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He nodded. “You really didn’t like him.”
Hank Seymour had been in Joseph’s inner circle. All the bad memories intensified when he popped up a few months ago.
“You mean my betrothed?”
He made a face of disgust, and she couldn’t help but laugh. “Yeah. Imagine my feelings being sixteen when Joseph said I would marry him within a month. So, yeah, I have issues, and most of the time, they’re under control.”
“But you’ve been stuck with us.”
“I wouldn’t call it that, SEAL. I would call it more of being on someone else’s schedule.”
“I’m sorry, I don’t see the difference.”
She sat back and toyed with her coffee cup. “I bet you have some great childhood memories. Playing with your brothers or just hanging out.”
“Yeah.”
“I don’t. My memories consist of work. Everyone had a job at Joyous Wave except the old creeps—and I include Joseph Watters in that category—had something they had to do. There was a reason I didn’t know how to handle a computer or a phone. Even a landline was odd to me when I escaped. So, when I have to do things day in and day out on someone else’s schedule, I have minor freakouts.”
“You should talk to Adam about it.”
“No.”
The waitress returned with their pancakes. One of the things Autumn loved about Anna Miller’s was how fast their cooks were.
Once their coffees were topped off and they were left alone once again, Seth continued with the discussion. Because, of course, he did.
“Why not? It isn’t something to be ashamed of.”
She chewed on her banana Mac nut pancake, loving the hit of sweetness and the yummy nuts.
“I’m not ashamed. I just know how to deal with it.”
“Bottling it up and getting angry at your boss is not how to deal with it.”
“That’s rude.”
“Well, so are you.”
There was a beat of silence as she watched him dig into his plate of pancakes like he was going to war. The truth of the comment sent a wave of humor slicing through her irritation. Giggles bubbled up and then exploded out of her. When he looked up at her, his eyes were dancing.
“That’s a nice sound, Bradford.”
“What? I laugh a lot.”
“No. Not like that. That was joy. You should do it more often.”
She sighed. “Yeah, well, sometimes it’s hard.”
“I get it. I deal with my own issues. Actually, both of my brothers do, too.”
“They’re military?”
He nodded as he shoved another piece of pancake into his mouth. Once he chewed it, he said, “Gus is in the Marines, and Bennett’s the weird one. He went into the Air Force.”
“How is that weird?”
“We’re a Navy family.”
