Sea of Dreams (The American Heroes Series Book 2) (29 page)

As they drew closer, they noticed three hearses parked neatly off to the southwest side of the building.  There was also a big dark blue Navy truck. Beck parked his pick up near the doors to the building and turned the vehicle off, turning to look at the women in the backseat.  His gaze locked with Blakesley’s and the two of them exchanged concerned and sorrowful glances as Gina continued to sob.  As Beck climbed out of the truck, a few men spilled out through the big double doors on the side of the building, loosely gathering but not approaching the truck.  Beck opened up the back door of the crew cab and held out a hand to Gina.

“Come on, honey,” he said softly. “Let’s go do this.”

Gina suddenly came apart. “I can’t,” she shrieked. “I can’t do it. I can’t see him. If I see him, then he’s really dead.”

Beck grasped her by the arm to gently pull her out but she clung to Blakesley as if the woman could stop the progression of what was about to happen.

“Gina, please,” Beck begged softly. “I know you don’t want to do this but you have to. Butch deserves that.”

Gina was practically throwing herself against Blakesley, who had her arms around the woman. “Please,” Gina wept. “I can’t do it. I can’t see him.”

Beck tugged more firmly but Blakesley stopped him.  She touched his hand as it grabbed the woman, gently pushing it away. Beck backed off. Then Blakesley put her hands on Gina’s face and forced the woman to look at her.  Gina was a mess, with tears and snot and hair everywhere.

“Gina,” she said softly. “I want you to listen to me because this is important. Okay?”

Gina had a hard time complying. “Uh… uh….”

“Okay?”

After a moment, Gina nodded hesitantly. “Okay.”

Blakesley’s face expression was calm. “Honey, I don’t know what you’re going through but I will tell you this,” she said softly,” about two years ago, I went through just about the worst thing anyone can go through. My husband killed the woman he was sleeping with and I spent months going through a trial where my whole life was laid out for strangers to judge. I saw pictures of this woman who had slept with my husband, pictures of them having sex, pictures of her dead, pictures of her wearing my jewelry and my clothes.  There were even pictures of her with my girls. I found out that because of this woman, my husband started working with a Columbian drug lord and when it came time for me to testify against him, someone slit my brake lines in an attempt to kill me and also took a shot at me one day when I was picking my girls up from school.  I went through hell for months and months, like my whole life was destroyed, which it was.  But my point is this; I was stronger than I thought I was. I had three girls who needed me just like you have Spike who really needs his mom.  You’re stronger than you think you are, Gina. You need to make Butch proud of you and go in there and do what you need to do.  Stop over-thinking it and just do it. You’re better than that. Okay?”

By this time, Gina was staring at her with big eyes. The tears were still there but they had stopped flowing. 

“Poor Bee,” she whispered mournfully. “What did they do to you?”

Blakesley shook her head. “Nothing,” she assured her, patting her cheek. “I’m fine. You’ll be fine. Beck and I are here and we’re not leaving you.  So let’s go in and do what needs to be done. You’re not alone, okay? I know you can do this.”

Gina digested what Blakesley had said, her muddled mind able to focus enough to realize that there was some good advice there. She didn’t want to claim her husband’s body but she knew she had to.  She was a Navy wife and she had always known this moment could come, especially in the line of work Butch was in. She owed it to him.

After a moment, she nodded. “Okay.”

“You good?”

“I’m good.”

Blakesley smiled at her and pulled a tissue out of her purse, wiping off Gina’s cheeks and handing her the tissue.  She helped Beck get her out of the car and climbed out after her, into the bright California sunshine.  Beck had Gina by the arm but he held out his hand to Blakesley, who clasped his hand tightly.  The expression on his face told her more about his love and respect for her than words ever could.

A trim man with blond-gray hair and impeccable uniform joined them and Blakesley was introduced to Captain Davis. He took charge of Gina and escorted her into a giant hanger-like section of the building where nineteen flag-draped coffins were neatly lined up.  Blakesley stood back by the door respectfully as Beck, Gina and Captain Davis did what needed to be done with Butch. The mortuary was already there to take him away, standing in the shadows as Gina said her good-byes.  

