SEAL Of My Heart (24 page)

“Makes two of us.”

Tyler took his time once more, easing her into his slow, relentless rhythm until she found the sweet plateau of her flame, shuddering at the beauty and power of their physical joining. She remembered what she’d texted him,

Is it possible to love someone too much?

And he’d answered,
Not if it’s me you’re loving.

Even the slowing down and putting her back on firm ground again was done with such loving skill, her eyes filled.

He knew better than to ask her what it was about. His thumbs brushed away the tears like it was no big thing. He kissed both her eyes as if healing them. “It’s going to be okay, baby. You’ll see.”

“I’m trying, Tyler. I’m really trying. But God, I’m going to m—”

“Shhh. Quiet. I’m still here. I’ll always be here,” he said as he pressed his palm to her chest over her heart.

Tyler’s cell phone chirped, which made him frown. Retrieving it from his pants at the side of the bed he answered.

“Kyle? Something’s up?”

Then he said, “Shit. You’re kiddin’ me.” Then, “Oh, man. They don’t have flights out every hour. More like twice a day. I’d have to catch a plane from San Francisco.”

Kate rolled to her back, the tears streaming down into her hair and leaking onto her pillow. The time of parting had begun. She was so freakin’ scared. And heartbroken. She closed her eyes and offered up a little prayer, asking for protection.

Bring. Him. Home. Please. Please.

The thought of never seeing him again was unbearable.

“Roger that. Going to be one helluva cab fare.”

“I’ll take you,” she whispered to his back.

Tyler put his finger up and winked at her.

“Okay then. I’ll get there as soon as I can. Some of my gear is at the apartment. Do I even have time for that? Will do. See you in a few.”

He hung up the phone. “Now, where were we?”

“You’re about to leave.”

“Oh, that. Gosh, looking at your beautiful body all naked and me being naked and having your scent all over me, I forgot for a second where I was. But yes, baby, now is the time we say goodbye, but only for now. We hook up again real soon.”

She turned away from him and burst into tears.

“I can’t see that, honey. You know we both have to be strong.”

He rolled her over on her back. “A couple of things I need you to know first. Anything happens to me—”

She began to cry again, putting her hands up on her face.

“No, baby. This has to be said. Anything happens to me, my sister will be called because I haven’t had time to change any notifications. You would not believe the paperwork we get to fill out all the time. I came here instead.”

“Tyler, don’t worry about that. Don’t talk about that. Not now.”

“It has to be said, sweetheart. So Linda will call you. I’ll make sure she does while I’m gone.” He pulled out the letter he’d written yesterday. “It’s all in here, her phone number, and the phone number for Devon Dunn, who’s married to one of our own, lives here in Sonoma County.”

“Okay.”

“Read it after I leave. Not now.” He tipped her chin up, kissed her there, and then gave her a chaste kiss on the lips. “Got it?”

“Yes.” She searched his warm, tenderhearted eyes. “How do you do this, Tyler? Teach me.”

“Honey, I’m going to be honest with you. I never had anyone to come home to before. This is all new for me too. We’ll figure it out together. You keep fighting for us, and I’ll do all the rest. Just stay strong. Hang around Devon and talk to Linda. Important you talk to people in the community now. Only they understand what you’re going through.”

She nodded her agreement.

“We sometimes get to Skype. If you don’t have it, get it. I’ll email you when I can, but it might not be every day. And I’ll write, but our letters come all out of order sometimes, so watch for that. Don’t feel like I’m not answering you, okay?”

“Sure. So I can maybe see your face sometimes?”

“I’m hoping so. I sure as hell am going to want to see yours. I gotta call a cab.”

“Let me take you down to the bus station, at least. They have cabs lined up and waiting there all the time. If you’re in a hurry.”

“Being in a hurry is an understatement. Normally I’d mind not getting a nice hot shower with you this morning, but I want to be able to wear that shirt you wore Friday night and hope your scent stays on it until I get back.”

“And then you give that shirt to me. I’ll put it on every night while you’re gone so I can remember the scent and feel of you against my skin.”

“Good. It will be our little routine. I like routines. They keep us safe, baby.”

She gazed up at him, drawing strength from his eyes. She could see perhaps she could do this. With him believing in her, perhaps she did have it in her after all.

“We good, baby? Glad we got the lovin’ in early. And it was real nice, too, the best yet.”

She inhaled and he smiled, knowing another burst of tears was right there in her eyes.

“See, you’re strong. Be strong for me, sweetheart.”

“I promise.”

“There you go. Your promise is your bond. That goes with me clear across the globe to places you don’t even want to know about. You hold onto that love, and we can outdo all the evil that’s out there. Remember, love is always stronger. Always.”

It wasn’t any good. She was going to cry again. He pulled her up and held her so she could cry on his shoulder without him having to watch. She felt the hot tears trickle down and knew some of them landed on his shoulder. His massive fingers dug into the hair at the back of her head, massaging her. He spoke little words of encouragement she couldn’t hear through her sobs. He didn’t hurry her. When she was done, when her shaking had subsided, he drew her back and wiped her cheeks with his fingers.

“There’s my woman. God I’m a lucky man, Kate. The luckiest man alive.”

That was an unfortunate choice of words but she inhaled again and willed her eyes to remain dry, and they did.

“See? You can do this.” He winked, and then began pulling on his clothes. At first she watched him, then remembered she had to take him to the bus depot.

She grabbed a T-shirt, jeans, and her underwear, and got dressed in thirty seconds. She brushed her hair, put on deodorant and handed the tube to him.

“Humor me. Lavender. Wear it and be proud. Take it. It’s the only thing I can give you right now that you don’t already have.”

He looked at it like it was a thousand dollar bill. “Thank you, sweetheart. I’ll use it every day. We need it over there.”

