Sea of Dreams (The American Heroes Series Book 2) (18 page)

Cadee turned those big bluish-green eyes on him. “But you like her, don’t you?”

“I like her a lot.”

“So don’t people get married when they like each other a lot?”

“Cadee,” Blakesley had all she could stand; she had to stop her nosey daughter before Beck was backed into a corner. “Stop with the questions.  It’s time to get ready for bed.”

Cadee shrugged and climbed off the couch. Smiling, Beck watched her disappear into the bedroom, turning back to Blakesley and wiping his hand across his forehead in mock relief.

“Sheesh,” he muttered. “I feel like I’ve just been given the third degree.”

“I’m sorry,” Blakesley whispered because the girls in her arms were now asleep. “She doesn’t say much but when she does, everything comes spilling out.”

Beck thought back on what Cadee had said, especially the part about people coming to take the house away and cops coming to the house a lot.  He was starting to understand just how bad things had been for Blakesley and the girls over the past couple of years and his heart ached for them.

“Don’t be sorry,” he murmured, his green eyes lingering on her. “So you lost your house?”

Blakesley nodded after a brief hesitation. “Ed’s legal bills drained everything,” she replied softly. “I had separate assets and on the advice of my lawyer, kept everything separate even when the house went into foreclosure.  Everybody asked me why I let the house go and the best I could do was explain to them that the house only had bad memories for me. I wanted to let it go.  I wanted to get my girls the hell out of there and away from everything that house represented.”

He nodded his head faintly. “There’s nothing wrong with that.”

Blakesley wriggled her eyebrows, almost ironically. “My parents thought so,” she said. “They couldn’t understand it, especially when I offered to buy the house down here from my mother’s family.  I just felt like I needed to get back to my family roots and start fresh.”

“Did the house cost you a lot?”

She hugged Charlotte to still her when the little girl stirred in her sleep. “It sits on two acres of prime San Diego land,” she told him what he could already figure out. “My mom’s sister really wanted a lot of money for it.  It was her son living in it, renting it, and she wanted the money for him.  The home was appraised for almost three million and that’s what I paid for it.  Ironic considering my cousin trashed the place even though the money I paid for it was going to him to buy him a new place to live. What an ass.”

Beck’s eyebrows lifted. “Three million?” he repeated. “I’ve never known anyone who paid three million for anything.”

She smiled faintly. “Don’t tell your friends that your girlfriend is a cash cow, okay? I don’t want to find the entire base of Coronado Island at the house sponging off of me.”

He laughed softly. “Nobody is sponging off of you, especially me,” he said firmly.  “In fact, I buy dinner tomorrow for everyone, okay?”

She smiled over the top of Charlotte’s sleeping head. “Don’t you like my cooking?”

He stood up, his gaze warm on her. “I love it,” he said, “but you really need to let me pay for some things, okay? You’re going to give me a complex.”

She just smiled up at him as he stood over her, looking at the little girls in her arms. “Want to help me with these two?” she asked.

He nodded, reaching down to scoop up Crosby. “Be happy to,” he grunted softly as he held the little girl against his chest. He nodded his head in the direction of the bedroom where Cadee had disappeared. “In there?”

Blakesley stood up next to him, cradling Charlotte. “In there.”

Beck hadn’t tucked a child into bed in years and he wasn’t hard pressed to admit he had missed it.  There was one big king bed in the room and a fold-away couch, which Nikki slept on, so all three little girls were put into the big bed and covered up.  Cadee was still awake when her mother tucked her in, her big eyes gazing up at her mom.

“What are we doing tomorrow?” she asked.

Blakesley kissed her daughter on the forehead. “I’m not sure,” she whispered. “Maybe we’ll go back over to the new house for awhile.”

“I want to go to the beach.”

Blakesley lifted her eyebrows. “You do?” she shrugged. “Well, I suppose we could.”

Cadee looked over at Beck, who was standing at the end of the bed. “Will he go, too?”

Blakesley glanced back at Beck. “If you want him to.”

Cadee was still looking at Beck. “I guess so.”

Beck could sense her hesitation, still, and he put his hand up. “I’ve got to work tomorrow, so don’t worry about me. You ladies have fun at the beach.”

Cadee didn’t say anything as Blakesley kissed her again and stood up, turning off the light. Bidding Nikki a good night, she and Beck went out of the room and softly shut the door.   They wandered into the living room area with its non-descript couches and still-running television.  Beck sat first and pulled Blakesley down onto his lap.

