SEAL The Deal (4 page)

“The doctor told me today my lymphoma is advancing at a rapid pace. My chemo was ended a month ago. I guess he was hoping the markers would go down, as they sometimes do. I’m not one of the lucky ones. The cancer is too aggressive.”

Nick leaned in and grabbed Sophie’s hands in his big paw, catching hers as well. Devon could tell he wanted to say something, but couldn’t. His fingers gave  reassuring squeeze.

“I’m going to list the property for sale with you, Devon. Ideally, it would sell before I pass on. That way I can sell it to someone I like, someone who will continue my work here, not that asshole next door. But if not, I’d like you to handle it when I’m up in that big nursery in the sky, and distribute the profits, if there are any.”

“Come on, Sophie. Don’t do that. There’s plenty of time. The market has gotten very strong lately.”

“I’m not sure,” Sophie said. “I’m just making plans now for every eventuality.”

“Well that’s nonsense, but it’s your call.  We can do some advance care planning. Just let me know who you want as beneficiaries, and I’ll get instructions to escrow drawn up by the title company I use. You do have a will, right?”

“Yes.”

“Good, I’ll need to show a copy of it to title so your wishes can be carried out to the letter. All we have to do now is determine the value and get it on the market.”

“Good. But before we begin, I want both of you to understand three requirements I have. I’ve given it a lot of thought.”

Nick looked away out the window, withdrawing his hand. Devon saw his massive chest rising and falling, heard the hitch in his breath and knew he was struggling with his emotions.

“I’m not sure there is any equity in this property. But if there is, I want to leave it to
both
of you.”

Devon looked at Nick, who looked just as confused.

“Sophie, you should leave it to family. Nick’s your only living relative. I’m just your friend, and I’ll handle the sale for you. But you don’t have to leave me anything. That wouldn’t be right.”

“I disagree. You’ve been there for me all throughout my illness. Even before I became ill. I want to say thank you.”

“But it isn’t necessary,” Devon began.

“It is to
me
. I want you and Nick to work on this together. I want you both to find the right buyer for this property. That’s the second part.”

It began to dawn on Devon that Sophie had a plan beyond money. She placed her hands back in her lap and braced herself. She admired how Sophie was willing to face things head-on, just like she’d lived most of her life.

“And the last part is most important of all.”

Devon began to get a bad feeling in her stomach. She couldn’t look Nick in the eyes, even though she could tell his face was turned her way, as if wanting to draw strength from her. The pain she was feeling was intense enough. If she saw it in his eye, her grief might spill over. She wanted to stay clear-headed to do her job, even though this was her best friend, discussing her final wishes.

“I want you two to date at least five times before I pass on. That’s all I ask. A real date. A dinner, picnic, whatever you want, but not just coffee. You don’t have to get engaged, married, or even fall in love. But I want you two to give each other some time.”

Devon began to rise. “Sophie, how is this appropriate? I don’t see why you should require that I—”

“Stop it, Devon. Don’t take me for a fool. I know you perhaps better than anyone else around. If you want to sell my nursery, you’ll accommodate me. And it’s okay if you say no.”

“But—“

“It’s a deal-breaker for me, Devon. You either agree or I find someone else. If you’re going to abandon our friendship over this, then you weren’t the friend I thought you were.”

Nick rose as well so that they both looked down on his sister. “Sophie, that’s nuts. Like you’re reaching from the grave to make demands.”

“That’s exactly what it is, Nick. You honestly going to stand there and deny me my deathbed request?”

Nick stared at the floor. Devon could see him struggle to breathe evenly. They stood close to one another, so close she could feel his body heat.

Sophie never lied. Her eyes were dead serious and unflinching, darting between the two of them.  Devon dared to glance up at the man standing to her right and damn, her panties got wet.

That was a very bad sign.

Chapter 4

Of all the fucked up things to have to deal with. On top of his sister dying, now he was forced to “agree to Sophie’s wishes” by dating the cold, uptight woman who stood beside him. Devon had made it obvious she wasn’t interested in him. She didn’t seem to be interested in men at all. Probably why she had that horrible reaction to Sophie’s request.

