“I washed out of BUD/S in my third phase.”
“Oh. Sorry.” She covered her eyes, then slowly lowered her hand. “This is the other reason why I prefer animals. Less chance of sticking your foot in it.”
He tugged her hand playfully. “No worries. You had no idea, and that was years ago. I tore my meniscus, which rated me unqualified for SEAL, but not military police.”
“So why the military? Why not local law enforcement, or federal?”
Bella crawled over and laid her head on Risa’s lap, which was huge in Jax’s opinion. It was his girl’s way of giving her stamp of approval.
“Like you, it was preordained. My dad was Army, his dad, and his before him. To say they were kind of shocked and disappointed when I went Navy is an understatement.”
“You rebel.”
He laughed. “Yep, that’s me. Bad boy, breaking all the rules.”
“I’m betting you toed the line your whole life. Never once skipped school, lied, or missed a curfew. Am I right?” She dared him with her look to contradict her, and he was happy to do so.
“I skipped school once, put a frog in my sister’s bed and lied about it, and I didn’t have a curfew. And aren’t you the pot calling out the kettle?”
Risa picked at a piece of invisible lint on her jeans, avoiding his gaze. A fact he noted with enjoyment.
“Participating in senior skip day doesn’t count, and I’ll have you know I missed an entire month of art class and still passed because the teacher believed me when I said was helping to organize the class food drive,” she said.
“Wow. I didn’t realize I was in the company of a professional juvenile delinquent. Guess we should all be thankful for that tender heart of yours, or who knows where you might have ended up.”
“First you have to get caught.”
They laughed together. It was the first time in a long time Jax had been this relaxed around a woman. He wasn’t sure if it was Risa, or her rule about not dating military.
Before he could give it any more thought, his phone rang. He pulled it out of his shirt pocket and looked at the display. “Excuse me, I need to take this.”
“Go ahead.”
Risa turned her focus on Bella as he stood and took the call.
“Mom, what’s new?”
“Have you talked to your father recently?”
“No.” He stepped further away from Risa. When his mom brought up his father, it was never good.
“First, he told your sister not to listen to me. As if he knows more about how to make a marriage work than I do.”
“I don’t think quantity counts as quality, Mom.”
“Don’t get sassy with me, young man. Your sister’s marriage is on the rocks. Brice has threatened to leave her, just because she bought a new pair of boots. Well, I told her to call his bluff. He’s just trying to prove he’s the alpha and she’s submissive to him. I read all about it in my magazine.”
She took a deep breath, and Jax braced himself.
“I told her to go out and buy a new outfit, something sexy and silky—”
“Mom, I don’t want to hear about my sister’s sex life.”
“As I was saying, before I was so rudely interrupted… Go buy something pretty to go with your new boots, and make a nice dinner reservation. Once he sees that she was simply trying to look good for him, he’ll understand and forgive her.”
“Mom, didn’t Brice lose his job last month?”
“Yes. What’s your point? You know not everyone is cut out for the military, and jobs around here are iffy.”
“Exactly my point. Brice is worried about money, and Missy should be too.”
The line went quiet for several long moments.
“Mom?”
“You men just don’t understand us women. No matter how hard we try, it’s never good enough for you. We try and try and try, and all you can see is the downside of things.”
“Mom, what are you really upset about?” The last time she’d gone on about the faults of the male species, husband number three had left her.
“He’s getting married.”
“Who? Brice?”
“No, you ninny.” She exhaled deeply. “Your father. He told me marriage wasn’t for him. That his leaving me had nothing to do with me, it was all him. Clearly, that’s not the truth since he’s getting married again.”
“I didn’t know.” He lowered his voice. “You can’t hold what he said twenty-five years ago against him. He’s changed, Mom. He’s let go of his anger and made peace with his life.”
“I wish he’d let go of that anger before he got kicked out of the Army. He could have been so much more.” Her voice held the same bitter disappointment he was used to hearing, but also a touch of sadness.
“Be happy for him, Mom. He was when you married husband number two, and three, and four. Everyone deserves to be happy. This is his shot.”
“You’re right.” She sighed. “What about you, baby? Are you happy? Have you found someone to share your life with yet? You know I’m not getting any younger, and I’d like some more grandkids.”
He ran his hand through his hair. How many times had she asked him this same question or tried to guilt him into settling down? Too many to count. It was moments like this that made him think an assignment to Diego Garcia would be worth it. “I’m good.”
They chatted for a few more minutes, then hung up after promising he’d call more and she’d try to be happy for his dad. He turned back around to see Bella and Risa both fast asleep. Given what she’d gone through the last couple of days, he’d bet she hadn’t slept that well.
He studied her. She was pretty. Stunning, really. Funny and compassionate, insightful, and a complication he didn’t need. Then again, sometimes a person should put their wants first.
Risa slowly stretched and yawned. “Sorry. She was so warm and cuddly.”
“Not something most people would associate with a military working dog.”
