Sea of Dreams (The American Heroes Series Book 2) (38 page)

Beck nodded modestly. “I’d like that,” he said. “The Naval Special Warfare Center S.E.A.L. training center is right here on Coronado, so I’d stay close to home.”

Davis simply wriggled his eyebrows. “I know you want to stick close to Blakesley, Beck, but she’s not an invalid, for God’s sake,” he said. “That accident was four months ago. You need to stop acting like she’s going to disappear tomorrow. That’s just not healthy for you.”

Beck tried not to get defensive. “I know she’s not going to disappear tomorrow,” he said. “But she’s almost three months pregnant and we’ve got four other kids at home. I’ve got a family now and a lot of responsibility.  There’s nothing wrong with me wanting to retire from active field duty that has me traipsing all over the world and finally have a job in the Navy where I can go home every night.  What makes that so terrible?”

“Nothing,” Davis snapped softly. “But I’ll be honest with you; taking you out of the field is a waste of material. You’re the best, Beck; you know that. You’ve done things that no one would ever believe if I was to tell them. You’ve got courage and skill that goes beyond a normal human being. I told your wife once that you were a real American hero and I meant it.  I sincerely do not want to lose you.”

“You won’t lose me. I’ll still be here on base.”

Davis sighed faintly, falling silent as he sat heavily at his desk. This wasn’t an argument that he could win. After a long and pensive moment, he lifted his gaze to Beck.

“I’m going to tell you something that I shouldn’t, but I think it’s important,” his voice was low. “I’m trying to get your transfer pushed through before the end of December because it looks like we’ll be deploying for another six month rotation in January when the carrier George H.W. Bush sets off for her group rotation.”

Beck’s eyes widened. “Six months?”” he repeated, horrified.  “If I deploy, I’ll miss the birth. I can’t miss it.”

Davis put up a soothing hand. “That’s why I’m working on your transfer, Beck. Trust me that I’ll do everything I can in spite of the fact that I don’t want to lose you. I have a feeling that if you don’t get what you want, you’ll be a pretty miserable man to be around.”

“That’s a fair statement.”

“So go get reacquainted with your troop,” he said. “You’ve got fifteen new faces, so introduce yourself and let them know who’s the boss.  You’ve got training scheduled with your troop for tonight, touch and go boardings off the coast. Get yourself ready.”

Beck stood up from the chair. “Aye, cap’n,” he muttered.

“Hold on,” Davis stopped him.  “One more thing.  The S.E.A.L.’s have decided to put out a calendar again next year. Remember that? They did for a few years back in the ‘90’s when that movie about S.E.A.L.’s came out and was so popular.”

Beck was standing by the door. “So?”

Davis lifted his eyebrows at him. “So you’re going to be the cover boy.”

Beck’s face fell. “What in the hell…?”

“Your team decided it, so don’t shoot the messenger.  They voted you in.  Solis is Mr. June and you are the cover and Mr. December.  They wanted to wait until you came back to work before doing the photographs, so someone from Navy P.R. is coming out tomorrow to take some shots of you.  Look hot and sexy.  The Navy wants to sell a bunch of these because the release is coinciding with the release of some big war movie in January.  Proceeds go to the Navy Widow and Orphans fund.”

Beck’s jaw was back to ticking unhappily. “I’m not doing it.”

“Yes, you are.”

“Absolutely not.” Beck was furious. He pointed a finger at Davis. “And don’t think you can boss me around just because you’re dating my wife’s best friend.”

Davis lifted his eyebrows. “Actually, I can,” he said. “I’m calling your wife. She’ll have something to say about it.”

“Don’t you dare.”

“Try me.”

***

“You’re doing it.”

Beck faced off against Blakesley as she gave the little girls a bath in the upstairs bathtub. It was after dinner and she was settling them down for the night. He stood in the doorway, deeply unhappy.

“Baby, I’m not going to do it,” he said flatly. “It’s stupid. I’ll be the laughing stock of the whole damn base.”

“Are you the only team member doing it?”

“No, but I’m on the damn cover.”

Dressed in yoga pants and a flowing top that concealed her growing waistline, Blakesley sat next to the tub as she washed Charlotte’s hair.   She was very calm and very firm with her stubborn husband.

“That’s because you’re the most handsome,” she said frankly, scrubbing the little blond head. “You’re going to do it. The money from it goes to the Navy Widow and Orphans fund, so it’s for a good cause.”

