Authors: Xander Daniels
“I don't blame you after a guy like that. Some guys don't know when they have it good,” He told her and parked the car and got out. He got her bags for her as she got out and insisted on carrying them.
“My dad would kill me if I did not help a lady with her bags,” He said. Carrying all three. As they walked up to the porch her mom came out and Tanya's heart soared. She had not seen her mom for a while. There were hugs and few tears. Then she was introduced to the new man in her Mom's life.
Chapter Three- The Return of Jared
Tanya had a wonderful time with her Mom and her new fiancé Daniel Cooper. He was a big strong man and Jason did take after him in looks. When their folks were around Jason was as polite as his father. Daniel had a great sense of humor and best two things about him in her eyes was he treated her Mom as she deserved and he did not in any way act like he was going to be her Dad. She had done fine without one since she was eight years old. Being twenty three she did not feel she needed another one. They got along great. Jason however kept teasing her, then again, weren't brothers supposed to do that?
After a week Daniel and her Mom headed out for a business trip to Europe. Her Mom had never been, so she was ecstatic about it and was as excited as a girl at Christmas when they left. Jason was staying at their house, so she was stuck with him. His flirty jokes aside he was not a bad roommate. They both had their own schedules so it wasn't like they were around each other all the time. Thankfully, she told herself. Otherwise she might damage him, Navy Seal or not. She had given in though when he invited her out to the local swimming hole.
“Honestly, it is not just to see you in a bathing suit, not that I will mind, it is because as a Navy Seal I swam a lot and I am missing it. Is it a good place to swim and get some good exercise?” he asked after flirting. He was good at a flirty tease ending in a polite question to siphon off her annoyance. It partially worked.
“Sure we can do that today if you want. I have been running around visiting people and as nice as it is to see everyone again, I need a day off. Plus it’s damn hot!” Tanya said.
“Great, after breakfast we can head out if you want and I promise to leave you to yourself when you want and not leer too much. I know what it is to need some space,” He told her.
So that was it. After breakfast she was in her room picking a suit. She immediately vetoed the bikini. She did not want to see him drool. Tanya giggled at the thought and picked out a white one piece that with a modest neckline and back. Then a white silk sarong wrap past her knees with matching sandals. The colors complimented her soft mulatto skin. She grabbed a towel and a beach bag and went downstairs. By then Jason had loaded up a cooler with drinks and sandwiches. She was impressed and told him so. He shrugged almost embarrassed.
“I have gone without food a few times overseas. It is one of those things that once you have done it, you avoid it at all cost,” he told her. She nodded. He had not been bragging, just commenting. They went in his truck. Her little car was not built for anyone who was six foot four and as wide as he was. He would be sitting right up against her and she was not into that.
They got to the watering hole that was actually a small lake. It was not that crowded so they got a good bench along the water side, away from most of the others. The weather had become hot for this early in the year, even as early as it was so they both ran into the water. The initial cold was exhilarating for Tanya, and they had fun splashing each other and trading insults for a while and she decided to take a break.
“I am going to go back to shore for a while. You mind?” She asked him.
“No. It will be harder to watch you bounce in the water, but I will survive. Actually I am going to see how many times I can swim across the lake.” he told her.
“Have fun. It is a good thing your waist is so wide or your shorts would come down when you swim. He actually glanced down at himself vainly before he realized she had got him. Tanya laughed and went back up to the bench as he dove back into the water. It was a very shallow dive and she realized watching him swim into the lake he was quite good. Strong energy conserving stroke. Tanya sat on the bench and looked around.
It was as she remembered it and smiled to herself. She could remember playing there as a kid with her father before he left. The tire swing was new but in the same spot. There was a little hollow next to the river where she used to go fishing with him. She noticed two guys were in that spot now. They were on the other side of the lake so she did could not tell who they were but they were just hanging out. Fully dressed in pants and shirts so they were not there to swim. She did not see any fishing poles but figured they could just be hanging out. She remembered doing that too.
Looking back out to the center of the water there was a floating platform and Jason was up on that. He was close enough to see well. She even allowed herself the luxury of lowering the glasses on her nose for a better look. Damn though, Cindy had been right.
“Beach body hard ass.” She said out loud to herself about Jason. Then she wrinkled her nose at the thought.
“He is your stepbrother to be girlfriend, and you swore off men,” she told herself firmly. It was not really that she wanted to date him, it was just he might actually be worth the time for somebody. Somebody who could put up with a smart ass she reminded herself. A flash of something caught her eye, and she turned and noticed it again from the two guys in the hollow. The flash must have come from their sunglasses Tanya figured. In a little bit the two guys went up the path behind them and got into a sports car and slowly backed out, stopped for a minute, she saw another flash of light, and then they slowly drove off. Tanya sighed and laid out her towel on the bench then reclined back on it. The tree overhead stopped most sunlight from getting her too hot, and she closed her eyes. It was like a sensory deprivation. Her Moms towels were thick and comfortable, there was only a very faint light through her eyelids, and the sound of a breeze through the leafy tree was seductively peaceful. She was completely relaxed and then before she knew it she was asleep.
