Her Adoring SEAL (Midnight Delta Book 3) (5 page)

Richard stared at him, his eyes sad and condemning.  Jack didn’t like seeing that look in his father’s eyes.  He closed his laptop and really thought about Beth Hidalgo, which was easy to do since she was on his mind morning, noon, and night.  Even at this moment, he could take a deep breath and he swore he smelled her sweet fragrant scent.  She was dazzling.  Not in any sort of diamond bright way.  No she was like the opal his mother wore, creamy and silky with so many colors swirling beneath the surface.

“You didn’t hear a word I said, did you?”

“Huh?”

“What’s Beth’s middle name?”

“Sarah,” Jack answered.

“What’s her favorite movie?”

“Lord of the Rings.”

“Is she right or left handed?”

“Left.”

“What’s her favorite color?” 

“Rust.  She says it’s like seeing the brown of the earth mixed with a ruby.”

Richard got up and walked towards the door.  “Where are you going?”

“I was wrong.”

“About what?”

“You might not have any official intentions with her, but your heart is definitely in the right place.”

Jack watched as the door closed behind his dad.  His e-mail pinged.  Clint wanted him to call.  It worried him because there was a scheduled call between Lydia and Beth tonight.

The men had arranged for phones for the women and their parents to use that couldn’t be traced.  Beth talked to her parents regularly, but her talks with Lydia had gotten more and more sporadic.

“What’s up?”

“Jack, we have a situation.  This might be the last call for a while,” Clint’s voice was tense.

Jack asked the only question that mattered.  “Is Beth in danger?”

Clint chuckled.  “I knew I liked you.”

“Answer the fucking question.”

“No, they’ve targeted Lydia again.  She and I are going on the run.  I’m sure glad Mason decided to bring you in on this.  You’re who I would have chosen too.”

“Why?”

“It was the operation in Kuwait.”

Jack rubbed the back of his neck.  He hated thinking about that mission.  Not so much how it had played out.  They’d rescued the hostage, and the plan was perfectly executed.  It was the shape the young teenager was in by the time they’d gotten to him.  Jack had kept tabs on Kevin, and he was having problems to this day.

“So what do you mean by ‘targeted’ Lydia?  What happened?”

“There was another attempt on Lydia’s life.  They’re all in.  We’re going off the grid.  There will be no more calls after this one.  I know it’s going to be hard on both of the sisters, but they’re tough. They’ll deal with it.

“If Lydia is anything like Beth, then yes she is.”

“Lydia’s amazing.” The admiration in Clint’s voice was clear.

“So is Beth. Look Clint, I need to say this.  Beth is worried Lydia will take unnecessary risks.”

“What do you mean?”

“She says Lydia doesn’t take care of herself.  That she needs a keeper.”

“Well I’m the fucking keeper, now aren’t I?” Clint growled.  “You tell Beth I’ve got her covered.”

“I already did.”

“Good.  Now let’s get the two of them on the phone together.”

****

B
eth watched the door close behind Jack as she waited for Lydia to get on the line.

“Beth?”

“Lydia.  What’s going on?  Jack said this is the last call we’re going to have for a while.  What’s wrong?”

“Nothing big.”  She sounded strained.

“You’re lying.  You sound exactly the same way every time I ask if you’re feeling sick, and you say you’re fine.  Only then you’re coughing up a lung.  Tell me the truth.”  Beth heard the pain in her voice, and tried to tamp it down but she couldn’t.  She was sick of people treating her like she needed to be protected.  She was an adult dammit.

“Look, it wasn’t a big deal.” Lydia paused.

“Now I
know
it was a big deal.  Every time you started a conversation with our parents saying something wasn’t a big deal, it was a
huge
deal.  Tell me.  C’mon it’s me you’re talking to.”

“Somebody tried to kill us.  They came into our bedroom.  Clint saved us.  Oh my God, it was like something out of a movie.”  Beth heard both the terror and admiration in her sister’s voice.  “I thought we were going to die.  But he saved us,” she ended in a watery whisper.

“Oh Lydia, I hate this.  But I’m thanking God he was there for you.”  She waited while Lydia calmed herself. 

“Hey wait a minute, did you say,
our
bedroom?”  She was met by dead silence, and then Lydia giggled, sounding almost like the girl Beth remembered.

