Sea of Dreams (The American Heroes Series Book 2) (4 page)

He was starting to feel really foolish. “That’s about it, ma’am.”

“If you call me ‘ma’am’ again, I’m going to put that fork in your eyeball.”

He grinned, toying with his beer glass. “Sorry. Habit.”

She forgave him with a smile. “So tell me about yourself, Mr. Navy.”

He lifted his eyebrows thoughtfully. “My name is Beck Seavington, I’m a commander in the United States Navy, and I’m assigned to a detachment out Coronado Naval Amphibious Base.  I was born and raised in San Diego, California, attended the United States Naval Academy, and graduated in 1990 in the top two percent of my class with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. Is there anything else you’d like to know?”

Her eyes were glimmering warmly at him. “Are you married?”

He gave her a curious expression. “Do you really think I’d be here if I was?”

Her smile faded. “Sorry,” she said softly. “I wasn’t trying to insult your integrity.”

He shook his head. “You didn’t,” he watched her, noticing she wouldn’t look at him as she finished the last of her red wine.  “But I’m guessing you asked for a reason.”

She did look at him, then. “What reason?”

“You tell me.”

She looked back to her wine. “Maybe…,” she whispered. “Maybe someday I will.”

He let it go.  She was very protected, he could tell.  But he was a patient man.  He intended to find out why this lovely, sweet and funny woman was so guarded. He drained the last of his beer.

“You didn’t answer me,” he said as he set the glass down.

She looked at him. “What’s that?”

“Whether or not you’ll let me take you out to dinner.”

“We’re having dinner now, aren’t we?”

He shook his head. “We’re having drinks.”

“Then let’s order dinner.”

“You haven’t eaten yet?”

She shook her head. “I fed the girls earlier but I wasn’t hungry. “

His smile returned. “Then let’s get the waiter over here.”

The evening flew past as they conversed over dinner and more drinks.  Beck hadn’t been out on a date in so long that he felt like a giddy teenager through most of the meal, engaging in further conversation about the art gallery she wanted to open but steering away from her reasons for moving to San Diego. It seemed to be one of a few subjects she wouldn’t talk about but despite that, she was very easy to talk to and he talked more than he probably had in his entire life in just a couple of short hours.

Beck discovered that she loved horses and dogs, but hated anything to do with the water, ironic considering he was in the Navy.  She also loved horse racing, football and NASCAR, something he loved as well, so they bonded over talk of Talladega, the San Diego Chargers and the Kentucky Derby.   He came to discover she was a smart cookie who knew her stats on horses, race car drivers and football players.   He was impressed to the bone.

But along with his growing respect and interest, he was also increasingly aware that she was very guarded with her private life or personal information.    He knew where she was born and raised, but little more than that.   He was becoming increasingly curious but he refrained from asking any more personal questions, afraid he would scare her off.  He was enjoying her company so much that he sincerely didn’t want to spook her; he wanted to have many more nights just like tonight, getting to know a very sweet and beautiful woman that he was extremely attracted to.

It was close to ten in the evening when Blakesley’s cell phone went off.   Thinking it was the KidTopia center calling to let her know to pick up the girls, she answered.  As Beck sat back and finished off his third beer, Blakesley’s expression went from relaxed to tense all in a short few seconds.  Beck listened to a few short exchanges, nothing he could really make heads or tails out of, until she signed off and abruptly shut off the phone.

The mood, which had been light and fun only a few moments earlier, was now uncertain and tense. Beck watched her put the phone back in her purse, her expression dark and somber.

“Everything okay?” he asked softly.

She looked up at him as if startled by the question. “What?” she said before she could really think about it, then shook her head and regained her train of thought. “Oh…  it’s nothing.  Hey, I think it’s about time for me to pick up the girls. Do you want to come with me and see Cadee for yourself?”

He smiled faintly, toying with the empty beer glass. “Sure,” he said, his intense eyes riveted to her. “Can I ask you something?”

She forced a smile at him, the gentle and funny man she had shared two wonderful hours with.   Truth be told, she was coming to like him a great deal.

“Ask away,” she said, forcing the jovial mood.

