Shielded by the Cowboy SEAL

by Bonnie Vanak

  Meg forced her attention back to the computer screen. Randall was dead. Randall, who liked to fish and loved photographing nature. Sometimes when they were at his summer house for a corporate retreat, Randall had taken out the boat onto the lake just to get away by himself.

  He’d bragged about the largemouth bass and how his little handheld GPS recorded the best fishing spot on the entire lake...

  Meg stared at the screen. Could it be?

  She plugged the numbers into Google Earth and her jaw dropped.

  “GPS coordinates,” she muttered. “Of course.”

  The longitude and latitude were from the lake fronting the corporate house. She stared in dismay at the water. Beebersim Lake was a popular destination in the summer, with lavish mansions peppering the property ringing the water. Only twenty feet deep at the center, the lake was stocked with smallmouth and largemouth bass and trout. In November, almost all the homes were closed up, and the wealthy left for the warmer climate in Florida.

  He’d sunk the papers into the lake in a watertight container. It didn’t matter if the papers were at twenty feet or two hundred feet. She had to see if Randall attached a buoy to the underwater container. If not, she was in trouble.

  The water was ice cold and she couldn’t scuba dive. But she knew someone who surely did.

  A Navy SEAL named Cooper Johnson.

  Chapter 8

  The next day, Meg asked Cooper to drive her to Randall’s summer home in the next town. He’d refused to let her go alone. And of course, he wanted to know why she needed to see the house.

  “It’s for sale and I want to look around before it’s sold,” she told him as he drove. “I remember that house from when Randall invited me there.”

  Cooper gave her a skeptical look. “Do you always have a hankering for seeing houses you once visited?”

  Meg tried to steady her shaky nerves. The man was far from stupid. He knew she was up to something.

  “My grandmother used to visit here as well. Maybe I’m on a tour of memory lane,” she shot back.

  She gave him the code for the gate at the entrance of the exclusive community and they drove through. At the cul-de-sac on the next road over, they parked and walked along the deserted street. There were security guards here in the fall and winter, she remembered, but they patrolled only at night.

  When she reached the woods adjacent to the property, Meg pulled out the binoculars Cooper had lent her. She scanned the lake. No buoy.

  Though she’d expected as much, disappointment filled her. Meg tucked away the glasses.

  Cooper studied her. “See anything interesting?”

  “It’s a lake.” Meg gazed at the house, glad there wasn’t a fence around the property. And then she remembered the security cameras.

  “I have the code, but I don’t want anyone to see us on the security cameras.”

  Cooper leaned against the trunk of a thick oak tree. “Meg, why are you really here? What’s going on? You can trust me. My job is to protect you.”

  She gave a shrug. “I just wanted to have a look.”

  “If you wanted to look closer, you could contact the real estate agent and tour the house. What do you need from this place?”

  Nothing you can help me with because I don’t dare risk your involvement. It’s risky enough staying at your farm.

  “Closure,” she finally said.

  True enough. She needed to finally move on with her life, and the secret the lake held would aid her in doing so.

  “When are you going to level with me, Meg? I’m not your tour guide. I want to help,” he said gently.

  She trembled as he stroked a hand down her chilled cheek, the longing to confide in him and have someone who could really help her warring with the instinctive need to protect herself.

  “I will. Give me time, Cooper. I just wanted to see the house and the lake. Let’s go now.”

  Cooper dropped his hand, his expression shuttered. He said nothing as they returned to the truck.

  As they drove back to the inn, she kept thinking about the lake and the secret it held. So close and yet so far. And the man who could help her, the man who could get the documents she needed, sat beside her.

  If only she could trust him. Meg wondered.

  * * *

  “Do you know how to scuba dive in icy lake water? You’re a SEAL. Is that something you learned?”

  The question, asked after their horseback ride later that afternoon, made him pause. Cooper finished currying his gelding and then checked on Betsy, worried about how she was slowing down. She’d made it over the colic, but he didn’t like how much she was limping lately, and her appetite was poor.

  “I grew up around here, learning to dive. Why?”

  She tugged at one leather glove, avoiding his gaze.

  “Hey,” he said gently, and put a hand under her chin, lifting her face to meet his gaze. “Tell me.”

  A pretty flush tinted her cheeks. Meg sighed beneath his touch as he, unable to resist, stroked a thumb over her smooth skin. So soft. Fragile-looking, but strong. He wished she’d open up. That trip earlier to the Jacobs house wasn’t about seeing a house.

  Something was in the lake that she wanted. He knew she didn’t want to see the house one last time.

  Why else would she ask about diving in cold water? If only she’d open up to him, confide in him. Frustration filled him. Until Meg did so, he didn’t know how to help her.

  “Talk to me,” he insisted.

  “I’m going to need your help with something. But first, I need to get my car. Can we go there this afternoon? It should be ready by now.”

  “Let me call.” He fished out his cell phone.

  Meg walked over to give Adela a treat as he talked with Mike, his childhood friend who owned the shop.

  “Give me two more days, Coop. New alternator is in, but the engine is still finicky. Need a loaner?”