Tanya dreamed of a mountain path as she strolled along it. It was breathtakingly beautiful except it was so quiet. No sounds of birds or animals of any kind. No wind either. She looked around and realized even her footsteps were muffled. Up ahead on the trail she saw a man come around the bend and it was Jason. He looked amazing walking towards her and took her in an embrace.
Suddenly her ex-boyfriend was there and grabbed her away from him. “If I can't have you when I want, no one can.” Then everything faded to gray mist and she heard herself calling out. She thought she heard a response but could not recognize it. Suddenly she was awake and looking at the branches above her head. She remembered where she was. She felt a sprinkle of cold water on her stomach and sat up. Jason was standing trying to look innocent, although he had a can of soda, dripping, in his hand. Jerk, Tanya though sourly.
“Good nap?” He questioned. Tanya yawned and nodded.
“I did not know I was tired.” She said, looking through her purse for her phone.
“You have been out for two hours,” He told her. She stopped looking for the clock on her phone.
“Wow, I guess I needed it. I had a weird dream.” She said it lightly but his eyebrows raised questioning.
“It was about me, right.”
“Absolutely not!” she denied.
He shrugged but looked around the lake once. She did too and saw the same car she had seen from the other side of the lake, except on this side. What were they still doing here if they were not swimming? She wondered. From where she was Tanya could see the driver, but not the passenger. He was a bulky man with an angular face, and aviator glasses. She did not recognize him. She thought she saw a reflection on the passenger side and the car speed off as Jason walked past her towards the lot. He stopped when the car left.
“Those guys are strange. I ran into them across the lake,” He told Tanya.
“Really, I am surprised you swam that far. Last I saw you were resting on the platform,” she joked with him. He smiled only slightly.
“Uh huh, who was napping,” he said rhetorically. His heart was not in it. He was still looking around the park. Tanya began feeling nervous. He was a soldier after all.
“What’s up Jason?” She asked. He was making her nervous and evidently heard it in her voice.
“Probably nothing, but I am getting a strange feeling. I am not having a flashback to combat or anything. This is different, those two guys were up to something. I made it to the other side, just by that hollow there,” He pointed.
“I saw two guys there too. I used to fish there as a kid. They went up the bank and got in that car that just took off,” Tanya explained.
“Well they cruised by my truck twice, when I was on the platform again. Then they were just here
again
. At first across the lake they told me they were bird watching, they had a high end set of binoculars. Now I am not so sure. We may want to go Tanya,” He told her. Now Tanya was very nervous.
“The driver we just saw was one of them and the other guy, I am assuming was in the passenger seat, but the tinted windows made it hard for me to see him,” He was almost apologetic sounding. Tanya gathered up there things.
“What did the other one look like when you could see him,” She asked as she wadded up her towel instead of folding it neatly.
“Oh about six two, black wavy hair, mulatto skin like yours. He looked in good shape, for a civilian. He wore dark glassed like his buddy, RayBan I think. His jacket was a black leather jacket” He stopped talking when he saw the look on her face.
“What is it,” He asked coming to her.
“That was my ex,” She said softly with a tremble in her voice. Tanya was stunned.
“Could he be stalking me?”
Her ex had made every effort to contact her after they broke up and Tanya had gotten rid of her phone in every effort to honor her no guys pledge. He had always been possessive, but the thought of him stalking her gave her chills.
Chapter Four- Stalking and the Carnival
Tanya gave a report to the sheriff's office. Chief Major was there. She had known him since she was a kid. He looked like a hard ass, but he used to buy Tanya and her friend ice cream at the local ice cream parlor. She had told him what she thought was going on. Jason did not say much until Tanya was asked if she got a plate number.
“JKW 253 sir. I remember it,” Jason told the sheriff. He looked Jason over carefully while a deputy called the plate number out to the cops in the field.
“You a soldier boy?” Sheriff Major asked Jason.
“Yes Sir. Navy Seal, you sir?” Jason asked in return.
“Sure enough, fought in the first Gulf war. You are a seal aren't you son?” Jason nodded in answer.
“You looking out for Tanya here?” The Sheriff asked him.
“Yes sir.” Jason told him.
“He is my soon to be stepbrother Sheriff,” Tanya told him. Sheriff Major smiled.
“Well, that is good to hear. It never hurts to have a Seal in the family,” he was about to continue when the radio squawked and the man on the headset leaned in to hear. Then he turned to Tanya, Jason, and the Sheriff.
“The car you asked after Sheriff was being followed when we called it out. It ran and is over the state line now. He is gone sir.” the deputy told them. Tanya sighed in relief and Jason smiled. Tanya was glad she had followed his suggestion to let the cops know. Sheriff Major told the deputy to pass the information on to the next county, just in case. Since everything was good now, they left and went home. Tanya was done for the day. Jason gave her the rest of the day off before he started teasing her again. She thought that was nice of him.