He sat back, watching her carefully. “I realize that I just met you,” he began, “but I have to tell you, I’ve never had a date like this in my life.”

She cocked her head curiously. “What do you mean?”

He lifted those big shoulders, searching for the correct words to describe what he was feeling. “Well,” he laughed softly, embarrassed. “I don’t get out much.  My work keeps me pretty busy, so there’s very little free time. I can’t even remember when I was last out on a date, so this… this is like something out of a fantasy for me.  Here I am, at the Del, sitting with a beautiful woman I seem to have a lot in common with. It never even occurred to me when I woke up this morning that this would be the end of my day and I want to thank you for that.”

Blakesley smiled, a genuine gesture. “That’s a really sweet thing to say,” she said sincerely. “Thank you. I’ve really enjoyed this evening, too.”

He met her smile, still looking somewhat embarrassed as he continued. “I guess what I’m trying to say is that even though I just met you, already, I feel like I know you and I feel a lot of concern for you. Hell, I kind of feel responsible for you and your girls after what happened this afternoon.  I know you just moved here and all, and you’ve got three beautiful little girls and are undoubtedly really busy, but I was kind of hoping we could be friends.”

Her smile grew. “I’d like that.”

He looked surprised. “Really?”

She nodded. “You’re really easy to talk to and, to tell you the truth, I don’t get out much either.”

“It seems like you have a lot to keep you busy.”

She half-nodded, half-shrugged. She began to fidget with her empty wine glass again. “Life had been really busy the past few years,” she said softly.

He was watching her closely, the way her lashes fanned out over her cheeks when she blinked, the way her elegant hands gripped the wine glass.  She seemed pensive again, distant.

“So we’re friends, right?” he asked quietly.

She forced a smile, eyeing him. “Yes.”

He leaned forward on the table. “Then from one friend to another, from a guy who really doesn’t have any ulterior motive other than he just wants to help if he can, why are you so guarded?”

She looked at him as if shocked by the question.  An expression crossed her face, like one of sorrow and longing, that was quickly replaced by that same forced smile he had seen all night when they danced around a subject she didn’t want to talk about.   She let go of the wine glass and reached across the table, gripping one of his enormous hands. 

“I appreciate the concern, I really do,” she said sincerely. “But you can’t even imagine… I came to San Diego because I need to start fresh with my girls, away from… well, away from the madness that has been my life over the past couple of years.  If I told you about it, you’d run screaming from this table and never look back.   I just made a friend and I don’t want to lose him, so even though I appreciate your concern, I’d rather just let it all lie.  It doesn’t matter, anyway.”

He held her soft fingers tightly as he gazed into her blue-green eyes. “Probably not,” he said quietly, his voice soft and deep, “but I thought I’d ask anyway. I wasn’t trying to be nosey.”

“I know.”

“Whatever is troubling you, it’s pretty evident.”

She just smiled at him, feeling his big fingers caress her hand. “I’m sure it is,” she whispered. “But it’s my problem.  I’ll deal with it.”

He simply nodded, slowly, as his other hand came up to hold on to her.  Her hand looked tiny wrapped up in his big mitts.

“If you need help, you’ll let me know?”

She smiled gratefully. “I will.”

“Can you tell me what that phone call was about?”

“Why?”

“Because you went from happy to sad all in a split second.” He cocked his head slightly, eyeing her in the moonlight. “Is it an ex? Is he harassing you?”

She laughed softly and squeezed his hand. “No, nothing like that,” she assured him. “Although it… oh, hell, it doesn’t matter. Look; I’m just a nice, normal girl without any weirdness or vices that just got caught up in a bad situation.  I’m trying to put distance between that bad situation and my family so my girls won’t have to deal with it.”

He just looked at her. “You’re not making any sense at all. You realize that, right?”

She pulled her hand from his grip and started laughing, running her hands through her hair in a frustrated, oddly nervous gesture.  She gazed up at the stars as if they would help her navigate her way through this delicate subject.  After a moment, she simply shook her head.