  “No,” he said quickly, glancing at Meg. He didn’t want her taking a loaner car and bolting. Jarrett told him to keep her on the farm, and he would. “Call me when it’s ready.”

  He told Meg the disappointing news, glad of an excuse to keep her close.

  Close enough to find out what she hid. And Coop knew she hid something important.

  “What did you need help with?” he asked.

  She nibbled on her lower lip, and the sight sent fresh desire shooting through him. Damn, the woman had the most kissable mouth. But he wasn’t going to push her. Meg was still scared and wounded. Had to take it slow with her. Still, he had the fierce longing to wrap her up in his arms to keep her safe from the world—and beat the hell out of anyone who wanted to hurt her.

  He didn’t know who had left the gate open for Buddy to wander through. Perhaps it was a mistake. The latch was old. But he didn’t want to take chances. Cooper had wired it shut until he could replace it.

  This frail-looking woman with a spine of solid steel deserved someone who cared about her welfare. Not him. His first duty came to his family and his team.

  But while she remained here, under his roof, he’d do his damnedest to keep her safe. Yesterday’s incident haunted him. She could have been torn to pieces if she didn’t have the common sense to remain calm and not run.

  She still didn’t answer him.

  “Meg, you can trust me,” he said gently. “I want to help however I can. Whatever is bothering you, tell me.”

  She hugged herself. “Later. Are you going to fix that gate latch now? I can help.”

  They walked out of the barn and over to the cottage gate leading to the road, Meg following as he carried his tool bag. Time to go on a little fishing trip, see if he could get Miss Meg to loosen up and confide in him.

  At the gate, he took out his screwdriver. The ne
w latch would be much harder to unfasten, and no chances of it accidentally being left open.

  She wanted to dive in cold water. Why? Was something in the lake that interested her? She’d shown enough interest in it, scanning it with the binoculars.

  Coop removed the faulty latch as she opened the packaging for the new one he’d bought in town.

  “If you want to learn how to dive around here, best time is summer. Days are nice and hot, and the lake water isn’t too terrible. Not as bad as some. Why do you want to know about diving? You need to dive somewhere cold? Like that lake?”

  Meg sidestepped the question with another question. “You must have been on some interesting dives as a Navy SEAL. What was your most dangerous one? Was it on a mission?”

  Now it was his turn to clam up. “They all have risks,” he said, studying her. “But you work as a team and no man gets left behind.”

  “Don’t you miss it? The action and the adrenaline thrill, compared to working here on the farm?”

  Startled, he looked down at this little spitfire, who had faced a dog attack without as much as a scream. No one ever asked that question since he’d left. Certainly not his family, who was happy to have him home.

  “I miss the action. But it’s worth it to help out my mom with the inn while I’m on leave.”

  “But you’re going back. What are you going to do with your life when you finally do leave the Navy?”

  Cooper stared at her, not liking this conversational thread. “What are you implying?”

  Meg gestured to the pasture, the barn and the inn. “After my brother died, I volunteered with a veterans group. I know about soldiers, Cooper. In combat, you see horrific things most Americans will never witness. It’s hard to adjust to being back, and even harder to find purpose once you leave the military.”

  He didn’t like how this was going. “I’m good at adjusting. And my family needs me.”

  “You need them as well, Cooper. But you need more.”

  Her green gaze was calm, assessing. It felt unnerving, as if she could see straight through to his soul.

  “I haven’t known you long, but you don’t seem like a farmer or an innkeeper. If you were, you never would have become a SEAL.”

  Anger simmered. He set down the screwdriver, mindful of how his hand shook. “You’re such an expert, you tell me, Meg. Tell me what I should do with my life once I’m a civilian.”

  To her credit, she didn’t back down. Instead, she folded her arms and shook her head. “You’re a man of action. You have much to offer the world. Baling hay isn’t going to keep you happy. Giving your life real purpose will.”

  That stung, because deep down, he knew she was right. Hell, the very thought had kept him awake, staring at the ceiling, since he got home. He stood and brushed off his hands, approaching her. “My family is my purpose. So butt out, Princess.”

  She didn’t. Instead, she took a deep breath, as if going for the knockout punch. He waited, his body tensing.

  “Sometimes you need a stranger to tell it like it is. Fiona won’t. I suspect others won’t, either. But I will. You don’t like the idea of quitting the Navy because of family obligations. And perhaps it’s made you a little resentful.”

  Whoa. That was way, way close. Fiona had mentioned that when he came home, hinting at the same thing. Cooper fisted his hands. Seeing her back off, the flash of fear in her eyes and remembering her past, he relaxed his hands.

  Meg’s shoulders lost some of their tenseness.

  “I love my family and I’d do anything for them. Anything. Stop psychoanalyzing me and look at your own life, damn it.”

  “I have,” she said quietly. “I’ve analyzed my own life for a long while now. And I know what I’m going to do. Leaving my house, everything I know, was the first step.”

  At a loss for words, he couldn’t meet her gaze as she touched his arm.

  “Cooper, I am sorry if I hurt your feelings. But I’m not sorry I said those things. On our rides, you talk of your teammates like they are your family...and how much you’ll miss the action.”

