“Ice cream time?” She didn’t even greet me with proper hello. It was the way an old friend greets you. One you speak with every day. I like this kind of familiarity. As formal as the Navy can be and even with how much I enjoyed that professionalism, there’s nothing quite like the feel of the familiar and the informality that goes with it.
“Are you reading my mind?”
“I was thinking the same thing. Jerry was just talking about you. Have your ear to the ground?”
“Been awhile since I’ve done that. I must say, surprisingly it can work wonders though.”
“Never tried it. But sometimes my knees tell me when it’s about to rain.”
“Natural indicators are the best indicators.”
“And my natural indicators are indicating that you, and I, both really need a visit to Frosty’s right now.”
“So it’s not just your knees that can sense dropping temperatures.”
“Not at all. My tongue is telling me a stracciatella gelato cold front is coming through real soon.”
“My radar must be slightly off then. I’m also sensing a cold front, but more of the Amarena cherry variety.”
“Well there’s only one way to make sure.”
“See you there at the top of the hour.”
“Deal.”
I told Jasmine to get ready for a surprise and jumped in the shower for a quick cool down, and to make sure I looked my best when I met Kate and Jerry.
We pulled up to Frosty’s ten minutes early. Frosty’s had an obstacle course type playground on the left side as you entered. I saw Jerry over there knocking out pull-ups. I was impressed and surprised at the same time. It was still well over ninety degrees and here he was doing hard exercise, in public no less. This kid was really devoted and didn’t seem to care what other people thought. Those traits were going to take him far.
Jasmine and I came up from behind. Kate was counting Jerry’s reps. She smiled and gave me the one second index finger motion.
“Seventeen, eighteen, no kipping! Eighteen and a half, nineteen, nineteen and a quarter, nineteen and a half…come on Jerry! Twenty!
“Very impressive, buddy.”
“Thanks, Mr. Creed. Hi, Jasmine.”
“Hi, Jerry.”
“Guys, ready for some ice cream?”
“It’s gelato dad.”
“They have ice cream too.”
The kids ran for the order window. Kate and I laughed.
I turned and looked at Kate. I had seen her briefly in the back of Cole’s gym under dim lighting, but had never formally met her in person before. She had beautiful brown eyes. Eyes that rounded up when she smiled. A true smile. It was an optimistic smile. I had seen it before. On the Teams you meet a lot of people who have experienced conflict first-hand. After such life changing events a lot of people choose to take an optimistic approach. You can really sense it in the way they look at you.
When people think of SEALS they think of us kicking in doors, shooting guys, and jumping out of helicopters. Offensive type things. Those things are all true, but I quickly found out being a SEAL is much more than that. SEALS need to be diplomatic, problem solving type guys. Guys who can partner with local liaisons and problem solve. Guys who can think on their feet and envision the long-term progress we’re after. Our missions are a lot longer than they once were, but every mission eventually comes to an end. When the mission ends we turn everything over to our partners. It’s those partnerships we need to grow and nurture. If we can improve our partner’s lives in a way that can lead to them carrying on the work we started then the overall mission is usually considered a huge success. Ultimately we want to prevent wars.
It’s in working with these partners, especially those that have been hit the hardest by conflict, that I’ve come to notice the subtle nuances in a person’s smile. Often those with what I call an optimistic smile have experienced some terrible hardships. They rose above that hardship, no matter how great or even how tough the loss, and are now focused on living each day meaningfully and optimistically. Kate had that type of smile. I had to know more about her.
I also wanted to know more about her for another reason. She was beautiful. As we locked eyes I had noticed her big baby browns. It was as if Van Morrison had written “Brown Eyed Girl” with her in mind. Her eyes had a few small gold speckles as the light hit them from the side. She had soft skin. Her curves were full and perfect. She kept them subdued with her choice of clothes, but I could vividly and accurately imagine what was underneath.
“Thanks for inviting us, Jax.”
“My pleasure. It’s the least I could do.”
“Please, don’t mention it. Jerry talks about you all the time. You and Cole. You two have really made a big difference in his life. Now that he knows what’s possible he’s more focused. We live in a small town. I think for him he knew there was a bigger picture, but he’s a boy so he’s visual. Once he saw you guys he had a template so to speak. It became clear to him that this is what he wants to do and with your help as a roadmap, this is how he can, and will, do it.”
“Thank you. That’s really nice of you. I’m not sure what to say.”
“No need. Just wanted to let you know you’re making a huge difference in a boy’s life. And with him focused in now, it’s a lot more calm at home.”
Kate laughed and I couldn’t help but to laugh also.
“I’m sure I was a terror around that time too. It’s kind of natural.”
“Yeah. Boys will be boys, as they say.”
“For a reason.”