He’d never been forced to date anyone in his life. He’d never had a woman NOT want to go out with him, either. Of course, until today, he’d not played “Thunder Down Under” while he sang and washed dishes, and then sprayed a woman with water. He’d never battled a freaking devil of a hose before. This was not something he wanted to get used to.

And to make matters worse, his pecker was as hard as granite and was about to pull him over and flat onto his face. He sat, attempting to get composed and tried to cross his legs, but couldn’t. He sighed and drummed his fingers on the table until his sister gave him that stern look that said
be careful
.

Devon took her seat as well. Her silence was troubling. Was she going to do everything he did first? That was a cooling thought.

It wasn’t fair, being made to do something this way. He never thought of his sister as a controlling bitch before. But this was…nasty. Wicked. Completely unacceptable. Beyond evil. Like showing up for battle in the Batman boxers he’d gotten as an anonymous care package from Navy Moms.

His groin lurched, reminding him his little head disagreed with him. So be it. He’d beat the shit out of it later, but right now he’d have to stay calm and composed. Or should he give her that wolfish grin she hated so much? If he started being all cocky and full of himself, she’d surely hightail it out of here and that might solve the problem.

But then his sister would have lost a friend. She wouldn’t have the person she wanted sell her property. And the whole scene would just go downhill from there.

No, best thing was to just grin and bear it. His little head liked that idea.

Shut up, you fuckin’ traitor.

This was wrong on so many levels. But if the girl was willing, he could stand a few dinners. Lord knows he’d had lots of them that were harmless enough. Trick was to not make them so horrible she’d quit. ‘Cause that would hurt Sophie. Or maybe…

Yeah, his other part was reminding him it had been a while since his last female contact. And it didn’t count that he and Marc had ogled every decent-looking female in the airports all the way home from the sand country, and at rest stops along the freeway on the drive up to Northern California.

And just a week ago he’d been helping Cooper tend to the women—and the children—having babies at the makeshift clinic they’d set up over there. They’d done all that in a no-name village under the protection of his other team buddies who were keeping a watchful eye out for bad guys. Their Team 3 medic even delivered a breech baby that last day to a scared girl of fourteen.

Life wasn’t fair. Half the guys he’d left behind when he finished his deployment would give anything for the chance to just talk to a beautiful woman who looked incredible in a red business suit. And here he was complaining about it, even if only to himself.

Time to man up.

Truth was, he was more afraid of women sometimes than the battlefield. Maybe it was the training. Maybe it was because he knew he was made for combat. He wasn’t so sure he was made to do small talk and practice patience. He could perform sex that would blow her mind. But this wasn’t sex. This was friendship. This was being nice.

He wasn’t so sure he liked this new uniform. ‘Being nice’ was something you did when you were with an elderly aunt or some retired admiral who dribbled on himself or accidentally peed his pants.

He wondered if he could trust her, this lovely lady sitting on his left, the one with the red, pouty lips and the ramrod backbone that demanded he stay away. Far, far away. But just now, for that second she looked at him, he saw her innocence and her fear. She was afraid of him, probably as much as he was afraid of her.

Damn, that wasn’t a very good start. Not for anyone, but especially not for a SEAL.

Devon licked her lips. She wasn’t going to say anything. Was leaving it totally up to him to dictate how it all went down. Half of him wanted to beg out, plead with his sister to be released from this obligation. It wasn’t fair.

But something in Devon made his chest rise, reminded him of his pride in what he did every day. He was a man born to protect the weak and innocent, the women and children and elderly. The ones who couldn’t defend themselves. Part of him wanted to rise to the occasion, take her in his arms and whisper soothing things, promising it would be okay. Letting her know he’d never hurt her. Never do anything she wouldn’t want. And that was the key. What did
she
want?

As if his eyes had asked her that question, she blushed and looked down at her hands. He tilted his head, surprised at that little slip on her part. Maybe she wasn’t really an ice queen after all. Maybe Sophie knew something about the two of them he had yet to discover.

