Snatched (Coronado Series Book 2) (32 page)

“She always needs help – she has lots of other people to call.”

His phone continued to buzz and she stared at him. “I will just text her again and then we can leave.” He watched her walk into the kitchen and refill Lilly’s water bowl. He quickly texted back and then his phone rang and he answered it. He turned his back as he had a heated conversation with Shelby, he hated this and couldn’t believe that this was happening on his first date in eight months. He hung up and turned around and watched Amelia check her phone.

“Everything ok?”

“Yes. Are you ready to go?”

“Sure. Are you sure that she’s going to be ok?”

“Yes, she has a lot of people to call.”

“But, she called you.”

“It’s long and complicated story. I’m no longer on call for her drama.”

“Please feel free to go, I won’t mind. We can go out some other time.”

“I want to go out tonight.”

Amelia set her purse and jacket down, “Please go and help her out. We can try it some other time.” She took his hand and led him towards the door, “I think this will work out for the best. Tonight is the not the night to go out – take care of what you need to.” She opened her door and pretty much shoved him out the door before he realized what happened. “Nice meeting you, take care.” He heard a decisive click of the door as it closed and knew she was never going to give him another chance.
 

He walked out to his truck and slid inside and thought about banging his head against the steering wheel. He was so tired of Shelby and her crazy and how it infected his life. He had only dated her for six months and a year later he was still trying to rid himself of her. He had finally met someone who he was interested in and he allowed Shelby to screw it up. He texted her one last time, then her brother and then blocked her phone number from his phone. He counted himself ten kinds of idiot for not doing it sooner. He heard a door open and looked up and watched Amelia emerge from her house. She had changed her shoes and put on a big sweater over her dress. She walked with a lot of determination as she made her way down the street. He jumped out his truck and jogged to catch up with her.
 

She heard footsteps, turned and saw Ed jog towards her. She turned around and resumed walking without looking at him. “So, you are just going to ignore me?”

“Don’t you have someone to rescue? What are you doing here?”

“I took care of my business and I want to go on our date.”

She stopped in the middle of the side walk, “I don’t date men who have crazy around them. I think I dodged a bullet and I’m determined to keep doing that. It was nice to meet you, but I’m not interested.”

“That’s it?”

“Yeah, pretty much. I don’t know how to be clearer.”

“Where are you going?” He felt her tense up, this woman had serious concerns about him and she wasn’t going to take any chances.
 

“I’m going to see my family, my brother is on SWAT and he’s a former Marine Ranger.”

He quickly understood that she felt threatened and it was because he had royally screwed up. He immediately made himself still and quiet. The last thing he wanted to do was scare this woman. He wanted to kiss her and run his mouth along her neck, not make her feel uncomfortable. “I did a round of training with the Rangers after I was on the teams. I have a lot of respect for what they do, I wore a Ranger tab on my uniform until I retired.” He watched her shoulders relax a millimeter and decided to keep talking. “People always say how crazy SEALs are, but I think Rangers could give us a run for our money.”

“I think my brother would probably agree with you.”

“Can I walk you over to your family’s house?”

“I’m going to my nephew’s football game, I’m walking over to the high school. My brother will come look for me if I’m not there in ten minutes.”

“I understand. Would it be ok – if I walk you to the high school?”

“You don’t have to.”
 

“I wouldn’t be right if I let you walk alone. What position does your nephew play on the team?”

She started to walk again, “I think he’s a linemen, but I’m not really sure. I don’t know that much about football.”

“I grew up in Texas and played football from the time I was eight until I graduated college. In Texas, it’s God, family and football, not necessarily in that order. Would you mind if I tagged along?”

“It’s a free country, you can go wherever you want.”

“You were never going to give me a second chance …. were you?”

She looked him straight in the eye, “No, I wrote you off the minute I closed my front door.”

“I appreciate your honesty. I don’t like it, but I appreciate it.”

She shrugged her shoulders, “I don’t like people who have crazy around them.”

“I don’t suppose you are going to tell me why?”

“No, I’m not.” They had arrived at the gates of the football field and Amelia opened her purse to buy a ticket. “Nice meeting you - have a nice life.”

“I’m going to hang around and watch the game.” He stepped in front of her and bought two tickets before she could do anything about it. He placed his hand on the small of her back and led her into the stadium. “Do you want anything to drink?”

“No, I do not want anything to drink. We are not on a date.”

He shrugged his shoulders and smiled down at her, “So, that’s a no to a drink?”

“Yes, that would be a no.” She walked along the fence towards the stands, “There is my brother, why don’t you two hang out.” She walked up to her brother, “Hi, this is Ed. He’s all yours, have a nice time.”
 

She turned on her heel and made her way into the stands and sat with a big group of people. Her brother turned to Ed, “So, you managed to piss her off in less than an hour. That might be a record.”

Ed held out his hand, “Nice to meet you. Unfortunately, I may never see you again.”

Frank looked at Ed for a moment and took pity on the guy, “Nice to meet you. Tell me a little about yourself.” They exchanged stories and by the end of it, Frank had decided that Ed would be a great guy for his sister. “I’m going to give you a little help, because I think you might be a good choice for my stubborn sister.”

“I appreciate it, can you tell me the story about her dog?”

“My sister has an ex-boyfriend that doesn’t seem to understand that they are broken up. Saying he is crazy would be giving him a compliment. I have done everything I can do legally to deter the guy - she won’t live with us anymore, so I got her the dog. It seems to make us both feel more comfortable. She gets to have her life and I sleep at night.”

“Where did you find the dog?”

