The SEAL's Return

by Patricia Potter

  Lisa didn’t like the direction the conversation was taking. She waited for the bomb to drop.

  “He said maybe I could get some lessons there,” Gordon continued.

  Ah, there it was.

  “Eve said she and Stephanie will teach you,” Lisa tried. “You’re both invited tomorrow for lessons.”

  She saw the stubborn look come into his face. “I don’t think so,” he said.

  “We’ll talk about riding later. Okay?” She worried about a virtual stranger having influence over him. Why would someone like Jubal, a former SEAL, take such a strong interest in Gordon?

  And to be truthful, she feared the reaction the man aroused in her. Maybe that was influencing her.

  “I can pay for it myself,” Gordon said defiantly, then headed for the stairs without another word.

  Lisa watched him go. She was losing him again. He obviously did not like her having a say in what he did. He wanted to learn with Jubal because it was his idea. And a bit of hero worship, maybe? If Gordon wanted a role model, why couldn’t he pick a doctor or teacher? Or a builder like Nate?

  She was grateful Kerry was outside, wearing Susie out, or maybe it was the other way around. She went upstairs and changed into a dark brown full skirt and lacy beige top she’d brought from Chicago. She added a coral necklace that had been a gift from her mother and piled her hair up into a twist in back.

  After putting the casserole in the oven, she was ready to go at a quarter to seven. Kerry and Susie were curled up on the sofa, Kerry with a book and Susie snuggled up with a new toy. Lisa snapped a photo with her cell. She wished she had one of Gordon when he first came inside with his sunburned face and rare smile. It has disappeared too quickly.

  “Have a good time, Lisa,” Kerry said.

  “You sure you don’t mind?”

  “No. You deserve it.”

  Lisa put her hand on Kerry’s shoulder and gave her a hug. “Thanks.”

  Just then she heard a vehicle turn into the drive.

  She went outside. Eve was in the driver’s seat.

  “Hi,” Eve said. “Josh went ahead to check on some things.”

  Lisa stepped into the passenger’s seat and minutes later Eve drove up to the Camel Trail Inn.

  She’d admired the outside before and loved the camel on the sign, but the inside lobby had a “wow” factor beyond her expectations. Paintings of mountain scenes decorated the wood-paneled interior. A huge rock fireplace dominated one wall. Eve led her through the lobby into a dining room that was lit by what looked like gaslights but must be electric. It looked like a late-1800s eatery with rich paneling and heavy tables, each with a vase of fresh flowers at the center. The room was both charming and warm.

  She recognized some locals. She could also identify the tourists. It was obviously a special spot for the locals and they dressed for it. The tourists were mostly still in shorts and jeans.

  Her heart skipped a beat when she saw Jubal sitting with Andy, Josh and Nate at a table set for six. The men stood as she and Eve approached. Jubal looked as surprised as she felt when her group neared the table.

  “This is Josh’s and Nate’s treat,” Eve said softly. “I hope you don’t mind if we included Jubal, but the guys wanted to show off the inn.”

  She did mind. She minded because of the way he made her pulse race. But he looked great in slacks and a blue shirt that made his eyes resemble the color of an evening sky.

  They all sat and a young lady wearing jeans and a western shirt immediately approached to hand them menus, greeting them cheerfully.

  Lisa tried to lose herself in the menu but found it hard to concentrate with Jubal immediately across from her. “I highly recommend the rainbow trout or one of the steaks,” Eve said. “The trout comes from the mountain streams around here. Josh can’t always get it.”

  Lisa ordered the rainbow trout as did Eve and Andy. The men all opted for the steaks.

  Eve kept the conversation going, regaling them with town legends. Lisa recalled from the pageant that the town founder bought camels from the army to carry supplies to miners over mountain trails.

  “Stephanie wanted to recreate the story in the pageant and rented two real camels,” Eve said. “Unfortunately they got loose and galloped down Main Street just before the opening day.

  “They were terrifying everyone, with Andy in chase,” Nate said, looking at Andy with so much love in his eyes it made Lisa ache.

  Eve took up the story. “Andy sent two befuddled police officers to get some bananas at the general store and coaxed the camels back by feeding them. Took every banana the grocer had.”

  “They were then Stephanie’s responsibility,” Eve continued. “She’d rented them as a joke. But then she had to take care of them during the rest of the week and they were very wayward camels.”

  “Where is Stephanie?” Lisa asked.

  “In addition to being our vet, she’s a search and rescue volunteer with her dog, Sherry,” Josh said. “Just before six, she was called out on a search and rescue mission about a hundred miles from here,” Nate said. “An elderly woman and her dog have been missing for six or seven days. No one knew they were lost until her car was spotted on a rarely-used road. After checking the registration, they found a family member. Apparently she doesn’t always inform someone when she goes on a hiking expedition.”

  “And Clint is out patrolling,” Josh added. “There’s been some rustling in the area recently. All three of the cars are out this weekend.”

  Lisa’s head was spinning. Runaway camels, cattle rustling and lost people. So much for peaceful Covenant Falls.

