Page 27 of Cowboy SEAL Homecoming

Chapter 7

Alex slept like shit, though he didn’t have a clue as to why. He’d gotten into bed later than he’d wanted to for his five o’clock in the morning alarm, but it hadn’t been late enough to feel this beat up.

He scrubbed his hands over his face, not wanting to dwell on the whys of it. Time to get up and get to work. Hick was going to run them all through the cattle paces today. Alex had no doubt it would come back to him once his body got to doing the work.

Regardless, getting up, getting on a horse, working would all feel good. It would settle some of that restless discomfort from last night.

Becca’s words about Dad…

No, he wasn’t thinking about that this morning. He was thinking about the future and not the damn, unfixable past.

He needed a hot shower and some hot coffee and his head would be clear. Luckily, Becca took care of coffee in the morning, so he could head straight for the shower.

On a yawn, Alex crossed the hall to the bathroom and ran through the shower.

He stepped out and toweled off, dreaming about that first cup of coffee and a morning spent working with his hands. It was a good way to start the day, no matter how tired he felt.

He pulled on his boxers and his jeans and frowned at the now-gone pile. He must have dropped his shirt and socks somewhere along the way.

He scratched a hand through his wet hair and then shrugged. At least he hadn’t dropped the boxers.

He stepped into the hallway and reached out to open his bedroom door when Becca crested the stairs, clearly returning to her room from starting the coffee.

“Oh.” She stumbled to a stop, wide-eyed and deer-in-headlights-esque.

“Morning.”

“You’re naked.”

He frowned and looked down at his clearly clothed bottom half. “I have pants on.”

Her pale cheeks turned bright red and she squeezed her eyes shut. “Right. Right. I just meant…”

Alex didn’t understand why she was acting so weird, but he pushed his door open and went inside to grab the shirt he’d dropped. Surely she’d seen a shirtless man before.

Or maybe she hasn’t.

He shook that thought away and looked around his room, but there was no dropped shirt, no misplaced socks. No clothes anywhere. He’d never grabbed them. He frowned, looking around the room one more time to be sure.

He’d just…forgotten half his clothes. Which was completely out of the ordinary for him. He was always prepared. Always had everything he needed.

He took a deep breath, settling that flutter of panic in his chest that didn’t belong. Sleep deprivation was messing with his head was all. Of course, he’d been a SEAL and dealt with a lot less sleep while leading harsh, important missions.

“You have a tattoo. Of a star.”

He didn’t jump or flinch, though it bothered him she was standing there behind him and he hadn’t noticed. “Are you just going to follow me around and point out the obvious?” He knew his tone was snippy, but he didn’t need her talking to him while he was trying to get his brain to function without caffeine. Lack of caffeine was his only problem for sure.

When he turned, she was standing there in his doorway, staring still with that wide-eyed expression.

“What?” he demanded.

“I’m trying to figure out why you would get a tattoo of a star.” She chewed on her lip, staring at him as though she could see things in his expression he didn’t want anyone to see. Ever. She smiled. “That doesn’t seem very…manly.”

Teasing him. On purpose. It pissed him off even as that band of something close to panic eased. “It’s the North Star. It’s supposed to lead you home. Now, if you’re going to insult me, at least wait until I’ve had my coffee.”

“Should be ready,” she murmured, and then she stepped away from the doorway, and he heard the slow footfall of her walking away.

Alex jerked a shirt out of his dresser and then his socks. His brain was fine. He just needed time to adjust.

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