Page 2 of Stryker

“Our cottage?” Jasonasked.

“Great.” John wheezed witha nod.Not a great way to start my newlife in Marshall. I guess some things’ll neverchange. His penchant for solitude andcrippled lungs were two of those things.

His reaction to the dark-eyed SEAL,though, was different from any other attraction he’d experienced.From the first moment they’d been introduced, he’d felt aninescapable draw to the stoic man. Stryker had the face of an angeland the body of a god, but his gaze told of demons lurkingwithin.

That’s all he needed. Moving to a newstate, setting up a business, and remaking a life for himself wereall on his list, but deciphering the traumas of a closed-off NavySEAL was not on his to-do list. John had enough shit of his own towade through. He had no intention of taking on someone else’shorrors.

“Let’s go,” Jason said ashe led the way out of the room and back into the kitchen, wherethey ran straight into Stryker and Julia.

“Hey,” Julia said. “Whereare you guys off to?”

“Our cottage,” Gatorsaid.

At her questioning look, John raisedhis inhaler, still held in a death grip in his hand.

“Ah, okay. Let me know ifyou need anything,” she said with warmth and concern.

Even though John avoided lookingdirectly at Stryker, the weight of the other man’s stare wasunmistakable. Before anyone could say anything else, Jason motionedto John, who followed him out the door. The cool air was a welcomerelief after the intensity of Stryker’s scrutiny.

John berated himself for allowing sucha brief encounter to affect him so intensely. He’d have to toughenup if he was to make an honest go of his new life. He was used tospending most of his time alone, working on one piece or another.Living in Marshall would be different. There were way more peoplecrammed into his life now, and he wasn’t sure how’d he deal withit.

His world was cracking wide open, butwas he ready for what may come?

CHAPTER TWO

John

“Well, that couldn’t havegone any fucking worse,” John mumbled as he stared at himself inhis bathroom mirror.

He was back home, and thankful to bealone in his apartment above Gator’s bar. The encounter withStryker shouldn’t’ve affected him as much as it had. It’d been awhile since he’d had an asthma attack and wondered if the SEAL’sintense scrutiny had set it off.

He had to get his head on straightbefore the New Year hit because things were about to move at afever pitch once he and Jason took possession of their newstorefront and warehouse. Double J Woodworking and Design were wellon their way to relocating to Marshall, and he and Jason had ashitload of work to do before they officially opened theirdoors.

With a loud groan, he ran callousedpalms down his face. Years of working with wood had left its markson his hands, but he loved what he did and wouldn’t change a thing.It was more a calling than a job. Creating beauty from raw timberhad been an innate ability and a balm to his soul.

He flicked off the light switch andheaded to bed. Aside from Julia and Stryker, maybe no one hadnoticed his abrupt departure. With any luck, he hadn’t caused toomuch of an interruption to ongoing festivities, and he was tootired to worry about it.

Tomorrow held all sorts of challenges,and he was sure he’d find something else to worry about.

He always did.

***

“It’s huge,” Ben holleredas he ran through the open space of the new warehouse. The old shopand warehouse had been about half the size of the newlocation.

“It’ll be full in notime.” Jason laughed. “Furniture takes up a lot ofspace.”

John couldn’t help but smile as theyconducted the final tour of their new space in downtown Marshall.Going through the punch list and final walk-through were the laststeps before they took “official” possession of the property. Thereal estate agent looked ready to go with the file poised in herhand.

“You’ll see everything isas specified in the offer. Roof, heating, and air conditioning havebeen updated in the last five years, and the building inspectionwent off without a hitch,” she said, looking around with a criticaleye. “It’s a solid building that should be perfect for your needsfor many years to come.”

John liked her. She was a straighttalker and hadn’t tried to bullshit them throughout their searchfor the new store’s location.

“I have a good feelingabout this,” he stated. “With the warehouse space out back, wedon’t have to travel to work on new pieces.”

“Yep, it’s a one-stopshop. Browse, build, design, sales, it can all be done from righthere,” Jason agreed.

“Well, if that’s allsettled, I’ll have the two of you sign the final papers, and I’llhand over the keys,” she said as she laid the paperwork on a nearbycounter. “You’ll have to invite me to the grand opening. Marshallhasn’t had any new businesses open up shop in a while. You two willbe the talk of the town.”

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