“Alone at last,” he whispered with a smile, pulling her close.

Blakesley returned his smile, wrapping her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly.  Beck held her close, nuzzling her neck, allowing himself the freedom of no reserve, no doubt, in what he was feeling for her.  His day had started out with concern and fear for what might or might not be happening between them, so the ending to the day was more than he could have hoped for.

Just as he pulled away from her neck to kiss her on the lips, he caught sight of a little body standing next to them.  Startled, he found himself looking into Cadee’s big eyes.

The little girl was staring at him.  She hadn’t even looked at her mother, all curled up in Beck’s lap.   She was looking right at Beck.

“You can come to the beach with us if you want to,” she said. “Will you teach me to swim like you do so you won’t have to save me anymore?”

He smiled at her. “I really do have to go to work tomorrow, but if I get off in time, I’ll come to the beach and teach you to swim like I do. Okay?”

Cadee nodded, looked at her mother, and then turned away. But suddenly, she turned back around again and put her arms around Beck’s neck, hugging him.  It was as if all of the fight suddenly drained out of her and she needed and wanted that comfort.

Beck pulled her up onto his lap, too, holding both Blakesley and Cadee in his big arms. Blakesley, one arm around Beck and the other around her daughter, smiled at him over the top of Cadee’s blond head.  He winked at her. 

They put Cadee back into bed and closed the door again, returning to their couch.  The first thing Beck did was turn off the television and pull Blakesley down onto his lap again as he sat.  She curled up on him, her arms around his neck, pausing to breathe in the quiet stillness of the room with just the two of them. He leaned against the back of the couch, cuddling her, relaxing and feeling the peace. It was the first day in a week that he’d been able to experience it.

Blakesley didn’t say anything as she lay against him, hearing his heartbeat loud and steady in her right ear.   He seemed very content just to lay there and hold her, and she was content to let him.  But soon enough, he began to snore and she lifted her head, seeing that he had fallen dead asleep.  She knew how exhausted the man was so she very carefully began to climb off his lap.  He stirred immediately.

“Where are you going?” he demanded groggily.

She leaned over and kissed him. “You’re exhausted,” she whispered.  “You have two choices; either you sleep on the couch or you drive home and go to bed.  What’s it going to be?”

He rubbed at his eyes, trying to wake up. “Neither,” he told her. “I want to sit here with you. I haven’t seen you in a week.”

She smiled. “You’ll see me tomorrow,” she said softly. “You need to sleep, Beck. I don’t know what crazy stuff you’ve been doing this past week, but it’s very clear that you’ve got some kind of sleep deprivation.  You need to go to sleep.”

He sighed heavily. “I really want to just hang out with you tonight.”

She kissed him again and he pulled her down against him, kissing her hungrily. “We’ll see each other tomorrow,” she was trying to pull away from him but she wasn’t doing a very good job. “Are you going to go home?”

He shook his head, his mouth devouring her lips. “No,” he said, his lips against hers. “I’m going to stay here until you kick me out.”

She laughed softly, her arms going around his neck as his hands began to roam. This time, Blakesley didn’t stop him. In little time, they were in her bedroom with the door closed and Beck took his time with her.  Every stroke, every kiss, every touch meant something.  Emotion he hadn’t let himself feel in years was spilling out all over the place and he couldn’t stop it. Her flesh was sweet and her body incredibly responsive, and he took her twice before midnight.  It was the best night of his life.

 They fell asleep together, cuddled up, but he woke up before dawn and dragged himself in to the living area and fell back asleep on the couch.  He didn’t want three little girls getting up and finding Mom in bed with her new friend. 

He woke up three hours later to a three year old trying to put Cheerio’s in his mouth.

Chapter Ten

“So… did the two dozen roses work?”

It was about nine in the morning.  Beck looked up from the dispatch he was reading on his iPad to see Butch standing next to his desk, grinning.  Anthony was standing slightly behind Butch, a smirk on his face.  The question had come from Anthony and Beck took his focus away from the iPad screen.

“They did,” he replied. “Thank your florist guy again the next time you see him. They worked like a charm.”

Anthony’s grin grew. “Good,” he said. “So what happened?”

Beck couldn’t help the smile creeping on to his lips as he set the iPad down and leaned back in his chair.