Blakesley watched it all from a distance, not wanting to intrude and thinking that it was all incredibly sad.  She also couldn’t help but wonder if she would be able to pull herself together half as well if Beck had been lying in one of those boxes.  She couldn’t bear the thought.  As she was standing there wallowing in her dark thoughts, Captain Davis broke away from Beck and Gina and slowly wandered back towards the area where Blakesley was standing.   She smiled at the older man when their eyes met. He smiled back.

“It’s nice to finally meet you,” Davis came to stand next to her. “I’m just sorry about the circumstances.”

Blakesley nodded faintly, her gaze moving to Gina and Beck standing over by Butch’s coffin. “I know what you mean,” she said. “This is really the only time I’ve been on base. Beck doesn’t talk much about his work.”

Davis looked at her. “Did you know Butch and Gina before this?”

She nodded. “Gina and I became friends while Beck and Butch were off on their latest deployment.”

Davis’ gaze moved back to the coffins in the big, cavernous hanger.  He sighed heavily. “This is going to be hard on Beck.” He turned to look at her again. “Just so you know, you’re getting a good man, young lady.  Most of what I’ve heard about you has been through the rumor mill, so it’s good to finally meet you in person.”

She looked at him, a smile playing on her lips. “What have you heard?”

Davis grinned, unusual for the usually serious man, and looked away. “Things.”

She laughed softly. “You’re not going to get off so easily. You brought it up.”

He shrugged, getting swept up in her charm and coming to see what had attracted Beck. She was a stunningly beautiful woman.

  “All I heard was from the men who pulled you out of the surf,” he said. “They said Beck pulled your daughter out of the water and then never left your side. That’s unusual for a man whose natural state is the command and control mode.”

“It’s unusual that he paid attention to me?”

“It’s unusual that he paid attention to a woman, period.” He turned to look at her again. “I’ve known Beck for ten years.  I knew his ex-wife. I saw him go through that hell with her but it never reflected on him personally. The man never brought it to work with him.  I guess I just want you to know that in the short time you’ve known him, I can already see the impact you’ve made on him. He seems so much happier.  He deserves it, you know.  There’s no one in the Navy I respect more than Beck Seavington.”

Blakesley was genuinely touched. “Why is that?”

Davis’ gaze moved back to Beck and Gina.  Beck now had his arm around the woman as she ran her hand over the top of Butch’s casket.

“I’m going to tell you something that you probably shouldn’t repeat to him,” he lowered his voice. “It’s not that he wouldn’t want you to know, but more than he doesn’t like to be recognized for heroics. He’s too humble that way.  He’s uncomfortable in the spotlight. You saw those Navy Crosses on his shirt?”

Blakesley nodded. “I did,” she said. “It was like pulling teeth to get him to talk about what he did to earn them.”

Davis grunted. “I’m not surprised,” he said, still speaking very softly. “We practically had to tie him down when they were awarded to him. Did Beck tell you he was on the chopper that went down?”

Blakesley shuddered. “He did.”

“Did he tell you that he saved four of his men before the thing sank?”

She looked at him, shocked. “No.”

Davis nodded. “I was on the deck of the carrier watching the entire thing,” he said. “The helicopter was about fifteen feet off the deck when debris from the flight deck destroyed the rear rotors.   The aircraft rolled over onto its side and fell like a rock into the sea.  The rear cargo bay was open so water just started pouring in.  The men were strapped in to their seats for take-off and with the water rushing in the way it was, I was sure we were going to lose all of them just from the force of the water.  But suddenly I see Beck on the surface and he’s pulling shit , excuse me, stuff off of him. Packs, whatever else he was wearing to weigh him down.  Then he went under and I saw him swimming into the back of the ‘copter as it’s sinking.  After about thirty seconds, I see two other heads pop up and then a third.   Then a fourth.  By this time, the entire helicopter is covered with water and sinking fast.  I didn’t see Beck until a couple of minutes after I saw him go back in.  He and four other guys are on the surface and that’s all of the twenty-four men that were in that ‘copter.   He saved them. He tried to save more and nearly drowned doing it.”

By this time, Blakesley was looking at him with watery eyes.  “Oh, my God,” she whispered, trying to swallow away the lump in her throat. “He didn’t tell me that.”

