“What?” The word burst out of him. “That’s the last thing I mean. I’m a SEAL. I’m a stubborn asshole. The reason I’m where I am is because I didn’t listen to the doctor.”
“Whatever, I need to start my shift anyway. I’ll see you around, Ryan.”
She was out the door before he had a chance to argue further with her. As the door clicked shut, realization struck, they still hadn’t talked about her pregnancy. He knew why he was avoiding talking about it—he’d been unconscious for a day and half since she shared her news. What was her reason? Whatever it was, the next time he saw her, he was going to lead off with it.
They were having a child together, and as unplanned as it was, no way was he going to walk away from his responsibility. No matter what Suzie wanted.
Chapter Three
Suzie inserted her key into her lock when the door down the hallway creaked open. Her eyes closed, and she braced for the moment Jeffrey called out to her. Damn her timing, if only she’d got caught at that traffic stop two blocks before her apartment complex. Or she’d left work five minutes earlier, she would’ve missed him coming out his door. Although, it wouldn’t have mattered if any of those scenarios occurred, Jeffrey would exit his apartment the minute she arrived at her door.
At first, she’d thought it was co-incidence. Now it was becoming creepy.
“Suzie, hey, how are you?” he asked as he walked closer to her.
How can he sound so nice and yet creep me out at the same time?
She pasted a smile on her face and faced him. “Hi Jeffrey, I’m good. Glad to be home.”
“Tough day at the hospital?”
Dealing with an ornery, stubborn SEAL, not to mention all the other hard-headed military personnel she tended to on a daily basis, yeah it was tough. But she wouldn’t change her career for anything. She loved working in the military hospital. The sacrifices the men and women made kept her safe. Except from exasperating neighbors. Maybe if she was rude to Jeffrey instead of nice, he’d leave her alone.
Unfortunately, her mother and grandfather instilled politeness in her, which was why she tolerated bad tempered Navy SEALs and annoying neighbors. “Yeah, it was hard, but I knew that when I chose this occupation.” She made a motion to turn the key, hoping he’d take the hint and keep walking to wherever he was headed. “I’ll see you around.”
She waited half a heartbeat then unlocked the door for real and opened it enough so that she could slip through the door. Once closed, she leaned back against the wood and waited until she heard him retreating from her door.
She tossed her keys into the bowl on the hall stand and walked to the kitchen, exhaustion nipping at her heels. Thank goodness she was getting close to the end of her first trimester and should be getting more energy. It also meant she’d be starting to show soon. Her hand went to her belly and rubbed it.
“Hey, baby, what do you feel like for dinner?” She jumped when her phone rang, then laughed at herself. “Yeah, like the baby is calling you from your belly.”
Suzie extracted her phone, frowning when she didn’t recognize the number being displayed. Should she send it to voicemail? No, she didn’t get a lot of calls and when she did most were from sales people. But, hey, she had a phone call. “Hello?”
“Suzie? It’s Joker –uh—Ryan.”
“Oh hey.” So the last person she expected to hear from. And how the hell did he get her number?
“I suppose you’re wondering why I’m calling and how I got your number?”
Shit, was the guy is a mind reader?
“Yeah the thought crossed my mind.”
His chuckle echoed down the line, and her stomach flip-flopped, definitely not the baby doing somersaults, it was way too early for that to occur. “I have a friend who’s able to get information.”
“Right. And what other information did this friend get for you?”
“Only the number, and well, your address.”
Creepy much?
“I’m sorry,” he spoke softly. “I suppose I should’ve asked you and not gone behind your back.”
How is this any different from you checking his personnel file, grabbing his address and turning up at his house.
She sighed. No way could she make him feel guilty for something she’d done herself. The damn voice in her head wasn’t going to let her get away with it either.
“Shut up,” she muttered.
“What?”
“No, sorry, I was talking to myself.” Mortified she’d spoken her thoughts out loud. She was really losing it tonight. First, thinking Jeffrey was being super stalkery when he was, in all essence, being a friendly neighbor. And now, talking out loud.
