by Natalie Ann
Shelby looked flustered. “When tomorrow? I need to be to work by ten.”
“I should have it here by seven and done no later than nine.”
“Okay. Ah, do you have a number to a taxi or something I could call? I need to get my daughter’s car seat out of the back too.”
“I can bring you home,” Jared heard himself say before he could stop himself.
“No, that’s fine. I don’t want you to go out of your way.”
“It’s not out of my way,” he said.
“You don’t even know where I live. Maybe I’m in Baltimore,” she said, smiling at him.
Her eyes were a light brown and almost sparkling. If he wasn’t mistaken she might be flirting with him. Or maybe teasing.
“Not a problem if you are.”
“Don’t you have somewhere you need to be?”
He looked at his watch. Crap, he had a class in an hour. “Where do you live?”
She laughed. “A few miles from here. In Annapolis. I’m assuming you’re at the Academy?” she asked.
“Yeah. I’ve got time then.” She seemed to hesitate, so he added, “I know you just met me. But you said your husband was a sailor. I might have known him.”
“I doubt it. We moved here a few months before he died, and he was shipped out almost immediately after the move. But I guess it wouldn’t hurt to go with you. If I can’t trust someone from the Academy over a strange cab driver, then that’d make me pretty crazy. Besides, I did recognize your lunch companion.”
“Admiral Anderson?” he asked. Kevin hadn’t said a word.
“Yes. We’ve never met. I just knew of him. I’ve seen his picture a few times. I’m going to go with my gut. Besides, I’ve got a witness right here, right?” she said, turning to the employee who’d come out to tell Shelby about her car. “If I don’t come back tomorrow for my car, then you’ll know I was last seen with this gentleman.”
Jared laughed. So did the employee. “Jay Bird is very trustworthy,” Brittany, the employee, said.
He’d come in with his buddy Garrett when he test drove his SUV. Everyone called him Jay Bird. Or they used to. Brittany worked at the desk filling in and she’d talked and flirted with him and Garrett. This was his second oil change and she wasn’t taking the hint he wasn’t interested.
“Jay Bird?” Shelby said, lifting an eyebrow and fighting a grin.
“Hawk. My last name is Hawk.”
“Oh,” Shelby said. “Guess that makes sense for a nickname.”
“Jay,” Kayla said.
“That seemed much easier for her,” Jared said. He looked down and addressed Kayla. “You can call me Jay if you want.”
She smiled at him, two little dimples and there went the racing of his heart again. This was crazy.
***
Shelby was sitting in Jared’s 4Runner with him. Kayla in the back swinging her feet around with all the space. More space than Shelby’s little Corolla. But it was a good reliable car and all she needed. She lived a simple life and liked it that way. It was still much better than what she came from.
Anything would be.
“I can’t thank you enough,” Shelby said. “It was really nice of you to do this.”
“I feel like a broken record saying not a problem, but it really isn’t.”
“What do you do at the Academy?” she asked.
“I’m a professor.”
“Really?” That surprised her. He was big. Much bigger than Ethan was and built more solid too. She didn’t expect him to be in academics at all. “What do you teach?”
“Engineering,” he said, without looking at her.
“You must be really smart then.”
He laughed. “If I say I am then I’ll sound like I’m full of myself.”
“Aren’t most people in the military?” She’d always thought so. Ethan never was. He was so sweet and considerate, but most of the other sailors she’d met were more full of themselves. More condescending too. She wouldn’t have liked that trait at all.
“They can be. I might have been accused of it from time to time too.”
“I’m sure you have. But I’d bet you aren’t mean about it.”
She knew enough about mean men in her life. She could spot them a mile away. And there was nothing about Jared that gave her any reason to be scared. She learned early on to judge people well. Just because she was a hick from Kentucky didn’t mean she was stupid.
“Not unless forced,” he said, turning his head and winking at her.
He was sexy. Really sexy. She’d always been turned on by a man in uniform, but she hadn’t had a whisper of a man in her life since Ethan died. Nor had she wanted one. The no-nookie sign she’d shown to everyone seemed to be flying away in the wind right now. Not only that, she was shocked to find she was attracted to someone else in uniform.
Shocked that she hadn’t shut herself off to the possibility of even considering another person in the service. She hadn’t thought one way or another until now. And now it seemed her body was telling her to open the door and take a peek.
Here she was, her mind running away with something it had no business doing. She’d stopped doing that a long time ago too.
He was giving them a lift home.
He was being nice.
He wasn’t interested in her and another man’s child.
She was nuts. “Do you have a class this afternoon you need to get back to?” she asked, trying to take her mind off the fact that this big strong sexy soldier was sitting next to her. Yeah, not helping. She needed to look away from him.
“I do. One more today. I’ve got plenty of time to get to class. What do you do? You said you need to be to work at ten tomorrow?”
“I’m a Medical Aesthetician.”
“What’s that?” he asked.
“I work at a rejuvenation center. A spa,” she clarified. “I give different types of facials, laser treatments, laser hair removal. Things like that.”
