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“Son, I can’t change the way you look. Even if I could, I wouldn’t. You look like me and your grandfather. Your eyes are all your mother’s,” he smiled. “You’re a good man, Major. That’s what you are now. A man. It’s not an easy thing to do sometimes. You try to be strong and stoic, not show any emotion to anyone, but that’s not realistic. At some point, you’re going to have to come to grips with the idea of gifting nice to everyone.”
“Gifting nice?” he frowned.
“It’s like loaning money to a friend. If you decide to help out a friend financially, never think of it as a loan, Major. It’s a gift. If you see it again, great. If not, so be it. Being nice to someone is the same thing. You aren’t being nice expecting to get nice back.” Major looked down at his feet. “Are you?”
“I-I don’t know. Maybe. I mean, would it kill them to be nice to me once in a while?”
“No, it wouldn’t. But that’s a lesson in choosing your friends wisely, son. If you’re not getting it back, then you know that your ‘gift’ was wasted, and you won’t make that mistake again.”
Major said nothing for a long while. He continued to hand his father the tools to fix the classic car, his specialty. When he was done, they revved the engine, celebrating their victory.
“Let’s finish up and grab some dinner. Just you and me,” said Colonel. He nodded, following his father to the truck. He still hadn’t said anything. Over huge plates of pasta and soda, his father finally looked up at him and spoke.
“Did you decide?” he asked.
“Yes, sir. I’m going to join the Navy and try to become a SEAL.”
His father raised a brow, wondering what had prompted this. His son had acceptance letters to six different colleges and universities, some with partial or full scholarships to play football. They’d talked endlessly about where he might go. Near, far, anywhere. Colonel didn’t care. He just wanted his son to be happy.
“What made you choose that?” asked his father.
“I don’t know. I mean, I thought it would be a challenge for me, help me to lose a few pounds.” Colonel let out a huge belly laugh, shaking his head. “What’s so funny?”
“Major, the SEALs will do a helluva lot more than take off a few pounds for you. It will be the hardest thing you ever do, and that’s if, if, you make it through. It won’t be easy.”
“I know,” he said, nodding at his father. “I’ve read all about it, and the recruiter I spoke to was pretty honest. Even he said I might not make it through. He said that sometimes it was tougher for the big guys. I just want to try, Dad.”
“Then that’s what you should do. Try. Give it all you have, and you won’t be disappointed. Either way, I won’t be disappointed. You’ve grown into a fine young man, Major. Everything about you makes me proud. You’re smart, athletic, and God knows you’re about the kindest young man I’ve ever met. I will always be in your corner. Always.”
“Thanks, Dad. Really. Thanks.”
Major repeated those words the day they pinned the trident to his chest. His father was there, smiling at him, wiping his tears of joy and pride. When he got his assignment to the teams, he thought it was a mistake. He was being assigned to the same team as the Jordan brothers. Two of the most prolific SEALs ever.
He’d been there when Christopher first caught sight of Ramey. He’d been there when she was nearly blown to pieces. And he’d been there when Christopher found her again, falling in love all over.
But Christopher and Patrick were there for him as well. They didn’t turn out to be the friends that used him or only wanted him for his size. Hell, they were nearly the same size as he was.
They’d been beside him when he discovered that his wife had been driving from their home in Virginia to Florida to hook up with a pedophile, BDSM minister. They’d been there when he took the man’s life, allowing him to ease some of his pain after the man killed his soon-to-be ex-wife.
And they were there when he’d met Ece. An encounter he wished he could take back.
She’d claimed she was in Turkey to find her aunt and uncle. That turned out to be a lie.
Then she’d claimed that she loved him and wanted to marry him. That was a lie as well.
Mama Irene planned the whole thing, and at the last minute, standing at the end of the aisle, she’d begged off, asking for a postponement until her family could be there. That’s all she wanted was her family to be there. Another lie.
Major, now known to his teammates as Moose, thought nothing of it. But the others did. The others were concerned, although they held their opinions as a courtesy to their friend and teammate.
When she begged Moose to take her to London to visit her family for the holidays, he thought it would be his chance to prove how committed he was in spite of his own concerns about his wavering feelings toward her. Maybe this would prove to himself that she was the one, and maybe he could sway her family and perhaps come back a married man and finally start that family he always wanted. It was not to be.
She turned out to be a lie. All of her. A big fat lie.
They’d been in London for months. He’d been busying himself with sightseeing, running, working out, and reading while she’d been off shopping with her mother and meeting with her editors. He’d always been cautious around Ece, knowing that she was a reporter by trade. There was an underlying mistrust, yet he wanted so desperately to trust her.
When they’d met in Turkey, it had been all fireworks and sexual banter. Then it was crazy bedroom antics and great fucking. Now? Now, it was kiss-kiss, goodnight.
Moose was losing his mind. He thought about sending an e-mail to the guys to see if there was anything close he might be able to help with. Instead, when he opened her laptop, he got the surprise of his life.