“Talking out loud can get you into trouble sometimes. Anyway, again, I’m sorry that I didn’t have the guts to ask you for your number when you were in my room today.”
“Honestly, Ryan, it’s fine.” Suzie couldn’t let him continue thinking he was the only who’d used whatever means necessary to get information they wanted. “Did you ever wonder how I turned up at your place, unannounced?”
“You got my address from the hospital.”
She shook her head. Of course, he’d work out where she got his address from. The guy was a SEAL, nothing would get past him. “Right. And you didn’t have a problem with my invading your privacy. Going against hospital policy?”
A beat of silence passed between them. Suzie would bet half her wage he’d never considered what she’d done as unethical, or against the rules.
“That was a big risk. You could’ve lost your job if someone found out.”
Dread washed over her, he wasn’t planning on reporting her, was he? “Yes. Are you planning to snitch on me?”
He laughed again. “No. Your secret is safe with me.”
God, she could get used to that sound. Which was absolutely crazy. The guy lived a dangerous life. Hell, he’d got shot and could’ve died if the bullet’s trajectory was three millimeters to the left of where it entered his leg. A sobering thought if there ever was one. The enormity of her decision to keep quiet about the baby weighed down on her like a sack of oranges. She’d known for two months now she was going to be a mom. Her selfishness could’ve denied her child the chance to know his or her father.
How could she have been so insensitive?
“You could’ve died,” she whispered. “You would’ve never known that you were going to be a father.”
“Aww, hell, Roses, don’t say that. It’s okay. It’s not like we’re a couple and this was a planned pregnancy or anything. It’s your body and your choice.”
“Why are you being so reasonable?”
If she’d kept something this big from her ex, he’d have lectured her for hours about how keeping secrets between husband and wife wasn’t the way to a strong marriage. She’d been so stupidly naïve back when they’d gotten married. She’d had stars in her eyes and had watched one too many bridal shows. She’d wanted the dream but instead she’d gotten a nightmare.
“Damn, I wish I could see your face,” Ryan said. “This isn’t a conversation we should be having on the phone.”
On the phone was the best place for this conversation, she wanted to counter back to him. Behind the anonymity of a cell phone she could be brave and say what she wanted. Face to face confrontations were her nemesis. No way could she vocalize what she wanted to say to Ryan’s face. After so many years with Peter demeaning her with hidden barbs tied up in ribbons, having serious face to face conversations had her breaking out in hives.
“I suppose we do need to talk,” she conceded.
“It’s been a crazy couple of days, hasn’t it?”
“Crazy couple months more like it.”
“You don’t know how much I want to hug you and make you feel better, Roses.”
Suzie glanced at her watch and saw they’d been chatting for a half hour and she was beginning to feel a little lightheaded. “I need to eat, Ryan. I’ll see if I can pop in and check on you tomorrow.
”
“Okay. I really wanted to check to see that you got home okay.”
She rolled her eyes, like he had any need to check up on her. “And yet you never asked me if I was home.”
“Huh, I guess I didn’t. So are you home or are you out.”
She held her phone away from her ear for a few seconds before bringing it back. “Does it sound like I’m out somewhere?”
“Yeah okay, point taken. I’ll see you tomorrow then?”
“If I can make it there.”
“Sleep well, Roses…and little rose.” His voice dropped on those last words.
“Bye,” she whispered and disconnected the phone. Tears welled in her eyes. Damn pregnancy hormones. Yeah blame it on those and not Ryan’s sweet farewell to their unborn baby.
The guy was supposed to be a one-off thing, not the beginning of a future. Yet here she was, knocked up and getting all emotional when he said a simple goodbye.
