FROST (The Trident Series Book 3)

by Jaime Lewis

  He turned his attention to Cody. “Hey, Cody. Would you mind running down to the nurse’s station and ask them to get me a pineapple juice.”

  Thankfully, Cody didn’t appear to understand what was happening around him, and he smiled, wanting nothing more than to help out Frost. “Sure. I’ll be right back.”

  Once Cody was out of the room and out of earshot, Autumn took a few deep breaths and turned toward the men. They all were looking none too happy, and although their looks should have scared her, she really didn’t give a shit.

  “Look, I appreciate the mementos you’ve given Cody and how nice you’ve all been, but I ask that you please respect our privacy. I’d also appreciate it if you kept your interrogation tactics to yourselves.”

  “Autumn, don’t be upset at the guys. They don’t know about your husband,” Frost told her. His voice was soft and understanding. She turned and stared at him, trying to decipher if he was telling the truth. Why wouldn’t he tell them? She thought groups like these guys told each other everything.

  “You didn’t tell them?” She asked, looking him over, but, of course, neither his facial expression nor his body language gave any inkling if he was being honest or not. As she scrutinized him more, his eyes were what gave her the answer. His light brown eyes held nothing but compassion and sympathy. He was totally honest, and her respect for him soared.

  He shook his head. “No. It wasn’t my place to. What you shared with me was between you and me. I love these guys like brothers, but there are times that we don’t tell each other everything. Autumn, you need to understand; we have an instinct that when we think someone is in trouble, we tend to react. Especially when it involves women and children, we’ve all seen a lot of bad shit happen in the places we’ve been. And sitting here listening to Cody telling us that the police were at your house because someone broke in, well, it brought out that protective instinct in all of us, and quite honestly, it scared the shit out of me.”

  She glanced around the room at the guys. Maybe they were just trying to help, and she was just overreacting? She took a seat in the chair next to Frost’s bed and tucked her hair behind her ear.

  “I’m sorry if I offended you guys. I don’t have much time before Cody gets back, but I think I should clear a few things up.”

  Frost reached out and covered her hand. “Autumn, you don’t have to explain if you don’t want to. You are not going to hurt their feelings.”

  His touch and sincerity grounded her. She now understood these guys were just looking out for her. Over the last two years, people, like her friends back in California and her co-workers here at the hospital, told her all the time she was building a wall, but she denied it. Apparently, they were right, and she needed to work on tearing it down. And now couldn’t have been a better time to start working on it.

  “No, Frost, I need to. I have been sitting here trying to decide whether you guys were the real deal. I’m not a person who spills their entire life story to others, especially strangers.” She took another glance at the men and gave them a small smile. “But, for some reason, I trust all of you.” She took a deep breath, and Frost squeezed her hand, giving her the courage. She looked at him, smiled softly, and squeezed his back. A silent thank you for giving her the push and strength she needed. She could definitely do this.

  “My husband, Kevin, was a Marine stationed out of Camp Pendleton. Two years ago, while on patrol in Iraq, his unit was ambushed. From the few details I know, his unit was outnumbered. While trying to get his men to safety, he sacrificed himself and was fatally shot. After his death, I was slowly falling down a very dark rabbit hole, and if I didn’t get out of there, I don’t know if I would’ve been able to climb back up. But here I am. It took all the strength I had, but I climbed those walls to reach the light at the top. Once I succeeded, I told myself it was time for a change. But I couldn’t do that back in California. If I had stayed, the same people would still be around me, and I was afraid I would begin to rely on them again and start the whole process over. So, I started looking for a job out east, and by a stroke of luck, I came across this one.”

  She hadn’t realized while she was talking that a few tears had slipped out. She wiped them away. Stitch walked over, squatted down in front of her, and took her other hand. He used his other hand to wipe away a tear she must have missed. He had gorgeous hazel eyes. She could see tiny specks of gold mixed in with the light green color. The room was quiet, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

  “Wow, honey. Thank you for sharing something that I’m sure is very difficult and upsetting to talk about. And I’m sorry to hear about your husband. I’m sure he was a great man. It took a lot of courage to do what you did. To move away and start over like that. All while raising a son on your own, having to adjust to a whole new environment, and make new friends. See, my instincts were right. You are a strong woman.” He winked and squeezed her hand before releasing it.