“There is a woman in Escondido that trains them for various military groups.”

“I have to get her name, I think we may have some clients that would be interested in having a dog like that.”

“So why are you interested in my sister?”

“I like the way she sees the world, she explained some of her photographs and she’s someone I’m interested in getting to know. Also she has pretty hair and smells like oranges and her hand fits in mine.”

Frank studied Ed for a moment and nodded, “I wish you luck - you are going to need it.”

“Any advice?”

“Don’t hurt her or I will hurt you.”

“Good to know.”

Frank turned towards the game and watched his son take the field, he pointed Frank Jr. out to Ed. “There goes my son…. he loves the game.”

“I loved the game my whole life, but I’m from Texas and there was never really a choice.”

Frank nodded his head in agreement as he kept his eyes glued to the field. The two men stood against the fence with their hands looped over the top and the watched the action on the field. Amelia sat in the stands with her family and looked at Ed as he talked with his brother. One of her nieces was sitting on her lap as she talked with her sister in law.
 

“His looks are not the problem, he is employed and my husband doesn’t look like he wants to kill him. What’s wrong with the guy?”

Amelia looked at her sister in law Rene and raised her eyebrows, “He has a crazy ex-girlfriend that he was going to rescue.”

“It’s the crazy rule – right?”

“Yes, I like to go on a first date without any crazy ex-girlfriends coming into play. I know it seems strange, but I’m ok with that. Had it been the third date I might have been more understanding.”

“Was he in the military? He looks like a Spec Ops guy?”

“Yes, he’s a retired SEAL. Is it obvious?”

“They all seem to have the same bearing, it’s that quiet - calm confidence.”

“Whatever.”

“Oh… so you like him. Is that what made you so mad?”

“No….. maybe. I thought he was terrific in the first ten minutes and I feel foolish that I was wrong. My instincts haven’t improved.”

“Maybe he is terrific and he’s just a nice guy. He probably never wanted to totally abandon someone who needed his help.”

Amelia looked at Ed standing next to her brother and felt the same attraction. She shook her head as if by doing so, she could rid herself of the pull he seemed to have. “I realize that my past is influencing my present and as much as I would like that not to be true…. it still is.”

“I get it. Just think about it.”

Amelia continued to study Ed and then noticed that he was making his way into the stands.
Great, now I’m going to have to pretend that I don’t notice him.
He made his way up to her and wedged himself next to her, “Great game! I haven’t been to a high school game in years.” He leaned across Amelia and held out his hand to Rene and introduced himself. “Nice to meet you. I’m Ed - Amelia’s date.”

“We are not on a date.”

“Yes, we are. I’m going to prove it to you by buying you a hot dog and a soda.”

“No thank you.”

 
Her niece the traitor, popped up and looked at him, “I’ll have her soda and hot dog. I will be your date.”

He looked down at the little girl and admired her moxie, “I think you have to ask your Mama first.”

Zelda leaned across her Aunt’s lap and looked at her mother imploringly, “Mama, can I go on a date and have a soda and hot dog?”

“You are too young to date and we are having pizza after the game.”

She looked back at Ed and shrugged her shoulder, “No date.”

He smiled at Zelda, “It was worth a shot.” She gave him a knowing look as she settled herself in her Aunt’s lap.

Amelia watched her niece and Ed work out their relationship and wondered how soon she could leave.
 

Ed gave Amelia one of his winning smiles, “How about popcorn and some milk duds. That is not date food - more of a snack food.”

“I like milk duds.”

Zelda straightened up in her Aunt’s lap, “I like milk duds and jelly beans.”

Ed stood up, “All right - I will be right back.”

She watched him get up and make his way down the stairs and she found that she couldn’t help but admire the fit of his jeans. The man had some very nice jeans. But she was not interested in his jeans… at all.

The moment that Ed returned with the candy, Zelda crawled into his lap and had him open the jelly beans. He didn’t seem to mind that her niece was using him as a lounge chair as she munched on her candy. He handed Amelia a bottle of water and a big box of milk duds, “I bet you are pretty impressed with our first date.”

“You have no idea.” He understood her irony and chose to ignore it, instead he decide to enjoy the feeling of her leg against his.
 

He looked down and noticed how smooth her skin looked, Zelda noticed that he was looking at her Aunt legs. “More jelly beans?” Zelda took the jelly beans and understood them to be the payoff that they were meant to be. She had no problem with it, she was the youngest of four and knew the value of keeping her mouth shut.
 

The evening had started to cool off and Ed felt Amelia shiver next to him. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer against his body. She gave him a questioning look, “Would you like my sweater?”
 

“No thanks.” They spent the rest of the game with Zelda on Ed’s lap and Amelia’s hand in Ed’s. She wasn’t sure how it happened, but somehow she couldn’t work up the energy to worry about it. She might have finally run out of worry, the last year might have used it all up.
 

The game ended and Zelda hopped out of Ed’s lap and made her way over to her Mother, “Pizza?”

Rene looked down at her youngest and smiled with affection, “Yes pizza. Ed would you like to join us, we are going over to Emilio’s and you are welcome to join us.”

“Thank you Rene.” He wrapped his arm around Amelia, “What do you think?”

She shrugged her shoulders in defeat, “Why not, let’s go have dinner with my family so they can interrogate you. It sounds like fun.”

He kissed the top of her head, “Great.”

Somehow she was still on her non-date, only now she was having it in the company of her family. This was pretty much the worse date she’d ever been on and it didn’t seem like it was going to end soon. Maybe she could ditch them all and go home and have a bath and a glass of wine.