Suzie headed over to the couch and slumped down into the soft cushions. Why was she even letting Ryan get to her? When she’d received the papers confirming her marriage from hell was over, she’d vowed never, ever to let a man control her thoughts and her life. Ryan wasn’t doing that by any stretch of the imagination—yet. The guy was a SEAL. There was no way he wasn’t going to want to take charge of the situation they now found themselves in. He wasn’t the type of guy who would sit back and be happy with someone else calling all the shots when it came to something as important in his life as a child.
What she had to do was make sure she maintained control over her life. It had been a long battle and she’d fought hard and won, and she wasn’t going to give it away over an event that ended up with consequences neither one of them ever saw happening.
Suzie shook her head in disbelief at the situation she found herself in. No way could there be a future with Ryan, how many one-night stands turned into forever? They were called that for a reason.
Her head thumped and her stomach churned. She needed food but getting off the couch to cook was the last thing she wanted to do. If she didn’t eat, she’d likely spend the rest of the night feeling nauseous.
Dragging herself off the couch she headed for the kitchen, pausing in the hallway when her doorbell rang. Surely it wasn’t Jeffrey bugging her again, having to deal with him was the last thing she wanted.
She glanced through the peephole and saw a delivery person holding a white plastic bag. Slipping the lock chain in place, something she should’ve done the moment she walked through the door, she opened it. “Hi there. I think you have the wrong house. I didn’t order any food.”
The guy looked at the piece of paper stapled to the back. “Are you Suzie Waterson?”
“Yes.”
The guy thrust the bag toward the small gap. “That’s the name on the receipt. It’s all paid for, tip included.”
What the hell? She knew for a fact she hadn’t placed an order for any type of food. The aroma wafting from the back had her stomach rumbling in anticipation for whatever was in the sack. “Are you sure?”
He sighed heavily. “Look, lady, this order is for you. I’ve got other orders to deliver. Give it away if you don’t want it. I don’t care. My job is to deliver it and I’ve done that.” He placed the bag on the ground and started to walk away before stopping and turning back. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. “Oh, I’m supposed to give this to you.”
In a daze, she took the piece of paper from his hand. She popped it in her pocket then closed the door, loosened the chain before re-opening it and picking the bag up.
The paper burned in her pocket as she walked to her compact kitchen, placing the bag on the counter she stared at it for a few seconds. Whatever was in the bag wasn’t going to explode, but still she hesitated in reaching in to examine the contents.
Another grumble from her stomach and a wave of nausea washed over her. She needed to eat. Food was sitting in front of her. Food she hadn’t had to cook. Food she had no idea where it had come from.
“You are being ridiculous, just open the friggin’ note and find out.”
Annoyed with the way she was acting, Suzie snatched the note from her pocket and opened it.
Hey Suzie,
I swear I’m not a stalker, but I ordered you dinner. I would’ve asked you out, but I’m kind of laid up at the moment. I remembered you liked Chinese. I didn’t know if any type of food made you feel sick, so I just went with a chicken fried rice and some egg rolls.
Enjoy your meal.
Ryan.
Suzie read the note a couple of times, not quite comprehending that Ryan had done something so thoughtful.
Tears welled up in her eyes and she couldn’t stop them from falling. Not once in her marriage had Peter ever thought to get dinner for her for the hell of it. To let her know he was thinking about her or was worried about her. Yet, a guy who was battling a bad bullet wound infection had done just that.
She swiped the tears away from her eyes and placed a hand over her belly. “Your dad is a good guy. I vow right now, that no matter what happens, you will know how wonderful he is.”
Now that she was divorced, she never expected to fall pregnant at all. Seemed fate had other ideas and luckily for her, so far the guy seemed a to be a good one. Although she’d thought that about Peter and look how that had turned out.
One nice gesture didn’t mean anything. No matter how much she hoped it did. For the sake of herself and her baby, Suzie needed to remain cautious around Ryan. Jumping in with eyes closed wasn’t an option this time. It wasn’t just her she had to think about.
Once Ryan was out of hospital, they could talk about making arrangements for how they would handle the pregnancy. But one thing was for certain, no way was she going to let him push her around. When it came to her and her baby, she was the one in charge. Not the sexy, alpha SEAL.