  She snorted a laugh. “I wouldn’t go that far. Besides, the ladies here at the hospital are my only friends. My social life isn’t what you would call impressive.”

  “Now, I find that hard to believe with your personality.” She tilted her head sideways, giving him a look like she didn’t believe him.

  “Don’t look at me like that. You are friendly, funny, caring, and patient, considering you can put up with this one.” He motioned to Frost, who was attentively listening.

  She smiled. “Thank you, Stitch. That is very kind of you to say. As far as being patient, it helps when the patient is cooperative.” She gently patted Frost’s hand and smiled at him.

  “Well, you can consider all of us your friends now, and we don’t extend our friendship freely. You will fit in perfectly with our little unit.”

  She wasn’t sure what to say, so she just smiled and said thank you and tried to keep from bursting into tears. These guys really were special, and she was grateful she got to see a glimpse of the real men behind their SEAL facade.

  ◆◆◆

  Frost was proud to be part of a team with the men standing before him. His mind pondered over the woman who’d just confided something very personal and close to her, and they came together for Autumn and made her feel empowered despite what she may think.

  She was strong, for sure. And, the heartbreak and changes she had experienced over the last two years had taken a toll on her. He wanted to know more about her. Hell, he wanted to know everything. Never in his life had a woman affected him the way Autumn had. There was a need inside of him to protect and possess her and Cody. He wanted to help her take those final steps and heal her heart completely. He had a feeling it was going to be an uphill battle, but he was all in. He would make it happen. Well, as soon as he could get out of the hospital.

  As they were leaving, Cody went around the room, shaking everyone’s hand and thanked them again for the t-shirt and hat. When he got to Frost, he asked. “So, after you go home, I won’t see you again, will I?”

  Frost swallowed hard. He needed to really think about his words first before speaking them because the way his mind was feeling right now, he wanted to tell Cody he would see him every day, but he couldn’t because that would surely scare Autumn. If he wanted to pursue her, he had a feeling he was going to have to tread the waters carefully.

  He took a quick glance, and Autumn seemed like she was holding her breath while waiting to hear his answer. He shook Cody’s hand and looked him in the eye and made an instant decision. This kid was going to be part of his life, and so was his mom. He just needed to convince her.

  “I wouldn’t say that, buddy. Like Stitch told your mom, we are all friends now, and friends hang out with one another.” He looked up at Autumn, who was staring back at him with those green eyes of hers. He saw how they shimmered, and he knew she was tearing up again and could see the emotion swirling in them. And when she cracked a smile, he knew things were on the right track.

  “Really! You mean I can hang out with you guys?” An overly excited Cod
y asked the guys, and Frost had to laugh.

  “Yeah, buddy. That is as long as it’s okay with your mom.” He looked up at Autumn again and raised one of his eyebrows in question at her, and she smiled.

  “Of course, it’s okay, just as long as these ‘meet-ups’ don’t involve any strenuous activities. At least until Frost heals.” She raised an eyebrow back at him, and it made Frost laugh. “You got yourself a deal.”

  “Cool!” Cody exclaimed, and the guys chuckled.

  “Well, kiddo, let’s say you and I head home and let these gentlemen talk. Plus, I need to stop by the store.”

  Frost didn’t want them to leave. Nor did he want her going home by herself, not after knowing a stranger had been in her home. He needed to know she was okay when she got home. On instinct, he reached out and took her hand before she turned to walk away. His touch obviously surprised her as he heard her breath hitch before she turned back to look at him. When her eyes locked on to his, he felt cupid’s arrow hit him square in the heart, and he knew he was done for. He let go to reach over and grabbed his phone from the table.

  “Give me your number,” he asked, knowing he sounded kind of bossy.