He slumped against the doorjamb and rolled his eyes. “I can’t believe Davis called you.”

Blakesley had no sympathy for him. She began to pour water over Charlotte’s head to rinse it clean.

“I’m glad he did,” she said. “I’m going to buy five hundred of those calendars and send them to everyone I know.  You’re the best looking man in the Navy and I’m very proud of you.”

He lifted an eyebrow at her as he slouched against the door jamb. “Would you be proud of me if I was a dog?”

She looked up at him but before she could answer, Crosby jumped up in the tub and splashed soap suds all over her mother.

“Beck, are you a dog?” Crosby crowed happily.

Blakesley pulled her daughter back down into the tub as Beck grinned. “I hope not,” he said. “But your mother hasn’t answered my question.”

“Mommy’s going to have a baby,” Charlotte told him seriously, water running in her face.  “He’s in her tummy.”

Beck laughed softly and went to sit on the toilet next to the bathtub. “I know, baby girl,” he said. “I’m very excited about it.”

“Why?” Charlotte wanted to know. “It’s not your baby.”

Blakesley started to laugh. “Sorry, Beck. That’s a terrible way to find out it’s not your baby.”

Beck smirked. “That UPS man really gets around.”

Blakesley continued to chuckle, calling for Nikki as she finished with Charlotte’s hair.  As Nikki appeared, Beck pulled Blakesley off the floor and they left the bathroom as Nikki got the girls out of the tub.  Blakesley stretched her body, stiff from sitting on the cold tile, as they took the stairs down to the first floor.  Lizzie and Cadee were in the living room watching television and doing homework, as Beck and Blakesley moved into the kitchen.

A lovely meal was waiting for them, having been cooked by Blakesley earlier in the day.  She waited until Beck got home so she could eat with him.   But he had only come home to pick up some clothes because he had night training, so their meal was going to be very short before he bugged out.   As she was dishing out the pasta, he put his big hand on her gently rounded belly and kissed her forehead.

“How are you feeling?” he asked as he sat on a nearby stool.

She shrugged. “Fine,” she said. “I just eat all day but I feel fine. I have a craving for tootsie rolls, though.  That, and orange smoothies.”

He made a face. “Gross,” he said, using Lizzie’s favorite term. “You don’t mix them together, do you?”

She grinned as she put the plate of pasta in front of him. “No, but today I crumbled chocolate cake on top of some lasagna.  It was delicious.”

He snorted, his mouth full of pasta. “Oh, God,” he groaned. “That’s really disgusting.”

She laughed and sat next to him at the counter, eating Pasta Alfredo with vegetables.   Beck seemed rather quiet and she eyed him as they ate.

“Other than the calendar issue, how was your first day back?” she asked.

He shrugged. “Uneventful for the most part,” he said. “Davis is trying to get me transferred to the Special Naval Warfare Center at the base.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s where they train S.E.A.L’s.  I’d be in command of one of the training units. The best thing is that I’d get to be come home every night for the most part. No more deploying.”

She smiled at him, a gentle hand caressing the back of his head. “That’s wonderful,” she said, running her fingers through his soft blond hair. “Does he seem confident you’ll get the job?”

Beck nodded. “The center commander wants me badly,” he said. “I’m pretty confident it will come through.”

Blakesley congratulated him again but he still didn’t seem too excited.  In fact, he seemed fairly pensive, like his mind was somewhere else.  She got up from her stool, went to the cabinet, and returned with a snack cake, which she promptly crumbled all over her pasta.  That drew a reaction.

“Ugh,” he groaned, trying to look away but was forced by morbid curiosity to watch her eat it. “How can you do that?”

She grinned. “Baby Beck tells me what to eat and I do. He likes it.”

He just wriggled his eyebrows. “Then my son is insane,” he said flatly. “Which reminds me; I was thinking of something today.”

“What?”

“What would you think if I didn’t want to name a boy after me?”

She looked surprised. “Are you kidding?” she said. “That was one of the first things you ever said to me.  You told me your name in case I wanted to name a future child after you. Now I’m willing to do it but you don’t want to?”

He remembered back to that day, grinning. “I do, sort of, but having three Becks in one family is a lot,” he explained. “People were constantly confusing me with my dad, so now we want to add another Beck to the mix? What if he’s in the Navy, too? That will make things crazy-confusing. “

“So what do you want to name him?”