The trip to the bus station was way too fast. She’d just begun to wrap her head about the fact that he was leaving when she pulled up to the string of taxis. Tyler got out, hitching his backpack over his right shoulder, his left arm around her waist.

“It’s very simple, Kate. I’m a simple guy. You just don’t give up. You don’t ring the bell. You stay here and you be smart.”

“I will.”

“If I can call you, the number will be scrambled. So you see any funny numbers, it’s me, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Love you, honey. I always will.”

“Me too. But come back so I can show you proper,” she said with as much snark as she could muster.

“I promise. You’ve not seen anything yet, Kate. We got our whole lives. Just remember that. Have faith in us.” He kissed her deeply, sending shock waves down her spine. “Be strong,” he whispered.

“I will. I promise. Love you too.”

The cabby was getting irritated, saying something in a Middle Eastern dialect. She watched as Tyler slipped his huge body into the back seat behind the driver and waved back to her through the window. The cabbie barreled off in a cloud of exhaust.

‡

T
yler mulled over
what Kyle had told him. Part of Team 3 was leaving this morning. That never happened. That meant it was a really critical rescue mission. Some of their own guys were missing, he said.

The sun visor on the taxi driver’s passenger side read Mohan Mazur. He was pretty sure that wasn’t the driver’s real name. Not many of them stayed the same when they immigrated, just like when his ancestors came over, they’d changed the family name to make it more “American” sounding. Gray. He wondered if this was the man’s attempt to sound more American. So many in this country were immigrants now, they were becoming the majority.

It was interesting this brown-skinned man from somewhere else originally would be his delivery vehicle. If only he knew what Tyler did at the office every day. Yup. This was part of the America he was pledged to defend, and if necessary, die for. He thought about Kate. Halfway thought he’d have to peel her off him at the end, and that brought a smile to his face. Bless her warm little body. Man, that sure was a body he wanted to get close to again. Her engine had two speeds: fast and really fast. She loved like it mattered. He liked that about her. She played for keeps. She had big dreams.

If the God of SEALs could only help him stay alive long enough to become part of those dreams, he’d die a happy man. One year or seventy. He wasn’t going to quit. He’d be her protector, her confidant, her partner in every sense of the word, and her lover, until they both were dust. Even if he were toothless and wrinkled, he’d be able to get it up and, if she’d have him, he’d be ready to lock-n-load. Might have to be careful not to break something of hers, though.

Shit, what am I doing? Oh yeah. Getting ready to go get my ass kicked.

He made a mental note of all the things he had to bring, so he could do it in minutes. Coop, Luke, T.J., Frankie, Ollie and Fredo were going to be waiting for him there at his apartment. Armando and Kyle and the rest of their group were already on their way to Djibouti.

He hopped on the first plane to San Diego as military standby. Without checked luggage, he was on his way to the apartment within five minutes of landing.

Fredo’s beater and several other vehicles were outside his apartment complex. Libby and Julie were sitting on the lawn, Julie starting to show signs of her new pregnancy. Little Cooper was strutting his stuff in diapers and no T-shirt, very wobbly on his new walking legs. The diapers were held up with the aid of red suspenders, the straps tied together with a shoelace so they wouldn’t slip off his bony shoulders. Tufts of near-white curls were all over the toddler’s head.

The crowd of SEALs and their wives was having fun watching him stand up and then twist his body around trying to balance, and then fall on his baby butt. Someone was singing the somewhat-altered song, “Little Loose Coop,” and little Will was laughing as he tried to dance to the music.

Tyler stopped to pat Willy on the head and then raced past everyone, with Fredo and T.J. in tow. Luke ran to catch up with them. Frankie stayed on the lawn area with Libby, Julie and Will.

The duty bags were packed. He made a mental note, checking off his list. He’d done this dozens of times before, either on deployment or for trainings. Sometimes they didn’t know for sure if it was training or not. But this was definitely a Go mission.

Twenty hours later they landed with the morning sun in their eyes. It had been a hot, bumpy ride and he’d managed to get some rest by listening to Two Steps with his ear buds. And he scribbled a letter to Kate. She’d probably have trouble with the penmanship, but he was hoping she’d be able to at least read his love poem and note. Grabbing his gear, he and everyone else piled out of the plane and immediately were assaulted by the hot, smoky landscape that was Djibouti.

He checked his cell and found a couple of text messages from Kate.

Love you. Hope you landed in San Diego safe.

Damn, in his rush to get all his gear, he’d neglected to text her to let her know that. Her second message came through five hours ago.

Imagine you’re cruisin’ over the deep blue sea right now. Be safe.

He sent her back a message.
Arrived safe. Miss you. Long trip. Love you, baby.

They piled into barracks-like buildings made from repurposed portable classrooms. Some were in better repair than others. But they had air conditioning, powered by a huge solar power grid near the remote base. Tyler found the mail drop-off and posted his letter to Kate.

It was about the most desolate place he’d been to, resembling some of the pictures he’d seen of the moon. Made Afghanistan look like Disneyland. Their liaison told them there was a pack of homeless kids everyone was sort of raising, giving them food, and clothes, but warned him about letting them into the barracks. It was a cruel reminder that even a child could become a terrorist. Although the country benefitted in many ways from having a U.S. base there, some had relatives in nearby Yemen, a country actively and openly training terrorist groups.

Kyle gathered them all in the staging room and outlined the mission.

“We leave at oh-twenty-four-hundred and drop into Kandahar to meet up with some friendlies embedded nearby. This is a very small, surgical operation, so no need to mention there won’t be any strike force coming to rescue your ass if you get into trouble, since officially we’re not here. And we got one shot at extraction. After that, you’re on your own. Any of you happen to speak Pashtu?”