Page 34 of Nanny for the SEALs

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Stan

I decidedI needed to put things on track. I grabbed a few things and sat in my car. I bought it over five years ago when the inheritance from our grandparents came through when they died. The inheritance was split between us, and Rick used it to invest in the club. Pete and I parted ways with most of ours to buy the penthouse, and I decided to buy a brand-new Audi. We weren’t born into money, but our grandparents were rich, though no one would know if they ever visited them in their three-bedroom house in Oregon. They lived a simple life and hated the idea of wasting money. I remember many times as a kid, Dad would argue with them about it. He would tell them that life was too short and they should go out there and use their golden nest to explore the world. When Grandpa retired from his job as a bus driver, instead of looking for another job on the road, he decided to invest in everything from gold to hedge funds, and his decision paid off. He never spent the extra money he made; instead, he stashed it away and acted as if he was still driving the buses by never spending outside his old salary. Dad said they should take a cruise and travel the world while they were both retired.

They never did.

They died in a car accident, and some would say maybe Dad’s grief made him go to an early death too—he died of the same fate a few weeks later. Mom, on the other hand, never got over it. It was then we started to see the changes. We hoped she would get out of her depression, but she never did. If anything, the depression she tried to hide too well, came full blown to the surface. Her suicide, in hindsight, took a lot longer than we’d anticipated. She expected to loose Dad on the field, like so many of her friends had done. She didn’t, and when they were finally together, when he’d retired from the marines, she only got to enjoy his company for a short time before he was taken, too.

I sighed as I sat behind the wheel, thinking if I should go back to Oregon, but there was no one there. Dad’s only living family was a brother—who had cut all ties after the funeral. The will was read, he took his share, shook hands with Dad, and they said their goodbyes.

It was crazy at the time. I remember questioning how two brothers could be so distinct.

I remembered Dad saying, “Sometimes blood just isn’t thick enough.”

I didn’t get what he meant; sure Pete, Rick, and I fought sometimes and we didn’t get along, but we were still brothers. To draw a line and say we never wanted to see each other wasn’t something that had ever entered my head until now.

I bashed my fists on the wheel, letting out my frustration at the idea of Pete and Katie being together. He did something I wanted to do; I wanted to smell her sweet vanilla scent and wrap my arms around her in my bed. I was a virgin and too shy to go all the way; he’d done it, but he knew. He fucking knew how I felt about her, but that didn’t stop him from taking her. I didn’t know who I hated more?

Him for taking her, or me for being such a coward?

A message chimed on my phone. I hesitated as I took it out of my pocket. I assumed it was Rick, probably telling me to come back and talk.

I stuck a finger in the air. “Fucking talk to this!”

I was wrong about the message, as I realized it was Greg, probably my only friend from my time as a SEAL. We talked pretty often online, but lately, I’d noticed he wasn’t online as much as he used to be.

Stan. You good? Long time. Don’t be a stranger.

Thinking this was a sign,I replied without hesitation. Greg had contacted me; I was sitting in my car in the apartment parking lot, feeling frustrated as I’d done so many times as a kid. But back then, I would either go to one of my grandparents’ houses or even my uncle’s. None of these were an option. Aunt Elizabeth had moved to L.A. after Mom died because there were too many memories in Oregon and she wanted a fresh start.

Good. You still in San. D?

Yeah man, you should visit!

Bingo,I had a place to go. It would take at least a couple of hours to get to San Diego, and I would grab something to eat on the way. I hadn’t seen him in a while, and I needed to get out. I could have easily just checked into a hotel or something, but I didn’t think being alone was a good idea, especially when I was in this fucked-up state of mind.

Angry at the world.

Angry at my brothers.

Fucking frustrated about the woman I wanted, and Pete had done without no hesitation. I was a gentleman; I would tell her how I felt in my own time. He just took her because she was probably vulnerable and he could take advantage of her. I decided it was him I hated more. Not me, and certainly not Katie.

On my way. Hit me with the deets.

There was no instant reply,but as I had no sense of direction and didn’t even know which highway to hit to get to San Diego, the direction flashed across my phone. It was a sign for fucking sure. I had to get away from my brothers and most of all, I had to be as far away from her as possible.

* * *

The drive wasn’t long,but I stopped at two diners instead of one. I was shocked about how long it’d taken to get me here and the address in which I’d stopped at. Greg was pretty much like me; if anything, he was more of a dork than I was when we worked together. But we clicked, and we were happy talking about software and technology and shit. Nothing else really entered into our conversation and this made us compatible. We weren’t like the other guys; we were different and when you feel like the odd one out, meeting someone who was just as odd as you set your mind at ease.

I stopped on the curb outside a few shops, finding it hard to make out where the entrance was to the condo. Greg seemed to have done alright for himself living out here in HillCrest. It seemed to be quite a good neighborhood, and one thing was for sure, it was a lot quieter than L.A.

I hesitated as I stepped out of the car, wondering whether to take my bag or not. Fuck, he told me to visit, not spend the night. I didn’t need to worry about the answer to my question as he approached from the front.

“Hey, man. Been waiting outside, didn’t expect you to take so long.”

I smiled as we both hugged, leaving the trunk up. “Yeah, I stopped for a bite to eat.”

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