by Susan Stoker
Patrick looked sharply at Cookie. He was sitting back in his chair with both arms crossed over his chest, looking pissed. “Julie Lytle?”
“Uh-huh.”
“And?”
“The girls were pissed. Words were spoken. Caroline said Julie tried to apologize to Fiona, but they hustled her out of the store pretty quickly.”
Patrick understood why Julie had stood him up now. His heart hurt for her, but first he had to see where Cookie’s head was at.
“Cookie?”
“What?”
“How’s Fiona? She pissed?”
He shook his head. “You know Fee, she sees the good in everyone.”
“So she wasn’t upset?”
“I didn’t say that. She was upset. Had a nightmare that night. We talked it through and I think she’s okay now, but I’m keeping an extra eye on her. Caroline and the others are helping. But we talked about it. She feels bad for Julie.”
“Bad?”
“Yeah. Julie seems to be trying really hard to make a difference in the community. She’s volunteered her time and has been doing what she can to help battered and abused women and teens.”
“What do you think, Cookie?”
Cookie shrugged and sat up in the chair, leaning his elbows on his knees. “I only care about Fiona. If she wants to think Julie’s changed, then I’m all for it. But if she doesn’t ever want to see her again, I’ll do everything I can to convince Julie to move back to Virginia. I realize that makes me sound like a dick, and it’s possible even if she stays, Fiona won’t run into her, but I won’t chance it. Fiona means the world to me and I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure she’s in a safe and healthy place and that she’ll never suffer another flashback again…if I can help it.
Patrick thought about Cookie’s words. Julie certainly had a hard road to travel to get back in his good graces, but he didn’t think that was what Julie really wanted. She knew she’d never be best friends with the SEALs who rescued her. She only wanted a chance to apologize and to thank them.
Suddenly Patrick really wanted her to have that shot.
“I talked to Julie before the girls ran into her,” he admitted.
“What?” Wolf questioned sharply.
“What the hell, Hurt?” Cookie exclaimed at the same time.
“Are you fucking shitting me?”
The last was from Dude, arguably the most intense of the SEALs on the team. Patrick held up his hand. “Hear me out.”
When the men nodded, he continued. “Tex gave her my number. She called wanting to see if she could find out who the SEALs were who rescued her so she could thank them, and apologize.”
“A day late and a dollar short,” Dude grumbled.
“She knows it,” Patrick confirmed. “She knows she fucked up and she wanted to make it right. I’m surprised Tex gave her my office number, but she never would’ve found out anything about you or how to get hold of you without Tex. Luckily he let me be the middle-man between you and her. She made a good case on the phone for wanting to apologize to you, so I went and met with her. I think she’s sincere.”
“It wasn’t cool of her to talk to the girls,” Cookie complained, knowing he was being unreasonable. It wasn’t as if Julie planned for Fiona and the other women to go into her store.
“I think that was purely by chance. At no time did she mention to me about wanting to see Fiona, Cookie. She was sorry about what she did, but she didn’t talk about tracking her down at all. I don’t think she even knows you guys are married. Think about it, Julie owns a secondhand shop that carries high-end designer clothing. Of course your women are gonna find out about it and make their way there. It was only a matter of time before they ran into each other. And neither Julie nor Fiona are dumb. I’m sure they recognized each other immediately.”
No one said anything for a moment.
“And just so we can get it all out on the table here…full disclosure and all that…I asked her out.”
“You what? Jesus, Hurt, you can’t do that!” Cookie exclaimed and stood up sharply, leaning toward his Commander with his body braced on the table with his hands.
Patrick ignored Cookie’s outburst. “I can and I did, but you’ll probably be happy to know she stood me up.”
At his Commander’s words, Cookie sat back down and ran his hand over his head. “She did?” he asked in a calmer voice.
“Yeah. We were supposed to go to dinner Saturday night.”
“The girls ran into her on Friday,” Cookie said solemnly.
“I know that now, I didn’t then. I’m thinking after meeting them, she went over in her head whatever was said between them and she figured she might as well give up on the idea of seeing you guys.”
“I think, Cookie,” Wolf said carefully, “it might do you some good to meet with her. To hear what she has to say.”
“I don’t know, guys. You weren’t there. You didn’t hear how horrible she was when Fee was counting backwards to take her mind off of the fact she was going through withdrawal from the shit they’d been feeding into her veins. You weren’t there when she bitched that all I had to give her to eat was granola bars. You didn’t see the guilt in Fiona’s eyes when she didn’t think there was enough food to eat.” Cookie shook his head and repeated, “I just don’t know.”
“Well, I think you’ll have some time to think about it,” Patrick told him. “I’m fairly certain I have my work cut out for me if I want to get her to agree to go out with me again.”
“You really liked her that much?” Dude questioned.
“Yeah. There’s just something about her. It’s like she’s a ten-pound terrier standing up to an eighty-pound pit bull. She’s scared out of her mind, but acts like it’s no big deal and that she can’t be hurt by anything.”
“So you feel protective of her,” Dude stated. “I can understand that.”
