by Susan Stoker
“I can’t tell you the names of the men,” Tex said bluntly.
Julie’s heart dropped. “Oh, okay.”
“But I can give you the phone number of their Commander. You can talk to him and if he thinks it’s appropriate, he’ll get you in touch with the SEALs.”
“Okay. Yeah, that sounds great,” Julie enthused.
“I’m not sure I’d get too excited,” Tex warned. “Commander Hurt’s awfully protective of the men under his command. If I had to say, I’d give you a thirty/seventy shot of being able to thank the men in person. Hurt will probably tell you he’ll pass the message on for you.”
“It’s better than no chance,” Julie said resolutely.
Tex laughed under his breath. “Optimistic.”
“Yeah, it’s more than I had this time yesterday.”
“True.”
“I…thank you.”
“Don’t thank me,” Tex chuckled. “You still have a hard road ahead of you.”
Julie straightened her spine. “I can do it.”
“Good luck. Now. Got a pen?”
Julie fumbled with her purse and got out a pen and a receipt from a fast food restaurant she’d eaten lunch at that day. “Ready.”
Tex gave her a phone number and once again wished her luck.
* * *
Now Julie was lying in bed, thinking back over the last month and a half and all that had changed in her life, and trying to recover from the nightmare and subsequent panic attack she’d had earlier. Tomorrow she’d call this Commander Hurt guy and get him to agree to let her talk to the SEALs who rescued her. No problem.
She closed her eyes and tried to relax. Tried to pretend that she wasn’t as nervous as she’d ever been in her life. As the sun rose in the sky, Julie was no closer to being relaxed than when she first woke up from her nightmare.
Chapter Two
“Hello?”
“Uh, hi. My name is Julie and—”
“How’d you get this number?” Patrick Hurt wasn’t often surprised, but to hear a soft feminine voice on the other end of his work phone was out of the norm. And he didn’t like abnormal.
“Tex gave it to me. My name is Julie Lytle—”
“Tex? Why the hell would Tex give you my number?”
“If you’d let me talk, I’ll tell you.”
Patrick barely held back the snort of laughter that threatened to escape. It’d been a long time since he’d been spoken to with such…snark. As the Commander of an elite SEAL team, he’d gotten used to being treated with respect. “By all means then…tell me.” He heard the woman take a deep breath before she continued.
“As I was saying, my name is Julie Lytle. I got your number from Tex. I wanted to thank the Navy SEALs who rescued me from a hellacious situation, and Tex told me you were their Commander. I know you probably can’t give me their names, but I’d like to meet them and thank them in person for saving my life.”
“No.”
“I’d appreciate…uh… No?”
“That’s right. No. The missions the SEALs undertake are top secret. It would be against protocol for them to be jaunting to meet-and-greets so they could be thanked. It’s their job, ma’am. That’s all.”
“First of all, I get that what they do is top secret, but since I was there, it’s not secret to me. And secondly, I don’t care if it is their job, this was the first time I had to be saved, and it wasn’t just a job to me. Thirdly, I’ll flat out say it—I was a bitch and I need to make it right.”
Patrick sat back in his chair in his office and ran a hand through his dark hair. He didn’t need this shit today. “Look, Julie, was it? I’m glad they saved you, I am, really. But don’t you think the fact you were a bitch would mean they don’t want to see you or get your thanks?”
“Yes,” she immediately returned, and Patrick’s respect for the mysterious woman rose a notch. She continued. “I know they don’t want it, but they deserve it. I swear I won’t be obnoxious, I won’t fawn all over them. I won’t go to the press. We can meet in a back alley somewhere if that makes you more comfortable. I just…” Her voice trailed off.
Patrick didn’t say anything, letting the silence stretch, and as he expected, she started talking again to fill the awkward break in conversation.
“I was about to be sold to a bunch of really scary guys. They’d already taught me what to expect when I was sold, and let me tell you, the thought of being a receptacle for who the hell knows how many men’s lust wasn’t a good one. Your team saved me from a fate worse than death and I just want to look them in the eye and say ‘thank you for giving me my life back.’”
Patrick clenched his teeth and mentally swore. Julie Lytle. The name clicked with the mission she was talking about.
He’d heard a lot about the infamous Julie, and she was right, she had been a bitch. He knew Cookie and the others wouldn’t really want to hear her thanks. They were glad to deliver her into her father’s arms and see the last of her. Not to mention, Patrick didn’t think Fiona needed the reminder of what had happened. The last thing he wanted was to put her in a position where she’d have another flashback.
But there was…sincerity…in Julie’s voice that he hadn’t heard from many other victims and people they’d rescued. Patrick was a pretty good judge of character, he had to be after being a SEAL himself and now commanding the team from behind the scenes.
“Julie. Yeah, I remember you, and I have to be honest. I don’t think the guys would want to see you again.”
“Oh. Okay.” Julie’s voice was soft and Patrick could tell she was on the verge of tears. “I appreciate you taking the time to talk to me anyway. If it’s not too much to ask, could you at least tell them I called and thank them for me? It’s not the same, but it’s better than nothing.”
