Two Weeks With a SEAL (The Wakefield Romance Series) (26 page)

I laughed, leaning my
back against the fridge, listening to their happy banter as my happy tears
finally slipped out. Looking down at my ring I had a sudden wave of fear grip
my heart.
What if he doesn't come back? What if something happens to him?
What if something he does changes him in a way that I can't help him with?
What
if? What if? What if?

There were too many what
if situations to ponder. "No," I say to myself under my breath, my
fists clenching at my sides, "I will not let those thoughts creep
in." I built a mental wall around my heart, not letting all those what
if's in…for now at least.

Settling into dinner,
the three of us enjoy the fantastic food after Dana issues an almost tearful
Grace. She reminded me that I could come over anytime, the front door was
always open to me and I told her it was the same at Chad's house. "It's
our house baby," he grinned through a mouthful of mashed potatoes.

"Right," I
blushed, "our house." Dana laughed lightly with me and she patted my
hand, squeezing it lightly.

"What are you going
to do with the doublewide," she asked and Chad raised an eyebrow. I hadn't
really thought about it. I guess it wasn't a priority on my list till now.

"Harlan said he'd
rent it," Chad said, mowing through his chicken like he usually did when
his mom made it for him. I'd have to get the recipe from her so that I could
make it for them sometime. His eyes met mine over the small bouquet of
carnations in the middle of the table, "Kendall and him want a place of
their own."

I almost choked on the
carrot I was chewing, Dana slapping me on the back as I coughed. They both
frantically ask if I'm okay as my face turns red and I just wave them off. I
was fine just shocked.

"Kendall didn't say
anything to me," and I would've thought she would have at least mentioned
it being that we talked about everything under the sun yesterday as we drank
our beers at my kitchen table. Chad just shrugged his shoulders. "Well I
guess that's okay," I say quietly, looking to Dana and seeing her
approving nod, "I'd have to draw up a renter's agreement, just in
case."

"That's my little
lawyer," Chad grinned, his eyes sparkling with the candles that were lit
around the table, "always covering her bases." I gave him a wink and
dove back into my food knowing that in a few hours I'll be too nervous to even
think about eating.

"Are you leaving
your truck at Reno's again," Dana asked from the kitchen when the dishes
were all in the dishwasher, her brow creased as she carried the coffee pot to
the table.

"Yeah, Rhea won't
let me give her the keys to use it," he pinched my elbow as I snuggled
next to him, my chin on his shoulder. "Plus Reno and Rosa have that huge
garage, so she said I can store it there. I really wish you would just take it,
drive it instead of that old rust bucket." His fingers tilted my chin up
to look at him.

"My truck is just
fine," I protest, taking the offered coffee from Dana, "besides I
don't think I'll be... able to drive myself home after tomorrow." The
coffee was hot as I took a gulp to try and chase the tears away. "That why
Kendall is coming down to get me after she gets outta work." His eyes
still had a bit of annoyance in them, but he ignored it. I know I won't be able
to drive myself home after saying goodbye to him, I'll be an emotional zombie
and zoning out is not a good thing when driving from an hour away.

"We'll get your
truck if she needs it son," Dana chimed in, giving her son a pointed look.
"Besides, she's friends with Rosa, they'll be seeing each other as often
as possible. If she needs your truck she'll take it." Chad nodded his head
a tiny bit, his eyes on the table as he sipped his coffee. His hand gripped
mine, squeezing it and bringing it to rest against his stomach.

Dana's goodbyes to Chad
made me cry once more today, her eyes watering as he told her not to cry. She
told him to be safe and true, to say his prayers and to call and Skype us as
much as he can. He promised to do all of the above and he asked her to watch
over me, keep me occupied on weekends and she smiled. She had been a back bone
for me for a while, I was sure it wouldn't change especially now since I was
going to marry her son. She followed us to the house and waited patiently as we
finished up his packing, making sure he had all of his navy blue t-shirts and
his gear. Dana carried his camo uniform to the truck as I threw my tote bag of
clothes in.

"Call me when you’re
headed home tomorrow," she said, kissing my cheek and hugging me tight.
"I'll be waiting for you."

"Okay," I say,
trying to give her a genuine smile as she caresses my cheek.

"I love you my
son," she hugged Chad tight once more as he bent over to wrap his arms
around her waist. "I'll be praying for you."

"Yeah mama, I'll be
seeing you," his words made my dam break. Randy always said that same
thing when he was leaving, giving one of my cheeks a pinch and grinning his
evil grin. I turned my back on my fiancée and his mother, trying to hide my
tears but a hand on my elbow pulled me into their embrace. "God, how am I
going to deal with being away from you two," he whispered against my hair
as he kissed the top of my head and then his mother's cheek.

Dana pushed us both back
a little, a hand on one of our shoulders, "Alright, get going," she
tried to smile through her tears. She kissed and hugged us each once more before
stepping to the side and letting us get in the truck. As we backed out of the
driveway, I waved through the passenger window at her as she followed us out,
stopping to stand on the end of the driveway.

Looking over to Chad as
he paused before putting the truck in drive, I see the tears streaking his face
and I wipe them away. He leans into my touch, throwing the truck in drive and
honking the horn he waves at his mother with me, watching as she grows small
behind us. He honked obnoxiously as we passed Kendall's parents’ house, her
Beetle in the driveway in front of Harlan's truck.

He stopped at the end of
the street and I heard him take a deep breath in. I reached my arm across the
center console and his arm shot out to entangle our fingers within each other.
His blinker finally went on and we turned off our street.

This was it
, I thought, the knot growing in my chest again. In
one hour I would have less than twelve hours left with my SEAL.

My man.

My fiancée.

My love.

My heart.