“He wouldn’t.  I’ve put him in for a commendation and he’s going to kill me for it.” Davis looked at her. “Seavington is an American hero, ma’am.  Movies and stories wouldn’t do the man justice.  He’s a real-live G.I. Joe, bigger than life, and he runs from any recognition you want to give him.  I know he won’t tell you, so I will.  He’s the best man in the Navy. Treat him right or you’ll have to answer to me.”

He was smiling when he said it but Blakesley understood.  She stood there, stunned, as he moved away from her and went back to Beck and Gina.  She continued to stand there, struggling to come to terms with what Beck’s commanding officer had told her,  when Beck broke away from Gina and came back over to her.  She smiled at him, perhaps seeing him through new eyes, as he grasped her gently by the arms and kissed her cheek.

“Gina is about ready to go,” he said quietly. “She’s going to ride in the hearse with the casket and I’m going with her. Can you follow us in the truck?”

Blakesley nodded. “Sure,” she said softly. “How is she doing?”

He shrugged. “Okay, I guess. Better now than she was in the truck. Thank you for that, by the way.  That meant a lot.”

She smiled modestly. “You’re welcome,” she whispered. “Can I get either of you anything? A bottle of water or something?”

Beck glanced back at Gina. “She might like something,” he said. “I’ll take whatever you get her. There’s a vending machine if you go back out the door behind you. You’ll see it on the left.”

Blakesley nodded, kissed him, and went to get three bottles of water.  She proceeded to follow Gina, Beck and Captain Davis out into the warm sunshine as the people from the mortuary loaded the casket into their car.  Following the hearse back across the bridge in Beck’s new truck, she was glad that Davis had told her what he knew of Beck from his perspective. It gave her a better view of the man she was coming to know, the strong and honorable person he was.  It also made her realize why she loved him so much.

The man was a keeper.

Chapter Fifteen

Three weeks later

“Do you love it?”

Blakesley was so happy that she was literally twitching. Beck just grinned at her, his fists resting on his hips as he looked around the big, cavernous space that she was showing him.  It was a storefront in the gas lamp district down by the convention center, in an old building that was at near the corner of the Hard Rock Café.   It was pricey real estate but Blakesley was happy and that was all that mattered. She finally had her gallery.

“Baby, if you love it, I love it,” he said. “I’m happy for you.”

Blakesley giggled, turning to look around the space happily, which was now little more than eighteen hundred square feet of white-washed walls.  She began to pace around, outlining her plans with her arms outstretched.

“I’ve been really thinking about this and it’s going to be more than a gallery for my paintings,” she said. “I want to turn it into a wine and dessert bar.”

He lifted his eyebrows at her. “You do?”

She nodded eagerly. “I’ve got a hell of a lot of experience with restaurants so I may as well put it to good use,” she said. “I’m going to paint up in the loft and my paintings will be displayed all throughout the bar.  People can come and enjoy a glass of wine and a cupcake, and look at all of my paintings. They can buy the ones they like.”

His smile returned. “Sounds good,” he said. “What are you going to call this magical place?”

She giggled. “The Art Bar, what else?”

“Perfect.”

She was full of excitement and ideas as she paced around. “We’ll serve a full complement of fine wines and champagne,” she said, “but no beer. I don’t like beer and unless it’s imported and very exclusive, I’m not going to carry it. This isn’t going to be a sports bar.”

He fought off a smirk. “You’re a beer snob.”

“Yes, I am,” she said firmly. “I know a lot of pastry chefs that would be dying to come down to San Diego and help me run this place.  I think it will be really successful if we have good food, good product, good prices and make this into kind of a high-end gallery with booze and food.”

He watched her prance around as she described her idea. “So who are you going to get to help you with this thing?”

She grinned. “You,” she said, batting her eyelashes coyly. “You’ll be my head waiter. One look at you and we’ll have every woman in San Diego in here every single night.”

He laughed softly. “That’s not what I meant.”

Her face fell. “You’re not going to help me?”

He shook his head and moved in her direction, hands out to ease her. “Of course I will, baby, that’s not what I meant.  Don’t you need a contractor? A designer? That kind of thing?”

“Sure I do, but I know a ton of them from Los Angeles so that won’t be an issue. I’m just excited to get started.”