  She glanced at Jubal. He’d said very little, but he was listening. His jaw seemed to tighten when Nate mentioned the rustling, and his eyes hardened.

  Their gazes met. She was stunned by the pure need that skittered along her nerve endings and settled in the pit of her stomach. A powerful craving seemed to take over her body. She saw something in his eyes flicker and could tell he felt it, too. She fervently hoped no one else had noticed her...momentary distraction. Except it wasn’t momentary. It had been there from the instant she’d first seen him.

  The food came along with two bottles of wine, one white and one red. Lisa nibbled at the trout. She suspected it was very good, but her stomach was doing weird things. She tried to keep her eyes on the food, but they kept wandering to Jubal, who apparently wasn’t similarly affected. He was downing the steak as if he’d never had one before. She gulped down her glass of wine.

  Jubal looked up then, and to her utter surprise, he winked at her. Then his expression went blank again so quickly she wondered whether she’d imagined it. He was always so...stoic. Yes, surely she’d imagined it.

  Dessert came at the same time a small band appeared in the corner of the room and started playing. The members varied in age and she recognized several from the pageant. There was a small dance floor, and by the third song, couples were dancing, including Nate and Andy.

  To her surprise, Jubal stood. “Doctor?”

  It would be rude to say no. But the simple fact was she didn’t want to, anyway. He took her hand, and electricity shot up it. Then he put his arms around her. She was tall, but she felt tiny next to him. He was a good dancer, graceful and easy to follow, he seemed to do everything well.

  Lisa looked up. He was looking down with a warmth that startled her. She wanted to lean against him, but that would mean surrendering to feelings she knew were only fleeting. They had to be; he had no place in her life.

  But then why did she feel this intensity—this raw naked need—when she was with him? Their gazes met. Held. She saw the same want in him that was making her body ache.

  They stayed on the floor for two more numbers before he returned her to the table. They walked back to their table, and their hands fell apart, but th
e warmth remained.

  A few days. She’d known him for only a few days, she reminded herself as Josh took care of the bill.

  The six of them walked out together. The sky had turned cloudy and Lisa felt the moisture in the air.

  “I can take Dr. Redding home,” Jubal said. “Her house is closer to the cabin.”

  “That okay, Lisa?” Eve said.

  Oh, no! Lisa nodded and walked blindly to Jubal’s car.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  WHY THE HELL did he make that offer?

  He hadn’t meant to. It was the worst possible thing he could do.

  The more he saw of her, the more he liked her. Was attracted to her. And this was definitely one relationship that couldn’t go far. They were on completely different roads in their lives and going in opposite directions.

  But when her body had fit so neatly into his while dancing, and he’d looked down at those expressive dark eyes, he felt a need he’d never experienced before. The problem was that it wasn’t just physical; it was something even stronger, more irresistible.

  Even more confounding was that he saw it in her eyes, as well.

  As much as he tried to tell himself to run like hell, he couldn’t. His good sense surrendered to stronger emotions, and he suggested driving her home. He was surprised when she’d agreed, although it made sense. The Mannings lived in a different direction.

  It was only a short ride to her house. No danger here.

  But once in the car, he realized he was wrong. He had been very aware of the flowery fragrance of her hair when they danced but now, inside his car, it was intoxicating—or maybe it was Lisa herself. Her smile was dazzling.

  He counted the reasons he should drive her straight home, accompany her to the door and say good night in a calm, impersonal way.

  He reached seven before he asked, “Would you like to see the bench Gordon built?”

  She hesitated. She was probably counting the reasons she should say no. Instead, she took a deep breath and said, “Yes.”

  He changed direction and drove toward the cabin. It was past ten, and he’d learned that little stirred after ten in Covenant Falls. The community center’s lights were off. There were no cars in the parking lot. Most of the lights in the cottages lining Lake Road were off.

  It was a dark night, too. Clouds blacked out the moon. The breeze had freshened and it was cooler than any night since he’d been in Covenant Falls. Jubal knew a storm was brewing. He parked on the road and faced the headlights toward the deck. Then he left the car and hurried around to her side. She’d opened the door and had one foot out when he reached her.

  He stretched out his hand. She hesitated, then took it. It seemed natural. Even right. His fingers closed around hers and he led her out on the dock to the bench.

  It was large enough for two adults.

  “Should I try it?” she asked skeptically.

  “I did.”

  She sat gingerly, then leaned against the slanted back. “It’s comfortable.”

  He sat down next to her. “Your brother picked out the design and the wood and built it entirely on his own. I didn’t say a word.”

  “Why?” she asked.

  “Why what?” he replied, though he knew exactly what she meant. He should tell her the truth right now if he wanted any kind of relationship with her, even a brief one.

  “He just came to you, and you said you wanted a bench built?”

  “Something like that,” he said. The kid did come to his cabin, and he did say he wanted a bench. But he was leaving a lot out.

  “Why didn’t you build it? You don’t look like the sedentary type who’d sit there and watch someone else work,” she observed with humor in her voice.

  “He needed a job. I didn’t.”

  She eyed him suspiciously. He realized she felt something didn’t ring quite true but she couldn’t quite figure out what. Had he shown too much pride in what Gordon had accomplished?

