay long.”

Let them, she suddenly thought.
Because
if I’m alone with you, I might be tempted to ask. And I don’t want some of my last
words to you to be, “Am I your pretend date for the night again, Joe?”

True to his word, the doorbell rang. And
again. And again. The empty house was filled with people. Some brought folding
chairs, knowing that there would be no furniture. A few families brought
blankets, and to the delight of their children, spread them out on the hardwood
floor so that the kids could eat picnic-style in the middle of winter.

Vi recognized many of the faces, and was
glad for the chance to see them again. But it wasn’t what she had planned on
this evening. She wasn’t at Joe’s side most the night. He was always being
whisked off into conversation after conversation, talking about his job this
coming year, about the place he’d call home, about people he knew or might know
who were stationed there now.

It wasn’t as if she could jump right in and
start talking about that scary dip the Dow did mid-day on Thursday, or how the
quarterly reports of two of the blue chips hadn’t met industry expectations.