Building Ties (Military Romantic Suspense) (SEAL Team Heartbreakers Book 4) (3 page)

They should have locked lips at the county courthouse before he left and arranged something at the church after he got back.

But Tess wanted something more. She deserved more for all the shit she’d have to put up with in the years to come.

Being married to a SEAL was no picnic. The separations weren’t the worst of it. There was the stress of being alone so much of the time. Then there was always the worry that he might not make it back.

That she’d said yes when he proposed was a freaking miracle. He was lucky. Damn lucky.

The briefing wound down and Brett allowed himself a quick glance at his watch. As soon as it was over, he’d call Tess. He hadn’t heard her voice in seven days, and he needed to give her some reassurance he wasn’t blocking her out intentionally. A hard thing to do when he was in
fucking
South America in the
fucking
jungle where cell phone service was non-existent, and he only got a few minutes satellite phone time every week.

Lieutenant Harding dismissed the men. Brett headed for the COM room and see if he could get some SAT phone time.

“Cutter.”

Brett turned to see Engle bearing down on him. “Yes, Senior Chief?”

Engle waited until he was right in front of him before speaking in a low voice. “I know you have a wedding planned for the tenth.”

“Yes, sir.”

“You may want to give your fiancée a heads up that your arrival time may be tight.”

“I was just about to go to the COM room to see if I could do that, sir.”

Engle handed him an unwieldy SAT phone. “Take care of that ASAP, and when you’re done I’d like a word.”

“Roger that, Senior Chief.” He watched the man walk away, wondering what the phone call was going to cost him. Did Engle have some special detail he needed taken care of?

Brett took a seat on the floor in a more or less private corner of the hangar, leaned back against one of the metal walls, and dialed Tess’s number.

“Hello.”

At the sound of her voice he smiled. “Hey, hon. How you doing?” He closed his eyes and thought about how she smelled like orange blossoms and she tasted even better. Thinking of her shot his heartbeat to double time and gave him an instant hard-on.

“Brett! Are you okay? Oh—I’m not supposed to ask you that, am I?”

He grimaced. The wives and girlfriends of his previous team members had obviously warned her not to mention anything that would worry him or say anything that would show she was concerned about him. “Aside from where I am, you can ask me anything you want, honey. You don’t have to watch what you say. I’m fine. I just wanted to hear your voice. I don’t get much time to call. How’s everything going?”

“Fine. The restaurant we booked for the rehearsal dinner was damaged by fire and canceled our reservation. Zoe’s helping me find another. Other than that, everything else is taken care of.”

He wasn’t ready to tell her his trip home had been delayed. Not yet. He’d save that bad news for later. “Good. Between you and my sister, you’ll have everything squared away in no time.”

“Zoe really is a wonder. She stays so organized and seems to take everything in stride.”

Brett chuckled. “Zoe has you snowed, Tess. She worries about everything.” Should he have told her that? “It’s okay to be upset and worried. In a way, deployment is easier for us. We just concentrate on what’s in front of us and try to block out the rest.”

“The chances of something happening to me are substantially lower than they are for you, Brett.”

“Yeah, but shit happens, Tess. And some of the people you associate with now are pretty—”

“Are you talking about the wives and girlfriends of other SEALs I talk to most days or the people in my office?” Her tone of voice turned brusque and controlled. “Those are the people I associate with, Brett.”

“People you interview, then. I just want you to be careful, honey.” He tried to keep the concern out of his voice, but knew he hadn’t quite managed.

“I am being careful. I promise. I got wind of two interesting stories today. Both could be big. The first was about a possible construction company payoff. One of the companies involved experienced a terrible accident where two men were killed. There may be a tie-in with the payoff. The other story is about an honor roll student arrested for robbing the grocery store where he works. There’s something strange going on in both cases. I’ll be doing some research and interviews tomorrow to see if I can pin down what it is.”

He was eager to know what she was up to, but damn if her job didn’t make him worry. It wasn’t like she was a cop, but she pushed too hard sometimes, just like her old man did. Her drive to get at the truth could piss some people off. “Watch your six, babe. Until I get home.”

“Then I’ll have you here to watch it for me.”

“Roger that. I miss you.”

