SEAL's Baby (Navy SEAL Secret Baby Romance) (7 page)

  
She laughed and touched my arm unnecessarily. “I know, I’m so
bad,” she said. “But life is busy for me, I don’t get much time off work.”

  
I didn’t ask what she did. That question would only invite
reciprocity; she would ask about my job and I really didn’t want to get into
it. It didn’t matter in the end because she told me what she did before I asked
the question. “I’m a lawyer,” she said.

  
“That must be interesting work,” I said without really
concentrating on what I was saying. I was too busy studying her face. She was
wearing a lot of makeup. I wondered why women thought that the solution to
ageing was to add another layer of makeup to their faces. In my opinion, it had
the opposite effect.

“It can be,” she said
tilting her head to one side. “My only free time is devoted to the gym.”

I nodded, trying to
pretend as though I was interested.

“You look like you hit
the gym a lot too,” she observed, touching my hand again.

“I try,” I said shortly.

“What do you do?” she
asked predictably.

  
I hesitated for a moment. “I … own a small business in the city,”
I lied quickly. “A construction company called Thomas and Company.”

  
I wondered what Tyler would say if he knew I was pilfering from
his life. He had started the construction company almost eight years ago and it
had done well in Bastrop. I spent the rest of the flight sharing details of my
life with the woman sitting beside me; all the while, I stole things from
Tyler’s life and passed them off as my own. There was something oddly
satisfying about being someone else, even if it was just for a short time.

  
When we finally landed, I was all talked out and ready to see my
family. She kept smiling at me suggestively and I knew she was expecting me to
ask for her number, but all I could give her was a smile and a wave as I exited
the terminal.

  
I saw Tyler as I walked out. He was the tallest one there, dressed
in beige trousers and a navy-blue polo shirt. He looked more and more like dad
every time I saw him. He came forward and we hugged awkwardly. It was the kind
of hug where neither party leans into one another; we both maintained out stiff
stances and then we backed away from one another in relief.

“How was the flight?”
Tyler asked conventionally.

“It was fine,” I replied.
“How are things here? Is everything sorted for Dad’s funeral?”

“Of course,” Tyler
replied impatiently. “What do you think I’ve been doing this whole time?”

“I was just asking,” I
replied as we started moving through the airport towards the exit. “And mom …
how is she?”

“The same,” Tyler
replied. “She’s still a little shell shocked; I don’t think it’s fully sunk in
yet.”

“Has she spoken to you?”
I asked hesitantly.

“Of course she’s spoken
to me,” Tyler said.

“It’s just that … I asked
to speak to her and she refused.”

“Oh, well … that’s
different.”

  
I shot Tyler a look. “How is that different?” I asked trying to
keep my annoyance in check. “We’re both her sons.”

“Yes but I’m the only one
who’s been around,” Tyler said and the accusation was evident in his tone.

“Well I was being shipped
off to war-torn countries on dangerous missions,” I snapped. “So I haven’t
really had a lot of free time.”

  
Tyler shot me a glare. “And you think I have? At least you’ve only
had to worry about yourself; I’ve had to look after mom and dad for the last
eleven years. Not that I would have done anything else; I would never run out
on my family.”

I stopped short. “You
think I ran out on mom and dad?”

Tyler regarded me coldly.
“You got the opportunity to go off and see the world and you took it. I don’t
blame you for that.”

  
Then Tyler turned and kept walking and I was forced to follow
after him, trying to resist the urge to punch him in the face. I was imagining
his face if I actually attempted something like that and it did make me feel a
little better. We got my bags and then made our way to the car. Tyler had
upgraded since I’d last been in Bastrop. He had traded in his car for a Jeep and
it took up nearly two sparking spaces.

  
“You couldn’t have found a larger vehicle?” I asked sarcastically.
“I don’t think they’ll be enough room for both of us in there.”

“I thought you’d have
more bags,” Tyler said ignoring me.

“I’m only here for four
weeks,” I said.

“That’s it?”

“I would have thought
that would be too much for you,” I said as we got into the Jeep.

“Maybe,” Tyler replied. “But
mom might feel differently. Especially since you haven’t been home in years.”

  
I felt the sting of his words, more so because they held the
insinuation that I had missed out on the last few years of dad’s life. I felt
the need to justify myself, but I held the words in at the last moment. I
wouldn’t convince Tyler so what was the use in trying?

  
We spent the first half hour of the drive in silence and I
realized just how much Tyler and I had drifted apart in the last decade. It
wasn’t just that we didn’t keep in touch as much as we should have; it had more
to do with a sense of underlying bitterness that followed our relationship. Except
that I wasn’t entirely sure why or where that bitterness had originated from.
We were always so touchy around one another that it was hard to carry a
conversation without someone getting pissed or irritated.

  
I took a deep internal breath and started again. “Do you remember
that time dad decided to teach us poker?”

“Dylan, I really don’t
want to talk about dad ok?”

“But …”

“I’m serious.”

  
I understood why Tyler didn’t want to talk, but at the same time I
felt as though I really needed to. Yes, it was hard to talk about him but I
felt it would be harder not to. Tyler’s face was set however and I knew he
wouldn’t participate.

“How’s business?” I said
taking a different route.