Patrick knew he could. He was very protective of Cheyenne. “Yes and no. She’s been through hell and clawed her way back to the other side. She fascinates me. Many people wouldn’t be as well-adjusted as she is after going through what she did. Cookie, I know you understand that. I figure if she can own up to what she did wrong and have the guts to try to do something about it, then I can admit that I admire her for being brave enough to go after what she feels she needs and that I want to get to know her better.”
“I can’t say I’m thrilled about having her around if things between you and her go well, but I’m also not that big of an asshole to say I never want to see her. I trust your judgement, Hurt; if you say you see something redeemable in her, I have to believe you. If it comes to it, and she still wants it, I’ll meet with her and let her have her say.”
“Appreciate that, Cookie. If I can get her to see me again, I’ll see if I can make it happen.”
The men stood up and Wolf clapped the Commander on the back. “Good luck, man. Women never do what you think they’re going to.”
Chapter Eight
How in the hell she could have the worst luck on the planet and keep running into the seven people she least wanted to see again in her life, was beyond Julie’s imagination. She knew she had a lot to atone for, but seriously, she couldn’t get a break.
A week after the disastrous encounter in her store, Julie almost ran into Summer in the grocery store. She’d apologized profusely and rushed off without giving the other woman a chance to say anything.
Then on another day, Julie was driving down the road and happened to look at the car next to her at a red light, only to see Caroline sitting behind the wheel of an SUV. It seemed like Fiona’s friends were everywhere.
But that wasn’t the end of her torture. Julie had been visiting yet another teen center and had come face-to-face with Jessyka.
She’d somehow stumbled through some small talk and when she’d met with the director of the center, the woman had explained Jess was a frequent volunteer and a staunch supporter and friend to most of the girls who participated in the after-scho
ol programs.
Just when Julie thought she was over the worst of the accidental run-ins with the people who knew how awful of a person she could be, Patrick strode into her store as if he shopped there every day of the week.
“Hello, Julie.”
“Uh, hi.” She stared at him for a moment, and when he didn’t say anything else, she nervously filled the silence between them. “Sorry about the other week. Did you get my message?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Oh, okay. Yeah, well, something came up. I’m sorry I didn’t get ahold of you. I didn’t have your cell, I could only call your work number.”
“Yeah, I realized that as I was waiting for you. Everything okay?”
“Yeah, thanks.”
Julie fidgeted as Patrick leaned against the counter and seemingly got comfortable. It didn’t look as though he was planning on going anywhere anytime soon.
“You lose my number?”
Uh-oh. “No?” The word came out more as a question than the statement Julie wanted it to be.
“Hmm. I haven’t heard from you in two weeks.”
“I know…I’ve been busy.”
“Julie, I know about you running into Fiona and her friends.”
Julie’s head came up at that. “You do?”
“Uh-huh. I do. I also know that’s why you canceled our date”
“Okay, well. Yeah, good. That is why. I just realized it was a stupid thing to want to talk to the guys who rescued me. I mean, it was just a job for them. They don’t care, and—”
Patrick interrupted her. “How do you know they don’t care?”
“Patrick,” Julie said desperately, wanting the conversation to end. “They just don’t. Once again, I’m being selfish. I wanted to talk to them for myself, not for them. It’s just me thinking of myself again. It’s fine. Seriously, can we just drop it?”
Julie couldn’t meet his eye as he stood there watching her. “I’ll drop it…”
She sighed in relief.
“…for now.”
“Well, hell,” she muttered before thinking twice about it.
Patrick chuckled. “Now that that’s out the way. When are you going to let me take you out?”
“You still want to?” Julie looked up at him in disbelief.
“I still want to. And if you ask me why, I’m going to have to do something drastic.”
Julie smiled for what seemed like the first time in a long time. “Well, we wouldn’t want that. Okay, I’ll go out with you.”
“Now.”
“What?”
“Now. I’m taking you out now.”
“But, I’m the only one here, and I have to—”
“There’s no one here. It’s three. The store is only supposed to be open for another hour. Put a sign up that says you had an emergency or something.”
“But I’d be lying.”
Julie didn’t understand the broad grin that came over Patrick’s face.
“What are you smiling at?”
“You. You can’t even lie about taking an hour off to do something for yourself.”
When he put it that way, it sounded ridiculous. It wasn’t as if she had hordes of people knocking down her door wanting to get in. “Okay, but…where are we going?”
“I thought we’d go casual today. I’d like to take you back to the beach. It’s one of my favorite beaches in the area. There’s good surf, good sand, and there are a couple of really good food trucks that come down to that area each night.”
“Food and an evening walk on the beach. You sure do know how to treat a woman,” Julie teased.
“Come on, do what you need to do before closing up. I’ll wait.”
Julie closed out the cash register and made a sign apologizing for the early closure and attached it to the front door of the store. “I need to run by the bank and deposit this,” she told Patrick.
“You don’t keep it in a safe here on site?”
Julie shook her head. “No, my dad advised against it. There are too many people desperate for even twenty bucks to risk it. I’d rather be inconvenienced and take the cash to the bank each night than to chance someone knowing I had a safe and robbing me to get at it.”