Chapter Four
A sharp knock was the only warning Ryan had before the door was opened. He looked up and hoped it was the doctor coming to discharge him. God, how he hated lying around like a sack of potatoes. The longer he was laid up the more his conditioning went down.
It had been two days since he’d woken and found Suzie by his bedside. He’d only seen her once since then, when she’d come to see him to thank him for ordering her dinner. Every time a nurse walked in he hoped it would be her. And every damn time, disappointment sliced through him when he was met with an unfamiliar face.
The happy smiles on the nurses’ faces dimmed when he scowled at them. He shouldn’t take his rotten mood and disappointment that they weren’t Suzie out on them. It wasn’t their fault.
“I understand you’ve been giving my nurses a hard time?” The doctor said as he wandered into the room.
“Not intentionally,” he muttered, wondering what sort of reputation he’d garnered around the place over the last couple of days.
“You’re just not used to being in a bed all day.”
At least the doc understood him. “Pretty much.”
“Well I’ve got some good news. The infection has cleared up significantly since we’ve been pumping antibiotics through your IV. I think we can take that out and you can start on a course of tablets.”
“So, I can get out today.”
The doctor shook his head. “Probably tomorrow. I want to make sure, once we remove the IV, there aren’t any flare ups.”
Ryan bit back a curse. He hadn’t seen any of his team since he’d ended back up in hospital, which could only mean one thing. They’d gone wheels up without him. He fucking hated that he’d let his team down. First by getting shot and then by letting the wound get infected. “Tomorrow for sure I can get out of here?”
The doctor was making notes on the tablet in his hand. “Mmhmmm.”
He supposed that was a yes. “Great.”
He studied the screen then looked back at Ryan. “I’ll get a nurse to come in and remove the drip. You’ll be a little more mobile, but
I wouldn’t do too much, you don’t want to aggravate the wound and prolong your stay.”
“How long until I’m able to get back into my full training regime?”
The doctor tapped his finger against his lip. “I’d say a month to six weeks.”
Disbelief pooled in his stomach. He couldn’t be out for that long. “Bullshit.”
“Sorry, but you had a serious injury. You need to let your body recover otherwise you could end up taking even longer to get back on track.”
The temptation to argue the point with the doctor coalesced inside him. There would be no point arguing with the medical professional. He had no idea what it took to be a SEAL. How they learned to push through the pain. Hell, they had to just to get through BUD/S.
“Right,” Ryan responded.
The doctor canted his head to the side and squinted at him, as though trying to determine exactly what was going through Ryan’s mind. The guy worked in a military hospital. He should know that what he wanted a patient to do and what the patient did were two entirely different scenarios. He shrugged knowing that no matter what he said, Ryan was planning to do the opposite. “A nurse will be in shortly. I’ll see you tomorrow, Mr. Smith.”
Ryan slumped against the pillows when the door clicked shut. He rubbed a hand across his eyes, wishing he could turn the clock back and weave right instead of left and the bullet that lodged itself in his leg had whizzed past him and Cowboy and lodged into a tree or something else.
The problem with that particular scenario was he never would’ve seen Suzie again and found out he was going to be a father.
A father.
Fuck, he hadn’t allowed himself to think too long on the bomb she’d dropped on him. He thought back to their one night together. It had been after they’d rescued Italy’s girl, Erin and her best friend Antonia from the clutches of Erin’s psycho ex. He’d flirted with Suzie at the hospital. Her smile had drawn him in and she’d laughed at his corny jokes. He’d been surprised as hell when she’d accepted his dinner invitation. He’d expected her to turn him down flat. He certainly hadn’t expected the flare of desire that punched him in the gut when she’d turned up at the bar dressed in skinny jeans that hugged her legs and ass and a silky blouse that hinted at a nice cleavage. Dinner had led to kisses and tangled sheets.
Special Forces: Operation Alpha: Guarding Suzie (Kindle Worlds Novella) Page 3