Page 7 of Defended By the SEAL
Cowboy believed her. He wouldn’t be afraid of ghosts if he didn’t believe they were real.
Okay, maybe not afraid.
Uncomfortable.
He liked what he could control. Ghosts were definitely not in that realm. He changed the subject. “Tell me about her—your grandmother.”
“She’s the sweetest woman on the face of the earth. She makes cookies and martinis, though not necessarily at the same time. My grandpa died when I was eight and she took over the family business, so now she makes cookies, martinis, and guns.”
“Guns?”
“Yep.”
“How did I not know this?”
“You never asked.”
“But Logan didn’t even know how to shoot a gun when he came to HERO Force.”
She looked at him like he was crazy. “It’s not like we got to play with them.”
“I should hope not.”
“She had a set of lawn darts, however. Remember those?You’d throw them up in the air and they’d land spike first into the ground?”
“Yep.”
She chuckled. “I used to scare the fuck out of Logan with those things.” She sighed. “But no guns.”
“Probably a wise choice.”
He crossed another bridge, the truck sliding toward the guardrail as it hit an icy patch. “Whoa.” He hit a stretch of packed snow and was able to correct his path. “Looks like the water’s splashing right up onto the roadway.”
“We’re definitely not getting out of here for a while.” She directed him to the house and the long dirt driveway covered in the pale white of slushy precipitation, the car coming to a stop alongside a wide front porch.
An extended visit was just fine with Cowboy. The longer they were here, the more time he had to convince Charlotte to take a chance on him. He just hoped the ghost in the lighthouse didn’t make an appearance, but he figured so long as no children were dangling precariously off the edge of the gallery, he should be okay.
A single light was visible from deep inside the house, and he imagined it came from the kitchen. Charlotte put her coat on as Cowboy holstered his weapon, covering it with a sweatshirt, then slipped his knife into an ankle holster. He didn’t expect the grandmother’s husband to be dangerous, but he’d rather be safe than sorry. He thought this entire trip was unnecessary, if he was being honest. “Ready?” he asked.
A wind chime clanged wildly in the distance as she led the way to the door, the intense icy wind going right through his coat. Charlotte turned and spoke over her shoulder. “We’re just friends. That’s all she needs to know.”
His stomach clenched at the unexpected blow. “Are you serious right now?”
“Yes.”
“Char—“
“Damn it Leo.”
He held up a hand, not wanting to fight. “Fine. We tell Grandma we’re friends.”
Being introduced to a member of her family with no acknowledgement of his intimate relationship with Charlotte was the hardest blow yet. He realized just how much he had his work cut out for him. Had he already lost her? Was her intention to break up with him really going to stick? He swallowed hard.
This was going to be the most difficult mission of his life, and that had nothing to do with her grandmother’s new husband.
4
They climbed the steps, holding onto the handrail as they traversed the slippery stone treads, and Charlotte rang the bell. Another light came on, shining through the curtained sidelight before the porch light turned on over their heads.