“You’re asking about my
business?”

  
“As you pointed out, it’s my first trip home in years ok? I just
want to know what you guys have been doing. I’m interested. And it beats the
awkward silence.”

“I thought you preferred
silence?”

“With strangers,” I
clarified. “Not with my own brother. Can you at least try?”

“All right,” Tyler said
with a sigh. “What was the question?”

I tried very hard not to
roll my eyes. “How’s the business?”

“It’s doing well,” Tyler
replied. “We manage to get at least one big contract every month and that keeps
us afloat.”

“That’s good,” I nodded.

“How are … things with
you?” Tyler asked out of obligation.

“Fine,” I replied. “The
same as always.”

“Still training?”

“We never stop,” I said.
“Actually, speaking of work, I’m thinking of retiring soon.”

That got an expression
out of him. He glanced at me with raised eyebrows. “Retiring?”

“Yes.”

“That’s … unexpected,”
Tyler said. “I would have thought you’d want to die in the Navy.”

“Well, I don’t,” I said
impatiently. “I think I’ve paid my dues and I think it’s time for a change.”

“What will you do?” Tyler
asked. “Where will you go?”

“Well, I was actually
thinking of coming back here,” I admitted.

“To Bastrop?” Tyler asked
incredulously.

“Yeah.”

 
 
“What
on earth would you do here?” he asked.

I hesitated for a moment.
“I’m not sure yet,” I said evasively. “I haven’t figured that part out.”

  
In fact I did have something in mind. It was an idea that had been
forming in my head for quite some time now but I didn’t want to share it with
Tyler just yet. I didn’t want him scoffing at it.

“Well you might want to
think about that,” Tyler said. “Instead of up and quitting before you have a
solid plan?"

“I will.”

“I don’t see the point of
coming back to this town,” Tyler went on. “You’d be bored here.”

“Maybe that’s what I
want,” I countered. “Maybe I want to be bored.”

Tyler gave me a look. “I
think that’s your grief talking.”

  
I didn’t bother to argue, Tyler didn’t get it. I’d probably be
hard pressed to find anyone who would. You’d need to have lived the kind of
life I had in order to really understand. The thing is, I was tired of the
travelling, and I was tired of the fighting and the missions. I wanted to find
a little piece of land that was mine and make something out of it.

  
I had always wondered why my father had seemed so happy after
retiring from the Navy. I wondered why he hadn’t milked it and stayed till he
had been asked to go. But now I finally understood. The irony was that he was
gone and there was no one I could talk to, no one who would see that I wasn’t
just making an impulsive decision. I was tired and I wanted some peace and
quiet.

“I bet lots of people
have stopped by the house,” I said changing the subject.

Tyler nodded wordlessly.

“Has … Lizzie been around?”

Tyler shot me a glance.
“I met her this morning,” he replied. “I think she might drop in before the
funeral.”

“How is she?” I asked. “What’s
she been doing these past few years?"

“You’d have to ask her,”
Tyler replied unhelpfully. “But I do know that she’s divorced.”

“I heard something about
her getting married,” I said. “Didn’t work out huh?”

“You went to school with
the guy didn’t you?”

“Who?” I asked. “The guy
she married?”

“Yeah,” Tyler nodded.
“Paul Kapke.”

“Paul fucking Kapke?” I
choked. “That’s who she married?”

“Yeah … you didn’t know?”

“No,” I said trying to
let that sink in. “What happened between them?”

“As I understand it, he
was verbally abusive.”

  
I felt my hands curl up into fists and I had to remind myself that
I had no place in this town anymore, and I certainly didn’t have a place in Lizzie’s
life. I wondered suddenly why that bothered me so much.

Chapter Eight

Elizabeth

  
Once the lasagna was finished, I left it on the kitchen counter to
cool and then I moved into my bedroom. Elvis followed at my heels, purring and
pawing at me for attention. I bent down and picked him as I stood in front of
my wardrobe trying to figure out what to wear.

“I’m ridiculous aren’t
I?” I asked Elvis. “It doesn’t matter what I wear; no one is going to care.”

  
Elvis looked bored with me so I set him back down and reached for
a plain black LBD that was both appropriate and flattering. “Maybe I should
save this one for the actual funeral.” I reminded myself that this was just a
casual visit and a dress was probably a little overkill.

  
“I’m being ridiculous,” I said firmly and threw on my dark denim
and a white, lace blouse. I kept my hair loose and resisted the urge to put a
little gloss on my lips.

  
I had just finished feeding Elvis when the doorbell rang and I ran
to get it. “Hi, Maddie,” I greeted. “You’re right on time.”

“You ready?” she asked.

  
Maddie was wearing jeans and a simple, crocheted, beige top that
made me feel as though I had made the right decision. “Yup,” I said. “Just let
me get the lasagna and we can get going.”

  
It had been a long time since I’d driven to Dylan’s home. It felt
so natural that I was uncomfortable by the thought. I reminded myself that at
one point in my life it had been my second home. I remembered all those times
when Dylan and I had gone straight from school to his house. Mrs. Thomas would
make us lunch and then we would play video games, go biking or just sit in the
backyard and talk.

“Are you ok?” Maddie
asked.