In Search of Grace (12 page)

             
Seth glanced at the clock as he chopped the vegetables for the salad.  
She should be here anytime. He was looking forward to seeing her
,
getting to know who
she was
.  She was elusive
but not in a cunning way.  Everything about Alex was 100% real
.  A quality he found rare in woman. 
It
has been a long time since he had a date
,
and he wondered why he waited this long. 
Actually,
he did know why he waited.  He was tired of
the bar
scene and
frankly
had not
truly found anyone that he wanted to spend extra time with. 
His
hours
could
be more productively spent
working
on his new house.  Scrapping the cucumber in
to
the bowl with deft fingers, he looked around his kitchen.  It was great to be able to call it his.  He had
traveled
so much over th
e years as a Navy Seal
that there were many days that he still woke up wondering where he was and many minutes would pass before he would
realize
he was in his own bed
,
in his own house.  Frowning now
as he continued to chop he thought of the call he had received just this morning from his old superior, asking him to come back. 
“Just one more mission” he said. 
The call surprised him, but even more of a surprise
was
the rush of excitement that raced through his veins at the thought of another job. 
There was so much he
loved of his past work
,
at least
he did until
the
last
one
.  “Easy as pie
,
” was Richards comment as they all gave the thumbs up before
jumping out of the helicopter
.  It was 27 hours of hell
,
and even though all three best friends
returned,
only
two men
were alive
.
  Seth stopped chopping as he realized that
his hands had started to shake.
The hardest day of his life
was not
even
Richards’s
death or his funeral.  It was the moment standing on the front porch of
Richards’s
home,
Mark by his side
,
both
grabbing the wife of
their
best friend as she
crumbled screaming then clutching her very pregnant stomach in grief.
  It was the worst gut wrenching sound he had ever heard
coming
from a human being; Lord know
s
he had heard a lot.
 
Brought back to the present at hearing the
soft
knock at his back door, he took a deep, shaky breath.

             
Finally h
aving
the courage to make
her way to the back porch leading to the screen door
,
she could hear Santana playing
“
Black Magic Woman
”
o
n the stereo.
Interesting choice she thought.
 
Alex did not he
ar
movement
in the kitchen
as
she
knocked
.
At first,
t
hink
ing
he
hadn’t heard her,
she
started to
knock again when he
suddenly
appeared
.

             
She smiled up at him
.
 

             
“
Hey
you
.
”

             
“Hey
yourself
.
”
Seth
opened the door wide for her to step in. 
The delicious aroma that wafted through the air immediately assaulted her senses
.
 
The
smell
of
garlic, basil and cheese
caus
ed
her stomach to growl in anticipation.

             
“I hope you like
lasagna
.
” Alex
stared
at him
wide eyed
.
 
Seth’s
laughter was like a roar echoing though the house.
Seth quickly kissed the tip of her nose as if he did it every day
.
“I can cook
quite well you know rabbit
,
and do you have any idea how expressive your face is?
”

             
“I’m sorry
.
I
am always getting you wrong.
I guess I
was not
expecting a real home cooked meal.  It smells absolutely wonderful
.
”
  She watched as he walked to the counter
to finish cutting vegetables for a salad.  His fingers
confidently
held the
knife
, cutting each piece perfectly
. 
She observed that he
also
chose to dress
casually
noting the faded
jeans
and black tee shirt
.
H
er eyes
took in the
muscles rippling under his shirt.  The fabric stretching
to reveal a toned stomach
as he reached for some glasses
high on the shelf
. 
She
liked the way his clothes hugged his body.

             
Seth
turned to her, catching her eyes lingering
a little
too
long
.
  He liked
the way her face flushed
with color
when she
realized she
had been
caught
. 

             
“Wine
?”
  

             
Clearing her throat she nodded
her head
,
pretending he hadn’t see
n
her checking him out
,
as she
turned her
gaze
to
the room
.
“Red please
.
”

             
The décor was definitely different
from
when Betsy and Hank lived there.  No longer were the wa
lls covered in
garish
Italian
wall
paper but instead were painted
a Venetian gold
.
The moldings stripped of their
heavy
paint
also
had a new lighter
stain
.
The
old
counters
were
gone;
in their place
were
cool,
smooth
granite countertops
. D
ark wood
planks
replaced the
linoleum
on the
floor.
  It was beautiful, subtle and serene.
  It was Seth.

             
Handing her the glass
,
s
he
took a sip.  “Hmm..that is good”

             
“Glad you like it
.
” 

             
Alex felt his eyes on her as she surveyed the room.  “
So
, do you approve of what I have done?”

             
“Yes, very much.”  Alex could feel her voice catch as she thought of Betsy and how much pride she took in her home.
 

             
Seth
saw the tears,
came up to her and placed a
gentle
hand on her arm.  “It must be hard for you seeing changes in here.  You were close to the couple that lived here before?”

             
“Yes, I knew them very well.  But Betsy w
ould like the changes also.
  You did a great job.
” 

             
“Tell me about them
,
Alex
.
”

             
“What do you want to know?”

             
“Anything.  Who they were, how you met…”

             
Alex leaned against the counter while taking a
nother
sip from her wine
,
watching him as he finished prepping the food
,
realizing she
felt at ease around him.

             
“I loved them
.
”  Her voice soften
ing as she
remember
ed
the pair
.
“They were perfect in my eyes
,
and they loved each other very much.
I met them
when I
moved in next door. I
t took us
some
time before we
really got to know each other
, but when we did…well
,
it was like
...” she
hesitated
trying to find the right words.  Wanting him so much
to
understand
how she felt about Betsy and Hank.

             
“
It
was like family
?
”

             
Surprised, she looked at him.  “Yes, that is it.  They were like family
.
”

             
Alex
became quiet as she
watched Seth
place
the food on the
wood
table.
She took in the thick
white
pillar candles
resting
on a
gleaming
silver
tray
, their bottoms immersed in course rock salt
. 
Mesmerized
as the light from the candles
reflection danced
in the metal
,
she continued.

             
“I didn’t realize how much I needed them at the time.  I bought the house after my divorce
.
” Seth’s
eyebrow rose at her comment
ing on her marriage
, but she was so deep in her thoughts that she did not even notice his
reaction.

             
“
I
still felt like I was missing something
even though I loved my home.  I was also going through a really horrible time because of….”  Alex stopped
, realizing that she had almost spoken of her assault
.  “
Anyways,
w
hen I met them, I felt complete.”  

             
Seth pulled out the chair
motioning
for
Alex
to sit
down
.  Picking up the
black napkin he had placed on
top of
the square white dinner plate
,
she smiled.  “Y
ou really didn’t have to do all of this just for me
you know
.
”

             
“I didn’t, I did it for me.
”  He leaned forward, while placing a hand on her shoulder
, his voice lowing to a whisper
.  “I
think meals should be made special.  Food is
for enjoyment
,
something to savor
– definitely n
ot
to be
rushed
.
” 

             
Her breath caught in her throat.  She had the
feeling he
was not
just talking about food
.  Blushing, she smoothed the
napkin
on her lap nervously.
 
He was flirting with her. 
She
was not
quite
sure how to
respond
, so took another gulp from her wine.