Patrick made a split-second decision that he hoped he wouldn’t regret. “Thursday afternoon. Four o’clock. I’ll meet you and we can talk about it. If I think you’re honestly sincere and you’re doing this for the right reasons, I’ll consider letting you meet the men.”
“I’ll be there. Where are we meeting?”
“Pacific Beach up by La Jolla.”
“Okay. How will I—”
“I’ll find you,” Patrick told her, knowing what she was going to ask. He could find out what she looked like easily enough. It wasn’t as if her kidnapping was a secret. It’d been all over the media after she’d returned home.
“Great. I’ll see you there in a couple of days then. And Commander Hurt? Thank you. Seriously. You don’t know what this means to me.”
“Thursday. See you later.”
“Bye.”
“Bye.”
Patrick hung up his phone and put his hands on the back of his head and leaned back in his chair. He wasn’t a man who generally liked surprises, and he’d just had a whopper of one dropped in his lap. He didn’t really have a plan, but he’d play it by ear. Once again the SEAL motto came to his mind. The only easy day was yesterday. How true.
* * *
Julie smiled as she hung up the phone. She knew it wasn’t a done deal, but she felt on top of the world. Meeting with the SEAL Commander brought her one step closer to being able to move on and right the huge wrong she’d done. All she had to do was meet up with the SEALs, then she’d really be able to put the entire episode behind her and concentrate on her new life.
In the past month, she’d worked harder than she ever had before, and she was loving every second of it. She’d scoped out the country clubs and made pitches to several women’s groups. The two women and one man her father had found to help her were wonderful.
They’d helped her find the cutest little storefront in Mission Valley. She’d had a logo designed and the store decorated. There were comfortable chairs scattered around the inside for customers or their spouses to sit in. She put in a free little coffee bar, so shoppers could get a snack and a drink. The clothes were all professionally cleaned and displayed after being donated. It honestly
looked like a small boutique instead of the secondhand store that it was.
Business had been really good. Julie knew she’d been successful so far because of the help she’d gotten from her dad, but she’d also worked her butt off. She’d spent most of her day either meeting with people to drum up interest, or networking. She’d also gone around the area to other thrift stores scouring the racks for designer clothes she could purchase and fill her own racks with.
Julie hoped with the amount of connections she was making she could continue to grow and garner interest in her venture. She’d spoken with a few managers of some battered women’s shelters in the area and had a meeting set up for the following week with a woman who ran one of the local Boys and Girls Clubs. There was also a teen center Julie wanted to check into as well. She’d expanded her idea of donating interview clothes to women in need, to also wanting to donate fancy dresses for teenagers who couldn’t afford to buy one for their prom.
The bell over the shop door tinkled as three women entered. Julie put aside her excitement over being able to speak to Commander Hurt in a few days and turned to the women to give them her welcome spiel.
“Hello, welcome to My Sister’s Closet, feel free to look around. All the clothes have been donated and are the real thing. Versace, Hermès, Ralph Lauren, Prada, Kate Spade, Chanel, Gucci…you name it, we have it. I think you’ll find the prices very reasonable. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Dressing rooms are in the back, and help yourself to a cup of coffee if you’d like.”
The women nodded politely at her and wandered over to the racks to start browsing. Julie couldn’t help but hear their conversation as they laughed and joked with each other.
“Oh lord, Caroline, check this out, it’d be adorable on you!”
“Ha, no way in hell, Alabama. That thing is hideous.”
“But it’s Vera Wang!”
“Don’t care, it’s still butt ugly!”
The women laughed and moved on to look at more clothes. Julie held back her sigh. She missed hanging out with her girlfriends. Granted, her so-called friends back in Virginia didn’t seem as close as this group of women did, but still. She’d been working so much she hadn’t had time to try to meet anyone in California yet. She’d have to do something to remedy that.
Julie turned her attention to the spreadsheet on the computer in front of her, trying not to be rude and listen in on the conversation of the three women in the back of the store, but the light music couldn’t drown out their happy chatter.
“Do you think Sam would like this?” One of the women asked the others.
“Uh, yeah. Are you kidding? He’ll have you out of it as soon as he sees you.”
They all giggled.
Finally, after an hour of browsing the store, the trio came up to the cash register to check out.
“Find everything you wanted?”
“No way, this store rocks! I wanted just about everything I saw in my size. We’ll definitely be back.”
Julie went into her recruitment speech as she rang up their purchases. “Well, we’re constantly getting new stuff in because everything in here has been donated, so if you have any designer clothes at home that you either don’t want or don’t fit anymore, I’d be glad to take them off your hands. All donations are tax deductible and you’d of course get a receipt. We’re also working with the local women’s shelters to give free outfits to women who have interviews, but don’t have the appropriate clothing to wear and can’t afford to buy anything. And starting in the spring, I want to offer the same kind of service for prom dresses for the local teens who can’t afford to purchase a new dress.”
“Wow, really? That’s awesome,” one of the women exclaimed. “I don’t have anything designer, that’s just not me, but I bet some of the women on base might. And heck, between all of us and the guys, we could probably find people to donate.”