“Sounds interesting.”
“It can be. I’ve met some really nice people doing it. It’s a good career for a military wife.”
“How’s that?” he asked.
“We’d moved a few times. It’s easy enough to find another job. I can work in spas or a doctor’s office. Though I’ve only worked in spas. I could go out on my own too, if I wanted to, but it’s not something I’m interested in.”
She couldn’t afford it. A steady income was what she needed for her and her daughter. Maybe she’d make more if she opened her own business, but it was a risk she couldn’t afford to take.
“So you’ve been here about three years?” he asked.
“Yeah. After my husband Ethan died, I just decided to stay. It was too hard to pick up and move when we just got here. I liked my job. I needed roots knowing I had a baby on the way. It was stable and sometimes that is what you need to focus on in life.”
She knew she did. Something stable had always been her dream. Not big. Not flashy or fancy. Just stable and secure. Good enough for her.
“Where are you from?” he asked. “I hear an accent.”
“Kentucky.”
He nodded. “Which one is yours?” he asked when they turned on her street.
“The little yellow one.”
He pulled into the driveway of her small two-bedroom ranch. Nothing glamorous. Nothing high end. Clean, safe and secure. Everything a mother could ask for. Or at least she wanted.
Once the car was parked, she hopped out and he did too. “No, don’t worry, I’ve got it.”
“I’ll carry the car seat in for you.”
She opened the back passenger door and he opened the other side. She got Kayla out while he was trying to unhook the car seat. “That button sticks,” she said. He kept pushing it like he didn’t hear her. She reached over and put her hand on his, and he turned to look at her. “It sticks. You’ve got to wiggle it like this.”
It came undone, and he pulled it out, shut the door, then walked around to h
er front door. “Sorry,” he said. “I wasn’t paying attention. My mind was wandering.”
“Oh,” she said, smiling. “On what?”
“Do you need a ride to get your car tomorrow?” he asked.
“I can call a cab,” she said.
“Or I can come get you. I don’t have a class until eleven. Plenty of time if it’s done by nine.”
She was going to say no but found she wanted to see him again. That she enjoyed the little time they’d had together. Yep, there went the no-nookie sign, floating away in the wind.
“Are you sure you don’t mind?”
“I’m positive. I’ll give you my number and just send me a text when you’re ready.”
She unlocked her front door, let Kayla in and watched as she went to her toys in the corner. It wasn’t as if she could go too far in the house without Shelby seeing her.
They exchanged numbers fast and Shelby watched as he jogged back down her walkway and to his SUV. He sure did have a mighty fine body to go with that jog.
A Hero
The next morning Jared couldn’t believe how antsy he was. The last time he was this excited was when he was getting ready for deployment. Instead of nerves like the others, he was thinking action. Thinking saviors. Thinking hero. That was what he’d wanted to be. A hero.
He was smart enough to do what he wanted in life. School had just come so easy to him. Sports, the same. Many would have said he was blessed when he was born. Not so many would say that now. Or maybe they would and it was the fact he didn’t feel it and couldn’t understand why others did.
He was probably being too hard on himself. He knew that, but he couldn’t stop a lifetime of always wanting to be the best. Always wanting to make a difference. Now he didn’t feel like he was making a difference at all.
But meeting Shelby gave him a bit of a challenge at the moment. An internal one.
He’d been with a handful of other women since his accident. Nothing serious. Nothing mind blowing. Just a release.
Someone he met out for the night. A pleasure of sorts.
A stranger.
One that looked at his scars and thought he was that hero. That thought he was so big and brave and strong…and he let them think that. They didn’t need to know he was no one’s hero. That he was just taking life one day at a time and praying every day got a little better than the one before.
So far the praying seemed to be working for a guy who never followed any religion in his life.
Shelby was the first person he’d met that made him want something more. Something in the form of a relationship. Something long term.
What was it about her that drew him in?
She was on the small side. Long brown hair, straight and parted to the side. She looked to be younger than him, though he wasn’t sure how young. Yet she had a more mature quality to her.
Losing your husband when you’re pregnant would probably do that to a person, making them mature pretty fast.
Her eyes were light brown. Light in general. Nothing heavy in them. Nothing showing any sorrow that she was alone. Just joy about having a day with her little girl.
And when Kayla mistook him for the father she’d never met, Shelby looked slightly embarrassed, but took control of the situation.
Then at the car dealership, again, she weighed her options, listened to what was going on and made a decision. Then she covered her bases with that decision.
He found it funny and smart at the same time. He liked smart women.
Maybe that was the draw. He didn’t normally go toward women with a lot of intelligence. More frivolous or out for a good time.
Rather than taking a lot of effort for him to go get her and put himself out there, he analyzed it a bit more and realized there was no fear because there was a kinship there. A bond.
She wouldn’t look at his scars and injuries with sympathy or wonder about anything.
