“Holy crap, Shipley, you’ve been holding out on us,” someone said. The team separated and gave Lucas and the girl space like a drop of oil in water.
“So, you’re Lucas Shipley,” she said sweetly, and then gave him a devilish smile that made his shorts erupt.
He nodded nervously as she shifted her bag, which had fallen off her shoulder.
“Excuse me,” she said as she extracted her hand and unzipped her purse. Bringing out a large white envelope, she didn’t give him time to stop admiring her shapely form.
“You’ve been served.”
Chapter 2
‡
MARCY GELLAND LOOKED over at the woman who was ending her marriage of five years. Connie Shipley was initialing and signing where the little orange arrows indicated. It wasn’t easy, Marcy knew, to just wash your hands of a marriage, especially a marriage with property and children. She saw how resolute Connie was, how firmly she pressed, signing her name with a big script flourish like she was autographing a bestseller in front of a crowd of people. The baby was trying to grab her pen, then her hair, the top of her dress, her earrings, but still Connie persisted, gently peeling back his chubby hands. Her young daughter was coloring with felt-tipped pens on the dark blue carpet at her feet.
She knew there would come a time during the process when Connie would wonder if she was doing the right thing. That was always the risk in taking on real estate listings where the couple was divorcing. One moment they hated each other, then the next they were doing the hot and dirty on the kitchen floor. She’d worked with couples who started out being adversaries, requiring her to take a neutral stance. But if one of them wanted to keep the marriage together, it was a fifty-fifty chance that party would prevail, and then suddenly representing them became impossible. Harder still were the cases when the house had already sold, and the buyers were looking forward to moving in.
But as she watched Connie with the paperwork and discussed the numbers with her, Marcy had the impression the woman was completely sure of her decision.
“So, when can I get Lucas’ signature?” Marcy asked the attractive blonde Navy wife as she bounced her baby on her knee.
“Sorry. That’s your job, Marcy. I’m hoping he’ll cooperate, but I’m not sure.”
“So you are the one forcing this, then?”
The baby was fussing. Connie drew a bottle from the large satchel under the table and unceremoniously stuffed the nipple in the baby’s mouth. “Excuse me. What did you ask?” She frowned, bouncing the youngster.
“It was your decision to sell everything off, then? Did you try to work it out, go to counseling?”
Connie gave her a look she knew quite well. Her half-lidded eyes told her she was tired of trying to explain it, even to herself. “Not sure whose great idea it was to post the pictures of the SEAL bachelor party online, but it was irrefutable evidence.”
“Ah.” Marcy studied her. She decided to let it go without asking for further clarification. “But he won’t be surprised, I guess.”
Mrs. Shipley laughed, tossing back her head. The baby’s arm had traveled down Connie’s shirt, between her breasts, while his other hand fisted his blond curls at the temples. That’s when Marcy saw an anchor tat on Connie’s right breast, and underneath the anchor was the name Lucas, written in fancy script. She wondered what Connie would do to cover up or alter that message.
“I’m pretty sure he expected to be invited back. But I don’t think it was me he wanted. Just my bed.” Connie followed the comment by raising her right eyebrow and giving Marcy a sultry look.
Marcy sensed it was not a good idea to pry any further, but she did need some help getting the listing contract signed.
Connie put the empty bottle back in the diaper bag and put the baby over her shoulder. Marcy thought she handled the little one with callused indifference, as she lifted him up and down against her shoulder and chest until they heard a gargantuan burp followed by sounds of spillage.
“Dammit,” Connie said as she stood up, handed the baby to Marcy, and then retrieved a cotton cloth from the bag, wiping her neck and shoulder, her front, and her back. Then she wiped down the chair and dabbed the carpet.
Marcy had never held a baby before, so she continued to grip him under his armpits as the blue-eyed cherub stared back, then promptly spit-up clotted milk, which dripped down his chin and soaked into his cotton t-shirt.
Connie came to her side, taking away the baby before the smelly liquid fell on Marcy. “Did he get you wet? Oh, Marcy, I’m so sorry,” she said, holding out her cloth.
