Once a SEAL (6 page)

September 18, Coronado, California

As Dan arrived back at NAS, the Naval Air Station North Island, the day was cold and dreary. The marine layer hid the sun, and he craved the warmth on his skin. Standing in the middle of Aria’s old apartment, he could barely believe how little she had gotten done. Guess it was up to him to wrangle this mess.

Even on only a few hours of rest on the plane, his adrenaline was pumping joy juice through his bloodstream. He was married and they were moving into their first home. Putting his mind and body into hypergear, he moved like lightning, getting back to Aria’s apartment. He snuck in and gazed at his wife, peacefully sleeping.
This
place
is
a
mess.
There were half-packed open boxes and stacks of stuff everywhere. She had dark circles under eyes and there were files from work surrounding her on the couch.
Let
her
sleep.

Within two hours, he’d packed everything and had carried all the boxes out to the truck. The apartment looked bare, but it was good to go.

“Dan?” Aria called. He walked in to find her stretching across the bed. Lord, was there anything sexier? “Where did all the boxes go? This place looks amazing.”

“I’m magic,” he said as he scooped her up in his arms.

“Hold on. What about my office and my files?”

“All set. I even swept the floors.” He kissed her lips, so soft and sweet. He wanted more, but not here. They were done with the place, a furnished apartment where she had been single. Their needs were bigger than this place. “C’mon, let’s get moving. It’s time for…our new home to welcome us. Somewhere that can fit us both.”

***

Aria was stuck in chatterbox mode. She gushed about her work and everything that had happened over the past few days. He liked it. Her voice was easy on his ears and psyche.

Checking the rearview mirror, he let out a silent sigh. He could have done without Mark following them in his truck, but the man refused to let anyone else drive. Granted, it was useful to have all of Aria’s boxes piled in there. It would have taken them at least ten trips in his Mustang otherwise. Selfishly, he preferred to have this moment be just theirs.

“Are you listening to me?” She poked his thigh with her finger.

“Yes,” he answered automatically. He’d heard her. There wasn’t a lot for him to add, especially when she complained about her job. Of course, whenever he brought up her giving up the occupation that drove her batty, she threw a fit. His salary could support them both. Maybe at some point she’d want to quit her job. If not, that was fine, too. The only requirement in his mind was that Aria be happy.

“Good, because I have a lot more to say. I couldn’t believe Josh hated the proposal. He’s a longtime client, but he hadn’t really told us what he truly wanted until I badgered the answer out of him. So I had to stay up all night and do it and sent the info at 3:00 a.m. and then crashed out.” Aria threw her hands up in the air. “You understand, right?”

“Sure. I don’t rile easily. You’ll find I’m pretty basic. All I need is you…and food.” He winked at her.

“You’re right. Stick to the basics. I’ll let the work stuff go. We’re moving into our first home. Yay!” Her hands fluttered in the air before her face. “After we finish, let’s grab my car and some takeout. Okay?”

“Fine with me. But is it for us or him, too?” He gestured to Mark’s truck. “You know I could have had a few buddies help us out. We wouldn’t have needed Mark’s help at all.”

“Don’t start that again. He wanted to help, and I want him here.”

He shelved the food discussion as his Mustang rounded the corner. He didn’t want their first meal in their new home to be overshadowed by an argument; this experience needed to be celebrated. Maybe they’d pick up something later…just the two of them.

They pulled up in front of their first house, the one that would be theirs together. His. With his wife. This was pretty freaking cool. It was as if his childhood dream had come true—a normal family—and it was happening.

Of course, carrying Aria over the threshold might have been a tad much for his wife to put up with, and yet he enjoyed every second of it. He knew she was a bit of a control freak. Thus, holding the squirming bundle of redheaded womanhood with her ire up and her body pressed against his chest for even a few extra minutes pretty much made his day.

“Put me down! Daniel Gregg McCullum, let me go…now!” she chided through gritted teeth, kicking her legs in the air and punching his arms like a five-year-old. “People are watching.”

Looking over his shoulder, he didn’t see anyone special staring at them. Sure, there were neighbors outside tending their lawns or walking their dogs, but it wasn’t as if they were having sex on the front lawn. “The only person out there is your ‘bestie,’ Mark, and he’s pulling boxes out of the back of his macho truck, the one with the humongous tires.”

“Shush, he’ll hear you!” she whispered.

“Oh, please, a man who has giant tires is compensating for something, and it’s not a small ego. It’s usually another part of the anatomy that…” He didn’t get to finish that sentence, as Aria finally wiggled free and elbowed him in the diaphragm, relieving him of his air supply.

“Low blow,” he finally got out when he got his wind back.