“Speaking of, can you bring her by my place tomorrow after work? It’s too early to test her physically, but we can still test her temperament. Plus, you can do whatever you planned to do today in regards to the vandalism. I’ll even throw in dinner.”
If SECOP found out, he’d get in serious shit. If Senior Chief found out, he’d be in even more shit, which he didn’t need, with his application circulating among the federal agencies. He looked at Bella. They’d been through so much. Risa put her hand on Bella’s head and Belladonna, trained warrior, snuggled closer, tail wagging like a puppy. He knew then, he was about to become a rule-breaker, and it would be worth whatever punishment came his way.
“I’ll bring dessert,” he replied.
Chapter 5
Jax bumped along down the narrow dirt road with Bella at his side as he steered his truck around a pothole the size of a small lake. As far as the duty officer knew, the two of them were with the vet for follow-up treatments and testing.
Technically, not a lie.
Not that it would save his ass if his superiors found out he’d taken Bella off base without approval. But screw it. They’d already threatened him with Diego Garcia, if he stayed in. How much worse could it get?
Bella, on the other hand, was still young at seven and had years left of active-duty service. If he could get her head back into the game. If not, her fate lay in the hands of someone he didn’t know or trust. His trusty sidekick stood on the bench seat, strapped in so she couldn’t tumble off, and stared at the world passing by. Her ears were forward and they twitched as if she were trying to catch and process every new sound. With her tail up and mouth closed, she was obviously checking things out and looking for signs of danger.
It was the first sign of her training that he’d seen from her in weeks.
Jax turned a corner, and a small farmhouse came into
view. It couldn’t have been more than a thousand square feet or hld more than two bedrooms. And it looked like home.
Not his home. The house where he’d grown up had a few clunkers rotting on the side, a falling-down shed, overgrown field grass that passed as a lawn, and looked like no one had lived there for a decade or two.
Looks could be deceiving. While the outside of his mama’s house looked neglected, inside the place had been spotless. They hadn’t been allowed to leave their shoes in the living room or drop their backpacks and coats near the door. There were never dirty dishes in the sink, and the whole place smelled like flowers.
People pick and choose their battles. His mama had picked the inside and won. Which battle did Risa pick? Or was she one of those wonder women who tackled it all and won? The outside looked like her. She’d painted it fire engine red, with white trim on the porch railings and window frames. On the side was a dog’s water bowl, near a door Jax guessed led to a mudroom. She had a rabbit hutch not far away and the beginnings of a horse paddock off to the side.
The front door sported a bone-shaped sign that read: Dogs Welcome, People Tolerated.
Jax laughed and turned to Bella. “Looks like we’re in the right place. You stay while I check the place out.”
Risa came out the front door wearing shorts and a loose sleeveless top that showed off tan, strong arms. She leaned against the post as he approached.
“So how do you want to do this, Doc? You’re in charge.”
Her eyes widened and sparked with interest. “I do like a man who isn’t afraid to let a woman lead the way.”
“But do you believe in equal rights?” he asked.
“Definitely. Everyone should get their turn on top.”
She walked past Jax as he tried to pick his jaw up from where it’d hit the ground and stopped short of the truck. He’d left the windows down so Bella wouldn’t overheat. Even a few minutes in an enclosed vehicle was too long in this heat.
“Hey Bella. Remember me?” she asked, careful not to encroach on the dog’s space.
Bella whined in response, her tail wagging and ears up, while her tongue hung out. All good signs. Risa continued to talk to the dog in a soothing tone as she took small, slow steps closer to the truck. Jax was impressed that the doc understood his dog considered the truck her property and her job to protect it.
“Jax.” Risa looked over her shoulder to him. “I don’t want to overstep my bounds here. Can you unhook her and set her on the ground, please? We don’t want her jumping down and possibly causing more damage.”
Jax helped the dog out of the truck. Bella sat next to him, alert for her next command. Risa studied her.
“What do you say we give Bella a chance to check the place out first? Athena and Eir are inside, so we can take a walk around the yard, and you can look for clues or whatever to the fatal tire slashing.”
“Whatever you say, Doc.” He didn’t bother looking for evidence. Whatever might have been left had been trampled, blown away, or contaminated. Instead, he focused on why her, why this place, and what could be done to prevent future attacks.
Jax gave Bella the release command and together the three of them approached the front of the house, where he studied the layout. “Where’s your bedroom?”
“At the back of the house. This is the living room, with a spare bedroom on the right. The recessed area,” she nodded to the left, “is the kitchen and mudroom. My room is directly behind the front bedroom.”
He glanced down to see Bella leaning against Risa’s legs, not the typical behavior of a military working dog. He could snap his fingers and have her performing a number of commands, but she seemed happy. So, for the moment, he let her be.
“You should trim these bushes.” He pointed to the two plants flanking the front stairs. “Right now they’re the perfect size for a thief to hide behind. Is that a motion-sensor light?”
“Nope. Just your standard porch light, although it does have one of those cool yellow bulbs to repel bugs.”