“All right,” she said with resignation. “You want to know all about me? Okay. Here goes.  I was married to a man for almost ten years and we owned a few businesses together, including three successful restaurants in Hollywood, Pasadena and Irvine.   We had a great life, or so I thought, until about two years ago.  That’s when things went crazy.”

He was hanging on every word. “What happened?”

She looked at him, matter- of-factly. “We had a big house, private schools, and had everything we could possibly want.  I thought we were happy, but I was wrong.  In August almost two years ago, at around midnight, there was a knock on my front door.  I was still awake, waiting for my husband to get home because he had a business meeting that ran late, which was nothing unusual.  Because of the restaurants and the odd hours, he was always coming home late.  Anyway, I open the door and the police were there.  So were several media vans.  Apparently, my husband wasn’t so much at a business meeting as he was at our restaurant in Hollywood with a woman he’d been seeing for about a year.  I guess she wanted more than to just be a mistress and threatened to tell me about the affair so my husband, seeing that he had everything to lose if this happened, strangled her.  He tried to cover up the crime by getting rid of the body but one of the kitchen staff saw what happened and called the cops.”

Beck stared at her, horror in his expression.  “Oh, my God,” he muttered. “That’s terrible.”

She nodded, shrugged, as if she really didn’t care anymore when the truth was that she did.  The shame, the horror, followed her around on a daily basis and she cared very much.  She couldn’t believe she was actually telling him all of it but the more she talked, the more it came spilling out.

   “Didn’t you hear about the Hollyhock murder?” she asked him. “It was all over the news for, like, six months. Hollyhock was the restaurant in Hollywood where it happened. Ed Masterson was convinced on second degree murder and sentenced to life without possibility of parole at Folsom State Prison.  He’s been in there for almost a year and I have all but wiped him from my life and the lives of my children.”

Beck wriggled his eyebrows sympathetically. “I don’t blame you.  I would have done the same thing.”

She grew subdued as she thought on the past year of her life that she really didn’t like to think about. “The trial drained any mutual assets we had to pay his legal bills,” she said softly. “Everything we had together was gone. Fortunately, I’d kept the janitorial service as my personal asset, so at least the girls and I weren’t destitute. I’m still able to provide for my children.  That call you heard was about our house.”

“What house?”

She looked up from her fidgeting fingers.  “The house here in San Diego,” she told him. “It belonged to my mother, who passed away about the same time Ed went to prison.  The house has been in our family since it was built, but since my mom and dad retired to Palm Springs years ago, my mother rented it out to my cousin and his family. Now the house belongs to me and I evicted them because I want to live in it, only my cousin wouldn’t go peacefully.  Remember I told you this morning that I was staying at the hotel until my house was cleared? The eviction warrant was served today.  That call was from the Sheriff’s department telling me that they finally got my cousin out of the house.”

Beck sat back in his chair, understanding now why this beautiful, sweet woman seemed so protective. She had a lot going on, a horrible situation that she didn’t deserve.   When he had asked her why she had seemed so guarded, he never imagined a story like this.  In was, in truth, a little shocking.  Before he could say a word, Blakesley suddenly stood up and collected her purse.

“So,” she seemed abrupt and business-like, “now you know the truth and I’m sure this will be the last I’ll see of you, so I want you to know that you will always have my gratitude for saving my daughter’s life today.  I owe you everything.  You seem like a really sweet and grounded guy, and I thank you very much for a lovely evening. It’s been a long time since I’ve had such a nice evening out.”

He stuck out a big hand and grabbed her by the wrist before she could get away. “Wait a minute,” he said firmly. “Where are you running off to?”

Blakesley wasn’t as strong as she was pretending. Tears were right on the surface, tears she didn’t fully understand but she knew had something to do with embarrassment and disappointment.

“I’m going to get my girls,” she said tightly. “Then I’m going to go see if my cousin trashed my house.”

He stood up next to her, still holding her wrist.  He was a good foot taller than she was, towering over her.

“You’re not going anywhere,” he said softly, firmly. “Sit down. Please.”

She shook her head, struggling not to look like an idiot and burst into tears. “I can’t,” she whispered, refusing to look at him. “I really have to get the girls. The movie has been over for ten minutes.”