  “Why?” She asked with her hands on her hips, hips that he would love to squeeze.

  “Because I want to call you later and make sure you got home okay. Please…” He held his breath. He wasn’t sure if he was moving too fast. But when she nodded and started giving him the number, he wanted to pump his fist in the air. Her giving him her number was another show of trust.

  After saying goodbye, Frost watched her leave the room. The urge to protect both of them overwhelmed him, and the whole break-in at her house didn’t sit right with him either. Someone was trying to make a statement. He would talk to her about it later and try to get some more information from her.

  “It hits you when you least expect it. Doesn’t it?”

  “What?” Frost asked, looking up at Potter, who had snuck up on him and now stood towering over his bed.

  Potter crossed his arms. “Meeting ‘the one.’”

  Frost thought about denying it, but what good would it do? “Yeah, it does.”

  Potter grinned, something he didn’t often do unless his wife, Tenley, was around, and then the giant couldn’t wipe the smile off his face. “She’s sweet. A little shy and timid. And Cody seems like a nice kid. He seems to have a good head on his shoulders, especially knowing what happened to his dad. He’s only a few years older than Alejandra. If things progress between the two of you, maybe I’ll have Tenley reach out to Autumn and see if they want to get the kids together or something. You know those playdate things kids have.”

  Frost started laughing. Hearing Potter, the biggest and meanest on the team, talk about setting up playdates was hilarious. Potter scowled at Frost.

  “What the fuck is so funny?”

  “You. You’re the meanest looking guy in the teams I know, and here you are talking about kids and playdates.” Frost laughed even harder as Potter’s face took on an even meaner expression. And in no time, he had the others laughing along with him.

  Potter glared at the guys with his arms crossed over his chest. “Laugh all you want, assholes. At least I can go home tonight and wrap myself around my woman. What can you all say about that?”

  Frost stopped laughing and scrunched his nose up. “Christ, man, I don’t need to hear that shit. Tenley is like my sister. But getting back to what you said and all joking aside, I think that would be a great idea. Just from the little time she and I have spent together, I get the impression she’s holding back. Like she’s scared to let go. I don’t know. It might take some time.”

  “However you decide to woo her, you’d better make it quick. She’s a fine-looking woman with brains. I’ve come to the conclusion that women like that are hard to come by. And I’m sure other men would like to claim her as theirs,” Irish said.

  Frost scowled at the blonde hair, blue-eyed man. Irish was a total ladies’ man. He never had any problem hooking up with a woman. Although he noticed over the past couple of weeks when they’d been out at the local bar, he left alone. In the past, Irish never went home without a woman on his arm. Shit, he hoped to hell Irish wasn’t attracted to Autumn. That thought pissed him off. He gave Irish a mean look. “Don’t even think about hitting on her. She’s off-limits.”

  Irish laughed. The fucker. He had a habit of messing with the guys who had women. One of these days, karma was going to come back around and bite him in the ass.

  “Look, if you are serious and really like her, just take your time, and everything will fall into place on its own. Shit, look at Tenley and me. The moment that woman stepped into the bar, she had me,” Potter told him.

  “Yeah, but I don’t know if she feels the attraction to me like I do with her. You felt that pull immediately with Tenley. At times with Autumn, it seems like that pull is there, but then she starts to pull in the opposite direction.”

  “That’s where you just have to convince her to take that chance.”

  Frost nodded his head.

  Just then, a man entered the room, putting an end to their conversation. The guy wore hospital scrubs and had a hospital ID clipped to the front, but Frost had never seen him before and wondered who he was. He didn’t like surprises, especially when it involved strangers coming into his hospital room.

  The guy looked at Frost. “Sorry, I don’t mean to interrupt. If you just give me a quick minute, I just need to check your IV and vitals, and then I’ll be out of your hair.”

  Frost must have given the guy an odd look because the guy introduced himself and shook Frost’s hand.

  “Sorry, I should’ve introduced myself. I’m Scott. I’ll be the RN assigned to this floor for the night.”

  “You are?” Frost asked, surprised. Since he’d been in this place, all his nurses had been females.