Kate and I walked to the window and we each ordered a large cone in the flavors we had joked about. The kids were off playing ten yards away. It was great to see them getting along and it felt good to know that there was a boy who was watching out for girls at his school. Jerry may not have had a lot of visible size, but the size of his heart was immeasurable.
“Jax, I don’t know a lot about you, but I know you’re a Navy SEAL.”
I paused. I still hadn’t really processed it. A sore subject to say the least.
“Did I say something wrong?”
“No, not at all. I’m sorry. I’m technically a SEAL veteran now. I’m no longer on active duty.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know. I thought you were still serving.”
“I was until very recently. Now I’m in a bit of a limbo. Did you ever see the film, The Shawshank Redemption?
“Of course. It’s a classic. One of my all-time favorites.”
“Remember the scene when Brooks get’s released and he goes back to the civilian world? He’s not at home there. He even says, ‘maybe I should get me a gun and rob the Food-Way so they’d send me home.’ Home of course being prison.”
Kate looked at me with a bit of sadness in her eyes. “I bet you’ve lived an incredible, heroic life, and now you suddenly find yourself here with us. Here in our little one-horse town without too much in the way of excitement. No battles to fight, no people to save. You can’t even rob the Food-Way because it sounds like the SEALs aren’t home anymore either. You can’t go home, because you don’t have a home on either side.”
You know that feeling when you finally meet someone who understands you? I don’t. At least I didn’t until that moment. Kate understood me. She got me. And now I knew I had to get her. Not just in the understanding sort of way. In every way. That was the moment I knew I was going to do whatever it took to make her mine. Whatever it took.
“That’s it. Exactly.”
She took a step towards me and gave me a hug. I’m not a hugger so I didn’t really know what to do. She just kept hugging me. I just kept standing there. I’m sure it looked awkward to anyone who might have caught a glimpse in between licks of their ice cream cone, but to me it felt…perfect.
Kate stepped back, keeping her hands on my sides. “Well frogman. I don’t know anybody that needs saving, but I know somebody that is fighting a battle who would like nothing more than a hero who could
give her a little help. Even just for a day or two.”
I felt a shot of adrenaline. A dopamine hit straight to my core.
She took my hand and motioned to her left. “Care to join me in the shade?”
I didn’t answer. I didn’t need to. We moved to a small bench under the shade of a beautiful oak tree. It was a singular bench, not another in sight. Somehow no-one had claimed it, which was perfect. It was also out of earshot of everyone else. A small slice of tranquility there just for us.
“I have a small problem.”
“Let me know what I can do to remedy that problem.”
She let out a big breath and crossed her legs. “Someone is bothering me. I’m worried, and not just for me.” She paused. “For Jerry too.”
“Do you know who it is? I have a way of talking to people that turns around their behavior real quick.”
She looked up at me. Studying me. I could feel the rage in my body. My muscles were clenched. It was an automatic response. My veins throbbed. I’m sure my neck muscles were also flaring. When I was a kid I was sometimes called The Hulk behind my back. I was big and like Bruce Banner, when I got mad it was quite a scene. I literally went wild destroying everything in my path. Shy and mild mannered one minute. A wrecking ball the next, especially if someone small or vulnerable was being harmed or tormented. I knew what that felt like. If there’s one thing I can’t stand it’s injustice. When I see it, I rectify it real quick.
“I’m pretty sure it’s my ex-husband.”
“What can you tell me about him?”
“I was married once. Of course I thought he was the man of my dreams. Everything was going great and suddenly he changed. Almost overnight. I stayed as long as I could and when it got to be too much I took Jerry and we left. I never heard from him again. Until a couple months ago. Jerry’s birthday.”
“Are you okay to talk about it?”
“Yeah. It was the morning of Jerry’s birthday and I got an SMS from an unknown number. It said, ‘Keep fire away from straw.’ It didn’t make any sense at the time. I figured it was a wrong number and totally ignored it. About an hour later I called the bakery to confirm everything was okay with Jerry’s cake delivery for later that afternoon. It hit me while the phone was ringing. Jerry’s birthday party was going to be at a private petting zoo. All the kids from his class and a few parents. Of course there would be a lot of straw there and the birthday cake would have candles. I hung up the phone while it was ringing and sat down to process what I was feeling. Almost the minute I sat down the phone rang and the caterers called to confirm the delivery. Apparently I hadn’t given them the address at the time of the order. I wasn’t sure what to do so I cancelled the order. I was scared. It seemed too coincidental and the bakery seemed to really want that address. They were pressing for it even after I told them I’d like to cancel the order and I wasn’t going to ask for a refund. Just keep the money since it’s my fault. They still wanted the address and insisted on delivering the cake. It was strange.”
“You did the right thing. It sounds really fishy. Did you go to the police?”
“No. The birthday party went off as planned. I just picked up a cake from the grocery store on the way over. It was kind of generic, but at least I wasn’t so worried. I was able to forget about it and just wrote it off as something weird. Just a girl with a crazy imagination.”