“She’s a very special lady,” he said discreetly. “That’s all I’m going to tell you.”

Butch looked at Anthony. “Look at his face,” he said confidently. “He got laid.”

Anthony chuckled as Beck gave Butch an intolerant look. “I spent yesterday with her and her girls, she cooked dinner, and here I am,” he pointed a finger at Butch. “And if you go around telling everyone I got laid, I’m going to lay you out, maybe permanently.  Keep your mouth shut because this isn’t a cheap one-night stand.”

Butch’s face lit up. “You did get laid!” he exclaimed. “Congratulations, Beck. When’s the wedding?”

Beck looked disgusted as he turned back to his iPad. “I’ve only known her a week,” he said flatly. “She’s sweet and wonderful and, like I mentioned before, way too good for me, but she seems to like me anyway.  I feel like the luckiest man on earth and I won’t let you make fun of me for it.”

Butch was still smiling as he sat on the edge of the big metal desk. “I’m not making fun of you,” his joviality eased considerably. “I’m serious. I’m really happy for you, you know that.  Also, I was curious about your lady-friend so I looked up the Hollyhock Murder like you mentioned.  She really went through all that?”

Beck looked up at him. “I don’t know anything about it. I’ve purposely not done any research on it. If she wants me to know, she’ll tell me. I feel like I’m prying into her business if I look it up.”

Butch could see his point, sort of. “I think it would be better if you knew what you were getting in to,” he said quietly. “You know you’re my best friend, Beck, but I have to tell you, the Hollyhock Murder was pretty crazy.  Your lady-friend’s ex-husband is a pretty bad dude.”

In spite of his declaration of not wanting to pry into Blakesley’s business, Beck found himself interested. “What do you mean?”

Butch shrugged. “He was some big shot restaurant owner and the celebrities went to all of his restaurants,” he replied. “The article I read said he hooked up with one of his waitresses and had an affair.  The girl had a cocaine habit according to what I read, and he got hooked into that also, you know, paying millions of dollars for drugs and all that.  Turns out that his mistress had ties to the Columbians, so the guy got roped into doing drug deals out of his restaurants and using the businesses as a money laundering front.   Anyway, when the woman wanted to make the affair public, he killed her and got caught. What I read said that the Columbians made a couple of unsubstantiated attempts on your lady-friend’s life so she couldn’t testify against her ex even though the cops said she didn’t know anything about his drug dealings. She didn’t tell you any of this?”

Beck was staring at him, shocked. “Not a word,” he said. “Like I said, she will when she’s ready to.”

“Does it give you second thoughts about hooking up with her?”

Beck shook his head definitively. “It makes me want to go to Columbia and kill every goddamn bastard associated with the drug cartel.  Did you read anything about continued threats against her?”

Butch shook his head. “No,” he said. “It was really just a sentence about it and not much more. You’d have to ask her if there’s been anything else.”

“I’m not going to ask her anything. When she’s ready to talk, she will.”

Butch watched him turn back to his iPad again.  He could sense the man’s angst about it so he let it go and changed the subject somewhat.  “So when do we get to officially meet her?” he wanted to know.

Beck wouldn’t look at him. “I don’t know,” he said. “I’m trying not to rush this. If I bring her around here and introduce her to you, I feel like I’m pushing way too fast. I don’t want to scare her off.”

Butch wouldn’t be put off. “Can I at least invite you and her over to dinner?” he asked. “Gina is dying to meet her.”

Beck glanced up at him. “Maybe,” he said. “Just give me a week or two and let us get to know each other a little more.  Coming to your house for dinner is a big step. We’re hanging out at the beach over by the Del this afternoon, so just give me some room to work, okay?”

Butch slapped him on the shoulder and stood up from the desk. “Whatever you say,” he said, noticing that Beck was fairly interested in the dispatch he was reading.  He pointed to the iPad. “What’s going on?”

Beck sighed faintly, reading the confidential report, debating how much to tell them before they were fully briefed by the entire team’s commanding officer, Captain Davis. Each S.E.A.L. team was divided into three troops consisting of anywhere from forty to sixty men each. Each individual troop consisted of Troop Commander , which happened to be Beck for his particular group, a Troop Senior Enlisted, which was Butch, a Targeting/Operations Officer,  and a Chief Petty Officer, which was Anthony Solis.