Page 17 of Buck

Maritza couldn’t help but think of Buck. In fact, the man had been on her mind quite a bit, especially now that she was going to San Diego. She had to admit she looked up and read about SEALs and discovered there was a whole contingent of them on Naval Base Coronado, but she didn’t have a clue on how to get in touch with him, or if he was even going to be on the West Coast. He could very well be deployed or on some training mission. It had been almost two months since she’d seen him, but the details of his face were burned into her brain. She had dreams about kissing that mouth and touching every part of him. But these were just fantasies. There simply was no way to contact him.

She picked up the cocktail dresses, and Carmen’s face brightened. When she put them in her bag, Carmen smiled. “Okay, now we’re talking.” She gave her sister an innocent, little girl look. “Now that you’ve mentioned the dance. There is a dress I’m dying to have, but it’s exclusively available only at the shop.” Her voice rose and she squealed, “Annabelle Windsor! She’s to die for. How about you take time out of your busy schedule, which I would be so grateful to you, and maybe could promise to do your laundry for a whole month if you’d go there and pick it up for me.”

Injected with her sister’s enthusiasm and excitement, Maritza laughed softly. “On one condition.”

“Laundry for two months?”

She laughed again. “No, show me the dress!”

Carmen sat up and grabbed her phone. “This is it. Isn’t it gorgeous?”

Maritza studied the black velvet-edged copper bodice and the long-flowered tulle skirt. It was breathtaking. “Oh, Carmen, it’s stunning. You’ll look like a fairy princess in it.”

Carmen sighed softly, “That is exactly how I’ll feel in it.” She got up on her knees and threw her arms around Maritza’s neck. “You’re the best. I love you.”

Maritza’s heart contracted, and she hard-hugged Carmen back. “Love you, too,” she whispered.

After her sister left, she zipped up her suitcases and grabbed her travel bag with all her money and credit cards, her American and Costa Rican passports, driver’s licenses, and her essentials. She had an almost two-hour trip to get to the Liberia airport where she’d take the company jet to San Diego for her first meeting.

Those cocktail dresses were probably going to sit in her suitcase. But she didn’t have to tell Carmen that.

* * *

Buck downed the last of the coffee in his mug and set it in the sink. He’d only made it back to his Imperial Beach townhouse last night, three days before his medical leave was over. He was finally feeling up to par with all the bruising gone and the injury to his bones and soft tissue healed. He had a doctor’s appointment this afternoon to get the paperwork completed, and he was impatient to get back into it.

He lived on a quiet street in an eighteen hundred square foot, three-bedroom, two-and-half-bath unit with a roomy two-car garage and a roof ocean-view patio, just a block from the beach. He’d been nineteen when he enlisted after two full years of running on the rodeo and roping circuits, while working full-time for his dad. So, when he broke the news to his parents, who had always been supportive of his goals and aspirations, he knew in his gut that he would be in San Diego for his tenure as a SEAL. There was no doubt in his mind. Failure wasn’t an option. He’d amassed quite a bit of money from the circuit and had banked most of his salary as he had no expenses from living on the ranch, and with his enlistment and graduation bonuses, he decided that buying a house in the Imperial Beach area would be a great investment, even if he were to move back to Wyoming. He floated the idea past his parents who agreed to pony up whatever his investment didn’t cover, promising to pay them back. When they found this townhouse, the real estate market was tanking, and they got it undervalue with a sweet VA loan. But now, a block from the beach, he was sitting on some pricey real estate. He was about five to fifteen minutes from the base, depending on traffic. All and all an ideal and idyllic location.

Since he’d had to live on base early in his SEAL career and moved around for training purposes, he’d rented the house out until he got promoted to an E5 a year after BUD/S, SQT training, and his required schools. He grabbed up the brown Stetson on the counter and settled it on his head.

He left through the back sliding door and got into his truck. He’d promised Daisy the minute he got back, and the new Windsor store was open, he would pick up the dress she’d ordered, and he insisted on paying for it. He was also going to surprise her with shoes that complimented the pretty star dress she’d picked out. He’d gotten the size from his mom.

Annabelle Winsor was a young, rising-star designer who had been extremely successful on one of those TV fashion shows for designers, and she was just setting up everything. Windsor was located not far from downtown in the Fashion Valley Mall and had easy parking. Even though this wasn’t exactly in his comfort zone, he didn’t shy away from doing his homework.

But there was nothing easy about getting inside the place. There was a throng of teenage girls and their mothers crowding the dressing room, flocking at the racks, picking and squealing over the accessories. He’d never seen so much excitement and estrogen in one place. Okay, this was turning into Operation Star Dress, and if he had to go into warrior mode, he would.

He was the only man in there and he waded through the women like Moses parting the Red Sea. When he reached the counter, he couldn’t figure out the line situation. It was so chaotic.

One of the harried clerks focused on him, and she smiled brightly. He would be glad for the female attention and the good looks God gave him if it would get him out of there faster.

“Can I help you?”

“I’m here to pick up an order for my sister, Daisy Buckard.”

She smiled again. “I’m glad it’s for your sister.”

He played the game, even though the clerk couldn’t be more than twenty-two. He smiled his best flirty smile. She took a hard breath and sighed.

Suddenly, behind him he heard a woman screech, then there were sounds of a battle and the crowd pushed and shoved trying to get away from the combatants. He turned to see two moms going at it. Shocked they were setting such a terrible example for their daughters, he once again waded into madness.

He got between them and got punched and kicked for his troubles. One woman was clutching a dress to her, while the other one tried to pry her hands loose.

“I saw it first, you thief!” the woman clutching the dress screamed, elbowing him in the gut right where he’d been injured, but other than a quick, glancing blow, it didn’t faze him.

“Liar. My daughter had already picked it up before you even got here. You snatched it from her hands like a jerk!”

Another scream grated down Buck’s spine.

“Ladies!” He roared at the top of his lungs and every single woman in there, including them, stopped talking, moving, or fighting.

---