  Scott laughed. “Yeah, sorry, I know I’m not pretty like the other nurses, but I promise you’re in good hands.”

  Frost sat up straighter in the bed. This guy had nothing to be sorry about. This was a good thing. Hell, it was better than good, it was great! “No, it’s not that. I’m actually glad you’re here. It means I’ll at least have a peaceful night. If I’m honest, I was getting a little annoyed with the ‘hands-on’ treatment I was getting from the previous nurses, if you know what I’m saying. I was just telling my therapist about it yesterday.”

  Scott looked surprised. “Autumn must be your therapist?”

  “Yeah. Why?” Frost gave the guy a once over. Not that he was judging, but the man nurse was a good-looking guy. He then wondered if he was interested in her. Shit, Irish just might be right. He needed to act quickly if he wanted a shot with her.

  “Well, that explains a lot. Autumn apparently spoke with the charge nurse on this floor and explained how some female nurses had been acting a bit unprofessional with a patient. Let me guess, are you supposed to be discharged in two or three days?” Frost nodded his head, and Scott smiled. “Well, you can thank Autumn the next time you see her. She must have listened and had your back because I’ll be on this floor for the next two nights, and my colleague Patrick will be on day rounds.”

  He gave Scott a chin lift and smile. “Sounds great. Thanks, man.”

  “No problem. I’m all finished. I’ll be back in a couple of hours to re-check the IV and vitals. In the meantime, if you need anything, just press the button.”

  Well, all be damned. Frost was astounded. She’d actually listened and helped him. Then he wondered if she was a little bit jealous of hearing about the nurses and the way they were coming on to him.

  “Well, there you have it. If she didn’t care about you, she sure as hell wouldn’t have done that.”

  No, she did not. Frost picked his phone up and sent off a text to Autumn. Thankful, he now had her number.

  Frost: I just had a very interesting conversation with my new nurse SCOTT. Thank you!

  Autumn: You’re welcome.

/>   He put the phone on the table and leaned back, resting his head on the pillow. He knew he had a silly grin on his face and was sure the guys would rib him about it later, but at least he knew he’d get a decent night’s sleep tonight all because of his Irish Beauty.

  Chapter Six

  Autumn arrived at the hospital about twenty minutes ago. It had been a little over a week since Frost had been discharged from the hospital. Though she hadn’t physically seen him, he had texted her a couple of times. Once, asking if she had gotten the lock on the window fixed, which she had. Mr. Voight, the landlord, apparently wasn’t keen on being threatened with a lawsuit. The other time he texted was to ask her what her favorite color was. This seemed odd, but two days later, it all made sense when she received a beautiful floral arrangement delivered to her at the hospital. The card attached to the arrangement read, “To a true Irish beauty.” With her flaming red hair and green eyes, it was easy to tell she came from Irish heritage. She didn’t recognize some of the flowers, so on her way home that evening, she stopped by a florist to see if they could tell her what they were. She had been flattered when she learned the flowers were native to Ireland. It was a very well thought out gift that scored some points for Frost.

  She and Nancy were going over the day’s schedule, and she was about to ask Nancy about Mr. Pitcher’s back therapy when suddenly Nancy’s eyes widened, then a shit-eating grin spread across her face. When Nancy got that look, it made Autumn nervous.

  “Holy hotness! Isn’t that the SEAL who was here a week or two ago?”

  Autumn spun around to see the nurse at the reception desk near the end of the hallway, talking to a man. She could only see the back of him. The person resembled Frost, but she couldn’t be certain it was him. She didn’t tear her eyes away, then watched as the nurse smiled and pointed in her direction. When the man turned around, her breath caught in her throat. It is him, and oh shit, he is heading straight for me!

  She’d enjoyed working with him during his PT, and Cody still couldn’t stop talking about him and his team. She had to admit that when he had been discharged, she was a little sad. He was fun to be around and easy to talk to. But she didn’t understand why he was back here. His rehab had been transferred to the outpatient clinic near his home.