“That would be great!” Julie gushed. “Here, take a business card. I’m willing to pick stuff up too, if that would be easier for someone. Just email or call and we’ll figure it out.”
“My name is Caroline. This is Alabama and Summer,” the woman said, holding out her hand.
Julie shook it and said, “Good to meet you. I’m Julie.”
“We haven’t seen your store before, are you new?”
“Yeah, I moved here from the East Coast about a month and a half ago. I’m still getting set up, but so far I love it out here.”
Summer laughed. “Yeah, what’s not to love? Sun, sand, and hot sailors.”
They all chuckled. Julie finished ringing up the purchases and handed the bags to the three women. “Seriously, thanks for coming in and checking the store out. I’d appreciate any word of mouth reference you can give me. I’m honestly not in this to make money, I want to help others.”
Summer looked at her with a critical eye, but didn’t say anything.
Julie hurried to elaborate. “I know, that made me sound like I’m bragging or doing this for publicity’s sake, but it’s not that, honest. I needed a change in my life. My dad is helping me finance the business, so I’m okay there, but I had a life-altering experience, and had someone help me out, so I just want to pass it on. Pay it forward. You know, karma and all that.”
“Well, this seems to be a good way to do it. We wish you the best of luck. I’m sure you’ll see us in here again, with our friends next time.”
“Friends?”
“Yeah,” Caroline chimed in. “There’s six of us. We’re like a girl posse or something. Our men don’t get to see us dressed up all that much, but I think if we could find some kick-ass dresses we’d knock their SEAL socks off.”
“SEAL?” Julie couldn’t help but ask. Seems like everyone had SEALs on their minds.
“Uh-huh. We’re all partnered with SEALs. It’s a tough job, but someone has to do them…I mean it.” Alabama piped up for the first time. All the women laughed and Julie waved and smiled as they left her shop.
At first Julie thought it was fate that the three women who happened to be with SEALs came into her shop just as she hung up from talking with Commander Hurt, but then she shrugged. She was smack-dab in the middle of SEAL country. It really wasn’t that odd, all things considered.
The rest of the day went by fairly quickly. A few more customers wandered in and Julie tried to plan out in her head what in the heck she was going to say to the Commander when she met up with him in a few days. She had to make him understand she was a changed person. Different than she was all those months ago, when she’d met his SEALs.
She could hear in his voice that he knew all about what she’d done and the horrible things she’d said to his team and to the other woman who was rescued with her.
Julie beat down the remorse. No. She was different now. She’d make him see it, he’d hook her up with the men who saved her, and she could get on with her life. Easy-peasy.
Chapter Three
Julie sat on the small wall watching the waves crash on the shore. There was a surprisingly large amount of people milling around. Julie was a good swimmer, but hadn’t made the time to check out any of the local beaches. This one was perfect. There was a lot of sand as opposed to rock, as a lot of the western coast seemed to have. It looked as though there was a slope from the beach into the water. It didn’t just drop off. This allowed kids to stand at the water’s edge and shriek as the waves crashed and moved up and down the coastline. There was also what looked like a large sandbar a hundred feet or so from the beach.
There were several surfers in the water. The waves weren’t huge, it wasn’t Hawaii after all, but some were big enough so the surfers could stand up and ride them for a little bit before they broke. Julie supposed most of the serious surfers probably got there early in the morning, at least that was what she’d always heard. She had no firsthand experience with surfers and their preferred hang-ten time.
Julie looked down at her watch. She was early. She never used to be, but now that she had to meet with pe
ople for whom time was a premium, she made it a point to always arrive about ten minutes early. It was the polite thing to do. She didn’t want anyone to decide not to do business with her because she was late for a meeting.
She looked around, swinging her feet. Her toes barely brushed the sand below her. She’d kicked off her flip-flops when she’d sat down and was enjoying the afternoon sun on her legs and toes. It’d been tough to decide what she wanted to wear. Julie wanted to project a sense of sincerity and honesty, but really had no idea how to do that. She’d settled on a pair of respectable jean shorts that came down to just above her knees and a light-pink tank top. It wasn’t revealing or low-cut, but seemed about perfect for the eighty-five-degree day. She would’ve looked stuck-up and snotty if she’d worn a business suit, and she also didn’t want to look slutty.
After having a few days to contemplate about what she wanted to say, Julie wasn’t any closer to figuring it out now than she was when Commander Hurt first suggested the meeting. Finally, after two more nightmares and many sleepless hours, she decided she’d wing it.
Patrick sat in his car and watched Julie. She was sitting on the containment wall around the beach area. She smiled at the antics of a couple of kids near her, and she occasionally glanced at her watch and over at the parking lot. She looked the same as the pictures he’d had Tex send over, but there was something different about her. Patrick couldn’t put his finger on it. Finally, knowing he couldn’t put it off anymore, he climbed out of his car and made his way to her.
He had no idea what decision he was going to make about allowing her to meet up with Cookie and the other guys, but he’d give her the benefit of the doubt for now. She’d sounded sincere on the phone, and if it was what she needed to move on from the experience, who was he to deny her?
“Hi. You must be Julie.”