  Stomach churning with grief and anger, he pulled away. Didn’t want her soft, leather-clad hand on his arm. Didn’t want this woman to get underneath his prickly armor and burrow in there like her dog burrowed into the sofa. She was too tempting, and he had a mission to complete.

  Find the person responsible for Brie’s death and go after him with everything he had.

  “They are my family.”

  “There are vet groups that can use your skills. You have a calming presence and you’re great in a crisis. Those skill sets can transition into civilian life.”

  “Right. I’ll have headhunters knocking down my door to hire me just because I’m an ex-SEAL.”

  “They can’t knock on your door if they can’t even find you. You have to try finding them, and trust me, you will have another career again.”

  “You’re such an expert,” he shot back. “And you know this because...?”

  Meg’s cheeks pinked at his sarcastic tone. “I know how to analyze skill sets and place people according to their temperament and their abilities. I was very good at it at the family business until I quit.”

  “SEALs never quit. It’s part of our code. If you’re so great at giving advice, why did you leave?” he snapped, the raw hurt spiraling through him all over again.

  Wounded eyes stared up at him, big green eyes that were woebegone. Then she stiffened and drew off her coat and rolled up her sleeve.

  The yellowing bruise made him flinch.

  “Prescott didn’t want a working wife. He wanted a trophy wife to arrange society parties and play hostess. And when I protested, he made sure to place the marks where no one would see them if I wore a strapless gown.” She touched her arm. “Except this last time, he simply didn’t care who saw the bruises.”

  Shame curled through him. He’d been so busy arguing, he’d forgotten her past. “Real men don’t hit women.”

  “No, they just argue with them. And cook them burned BLT sandwiches.” She shrugged into her coat again and looked up. “Truce?”

  Exasperated, he nodded. Dang big green eyes, like a puppy’s. All soft and woeful. She’d gotten under his skin. “Truce.”

  Meg gave him a real smile. “Your mom hinted about the new restaurant in town for dinner. I thought it would be nice to take Aimee out for a treat. So let me treat you and your sister, Cooper. I have a little money.”

  “Princess, save your money...”

  “No.” Her smile wobbled. “I want to do this, Cooper. Let me pay for a dinner in town. Your mom could use a night off from cooking, too.”

  There she went again, being all thoughtful. Hard to stay mad at her.

  Cooper picked up his screwdriver again. “I’ve got this. Go back, get changed for dinner, and we’ll leave at seventeen hundred hours.”

  * * *

  She had poked the big bad SEAL in a sore spot. Cooper didn’t make a move to hurt her. He didn’t insult her, belittle her or worse, hit her.

  They fought. But nothing more.

  It was so refreshing to argue with a man, a big man, and not worry about him hitting her that Meg felt almost as giddy about that argument as their upcoming dinner.

  She headed for the inn, where Aimee had been taking care of Sophie. Taking the porch steps at the inn nearly two at a time, Meg found herself humming. It wasn’t a date, she warned her rapidly beating heart. Just dinner.

  But the prospect had her blood surging through her veins. Alive. She was alive, and not lying six feet under. She could forge a new beginning and start all over. Date again.

  Then she remembered the FBI and the elation fled. One didn’t date in jail. She wasn’t here to start a new life, but to ensure no other lives would be lost because of her company’s
criminal misdeeds.

  Still, she could live for the moment. A moment of fun and laughter. Cooper made her laugh, made her feel like a woman again instead of useless trash. Only through her own determination and self-confidence had she managed to survive.

  Her dog greeted her on the landing, wagging her tail, but Sophie did not bound down the stairs as she once did. Her dog had taken to Aimee, and was growing closer to the girl. Meg knew it was for the best if she left Sophie here permanently, but still, it hurt a little. Sophie was all she had left.

  She petted her dog as Aimee burst out of her bedroom.

  “Meg! Come see my collection!” Aimee was practically dancing up and down. “I got a new one today.”

  Not waiting for an answer, the girl led her into her bedroom.

  The bed was neatly made with a Star Wars bedspread, and on a shelf above a desk and a laptop computer stood a neat array of bobblehead figurines. Aimee picked up a box from the desk. “Coop bought me this online and it arrived today! I wanted Rey for a long time, but Mom said only for my birthday and Coop said he’d make my birthday come early. He’s the best!”

  Meg smiled, agreeing with Aimee. “Tell me about your collection.”

  Aimee prattled on about the collection that her sister, Brie, had started and passed on to her when Brie graduated from the police academy and went to work as a patrol officer.

  “I miss my sister,” the girl said, looking solemn. “But she’s in heaven now with my dad. That makes me feel a little better, knowing he’s not alone anymore. And Max, Coop’s dog.”

  Aimee’s big brown gaze met hers beseechingly. “Do you think dogs go to heaven?”

  Her throat tightened. “Of course they do. Dogs and horses and cats. They don’t live as long as we do because they don’t have as many things to learn as we do. They already know the important things.”

  “Like what?”

  “Like how to love, and how to take care of themselves and each other. And how to not hurt each other unless it’s very necessary. Animals never do, you know. They only do it to hunt and eat or to defend themselves.”