“Here’s the deal,” Sophie began. “I’m having symptoms of kidney failure. The glow on my face that might look like a suntan is really a buildup of toxins in my system. Any day now I’ll have to be admitted to the hospital for some heroic stuff that won’t do anything but postpone the inevitable. Once in there, I wouldn’t be coming out. But I don’t want to die in any hospital. I want to die
here
, where I live. My doctor was ready to admit me today and I told him flat-out no.”

That’s when Nick tore his eyes away from Devon’s bowed head and focused on his sister.

Devon did the same.

“Oh, Sophie.” Devon reached over to grab his sister’s hands with both of hers. “I had no idea you were so far along.”

“Well, they were trying something new, and there was a chance it would kick in. I’m afraid I don’t have enough time left to find out. The plan now is just to keep me comfortable.”

“So you’ll need twenty-four-hour care. With the three of us, we should be able to  handle that, unless…” Nicholas began as he slid his chair closer to his sister.

“I’m going to clear the decks so I’ll be available to take a shift,” Devon said to Sophie. Nick could see the comment was intended for him, but Devon wasn’t going to look at him. He read her blush in her cheeks and knew why. She was as confused as he was, but the attraction was there. No mistaking it.

“I have no insurance. I’m on the indigent list. Can you believe it?” Sophie said with a lopsided smile. Nick noticed her teeth had started to yellow and her gums were pale.

“There’s nothing we can do, except get started wrapping up this whole experiment. I’m afraid there’s no silver lining or happily ever after for my story.” Sophie leaned back in her chair. “Now for you two, that’s another story altogether.” She attempted a smile, but began coughing.

They spent the rest of an hour going over the figures on the property. Devon made some suggestions for ways to market, including holding a big liquidation auction for all the plants and equipment. Sophie said she wanted to be there, if she could. Wanted to watch it all go to good homes.

Nick objected at first, said he wasn’t so sure this was a good idea, but Sophie’s dream had already taken on a life of its own and he dropped his opposition.

The listing agreement was signed and Devon gave Sophie the disclosure statements to work on. “I can pick these up tomorrow. Maybe Nick can help you fill them out tonight, if you’re up to it. We like to have everything complete in the file. And if I can, I’d like some profit and loss statements.”

“Nonexistent,” whispered Sophie.

“Then we’ll make something up. It needs to be fairly accurate.”

“Not much to tell,” Sophie said with a shrug.

“How did you survive all this time?” Nick asked.

“I had that auto accident last year, remember? The hit and run? Got a cash settlement and used it all up trying to get this place off the ground. I was so sure I was going to be able to do it.”

Nick nodded, looking over the disclosure statements. “Geez, there’s a ton of stuff to fill out.”

“If you have any questions, give me a call and I’ll go over them with you.” Devon offered. She gave him her card with her cell phone number on it.

“I guess I’ll be needing this anyway,” he said, and then winced as he thought better of it. Devon wasn’t a piece of meat that had been auctioned off to the highest bidder. She was flesh and blood. Delicate, even if she was spirited.

“I suppose you’re planning to do it the old-fashioned way? You’ll call me to ask me out, too?”

That didn’t sound half bad anymore. Plain vanilla sex and a big bed had never triggered such erotic fantasies.

“One other thing, Devon, I’d love it if you’d move in here,” Sophie said.

At first Devon stiffened. “Oh, Sophie. I—”

“Yes, I know I have no right, but I’m asking you anyway. I think it would make things easier for everyone. I know you have to work, but I can’t show the property, and I want you to be my spokesperson as much as possible. And, truth is, I’m scared, Devon.”

Nick saw Devon struggle with her reply. “I’ll need a  day to get ready.”

“Fair enough,” his sister said. “Not like I’m gonna die tomorrow.”

Marc arrived with the pizza and beer and a side salad for Devon. The sun was low enough in the sky that the outside lights turned on automatically and the crickets began to chirp. Several waterfalls continued to gurgle. Something about this green patch of ground was soothing and endearing.

The pizza was good, and the beer better. Afterwards, Devon rose to leave, giving Sophie a big hug while not allowing her to leave the chair. Slipping her computer case strap over her right shoulder, she waved goodbye. Nick got up to walk her to her car.