A SEAL's Honor by JM Stewart

Author:JM Stewart [Stewart, JM]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Published: 2018-01-16T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Mandy turned away from her view of Lake Washington and laid her head on Marcus’s chest, listening to the soothing thump of his heartbeat. He lay on the blanket beside her with one arm tucked behind his head as he stared up at the dusky sky above them. Cammie napped contently at their feet.

They’d been at Chism Park for two hours now. While making idle chitchat, they’d polished off roast beef sandwiches served with thick hunks of cheese and fresh fruit. Cammie, she’d noted, had sat at attention beside him the entire time, though she’d quickly discovered why. Whether he did it consciously or not, Marcus would take a bite of food and then hold out some for Cammie to gobble up. It told her Cammie wasn’t simply a pet to him but a companion, and that he had a kind heart. A guy who was good to animals was sexy in her book.

After they’d eaten, they’d taken the dog for a walk around the lake. The night was beautiful, clear but cool, allowing a few stars to peek through the patches of clouds. Somewhere during the walk, Marcus retreated into himself again. He’d taken her hand, threading their fingers, but went silent. She’d watched Trent do it enough over the years to recognize it and simply let him have his space.

Now, half an hour later, he had yet to say much of anything. It gave her too much time to think. Being with him this way, allowing herself to get close to him beyond the bedroom when their relationship was destined to end, was dangerous at best. But how could she turn her back on him when he clearly needed someone?

Determined to draw him out of himself, she tilted her head and stroked his chin with her fingers. “Tell me about her. Your sister, I mean.”

Marcus glanced down at her and stared for a moment, eyes searching, as if perhaps she’d caught him off guard. A heartbeat later, his arm came around her, his warm palm settling on her lower back. “I’m sorry. I’m not such great company tonight.”

She caressed the side of his face and lifted her head enough to smile at him. “It’s okay. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. Lauren said it always helped Trent, when she could get him to talk.”

He blew out a heavy breath, his voice quiet in the evening air. “I miss her.”

“I’d imagine you would. I don’t know what we would’ve done if Trent had died over in Iraq. Dad was disappointed when Will didn’t want to enlist, but Mom was glad. It meant he came home safe every night. I thought about it, enlisting, because I wanted to be like my father.”

His head turned, his gaze burning into her. “Why didn’t you?”

She shrugged but couldn’t force herself to look at him. She was sharing things she probably shouldn’t, that had old insecurities rising from the dead. If her tomboy tendencies bothered him, she didn’t think she could handle seeing the disappointment in his eyes.

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