  To his relief, she changed the subject. “Do you really swim in the lake every day? I hear it’s freezing.”

  “Ah, the Covenant Falls rumor factory,” he said dryly. “But yes, I do. It wakes me up.”

  “I could think of easier ways. Like a cup of hot coffee.”

  “I want to know I can still do it,” he replied honestly. “It makes me feel alive. Wakens all my senses.”

  “And you need to feel alive?”

  “Doesn’t everyone?”

  “Maybe not to the extreme of swimming in an ice cold lake every night.”

  He stood and looked out at the lake. She was far too intuitive. But his captivity wasn’t something he could talk about.

  She was silent for a moment, then asked the question that apparently had been bothering her. “If you are just going to stay a short while, why did you hire a kid you didn’t know and turn him loose on something you probably won’t use?”

  He shrugged. “Do you know about this cabin?” he asked.

  “A little.”

  “I’m the fourth vet to use it. Everyone has left it, or the town, a little better. Clint repaired and extended the dock. The bench was my contribution, small as it may be.”

  She looked at him, and he thought she wasn’t completely satisfied, but she nodded. “So what comes next?”

  “My plan was to stay a few days.”

  “It’s been more than a week,” she observed.

  “I’ve sorta become involved in a few things,” he said.

  “You’re staying for a while, then?”

  “Yeah,” he said. “A while.”

  “Gordon likes you.”

  An uncomfortable comment. And Jubal had no answer without deepening the lie or betraying Gordon.

  “I’ve tried and tried to get through to him and you’ve done it in a few days,” Lisa continued. “How did you do that?” He heard pain in her question.

  He shrugged. “I don’t know if I have. I just gave him a temporary job.”

  “He said you were working for a rancher, that he wanted to learn to ride there.” She was direct. And a damn good interrogator. The military could use her.

  He shrugged. “I told him he would have to ask you.”

  Her tone softened. “Thank you for helping him. I didn’t mean to question you. I’ve just been worried...”

  “I wouldn’t hurt him.”

  “You won’t be here long,” she said frankly. “I don’t want him to lose someone else.” She hesitated, then said slowly, “You know our father died when he was young?”

  Jubal wasn’t going to lie about that. He nodded.

  “I thought you might, that he may have told you,” she said. “He was so proud when he came home today. He was tired and his clothes were a mess but there was a light in his eyes that’s been missing.”

  She hesitated, then slowly, cautiously, continued. “After Dad died, Gordon tried to become the man of the house. He looked after Kerry and our mother, or at least Mom let him think he did. Then she got sick, too. Cancer. And I wasn’t there. I was in my residency. It was what Mom wanted, but I should’ve returned home. Put it off. I didn’t. Our aunt came to help out.

  “Mom got worse, and I couldn’t do anything about it. Gordon blamed me for not being there, for not saving her, for doctors not saving her...”

  He felt the pain in her. It ran deep and wide. How many times had he felt guilt when he couldn’t save one of his team? He still felt it. He probably would feel it until the day he died. He would see a smile and think of Scott, or hear raucous laughter and be back with Hound Dog...

  “You lost both parents, too,” he said.

  “But I was an adult. I didn’t spend my teen years looking after a dying mother.”

  “I can’t imagine how tough it was,” J
ubal said. “But he’s a very bright kid.”

  “When he wants to be,” she replied. “But after Mom died, his grades dropped dramatically. He got involved with some gang members in Chicago. He was trying to get some kind of control over his life, and he thought they were offering it. I hoped getting him away from the city would help, but he doesn’t trust me.”

  “He probably thinks you’ll leave him, too. He’s afraid to care.”

  She looked at him and her face softened. “You know about that, don’t you?”

  Had he been so obvious?

  A drop of rain fell. Then another. Then the sky seemed to open and rain poured down. Not just a few drops. A deluge. He grabbed her hand and they ran for the car as the sky opened. Once inside, she started to laugh and a chuckle started deep inside him. Then he leaned toward her. His fingers touched her cheek and wiped the drops away.

  “Coffee?” he asked. “Until it stops raining quite as hard?”

  She hesitated. “I should get home and check on Kerry and Gordon.”

  He didn’t say anything. Waited. He wasn’t sure what he wanted her answer to be.

  “Maybe a quick one,” she agreed.

  He nodded, turned on the ignition and eased the car into the driveway, getting as close to the porch as possible. He then reached in the backseat and pulled out a jean jacket.

  “Here,” he said. “Put it over your head and we’ll make a run for it.”

  He saw her glance at her shoes and the now muddy ground outside. “Stay there,” he ordered. He got out of the car and went to her side. He opened the door, put the jacket on her, then without saying anything picked her up and carried her to the porch before setting her down.

  They were both dripping as he opened the door. “I’ll get some towels,” he said, “then make that coffee...”

  * * *

  THE RAIN HAD come so fast and hard Lisa was soaking wet all over.

  She wiped the wetness off her face and arms and looked around. The room looked comfortable, more than comfortable, and it was military clean and tidy. The only item out of place was a book on the floor next to a big easy chair.