Page 20 of SEAL's Surprise Daughter

She shrugged, her frown deepening. “I mean, without him around, I never really had a good role model for that stuff, you know? The one time I did fall in love with somebody, it didn’t work out so well. He ended up moving to England, and I stayed here. Since then, I just haven’t put too much effort into it, I guess.”

I nodded, exhaling slowly, staring down at my hands in my lap. It wasn’t like I was some kind of relationship expert either, seeing as how avoidance was my main MO.

“What about you?” she asked, scooting down to lay her head on the pillow, staring up at me through her lashes. Fuck, why did she have to be so irresistible? I wanted to cup her cheek, run my fingers through her tousled hair—but I didn’t. Because it if touched her she’d give me that look … the one that told me to keep going. I’d drop my mouth towards hers, so slowly that it would feel like torture, until our lips touched. Her arms would circle around my neck and pull me down on top of her and I’d –

“Gabe, are you okay?”

I coughed and shifted to cover my crotch, startled out of my pornographic daydream. “Yep, fine.”

“I asked about your love life. Or are you going to dodge the question?”

I felt like I owed her an explanation, since she’d been so open with me.

“Enh, it’s hard to have anything too serious with someone when you’re always on the move.” I took a deep breath. “After I lost my family in the accident, my SEAL team became like a surrogate one. But that’s risky too.”

“How so?” That frown was back on her lovely face. I longed to trace the furrow between her brows to soothe it.

I lifted a shoulder. “Those guys are like brothers to me, but I could lose any of them at any time on a mission. The places we go, they’re dangerous. It’s why we’re there. To defuse the conflicts no one else can. To handle the situation, however we need to. Sometimes people get hurt. Sometimes worse. So, no matter how close you get, you still subconsciously hold a little bit back to protect yourself, just in case.” I shook my head and stared up at the ceiling. “Or maybe that’s just me. Afraid to lose more people I care about.”

“Oh, Gabe.” She reached over and took my hand.

Then we just sat there for a while, not saying anything. The feeling of her soft hand on top of mine soothed me.

Finally, I looked over at her, and she’d fallen asleep. Just as well, I guessed, since I really didn’t want to talk about my feelings anymore. It was hard, and now they felt all knotted and thorny inside me. Uncomfortable. Inviting as it looked to curl up beside her and take a snooze myself, I was too restless to nap.

Besides, I had an important phone call to make.

I slipped out of the room and dialed Matt Ryeland.

“Ryeland Security.”

“Hey, dude. It’s Gabe Kelley.”

“Gabe, my man!” Matt laughed. “It’s been a minute. What’s going on?”

“I’m taking some leave right now. Dealing with some family stuff here in Harpers Ferry,” I said. “So, has working security dulled your senses yet?”

Matt snorted. “Like hell. Once a SEAL, always a SEAL, my man. Nothing’s dulling those instincts, whether you’re wearing the uniform or not.” We chitchatted a bit, and then Matt said, “So, to what do I owe this call? Since you’ve never been one for just hanging out and being sociable for the heck of it.”

“Actually, I wondered if you could run a background check for me,” I said, cringing that he’d called me on loner tendencies. It wasn’t that I didn’t like hanging with my friends. I was just usually dealing with fifty things at once. I liked keeping busy, liked to keep moving. It kept the ghosts at bay. Or at least it had—until I’d come home and stopped running. Now the ghosts were permanent fixtures, and I was learning to live with that.

He scoffed. “Seriously? Uh, yeah. Background checks are like Security 101. Child’s play. Happy to run one for you. Have to say I’m a little disappointed, though. Here I thought you’d give me a real challenge. Like some paramilitary espionage shit.”

“Oh, it’s gonna be a challenge, all right.” I replied as I pictured the man trying to take my child away from me. “Listen, this one’s kind of sensitive. He’s a state trooper. He’s based out of DC or Virginia, not sure which. Name’s Elijah Harris, and I need to know everything you can find out about him, particularly around September 23. Where he was, who he was with, what he ate, when he took a shit. Everything. Nothing’s too trivial. Understood?”

“Got it,” Matt said. “Challenge accepted. And sensitive is my middle name.”

I laughed. “Wait. I thought it was dumbass.”

“Only that one time in Hong Kong.” He chuckled. “I’ll get on this and get back to you as soon as I can.”

“Thanks. I appreciate it.”

We ended the call, and I walked into the kitchen. All I could do now was wait.

I grabbed a beer and settled in front of the TV, mindlessly flipping channels and trying not to think about the challenges in front of me. Prioritizing what needed to happen next always helped center me, so I focused on the immediate.

Dinner. I was starving.

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