He shrugged, stuffing his face with pasta. “I’d like of like to name him after my mother’s father,” he said. “His name was Colton. Everyone called him Colt.”

She brightened. “I really like that,” she said. “How about Marshall Colton Seavington the First? We can honor my dad and your grandfather. We’ll just call him Colt.”

He swallowed the bite in his mouth, grinning at her. “That sounds perfect.”

“You like it?”

“Love it.”

“But if it’s a girl, can I name her Becky?”

“Absolutely not. Name her something else.”

“How about Emma?”

“If you like it, I like it.”

She giggled and he put his arm around her shoulder, pulling her against him and kissing her temple.  He looked in disapproval as she picked at her plate.

“Stop eating that stuff, will you?” he said softly, kissing her again before returning to his food. “That’s not good for you.”

She shrugged. “It’s not too terrible,” she said. “Besides, if it’s what I want to eat, then I’m going to eat it. Being pregnant is no time to be picky or go on a health kick.  Besides, I eat well enough. I had three orange juice smoothies today.”

He chuckled and shook his head, finishing up with his meal. “Whatever makes you happy, baby,” he said.  Shoving the last bite in his mouth, he stood up and took his plate over to the sink. “I’ll be back tomorrow morning, probably in time to take the girls to school.”

“What are you guys doing tonight?”

He wiped his hands off and went back over to her, eying the mess on her plate. “Secret stuff. James Bond stuff,” he repeated the standard phrase.  “I’m not sure I can kiss you on the mouth now that you’ve eaten that concoction.  It might make me sick.”

She cocked an eyebrow at him, wrapping her arms around his neck as he enveloped her for a big hug.  He held her tightly, rocking her gently. He buried his face in her neck.

“Hey,” she said softly.

“What?”

“Why do you seem so depressed?”

He pulled his face out from the warm confines of her neck and looked at her. “Depressed? Are you kidding?”

“No,” she said flatly. “I know you too well. What more is on your mind that you’re not telling me?”

He sighed faintly, not surprised that she could read his mood as well as she had.  She was very intuitive. “I don’t want you to get upset but I don’t want to blind side you, either.”

“What about?”

He hesitated a moment, thinking on how to phrase it. “If this transfer to the Special Naval Warfare Unit doesn’t take place before the end of the year, there’s a possibility I may be deployed with my team on a carrier group in January.”

Blakesley stared at him, her big bluish-green eyes liquid with emotion. “Where?”

“We’d be at sea to deploy world-wide.”

“How long?”

“Six months.”

“Six months?” she repeated, horrified. “But… if you deploy in January,  you won’t be home until July and the baby is due in May.”

He soothed her gently. “I know, baby,” he kissed her forehead. “Davis is trying to get it pushed through as fast as he can but I don’t want you blindsided in case the worst happens and I have to go.”

She was tearing up already. “I don’t want you to go,” she sniffed.  “You need to be here when the baby is born.”

He pulled her into a snug embrace, kissing her repeatedly on the head.  “I’m working on it, I promise,” he murmured. “You know I don’t want to be gone, either.  Please don’t cry about it, okay? You know I can’t handle tears. I’m doing everything I can do.”

She nodded, sniffling and unhappy. He kissed her salty lips. “I love you,” he murmured. “I’ll see you in the morning, okay? Get the girls into bed and get to sleep. I’ll take the girls to school in the morning and bring you back some breakfast.”

She nodded again, deeply unhappy, as he took her hand and led her out of the kitchen and into the dining room.  Lizzie and Cadee were spread out all over the leather couches, with pens, paper and books scattered.   Beck bent over and kissed his daughter on the head.

“I’m off to work,” he said, pointing to the mess.  “Make sure you and Cadee pick this all up, please? Don’t leave it for Blakesley.”

“We won’t,” Lizzie looked over her shoulder up at her father. “Dad, I’ve been invited to a party on Friday night. Can I please go?”

Beck knew she was trying hard to make new friends at school.  Using Beck’s old townhome address on Coronado, she’d started school at Coronado High School because the state test results were better than the high school in their current district and Beck already knew the campus.  He’d attended it himself years ago. Lizzie had been very lonely over the summer with no one to hang out with, but Beck was naturally hesitant with her request.