“He’s got a bunch of stuff—,” but before Marcy could complete her sentence, Connie had eliminated the evidence.
“Look, next is going to be a huge explosion,” Connie said as she patted the baby’s underside, “and you don’t want to be around for that one. So I’ve got about two minutes.” She fished out a card and handed it to Marcy. “Here’s his cell phone, but the email no longer works. He’s getting something else set up, since he no longer lives at the house.”
“Gotcha. So I should call him?”
“Yes. Now, let me just tell you a couple of quick things and then—” Connie sniffed in the baby’s diaper area—“so far so good. I feel like I should warn you: do not believe a word the man says. He’s a sweet talker, and he might even come onto you, you know, try to seduce you so you’ll go easy on him?”
“Oh, not to worry, Connie. Besides, I have a boyfriend,” Marcy lied.
“Well, that doesn’t matter one whit to him. I could tell you stories. I got tired of being all alone and scared to death while he was overseas. And then when he came home, he either wanted to screw day and night or he wouldn’t want to do anything. He’d just watch TV. The kids would be screaming, and he’d be near comatose. I needed a big fuckin’ break. I’d been stuck with them for months sometimes and here he couldn’t help out, lift a finger.”
Marcy was filled with compassion for the woman who felt abandoned, tied down with kids she was responsible for raising nearly on her own. Whatever glue had held this marriage together was gone.
“Then there was the staying out late, drinking with the guys—Marcy, he was hanging out more with them than with me. If he didn’t have some bar thing to go to, some fuckin’ Macho Brotherhood thing to do, he was in bed.” She wiped a tear from her cheek. “Those guys are always getting married, divorced, their ladies leaving them. It’s all just one excuse to Par-Tay. And he’s got these loser friends who have messed up their marriages, too. They’re a bad influence on him.”
Marcy had gotten the picture minutes ago, but Connie seemed hell-bent on smashing her points in with a dull knife. “What about counseling?” she asked.
“Counseling? Those guys don’t do that. Deathly afraid someone will label them as unstable and they’ll lose their precious Trident. He didn’t like to talk about feelings, especially my feelings. He was like, ‘So, join a gym, or why not take up a hobby, like quilting or gardening.’” Connie rolled her eyes. “I mean, really? I’m trying to raise two kids all by myself, and he was streaking out there clear across the world from me, and doing who knows what that he couldn’t talk about. Marcy, it was all just too much.”
Like it was an exclamation mark to Connie’s speech, they both heard the explosion in the baby’s diaper. Those big blue eyes looked to Marcy as if she had an answer for him.
Marcy wrinkled her nose at the smell. “What do you need?”
“I need to get my life back. I need a nanny.”
AFTER CONNIE LEFT, Marcy gave the SEAL a call. She heard loud music in the background, some whistles and “Oh yeah, yeah, baby.” Marcy knew Lucas Shipley was at some sort of strip club.
“Hallo?” The husky, inebriated voice boomed in her ear.
“Is this Lucas Shipley?” she asked timidly.
“Who the fuck wants to know? You drive a red Volkswagen?”
“Pardon?”
“It’s a simple question,” he slurred. “Do you fuckin�
� drive a red Volkswagen? Inquiring minds want to know, darlin’. You might as well jump on in with the good news. Everyone else has.”
“No.”
A loud cheer went up as she heard a female voice in the background. The bump and grind music was so loud, the phone was beginning to cut out.
“Hello, baby. You have a fine ass.” His sexy whisper was barely audible.
“Excuse me?” Marcy’s back straightened as she felt the jolt travel down her spine.
“Ah, fuck, honey. I’m hanging up the phone right now.” He whispered to Marcy, “‘Excuse me, it’s been nice, but I gotta go.” She heard him shout out to the stripper, “No! Baby, don’t go!”
The line went dead.