“I do you, too.” Her voice dropped and grew husky. “Want to have phone sex?”

Brett laughed. “Yeah, I would.” His hard-on just got harder. He glanced across the hangar at the guys standing around shooting the shit. “But I’m not exactly where I could enjoy it.” Their last time together before he’d deployed popped into his head to torment him. They had come so far together since they’d met. Instead of holding back, as she’d done in the beginning, she reached for what she wanted from him with both hands. He almost groaned at the pun.

She was beautiful, sweet, and giving. And he loved her like crazy. He switched subjects, hoping to distract himself, and bent his knees to hide the tent in his cammies. “How is everyone?”

“Your nephew, A.J., has grown like a weed since you saw him. Hawk and the team were training down south, but they’re home now. Flash and Samantha have moved in together. He’s so good with Joy, her little girl. You’d think she was his daughter. He’s doing some kind of training right now with his new team. Do you guys ever stop?”

He was so engrossed in listening to her voice he almost missed the question. “No, not really. There’s always tech advances, new weaponry, tactics…
something
to learn or refine.”

“And always some bad guys in the way of you being home with me.”

The note of melancholy in her voice made it tough for him to swallow. “Unfortunately, yes. But I’m at the top of my game. I’m fine and I’m going to continue to be fine, so you don’t have to worry about me. And I’ll be home soon.”

She was silent for a moment. “But you’re not coming home yet, are you?”

He hated to say the words. He’d give her the worst-case scenario. And if things went better than he expected it would be a plus for them both. “No, honey. I’m not. I think I’ll make the rehearsal dinner and wedding, but I can’t promise much time before that.”

After a brief pause, she said, “As long as you come home to me, I don’t care, Brett.”

The unconditional love he heard in those words gripped him by the heart and throat all at once. “I love you. So. Damn. Much. More than I can put into words.”

“I know.”

Was she crying? Jesus. He didn’t want that. “I’m sorry.”

“I knew what I was getting into when I said yes. If I need to cancel everything at the last minute, just contact me if you can. We’ll deal with it together when you get home,” she said.

Brett ran his hand over the top of his head, roughing up the hair he’d cropped so he could tolerate the intense heat and humidity. She was going to be disappointed about his hair, too. “I don’t know what I did to deserve you. But whatever it was, I just hope I don’t do anything to fuck it up.”

She laughed. “I’ll remind you of that when you get home.”

“You can remind me as often as you’d like. I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

To keep them both from getting too maudlin he changed the subject. “What’re Mom and Russell up to? How’s your dad?”

“Everyone is fine. Your mom and Russell had me over for dinner a few days ago. And she has taken some fantastic photos of San Diego. She’s selling quite a few on photo sites. Dad’s in India right now. He’s due back next week sometime. He’s actually been calling me every week. Can you believe that?”

“Amazing, especially with Ian’s wanderlust. But it’s a good thing. What’s the word on Selena and Greenback?”

“She’s in remission, thank God. I don’t know how she keeps going through it all. We’re all doing what we can to help out and keep her spirits high.”

Relief unclenched his shoulders. Greenback and Selena were good people. They deserved all the good luck they could get. “Selena’s a strong lady.” What would he do if Tess got sick? He cut off the thought for fear of jinxing them.

“Yes, she is. The baby’s doing well. He looks just like Oliver.”

They spent a few more minutes talking about other wedding arrangements, her mom, stepdad, and some of their other friends.

Brett glanced at his watch. If he had his way, he’d spend the rest of the night on the phone with her. He suppressed a sigh. “I have to go, honey. Senior Chief is waiting for me.”

“I’m tempted to whine, but I won’t. I understand.”

She really did. She truly got him. “That’s my girl. I understand what I’m asking you to take on. I know how hard the life is for family in the military. But I love you so much.”

“I know you love me, Brett. And I really do get it—all of it, you know?”

She’d gotten a real taste of what it was like in the past ten months. He wanted to be there with her. Not in this fucking jungle with the heat and the bugs. But he was needed here, too. The tug of war between his commitment to his team and his country and his heart’s commitment to her was constant. “I’ll call again soon. And if I can, I’ll let you know when I’m on my way home.”