“What about the one on the side of the house?”
“Same thing. Standard issue, yellow bulb.”
“You should think about having security lights installed. Preferably ones that are motion sensor and cover all sides of the house. Thieves will think twice about breaking in or messing around if the place is lit up, which is probably one of the reasons they picked you.”
“I’ll call my dad and have him take care of that for me. What else do you see?” She looked around as if seeing her home for the first time.
“How many doors lead into the house?” He headed toward the side door to test the lock.
“Just the two.” She matched his gait easily.
The mudroom door was half-wood, half-glass, had a crappy doorknob, and an even worse lock. To top it off, it was unlocked. “You should keep this locked even when you’re home. It’d be easy for one person to distract you at the front and another to enter through here. And didn’t you say your dogs were inside? How come they’re so quiet?”
“They don’t bark at me, but I wouldn’t suggest you try to walk in there on your own.” She sounded a little annoyed, but flashed him a smile.
Jax peeked into the window. Sure enough, both dogs were on guard and growling. Bella must have picked up the warning. She worked herself in between him and the door, ready to protect him at all costs.
“Good girl, Bella. Come.” He continued around to the back of the house. “Did the dogs bark when I pulled up?”
“Yes. They don’t bark when it’s my parents or best friend, Fiona. Otherwise, they will. If I wasn’t out here with you, they’d still be warning you off.”
“So how come you didn’t hear them bark when your tires were trashed?”
She looked away, but not before he’d seen twin flames across her cheeks.
“I think it happened while I was in the shower.”
“And you couldn’t hear them over the water?”
“No. I was…” She looked everywhere except at him. “Um, does it really matter?”
What could she have been doing that would cause her so much embarrassment? Only one thing came to Jax’s mind, and he really wanted to hear her answer.
“It could be the key to unlocking this whole mystery.”
She arched her brow and rolled her eyes, probably debating whether he was serious or just yanking her chain.
“Fine. I was singing.” She threw up her hands. “I sing in the shower, and my dogs bark and howl in response. So someone could have been out front slicing and dicing my tires and I would have assumed the dogs were behaving normally.”
“You can’t be that awful.”
She belted out a few lines from some old ballad. The dogs inside the house howled. Bella whined and put her head down, covering her ears with her paws.
He didn’t say anything at first, and she went from patient to frustrated to smiling. “You can laugh. My family and best friend do. They find it spectacularly comical.”
“Wow.” He laughed. “Okay, I admit it, you’re pretty bad. Maybe the worse singer I’ve ever heard, which is saying something. We had this one old dude back in Jacksonville, and every time he got drunk he’d wander around singing. The dogs would bark, but they didn’t actually howl. You know, we could probably record you and hook it up to a security system, so that when people came around it would scare them off.”
“Har, har. You’re so funny. Not.” She braced a hand on her hip. “So do you have any more helpful suggestions?”
“Besides stick to veterinary work?” He winked. “Seriously, Risa, you need to think about upgrading the doors and locks, along with the security lighting. Maybe even put in an alarm system, something that links to the local fire and police stations. This place is isolated even by a country boy’s standard.”
“Okay, I’ll give my dad a call later tonight.
He’s really good at that kind of stuff… electrical, plumbing, home repairs.”
“I know you’ve got two dogs and think that’s enough to keep you safe—”
“Jax.” She laid a hand on his arm. “I said okay. I’ll get it done.”
He stood in shocked silence. If it had been his mom or sister or even his ex-fiancée, they would have argued with him. “Are you agreeing with me to shut me up?”
She squinted and looked at him like he was crazy. “Why would I do that? You’re the security expert, and I asked for your opinion. You wouldn’t argue with me on what’s the best way to treat Bella’s injury, would you?”
“No.” He smiled and stepped closer, so that they were within each other’s personal space. “I’d never argue with the doctor’s orders.”
“No, you wouldn’t, because you’re a boy scout.”
* * * *
Risa loved the expressions rippling across Jax’s face: shock, amusement, and finally smugness. She hadn’t expected the last one.
“That sounds like a compliment,” he said as she turned back toward the front of the house.
“Oh, it is. There’s nothing wrong with being a good guy. Bad boys can be fine and fun when you’re a teenager or those first few years after college.” She walked him and Bella around to the front steps and turned to face him. “However, there comes a time in your life where you just want a nice guy who will do the right thing and be there for you.”
“Is that what you’re looking for, nice and steady?” He stared at her mouth.
She swallowed a few times before answering. “You know bad girls like me need someone to balance them out. But the guy for me would have to have a little bit of a bad boy streak, or I might get bored.”
“I see, and just how bad does he have to be?” His gaze never lifted from her mouth.
She smiled and ran her tongue across her bare, dry bottom lip and bit down. “Well, now, that remains to be seen.” She stepped back. “If you wait here with Bella, I’d like to bring Athena out and see how Bella reacts to her.”
A Hero to Love Page 6