Page 16 of Legacy
Aarabelle places her hands on her hips. “Right. So, I’ve been skydiving tandem once. Tell me everything about going solo in Marana. Don’t leave anything out.” A blessed break from trying to not look at her body.
Talking about work is easy—we float into conversation about that effortlessly as we make the trek back through the house to the open patio. I catch her looking around curiously as she speaks, but she continues asking questions about skydiving Marana instead of my house. It’s when we get outside and she spots my parents that her demeanor noticeably changes. Her back straightens, and her lips purse. I see her fists by her sides automatically going into formation.
“Little Dempsey,” Mav booms, his bare hairy chest dripping with water. “I’m so glad you could come over.” His tone is jovial, and his smile is rogue. He tells her to relax and says things meant to make her feel comfortable—not like she’s at work or being scrutinized, but I doubt she’ll fully relax. I know I wouldn’t be able to.
Aarabelle stays close to my side as Mom comes over and makes small talk about her mom and asks if she wants anything to eat or drink.
“My mom’s life mission is to make sure everyone in her presence is fully fed and watered,” I add when I see Aarabelle hesitate.
“And have her walk a mile in your house to fetch me something.” She air quotes the word house. “That’s okay, Mrs. Hart. I’m fine right now. Thank you, though.” She cups her hand over her eyes and surveys the expanse of the deck and farther down to the ocean, rocking up against the shore.
I walk back to my favorite chair, shaded by a large umbrella and gesture to the chaise lounge next to it. She follows, steps timid as I see her do what I do anytime I enter new surroundings. Study. Commit to memory. Look for escape routes. I’ve never seen a woman so acute with the same dispositions, and it’s a good thing. Qualities I can put in the ‘brother’ column instead of the ‘sweet Christ her legs go on for days’ column. Aarabelle sits and spins her feet to the side so she’s facing me.
“Real talk. This is the most beautiful view I’ve ever seen,” she says.
I grin. “Wait until you’re jumping out of a plane by yourself.” My cell phone pings on the small table between us and I reach out to silence it without looking whom it’s from. “I do love this spot though. It’s secluded. I moved into this house right before high school and never wanted to leave when my parents moved elsewhere.”
Aarabelle nods. “Yeah, you have a private beach, Hart. I’d say you could call that secluded. The whole place is beautiful.” She smiles as she turns to bring her legs up on the chaise. I try, and ceremoniously fail, at not looking at her thighs. Aarabelle sighs. “That photo of me in today’s newspaper is horrendous. Lt. Williams is so frustrated. With me, and with the stupid hawks that won’t stop following me everywhere I go.”
That’s it? She’s not going to give me a hard time about my lifestyle? Something quite literally everyone else does when I give them a peek behind the curtain.
“Yeah, that sucks. I’m…sorry. By the nature of the beast, the world will forget about it soon, though. You worked on good PR with your mom before this?”
“Yeah, gave a standard interview with the questions that everyone wants answers for. Maybe it will calm down after it goes to print.” She catches me staring at her when she turns her face to me, but doesn’t say anything. “Thanks for being there for me last night. It was a decent gesture and totally unexpected. I don’t know where I fit in, as you can imagine, and last night I felt like I belonged with you.” She clamps her mouth shut, and panic transforms her features. “Belonged with the Team, I mean. Obviously. Not withyou. I didn’t mean it like that.” Little Dempsey clears her throat as her face twists with embarrassment. “Not that I’m saying I wouldn’t be with a person like you. You seem like a fine man.” She pauses. “I’m not calling you fine like it’s 2002 fine, I mean fine as in a good man, you know?” Aarabelle inhales a huge breath and releases it. “I’m going to shut my mouth now.”
I clear my throat and drag my gaze to her profile. A dark freckle rides high on her cheekbone. A pinprick that mars her smooth skin. My gaze travels to her long neck. It’s blotchy and red. She called me hot and said she would date me. I’ll give her a reprieve from her word vomit and ignore those things. Mostly because she makes me feel just as confused, but I’m better at keeping my mouth shut.
Clearing my throat, I ask, “Did you think we’d leave you hanging last night?”
The wordweis a conscious choice. She needs to think all the Team guys are on the same page, but honestly, if it wasn’t for me lobbying for her fair treatment, she’d be in a harder spot than she is right now. “The Teams are your family now, Little Dempsey. Sure, there will be some that want you to prove yourself more than you already have. It’s because they’re scared of the unknown. That’s true in almost anything or any career in life. Not just in the SEAL community.”
“True,” she replies. “I can take it. Anything they throw at me to prove myself. I’m not worried about that.”
Swallowing hard, I shift in my seat. We’re bordering on emotions, feelings, focus blockers. It’s a sudden shift. One I don’t partake in with women. Putting Aarabelle into that category would be offensive. She’s my teammate. “What are you worried about?”
Her eyes turn to my sister in the pool, then my parents who are canoodling in a cabana off to the side. “Balance, I guess.” She sniffles and meets my gaze. “Let’s not talk about this. Tell me about Land Warfare.”
I grin. “Problems with sharing your feelings?”
“To someone who I hardly know? Yes.” Her eyes narrow, dark lashes casting a shadow on her cheeks.
Palming my chest, I say, “You know me.”Because you know yourself.
Her smile is white and heart-melting. “Okay, Hart.” Pressing her lips together, she loses herself in thought. “My entire life, and I do mean my absolute entire life, I’ve only wanted to be a Navy SEAL. When I was five, I made my parents put me into a ninja class instead of ballet. I got a little older and joined a swim team so I would be comfortable and fast in water. Any extracurricular activity I did in high school directly correlated to checking boxes to get into the Naval Academy. To obtain this end goal.” She pauses in thought and I again understand how much we think alike. Goosebumps prickle my skin and I rub my arms. Her gaze darts to the movement, but she turns away quickly.
“I get it,” I say. “So, what’s the worry?”
Her blue eyes trail to my torso and she tips her chin up. “I dated this guy,” she says, voice lower. “And for the first time in my entire life I thought that maybe I’d been hunting something that wasn’t as important as other things in life. The obstacle of time blocking my path to becoming an operator, gave me perspective.”
Ah. The sacrifice. The price tag is higher than anything else. Aarabelle stands, and her crotch is at my level. She paces. “This thing that I’ve wanted my entire life is mine. Finally. I did it.” I notice her nails are painted, they’re shiny. Clear. Not a color. Her voice is louder. “This thing that everyone told me would be impossible is here. I’ve worked so hard. I fought for it. I earned it. I feel awful because now all I can think of is what the tradeoff is going to be.” She stops her walk and sits next to me on the foot of my chair. “I never considered what I was giving up, Hart. That’s the worry.”
I point to my parents. “If that’s what you’re worried about giving up, you don’t have anything to worry about. It will happen if you want it to. It’s unconventional in arriving, but that door isn’t closed. Our line of work makes it more challenging. Not impossible though.” She seems to be listening, and I’m not sure what else to add so I default. “Who is the guy?”
She looks at me, a sadness evident in the way her eyes fall. “Henry Durnin.” She laughs, a caustic sound. “At least one person doesn’t know my horrible exploited secret.”
Wait, what? I saw headlines but never put two and two together. “You dated that douchebag?” I snap. “You were the woman before Aurora? The dumpee? That got cheated on?”
“Shut up, Hart. I can’t believe you follow celeb gossip. He was…charming. I’m not an idiot, he was just that good. You have to trust me. The pinnacle of a player. The level all players hope to reach one day.”