“Oh my God, I caught you, didn’t I?  You’re totally doing it with Clint!  Lydia and Clint, sitting in a tree, doing far more than kiss...I...N...G.”  They both laughed uproariously. 

“Beth, I think I love him.  I really think I’m in love.”  A huge weight rolled off Beth’s heart.  For so long she’d worried about her sister.  Lydia was constantly doing for everyone else.  Taking on other people’s burdens and putting herself last.  The idea she would be grabbing the brass ring with such a great guy made Beth ecstatic.

“Say something.”

“I can’t, my smile is too big.  It’s hard to form words around it.”

“Oh, yeah, I hate it when I can’t form words around it.”  It took Beth a second to figure out what her sister meant, and then she started to blush. 

“You’re blushing aren’t you?”  Lydia laughed.

“You don’t know me,” Beth protested.

Lydia sighed.  “I can’t wait until this whole thing is over and we can be together again.  I want you to have the life you deserve.  I know you want to have a family.  I know the shit in the jungle was bad, but you were working through it in counseling with Nancy.  I want you back in counseling so you can have a man, a houseful of kids, and a dirty house to clean.”

Beth couldn’t see past the tears in her eyes.  “That sounds perfect.”

“For you, I know it does.”

“It’s never going to happen for me.  We both have to be realistic.”

“You have to have faith.  Come on, you never missed Sunday school.  You have lots more faith than I do.”  Beth smiled wanly.

“Tell me about Clint.”

“I can’t honey.  He’s telling me our time is up.”  Beth clutched the phone.  She didn’t want to hang up.

“Stay safe Lydia, you’re my favorite sister.”

“You’re my favorite sister too.  I love you baby girl.”

Clint must have called Jack on his phone, because he came in soon after and found her crying.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“How tough are you SEALs?”

“Sweetheart, we’re the toughest things out there.”

“Good.  I don’t want my sister to die.”

“She won’t.  Clint is going to keep her safe.”

“You’re right.  He carried her through the jungle, did I tell you?”  He nodded, and she remembered she’d told him before.

“I need to get to bed.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to talk?”

“Not tonight.”

“Let me walk you to your room.”  Beth let out an unsteady laugh.

“Want to tell me what the laugh is for?”

“You know you’re kind of rich.”

“Why do you say that?”

“I’ve never needed someone to walk me to my room in their own house.  Your house is pretty big, Jack.” 

“Dad’s wealthy not me.”  She stared at him with a knowing smirk.

“Okay, I might be a little bit wealthy, but don’t tell the other SEALs, they might make fun of me on the playground.”  She giggled, like she knew he wanted.

When they got in front of her bedroom door, he opened it. 

“Can I give you a hug?”  She thought about it, and realized she wanted a hug from him.

“Please.”

Jack folded her into his arms as gently as he hugged his mother.  But she didn’t have any family feelings towards Jack.  No, he felt like a man, and it felt good to be in his arms.  Not just because he was her protector, but because he was Jack Preston, and he was fast becoming her new faith. 

––––––––

J
ack didn’t think anything of it when his parents decided to take a long weekend in Dallas. It was something they did at least once a month, and easy enough with the family helicopter. Then David left on a trip to purchase livestock for the ranch, and Rosa visited her sister down in Houston.

He and Beth were in the great room, both reading books, when the rain started.  “Thank God everyone left as early as they did.  This is going to be a hell of a rainstorm.”

“Wh-What?”

“Yep, we’re going to get thunder, lightning, and hail. The hands have battened down the hatches.”

“What does that mean?”

Jack paused. “I love your accent, but I never really think about English not being your first language.  You understand and speak it so well. Hell, you’re even reading a book in English. Batten down the hatches is an old sailing term, meaning tie everything down so it doesn’t fall overboard. The guys made sure everything is safe and the livestock is inside.”

“How long will the storm last?”

“Until tomorrow.” She bit her lip, and the book in her hand trembled. “Are you scared of storms?”

“A little.”

“We can leave some lights on tonight.”

She gave a grateful smile.  They continued to read until she started yawning. He watched as her head drooped, and finally he convinced her it was time for bed. The light turned on underneath her bedroom door, and then he turned on the hallway light in case she got up in the middle of the night.