“Thanks. I’ll be waiting for your call. I love you.”

After his final “I love you,” he hit the button to disconnect, stood, and stretched. He felt better for having talked to her, but guilty, too. He should be there to help with the arrangements. Not that he was good at those things. Hell, he could shoot the eye out of a sparrow at fifteen hundred yards. How hard could it be to find a restaurant for a rehearsal dinner? Worst case, they could have a barbecue on the beach. Doc would let them use his back patio.

Why hadn’t he suggested that?

Because every time he called he was more focused on the sound of her voice than anything else.

Damn, he had it bad
.

He wandered across the hangar and paused to survey their temporary lodging. At least they had cots, so they didn’t have to sleep on the floor. His new team sat around the table eating MREs. It was still strange not seeing the team members he’d left behind, Hawk, Flash, Greenback, Bowie, Doc, Strongman and Lange.

And it still stung that Derrick Armstrong, his swim buddy in BUD/s and one of his best friends—or so he’d thought—refused to man up and admit he’d tried to bash Brett’s head in. The man had no honor…or had lost it somewhere along the way. But Derrick was the one who was going to have to live with it, and with his prison term for unlawful imprisonment, breaking and entering, assault, and several other charges.

Brett had moved on.

“Hey, Cutter,” Frank Denotti called out and waved an unopened MRE in his direction.

“Hold it for me. I have to speak to Senior Chief. I’ll be back in a couple of minutes.” He knocked on the door to the office space and went in after Engle barked, “Enter.” He offered Senior Chief the SAT phone. “Thanks for letting me call.”

“Everything okay?”

“Yes, sir. A bump with the rehearsal dinner, but everything else is on target.”

“Good.” The Senior Chief took a seat behind a table littered with schematics. “I wanted to touch base with you on your latest round of evaluations. Hell of a time to bring it up, but you’re in line for a promotion, Cutter. After this mission, it will probably come through.”

Too stunned to speak, Brett, stared at him. “I was out of commission for a long time.” Wariness kicked in. It was hard to believe after all he’d been through. Months of speech therapy, months of training to renew and hone his skills. More sniper training. Then this deployment.

“You came back strong. And you did single-handedly take out three tangos at Captain Jackson’s house. You’ve done top-notch work for us here, too.”

Brett allowed himself a small smile. “Thanks for saying so, Senior Chief.”

Engle eyed him. “Well, how do you feel?”

“I’ll think about that after it comes through. Too many good things happening at once might throw me off my game.”

Engle chuckled. “You’re the least superstitious operator I’ve met in the SEALs, Cutter.”

“Not superstition, Senior Chief. But fate does have a way of balancing the positive with the negative and biting you in the ass.”

Engle laughed. “All right. I’ll keep it to myself, and you can break the news to the others when the time comes.”

Brett grinned, allowing himself a short burst of pleasure. “Thanks, Senior Chief.” He reached to offer the man his hand.

Engle smiled as he shook it. “You earned this, Cutter. Not many men would have roared back like you did. That says a lot about what kind of SEAL you are. I’m glad you’re on our team.”

“Thanks, Senior Chief. I’m glad to be here.” Though he missed his old team, he was grateful to still be a SEAL, and to be fit enough to continue doing what he loved. And he did love it.

He left the makeshift office and walked back into the hangar. The team was lingering over their meal. They’d been doing drills for hours, and now that the lull before the storm had hit, they were taking a break before preparing their gear.

“Everything okay, Cutter?” Martin Swan asked.

“Everything’s fine. A hitch with the rehearsal dinner. The fucking restaurant burned down. Can you believe that shit?”

“That might be an omen, Cutter.” Denotti took a bite of stew from his MRE envelope. “Better call the whole thing off.” He grinned, his dark eyes alight with mischief.

“Not happening.” Brett shook his head. “I have the perfect woman She’s the one.”

“You miss the wedding, and she may shit-can you.” Denotti looked up from stirring his food, his expression serious.

Lieutenant Harding passed Brett an MRE.

He took the meal from the package, even though the real possibility that he’d miss his wedding leached his appetite. He opened the chemical heating envelope, poured in some water, put his meal in, and folded the top down.