Love Under Two Navy Seals (2 page)

Two down and one to go
.

Devon turned off the shower and stepped out of the enclosure. He toweled off, then padded, barefoot, through the master bedroom on his way to one of the other two bedrooms in this beautifully refurbished Victorian home.

Passing by, he let his gaze settle on that big-ass bed. Neither he nor Drew had slept in it yet, though they couldn’t resist taking turns in the master suite’s shower and that very soothing Jacuzzi.

That bed was meant for three people, and it would
not
be put to use until there were three of them to romp in it.

Nodding his head for emphasis, he continued on to his destination. He and Drew had simply each chosen one of the other rooms, neither really caring much over the selection. Each of the other two bedrooms in the house held a double bed, and besides, this separate-room thing was only temporary.

He pulled on a pair of track pants, tied the drawstring, and then headed downstairs. It was Drew’s turn to shower in the smaller bathroom and cook dinner. They’d bunked together, then lived together, for almost all of the last fifteen years.

Part of the same SEAL team since their training days, they’d often joked that they’d been brothers, separated at birth. There’d been an instant simpatico between them that had served them very well in their chosen careers.

It pained them both that their days in the field were over. In their mid-thirties, they both felt they were too old to start at the beginning, and train with four new recruits. Devon shrugged. It was what it was. The time had simply come for the next phase of their lives.

They would finish their military careers as training officers—this was their last tour—which made the time right for what else they wanted. They both wanted to settle down and raise a family.

To do that, they needed Julia. There simply would be no other woman for them.

“Anything?” he asked as he came to stand beside the man who was his best friend and, for all intents and purposes, his brother.

Drew turned from looking out the front window of the house, a window that included in its lovely view the front of Julia Benedict’s house. Situated at the rounded end of a cul-de-sac, their house was actually next door to Julia’s. The curve in the street, however, allowed them to be able to see her front door.

“Not yet, but it’s early. It’s just coming up on five. She’s not been home any earlier than six all week.”

“True.” Dev focused his gaze on the pale-pink house with brown trim, as if he could will its mistress to their door.

“Dinner’s ready,” Drew said.

“Good, I’m starving.”

The way Dev saw it, he and Drew were a pretty good deal for any woman to consider as husbands. They could cook, and clean, and do laundry, and certainly didn’t mind doing any of that.

They’d even joked once or twice, years before, about maybe finding one woman between them to marry, when their active duty days were over.

Maybe we knew how we’d end up all along
.

Drew brought the large pot of hearty beef stew over to the table and set it on the hot pad between them. He’d tossed a salad, too. That was another point in their favor, Dev thought, as they both liked fresh salads
and
cooked greens.

“Is that homemade bread?” Dev pointed at the loaf on the table.

“It is. Mrs. Benedict brought it over while you were showering. I invited her in, but she said she was off to visit her sons and daughter-in-law in Houston. I think those would be our Julia’s parents.”

“Did you ever, in your wildest imagination, ever imagine that we’d someday meet a woman like Mrs. Kate Benedict?”

“No, and I’ve got a pretty good imagination. She said her other daughter-in-law, Bernice, made the bread just this morning.”

“Did you add that name to the chart?”

Drew smiled. “I did. By elimination, Bernice must be the wife of Caleb and Jonathan Benedict. Kate mentioned that those Benedicts had five children.” He paused for a moment, and Dev could almost see the wheels turning in Drew’s brain. “I think we may end up needing another whiteboard.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised. There sure seems to be a hell of a lot of Benedicts, Kendalls, and Jessops in Lusty.”

“Don’t forget the Parkers, the Joneses, and the Parker-Joneses—although that last group, I believe, is small and there’s only one who remains in town, a maiden aunt who was the librarian for nearly thirty years.”

Dev cut himself a good-sized hunk of the fresh-as-a-dream bread, and slathered it with butter. He recalled the fancy Italian restaurant they’d taken Julia to in New York. The bread there had been fresh and warm, and they’d been served a plate of olive oil with a swirl of something red in it to dip the bread in.

Dev considered himself an ordinary man. Give him fresh salted creamery butter for his bread any day.

“So if we don’t hear from our Julia tonight”—Drew spooned himself another bowl of stew—“we move on to phase two. Those would be the businesses owned by those family members even closer to her.”

Dev nodded. “There’s the grocery, the museum, and then, of course, the restaurant.”

Drew grinned. “Do you think she’s heard about our little campaign, yet?”

Dev grinned back. “If everything I’ve ever heard about small towns is true, you’ve got to figure.” Then he shrugged. “Being this close to her, and not having her, is driving me nuts. I’m about ready to say to hell with waiting and just march over there as soon as we know she’s home, throw her over my shoulder, and bring her here, to our bed.”

“That makes two of us,” Drew said. “At the moment I’m trying to remember
why
we thought it would be better if she came to us first, rather than our taking the more direct approach and just going to her.”

“I hear you. Like I said, I’m just about done waiting, myself.” He and Drew shared many traits and preferences, especially the predilection that once they’d decided on a course of action, they wanted to see it done.

It didn’t take them long to finish their dinner. They worked quickly, clearing away the debris, doing the dishes. Within fifteen minutes, the kitchen had been set to rights.

“Let’s take a look at that chart we’re building,” Dev said. He headed toward the one downstairs bedroom that Kate had said the previous tenant—a high school teacher—had used as an office.

Just off the main hallway that led from the front door back to the kitchen, the small room at the moment only held a few boxes of their stuff, and the chart they’d begun to draw, trying to understand the large, multi-branched family of the woman they loved.

Dev looked at the chart and shook his head slowly. “I’m capable of reading complicated mission charts.” He shook his head as he scanned the data. “But this might just be beyond even me.”

Drew nodded. “I drew this thing, and
I’m
getting lost in it. One highlight, though. These two brothers”—he pointed at a couple of names—“are recently retired from the Air Force. Does one of the names look familiar to you?”

Dev leaned in and read the name. “Well, I’ll be damned.
Morgan Kendall
. Isn’t that the guy we pulled out of that ghost town on the edge of the desert in Southern Afghanistan a couple of years back?”

“Yep, that’s him.” Drew looked at him. “I wonder if he’s told family and friends what he
really
used to do over there?”

“Doubt it,” Dev said. “Just as we’ll likely never discuss the details of any of our ops. Some things are better left buried forever.”

“Amen to that, brother. Anyway, it seems he and his brother have started a new business—Kendall Aviation—out at that airfield we pass every morning.”

“Oh, yeah? Maybe we should stop by and—”

Loud pounding erupted from the vicinity of the front door, cutting off Dev’s words. The doorbell sounded, a nice, solid bell chime kind of sound. And then the pounding resumed again.

Dev met Drew’s gaze and they both smiled.

Only a few steps separated them from the front door. Through the opaque glass that flanked that door, Devon spotted a figure, not very big, and definitely female.

He pulled open the door quickly, and had to bite back his laughter when Julia, looking flustered and beautiful, nearly fell into his arms when she went to pound on the door again.

“You! And you!” She pointed at them each in turn. “I have a bone to pick with you both!”

“That’s not your line.” Dev kept his tone reasonable, and offered her a small smile. “Your line is ‘honeys, I’m home.’”

“Honeys, I’m home?” Julia repeated the words, her brow furrowed.

“Yes, and it’s about time!” Dev reached forward, picked her up, and pulled her into the house and flush against his chest. “Welcome home, baby.”

Julia opened her mouth but Devon gave her no chance to protest. Instead, he did what he’d been dreaming of doing for the last six months.

He laid his lips on hers and plundered.