A loud crack of thunder woke him up. He was out of bed and in a crouch before he knew what happened. He gave a rueful grin. At least he knew his training was still alive and kicking. Pulling on a pair of sweatpants, he made his way to the kitchen and got some juice.  He was halfway up the stairs back to his room when the lights went out and he heard a scream.

Like a shot, he was at Beth’s door and in her room. He scanned it and saw nothing more than her slight body tangled in the comforter, thrashing.  “Beth?”

She was pleading in Spanish, begging for help. Begging to be released. Begging for mercy.

It hit him like a punch in the gut. He knelt down beside the bed.  “Beth? Can you hear me?” he whispered in Spanish. He didn’t want to talk too loudly and scare her. Touching her didn’t seem like the best idea either.

“Beth.” She was rolling around in the bed and came close to the side, when she began to slip off he caught her.  She screamed and woke up, and he immediately placed her back onto the middle of the bed.

“Beth, you had a nightmare. The power went out. You’re safe. It’s me, Jack.”

She scrambled backward, whimpering. He continued to repeat that she’d had a nightmare and she was safe. After the longest minutes of his life, she quieted.  God, it made him want to kill somebody.

“Jack?”

“Yes, sweetheart, it’s me.”

“Turn on the lights. Please turn on the lights.”

“Oh, baby, if I could I would, but the power went out.”

She whimpered, and slowly reached out. Realizing she probably couldn’t see as well as he could in the dark, he said, “I’m going to hold your hand, okay?”

“Oh yes.” He gently grasped her hand and she gripped it hard.

“Let me get a flashlight or some candles.” He brought her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. He felt her slowly let go, and then got up and headed for the door.

“Don’t leave!” He turned around and she was kneeling in the bed, reaching out to him.

“Do you want to go with me?”

“Yes!” She crawled across the bed and almost fell off the end. He caught her and she froze.

“Shhh, it’s okay.” He eased her down so her feet met the floor. She clutched his arms and didn’t let go.

“Sweetheart, you’re going to have release me so we can get the candles.” He brushed down her arms, and touched her hands to get her to let go. Another crack of thunder, and then a flash of lightning lit up the room. She screamed and slammed backward. The bed hit behind her knees and she fell flat on her back onto the mattress.

“NOOOOO!” she shrieked.

“Beth.” He tried to get her attention.

She screamed in Spanish.  The storm had catapulted her back in time to the horror of the jungle.  He couldn’t say anything to bring her out of it. She was fighting ghosts. Once again, she was close to falling off the side of the bed, and once again he caught her before she fell.

“Don’t touch me. Please. Mercy.” Her voice trailed off, and she went limp.

The faint gray light from the window allowed him to see her face as she lay there staring up at him, with tears leaking into the hair at her temples. He took the opportunity to try to get through to her. He crooned and whispered, praying she would hear him and feel safe.

She began to shake, and then shudder.  “J-Jack?”

“Yes, it’s me, baby.”

“I’m so scared.” He ached to hold her. Her trembling was tearing him apart.

“Tell me what I can do. I’ll do whatever you need.”

The sound of the rain was punctuated by her heavy breathing. He carefully pulled the comforter around her and she clutched it tight.

“Don’t leave me.”

Jack sat on the bed, held out his arm so it gleamed in a shaft of moonlight, and waited. He hoped she would take the small bit of comfort he was offering. Slowly, she leaned into him, and finally she was snuggled into his side.

She moaned when another boom of thunder sounded. He put a gentle arm around her and pulled her close, she dropped the stranglehold she had on the comforter and instead gripped his forearm. Jack froze. Had he miscalculated? She pulled his arm against her, holding him closer to her quaking body.

“I’ve got you, Beth. I won’t let anyone hurt you, I promise.”

Lightning lit the sky. She started to cry.

He couldn’t stand it, in one swift movement, he scooped her up and she was on his lap.

****

B
eth woke up feeling disoriented. She had a headache. She wasn’t lying down. She was sitting up, well, reclining—sort of. She jerked awake, and her head hit Jack’s chin. He gave a muffled grunt.

“I had a nightmare, didn’t I?”