Marcy nearly threw her phone against the wall. It was all the evidence she needed to be totally convinced Connie Shipley was indeed doing the right thing for herself and her young family. She could completely understand why she wanted to separate from this scumbag of a husband.
Marcy was going to help her make him pay.
Chapter 3
‡
THE MORNING BEGAN just like it always did. Lucas fell off the couch. Behind Jake’s closed door, Lucas heard, “Fuck!” Climbing back onto the scratchy couch, he tried to bury his head under his pillow as Jake let loose a string of invectives. That started another SEAL yelling at him, and then Cory swung open his door and came running out so fast, Lucas thought he was going to get thrown over the balcony.
“Would you fuckin’ quit this shit, Lucas? We gotta tie you to the sofa?”
“Maybe I should get a rollaway?”
Alex appeared right behind Cory with his eyes narrowing. “I think you need to get yourself another crash pad, Lucas. It’s clear this is a more permanent arrangement—and you’re becoming a pain in the ass. Around here, sleeping in on Sunday mornings is sacred. Sacred! You need to find yourself another king-sized bed somewhere, and fast.”
Lucas thought about the night before. They’d dropped Thom off at his hotel, but the SEAL from Virginia Beach couldn’t walk, so they’d had to carry him into the room. It had fallen to Lucas to fish the room key out of the man’s pants, and that wasn’t pleasant at all.
He vaguely remembered Thom’s wife calling. Wait a minute.
“Did Connie call?” he asked, sure someone’s wife called. Or girlfriend. His mind was totally fuzzy.
He was about to ask the little crowd gathered again when the sound of the coffee grinder jolted him harder than if he’d been hit in the eye socket with a dull spear. Holding his ears with his palms did nothing to stop the pain.
Lucas collapsed again and waited for silence.
“Check your phone, asshole,” Jake barked. “Now, in addition to having you over here at no rent, out of the goodness of our hearts, you want us to be your answering service, as well?”
“Okay, fair enough,” Lucas said as he checked his cell. “I don’t recognize this number.” He hesitated and decided to hit redial later. “So, on that other point, I’m willing to share in the rent. I can pay in advance, up front. Question is where do I sleep?”
The unanimous answer was, “Not in my room.”
Jake stepped up to deliver the final ultimatum. “I think you’re shit out of luck, sailor. You need to find some place permanent.”
“I really think she’s gonna change her mind. Something tells me she’s just bluffing.” Lucas thought about all those deployments he came home and all he wanted to do was stay in bed and screw. Connie wanted relief from the kids. Why didn’t he see that? But Lucas was so damned happy to be alive, to be home, to be in his bed again with the woman who made him feel terrific, when she was into it, he thought she’d be just as into him. Wasn’t that what she missed all the time he was away? He couldn’t figure her out. He was, after doing it for Connie, for all the people in this wonderful country. Why couldn’t she get that?
“Seriously? You really think she’d go to all the trouble and expense of filing for divorce—that had to cost her at least a grand—and have it served, and you’re still thinking she’s gonna take you back?” Alex was shaking his head, his mouth puckered like he’d just taken a spoonful of motor oil.
“What fuckin’ planet are you on, man?” Ryan asked.
Connie had accused him of being insensitive. But he was being sensitive. He was going out with his buds, not leaving them alone. Some of them had gotten home to find their wives with other men, even pregnant by other men. Other fuckin regular Navy guys and that was just tight. Nothing good about that. They were all responsible for each other. He wouldn’t expect they’d abandon him, so why shouldn’t he support them? It wasn’t about the drinking or the strippers, it was about the community, and the healing that occurred when they all hung out together. Everyone returning home whole meant fixing stuff on the way back, as well as the adjustment to being home.
He could see now this would never be good enough for Connie. She had to be the center of attention, even ahead of the kids, and that bothered him. She just didn’t get it. And she never would. She was like a clock that had been over sprung and would never again purr like that kitten he liked in bed, the lady who drove him wild with fantasies all during his time overseas.
“Redial, my man. Then I’m going back to bed,” Jake added.
Lucas punched the red arrow on his phone, and the call was connected.