“But that wasn’t the case, was it?”
“No. Not at all. A couple weeks later I got a text saying ‘Black souls wear white shirts.’ I got really nervous. It was a Saturday and Jerry was at a classmate’s party playing. I called over and was told everything was okay. I decided not to chance it. I went over to pick him up. I blamed it on a family emergency. As we were pulling out of the driveway I saw two kids coming up the lane. They were dressed like Mormon missionaries, but they didn’t have that Mormon look. They looked a bit too old to be missionaries and they seemed kind of cold and detached. They weren’t talking to each other and seemed very focused. Very calculated in the way the walked and looked around. It was very strange.”
“Did you report it or tell anyone?”
“No. Probably foolishly, but it was so strange. I suddenly felt like someone was watching me and I wasn’t sure who to trust. I considered pulling Jerry out of school.”
“Was that the last SMS you received?”
“No. The next one was the worst.” Kate paused. She looked down at the ground, put her hands on her head and began to cry. I reached over, embracing her in a full hug.
“It’s gong to be okay. We’re going to get this guy. I promise.”
“He almost got Jerry. He almost took Jerry from me.” Kate stopped crying, but was breathing in those quick, short inhales and exhales that often accompany crying. I got an SMS saying, ‘The earth will cover the doctor’s mistakes.’ Right after the text I got a call from one of Jerry’s friends asking if he was okay. I had no idea what he meant. He told me Jerry had come down with the flu at school and he heard he was sent home. That didn’t make sense. Jerry had only been at school for less than one hour and he was perfectly fine when I dropped him off. I called the school immediately and they told me Jerry was in with the nurse. I told them no nurse. Pull him out of the nurse’s office immediately. I would take him to our family doctor. The school receptionist went and pulled him out. I rushed to the school and picked him up. He was feeling ill and couldn’t figure out why. I asked him about the nurse and he said there wasn’t a nurse today. There was a doctor. The nurse was out sick that week and the agency the school nurse works for had sent a replacement. I almost threw up. I was so nauseous. I got Jerry home and in bed and called the cops. They said they’d check into it.”
“Check into it? Are you kidding me?”
“That’s how I felt. I was irate. I called the school and got the name of the doctor. I called my friend who works at the hospital to ask about this doctor. She said she’d check into him as soon as she could. She had to wait until her shift was over. She works in delivery and she had more births than normal that day. She checked as soon as she was off the clock and nothing came up for him. Nothing! I called the school first thing in the morning to tell them there was someone there with no qualifications. They told me that doctor had been replaced by a new one that morning. I kept Jerry out of school that day. I went to the police and they told me no laws had been broken and asked me what I wanted them to do. Speaking to me like I was an idiot. I’m still mad at them. Jerry was fine the next day, just a little cloudy in his vision and thoughts. A little out of it. It really didn’t seem like the flu. I know this sounds crazy, but I think he might have been drugged.”
“It doesn’t sound crazy. That’s exactly what it sounds like. Kate, this is really serious. Has anything happened since then?”
“Not yet. I’m scared of what’s going to happen next.”
“Nothing’s going to happen next. I’m going to take care of this.”
Kate buried her head in my shoulder and began to cry again. Hard. Three minutes passed. She lifted her head. “Thank you. I really, really appreciate it, but Jax, how are you going to take care of it?”
“I have connections and if those connections don’t get the answers I’m after then I have other means. I have specific skills and training for bad guys. First thing’s first. We need to get you and Jerry to a secure location.”
“It don’t have money for a hotel, plus I don’t want to go there.”
“Not a hotel. It’s easy to find and monitor someone in a hotel. I know a better place. A place where I know you’ll be safe.”
“Where’s that?”
“When you’re at home do you park your car outside or in a garage?”
“Outside. On the street. Jax, where is the place?”
I looked and saw our kids playing. They had finished their ice cream. “Let me see your keys.” Kate handed me her keys. I walked over to her car and opened the trunk. Luckily she had a tire iron and a jack next to the spare. I jacked up her
car and took a look underneath. Up underneath the rear bumper were two sets of spare keys, one for the car and one for each of a door lock and a deadbolt. They were taped down with electrical tape. I removed them and put them in my pocket. I slid up by the tire. Sure enough, attached up and inside the driver’s side rear fender was a GPS tracking device. It was activated. I knew the answer, but had to ask anyways. Never assume when you can know. I motioned for Kate to come over. “Do you have LoJack?”
“No, why?”
“I didn’t think so. It doesn’t look anything like LoJack.”
“What doesn’t look anything like LoJack?”
“Kate, there’s a GPS tracker underneath your rear driver’s side fender.”
Protector: A Navy SEAL Romantic Suspense (A Man Who Knows What He Wants Book 15) Page 2