She’d been there, she’d done that and she’d understand. Because she had a bigger loss than him and she’d recognize what it was like to live when others died.
Survivor’s guilt. He had it big time.
Many didn’t live that day. Those that did lost limbs or lost a part of themselves they might never find again.
Even with his glasses and hearing aid on, he was still whole. Somewhat. No one saw most of the scars when he was dressed. Undressed, they saw more, but not a fraction of what he was dealing with.
Today wasn’t the day to deal either.
Once he was showered and shaved, he combed his hair. Not much to comb really. He had it longer than the standard military cut, but not so long that he actually had to comb it.
He sat down on the couch, put his boots on and grabbed his keys.
There was a humming in the air on the short drive to her place. Anticipation. That’s what it was. Ever since her text came in on his phone saying she was ready, he found he was too.
Ready for something he hadn’t had in too long.
***
Shelby was looking out the window, waiting for Jared to show up. Ten minutes, not much, so he didn’t live that far away.
Not that it mattered. Oh, who was she kidding? It mattered because she thought of him all night long.
Tall, strong, solid.
Her thing for men in uniform wasn’t going to go away, even with the devastating loss she’d suffered.
He hadn’t been in full uniform yesterday. Not like the admiral was. Jared was wearing his camo pants and a cotton Navy-issued shirt that did nothing to hide the magnificent chest and arms he was sporting. He obviously took very good care of himself considering he was in academics and not out in the action. Not off base or just on a leave waiting to be deployed.
He got out of the car and made his way to her door. She was going to open it and walk out but didn’t want it to be too obvious that she couldn’t wait to see him again. Even if that was the case.
She did open the door before he could knock but stayed a few feet back. “Thanks again for doing this. I really appreciate it.”
“My pleasure,” he said.
He was dressed the same today and she was glad about it. “Let me just get my purse and we can leave.”
“Where’s Kayla?” he asked.
Wasn’t that just sweet he asked? She turned and saw him in the foyer looking around her living room. It was neat, it always was. All of Kayla’s toys were packed away in little baskets. She hated a mess. Probably because it was forced on them as a child. The neatness. The structure.
“She’s at the sitter’s.”
“How did you get her there?”
“I walked her. The sitter lives two houses over. I was lucky enough to find someone who was retired that was bored and just dying to get her hands on a baby. She’s good about my schedule being flexible too.”
He nodded. “All right. Well, let’s get your car so you can get to work then.”
She locked the door behind her and followed him to the car. “How do the students know you’re the teacher if you dress the same?”
He laughed at her. It was a big booming sound that might have rattled windows if they were inside right now. “They’re in full fatigues. Do I really look young enough to be a student?” he asked.
“No. Not at all.” He was a man. No student there. “I guess I just thought maybe you would have been in pants and shoes rather than camo and boots.”
“I can be. I am sometimes. It’s my choice. I just feel more comfortable like this. What about you? Is that your uniform of sorts?”
She looked down at her tan pants and white shirt. “I guess. We can wear black or tan pants or shorts and white or black shirts. We have a black smock on anyway. But no loud or flashy colors. We’re meant to blend in more than anything.”
“Do you work a lot of hours or just scheduled appointments?”
She liked that he was asking her questions about her job. Not just hitting on her. Of course, she might like that too. Did she just think that? When was the l
ast time she thought she’d want a man to hit on her? Never! Then again, since she met him yesterday it seemed she was having a lot of different thoughts.
“I work full time. I’m scheduled out for most of my hours, but when I have a break between people I fill in at the front desk if needed or take a walk-in. I don’t have much of a lull in my job and that’s a good thing.” The more appointments she had, the bigger the tips. “What about you?”
“I’ve got classes scheduled through the day and night. This semester I teach three different subjects, a total of five classes, plus all the prep work and so on. It’s more work out of the classroom than in.”
“How much time are you in the classroom actually teaching?” She just wanted to keep him engaged right now. Then again, she’d always been a little bit of a chatterbox. At least once she moved out of the house. When she was home with her parents and siblings, she’d kept to herself. Or learned to. It was better than drawing attention to herself.
“About twenty hours a week. Another twenty of office hours, making myself available for the students and such. I do a lot of the grading at home.”
“What will you do this summer when classes are out?”
“I’ll still teach a few classes, but not full time. The rest of the time will probably be on base working with the admiral.”
“Ah. That’s good. You must be someone special to get to work with him one on one.”
He turned and looked at her. “Why do you say that?”
“I just remember Ethan saying that not many people got individual attention like that. Not unless it was for classified work.”
“That’s usually the case. I guess in my situation I was up and coming. Kind of recruited for certain missions. I’ve had a close relationship with the admiral for years.”
“So you haven’t always been a professor?” she asked, her eyes roaming over his body again, wondering what changed.
“No,” he said quickly.
“Sorry. I tend to ask a lot of questions. I’ll stop now.”
He turned back to her and smiled, a genuine smile that reached his eyes. “It’s fine. A story for another time, maybe, since we’re here.”