“Smart.”
Julie shrugged. “It was my dad’s idea.”
Patrick didn’t say anything, but took her hand as they walked down a few businesses to the drop box at the bank. He walked them to his car and they headed off toward the beach.
Patrick lucked out and found a place to park in the first public lot he pulled into. They grabbed some burritos at a food truck that Patrick insisted were “fucking awesome,” then walked along the sand, much as they had the first time they’d met, eating their dinner and talking about nothing important.
There were a lot of families enjoying the balmy evening. Kids played in the surf, floating on boogie boards, waiting for the next wave to come and propel them toward the sand. Finally, after an hour or so of walking and chatting, Patrick said he had to be getting back.
“I’ve got training in the morning.”
“I can’t picture you standing there blowing a whistle, yelling at grown men to run faster,” Julie teased.
“That’s because I don’t stand there. I’m right there running with them.”
“You are?”
“Yeah. I am.”
“I figured you worked out, because you’re definitely in shape, but I didn’t think you worked out with the SEALs.”
Patrick chuckled. “And why not? Because I’m old?”
“Oh lord, no,” Julie said and blushed. “I didn’t mean it like that. And I still have no idea how old you really are. Fifty-three?”
“Ouch, woman. I think I liked your other guess of thirty-five better. And how did you mean it, if you didn’t mean I was old?”
She put her face in her hands and shook her head. “Never mind. So…you have training in the morning?”
Patrick laughed and pulled her hands away from her face. “You’re so cute. And yes. Around 0-four-hundred in the morning. We’re meeting on the beach to run through some exercises with the SEAL wannabes.”
Julie caught the evil look in his eye. “And you love torturing them, don’t you.”
“Of course.”
“Well, come on then. Can’t have Cinderella changing into a pumpkin before she has to get home from the ball.”
They walked back to the parking lot and Patrick opened the passenger-side door for her and patiently waited until she was settled to close it. He drove them back to her store and when he pulled up to her car, he said, “Wait here.”
Julie watched as he got out and surveyed the area carefully, before coming around to her side and opening her door. He helped her out and at her curious look, simply said, “Just making sure it was safe.”
Goosebumps rose on Julie’s arms at his words. Just making sure it was safe. Six words that were quite possibly the most romantic thing she’d ever heard. He was either really good at knowing what to say, or he was the real deal. Julie wasn’t sure yet.
She clicked the locks on her door and stood in the open driver’s side. “Thanks for dinner, and for the nice night.”
“You’re welcome. And before I forget, here’s my contact numbers. Now you don’t have an excuse not to call me again.”
Julie took the business card Patrick held out to her. He’d written his cell phone number on the bottom, along with another number that she recognized as being from Virginia. She raised her eyebrows at him.
“It’s Tex’s number.”
“Ah, the mysterious Tex again,” Julie said in confusion.
“Yeah. If you ever need anything and can’t get ahold of me, you can call Tex. He’ll find me.”
“I’m not going to call Tex. I don’t know him.”
“It doesn’t matter if you know him or not. There’s no one I trust more than him. And if you need me, and can’t get ahold of me, he will most definitely be able to get me to you.”
Julie shook h
er head in exasperation and barely resisted rolling her eyes, instinctively knowing Patrick wouldn’t appreciate it. “Yeah, okay. Have fun at training in the morning.”
“You gonna give me your number?”
“Oh, yeah.” Julie rattled off the numbers to him. When he didn’t move to write them down, she asked him about it.
“I’ve got it. I don’t need to write it down.”
“Prove it,” she challenged.
“What do I get if I’m right?”
“What do you want?”
“A kiss.”
Julie was surprised, but not upset. “Okay. A kiss.”
Patrick recited her number back seemingly without even thinking about it. Before the last number had left his lips, he’d taken a step toward her, crowding her against the frame of her car. He put both hands around the sides of her head and rested his thumbs on her jawbone. Julie grabbed hold of his wrists and looked up.
“I’m going to kiss you now, Julie.”
“Okay,” she whispered in agreement.
His lips came down on hers and Julie went up on tiptoe to try to get closer to him. She didn’t think to let go of his wrists and wrap her arms around him, because she was too busy trying to memorize the feel of his lips on hers.
Patrick ran his tongue along the seam of Julie’s mouth, as if he was asking permission to enter. She opened gratefully and sighed when Patrick’s tongue swept inside. It felt as if he was branding her. He was hard where she was soft. He was tall to her short. He was über masculine to her feminine frame.
Unfortunately, Patrick didn’t linger long. The kiss wasn’t passionate, but completely appropriate for a good-night kiss after a first date. He lifted his head from hers, but didn’t move his hands. He gazed down at her for a long moment before saying, “I liked that.”
Julie smiled. “Me too.”
“Okay then. I’ll call you.”
“Good.”
Finally he dropped his hands, forcing her to let go of him, and he turned her gently toward the car. “In you go. I’ll talk to you soon.”
Julie sat and started the engine. Seeing he was still standing there watching her, she rolled her window down and told him, “I had a good time tonight. Thanks.”