‘This is Marcy Gelland from the Coronado Bay Realty. I’m either on the other line or assisting clients. If you would leave your name and number and the reason for your call, I’ll get back to you as soon as I’m free. Thanks, and make it a great day!”
Lucas hung up. “Realtor,” he said sheepishly. The day was suddenly turning dark.
Jake started to laugh. “You son of a gun, Lucas. Don’t you have a clue what’s happening to you? Your wife is trying to sell the house right out from under you.”
“I’ll just give my tenants notice and move into it. Mom left it to me when she passed. I can’t afford both houses anyway,” Lucas answered. “She’s stupid to sell it. Don’t know how she’ll afford to get another place since she’s not working.”
Ryan leaned in, handing Lucas a fresh mug of coffee with the usual dosage of cream. “She doesn’t have to work, my man. You do.”
MARCY SOUNDED A bit frosty on the phone, Lucas thought. She insisted on a meeting, requesting he come down to her real estate office.
“Couldn’t we meet at the house? Haven’t seen the kids for a week, and you’ll need Connie’s signature anyway.”
“Already got it, and I don’t think she wants to see you.”
It pissed him off that she would have such an opinion about the details of his marriage, since she’d only been hired to sell the property.
“Lucas, I can’t find the information I need on the home at Linda Lane, and the property in Sonoma County. Do you have mortgages on those?”
Lucas fisted his right hand and nearly cracked the cell with his left. “Wait a minute. My mother left that house on Linda Lane to me. That’s my house.”
“Did you ever get the transfer done after your mother’s death?”
“You’re not hearing me. I’m not selling that house. I’m keeping it. I need some place to live.”
“I’ll require the rent rolls and how much the taxes are. Is there a mortgage? Connie thought it was given to you free and clear.”
“You know, I’m talking and you’re not hearing me. That was my house left to me by my mother.”
“Except you were married at the time.”
“So?”
“So, half of it belongs to Connie. You know California’s a community property state. I’m no attorney, Lucas, but I think maybe you should get one and right away. Connie intends to sell this property, and the house up in Sonoma County, too.”
“That fuckin hunting cabin has been in my family for a hundred years.” His voice cracked like a teenager. “No way is that going to Connie.”
“Look, go get an attorney. In fact, I insist you do so.”
The cold bitch didn’t sound like she had an ounce of compassion.
“I could give you three names as recommendations. But in the meantime, you can’t stop Connie from putting the house, the house you two lived in together, on the market. She can’t sell it without your permission, but she can encumber her half. And if she goes to court, the judge will order it.”
He felt her voice soften just a touch, but she was still all business and still too pushy.
“Maybe if she gets the house sold, and she gets some money, she’ll ease up on the other properties. Maybe not. But you need to get an attorney right away, and you need to meet with me to get this paperwork signed.”
“I need time to digest all this. I just got served with papers yesterday.”
“Oh.” He heard the hesitation in Marcy’s voice. “So, this was a surprise, then?”
“Yeah, it was pretty much a surprise.”
“Can we compromise?”
He could hear some sweetness, but he didn’t trust his ears yet.
“I won’t have you give me any signatures on the Linda property and the cabin in Cloverdale, but can we at least do the paperwork on the house so I can get it on the market Monday morning?”
He’d agreed because he didn’t know what else to do. He’d trained for everything under the sun, every eventuality, but he’d not been prepared for the attack coming from the one person in the world he always thought would be there for him.
Connie was taking the house they’d picked out together as newlyweds, with money for the down payment that came from his SEAL signing bonus. She could try to take what his mother had left him, as well as the cabin up in the woods, but she could not take his dignity. That, no woman would ever have, especially not Connie.
Chapter 4
‡
MARCY DIDN’T EXPECT the tall SEAL to arrive so soon. She’d been involved in checking the new listings and had begun to upload some of the Shipley house information to the multiple listing service. She was waiting for his signature before she hit send.
SEAL Brotherhood Lucas Page 2