Tick tock, tick tock.

January 30, 2012

Chad

It was 0300 hours and
Reno and I were dawning our gear in the living room. Thick socks on my feet I
pull on my MARPAT desert pattern pants, tucking in my t-shirt at the waistband.
The camo shirt isn't the most comfortable fabric, but I've gotten used to it
over the years, buttoning it up and tucking that in as well. I roll the sleeves
up, like I always do and look to Reno to help me put on my vest.

As he helps tug the
utility bulletproof vest over my shoulders, scenes from last night fly through
my head. I had made love to Rhea like I never had before, full with every
emotion I had ever felt for her, tears flowing down both our cheeks. I wasn't
afraid to show her how she made me feel and her love brought me to tears, so
why not shed them? I had held her in my arms for what seemed like days, nothing
between us but skin as she trailed her fingers over my chest repeatedly kissing
over my heart. Finally snuggling into my arms and drifting off to sleep with
her lips pressed below my Adam's apple.

I hadn't wanted to move,
but Reno's knocks on their spare bedroom door about twenty minutes ago had
pulled me from the warmth of Rhea's embrace. She had dressed quickly and gone
to join Rosa, laying on top of their bed, their arms thrown over each other. I
know they'll lean on each other and it makes me feel a little better, knowing
they are friends already makes it even easier. They had fawned over Rosa's
sonogram pictures when we arrived last night, Rhea joking that it looked like a
little tadpole at this point. We had all laughed at her and with her, the two
of them laughing so hard they cried.

Sitting to lace up my
tan, steel toed combat boots I can't help but let my thoughts go to Randy.
Would he be proud of me? I hoped he would. Would he be okay with me retiring to
NCIS after this mission? I know he would be because that's what he wanted to
do. He wanted to be Jethro Gibbs from the CBS show NCIS. He would even smack
guys on the back of the head like Mark Harmon's character does.

Would he be happy that I
asked Rhea to marry me before leaving? That one was a hard one. I liked to
think he would but that voice at the back of my head told me that he would have
told me to wait till I came home because how would it affect her if I
didn't
come home? She would be utterly heartbroken. I didn't want to do that to her, I
wouldn't do that to her. She had suffered way too much heartache and death in
her life so far. I was here to make her happy and that's exactly what I plan on
doing.

I leave my vest open and
my helmet in my bag, I won't need those till we're on base. Rosa had set the
coffee pot to brew for us and it was smellin’ mighty good as I pour a cup for
Reno and myself, leaning my back against the counter. This morning was like so
many that have passed before. Getting ready at Reno's house had become my
routine, my normality. This morning however, Rhea was with me for the first
time and the last because we would never go through this again. After this
mission I was all hers and she was all mine.

"Did you hear from
the Commander on your retirement," Reno asked as he leaned on the island,
his vest bulging as he sat on a stool. I nodded my head, waiting for him to
talk first. He sighed, sipping his coffee, "I got the Domestic Terrorism
task force of NCIS." That made sense since Reno was a weapons and bomb
expert, being the only SEAL I know that can diffuse any kind of bomb in under
thirty seconds.

"That's good,"
I say, slapping him on the back and he grinned. "I got Special
Investigation Task Force." I see his eyes go wide and his head nod up and
down in approval. Special Investigation was where they worked with other
agencies, the FBI, CIA, etc, to solve cases. I was fluent in many languages and
computer systems, so it was a perfect fit.

"You're gonna be
the next Dinozo," he joked and I punched his shoulder. "Minus the
womanizing," he laughed out loud and I shushed him. "Well actually
you're a perfect mix of Tony and McGee, and as deadly as Xeva." We both laugh
at that, enjoying this moment of normal before we return to solider mode.

"At least we'll be
in the same building, we'll be able to have lunch like normal people."

"Ha, yeah, like
we'd ever be normal," we laugh, but Reno's comment carries a dark
undertone. He's right though. No one who has been through what we have and seen
what we have could ever be deemed 'normal'. We both sigh deeply and I look at
the clock on the stove, noting that it's half past four, time for us to get
going. The base would be busy today, so it's better we get there early.

"Ready to do this
bro," I say, nodding my head at the clock getting Reno to swivel in his
seat. Taking another sip of the coffee I try to enjoy the taste, but my stomach
is doing somersaults. I always get like this. The adrenaline gets the best of
me, surging through my veins and making my limbs shake. Reno nods, setting his
cup in the sink and I follow him down the hall into Rosa and his bedroom.

The only light that's on
is a small lamp on Rosa's nightstand, casting an eerie yellow glow over the two
women sleeping on the bed. They were hugging each other, their legs entwined
along with their arms, faces inches apart and I can see that Rhea's been
crying. Reno and I sit on the bed in unison, our weight stirring the two from
their sleep. With my hand on her shoulder I get Rhea to roll towards me and she
looks like an angel. Her hair falls around her face in soft curls, her hand
shaking slightly as she reached up to brush it from her eyes.

Her eyes, they're rimmed
in red and they burn a whole in my heart. "It's time babe," I
whisper, brushing my palm over her warm cheek and she smiles up at me.

Her smile. That would
get me through the nights alone in my bunk.
This is my last mission, but I
will be a SEAL for my entire life.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rhea

The silence killed me.

It seemed to be holding
a knife to my throat and my chest burned with the built up emotion. My hand was
gripped into Chad's as we sat in the back seat of Reno's Jeep, Rosa driving us
to the Langley Air Force base that they were departing from. I could see that
Reno held her hand over the arm rest, caressing the back of it with his thumb
and it made my heart warm a little. After I had gotten up and dressed I had
climbed into bed with Rosa, the two of us crying silently on each other's
shoulders as we heard the men putting their gear on in the living room.