“Not yet, but it could be, if you don’t let up. I promise I’ll make it an even lower blow, if you upset my friend,” she said, eyeing him and tapping her left foot. He knew from experience the action was a precursor to some well-intentioned and yet unpleasant tirade, so he disengaged while he was still ahead. But he was still thinking about it.

The house was a basic single-story, one-bedroom/one-bath unit attached to another, supposedly of a similar design. There was a separate dining room that Aria immediately called dibs on for her office, a living room, a kitchen, and a fenced-in backyard. He had learned from the housing office that the Silver Strand neighborhood was constructed mainly of single and double housing units.

There was a bike path that would bring him to the base in under a couple of minutes; they’d save a fortune in gas. Also, he could take a shortcut to get to the ocean side, or he could take his time and kayak all the way around Coronado, which was—actually—a peninsula, but everyone referred to it as an island. Whichever way he decided to go, he’d use the opportunity to train.

“There’s no refrigerator. No washer and dryer. Only hookups. We’re still going to have to buy a lot of stuff.” She sounded worried.

“That’s military life. There are rarely appliances in the housing units.” He added, “We’ll make it work. Just relax.”

They were lucky there was a stove, an unremarkable electric one, but they could make coffee and cook. That was handy.

“Did you see this view?” Somehow Aria always managed to find a silver lining. It was one of the many things he loved about her.

The outside patio was situated right on the edge of Glorietta Bay. A gated path ran around the whole neighborhood, and it was ideal for evening walks, or they could slide over the fence and skinny-dip. Of course, most of their neighbors’ houses faced out, too, but on a foggy night, as long as they stayed close to shore, it could be fun. She turned to grin at Dan.

“Yeah, pretty choice, huh? Glad you like it. Now you know why I was so excited to get a house here. There are an endless amount of options. Maybe you’ll finally learn to stand up on the paddleboard.” He made a mental note to pick up his double kayak and surfboards from Hammer’s house. His buddy’s father-in-law had built them a place in Ocean Beach, and the garage was insanely huge. Half the Team stored beach equipment there. Maybe he’d even snag JC’s canoe.

“I did a pretty good job last time I was on one. I sat and I kneeled. The standing part’s just a little tricky.” She mocked herself, showing the expression she made the last time she hit the drink.

He laughed. Dropping the last box of books in the living-room area, he picked up the last bag of his gear and headed toward the bedroom. The place was a nice size, with ample closet space, and he believed it would suit them well. Unless, of course, his bride decided to set up the entire contents of her past bedroom in here; then they would probably have to stand up while they slept. Maybe he could convince her to spread her treasures throughout the new house.

He hung up his uniforms on the left side of the closet. Behind that, he placed his small collection of blazers, Brooks Brothers shirts and pants, and his tie rack. After high school and before he joined the Navy, he’d lucked into a position working in an office designing logistics programs, something he had a knack for. He’d met the owner through an internist at a rival company, who’d been hired away. It padded his bank account nicely and gave him time to figure out what he wanted before he committed to training for his real dream…the Teams. Using triathlons to help improve his times, he worked out six hours a day in addition to his office job. All in all, by the time he joined the Navy and made it through boot camp and into BUD/S, he’d known he was in the best shape of his life. None of that stopped him from making it even better. Every day he tried to beat his best time, willing to laugh at himself and work harder when he didn’t and able to enjoy the achievement when he did.

His stomach rumbled, pulling his mind back to the present and its vast emptiness. They’d worked all day on the coffee and donuts they scarfed down for breakfast. He was starved. Grabbing a power bar out of his pack’s new stash, he downed it in three bites.

Dan checked his watch—it was 1830. He had ten hours until he had to be on base. He set the timer on his watch. The alarm would sound tomorrow morning at 0400.

Looking around the room, he sighed. They had completed the majority of the work, but there was still a lot to do. Amazingly enough, they’d managed to move the contents of Aria’s entire apartment and his clothes, footlockers, and gear into the house. His possessions were paltry compared to hers, not that it mattered very much. What was hers was hers, and if the rumors were true from his married friends, what was his was hers. He was fine with that, too. If he didn’t want someone in his stuff, it wouldn’t be in the house and he wouldn’t have joined his life to another’s. As it was, he was more concerned about the darker details of his life—never being able to explain what he did or where he was going.

The only question he had now was…where to stash his guns. He’d been collecting them since he joined the Navy, and there were at least thirty of them. Someday he’d share the reason for their presence in his life. For now he just needed to make sure they were safely stored. “Aria, I know I must have asked you this before, but how much training have you had with firearms?”

He opened a case, extracted one of his favorites, pulled the slide back, and inspected the barrel of the 9 mm Sig Sauer. Empty and clean as a whistle. He held the sweet weight in his hand, then wiped it off and laid it back in its case. Securing the latch, he tucked it among the others. “Aria, did you hear me?”

“Yes.” Her voice carried from the kitchen, where she was unpacking dishes. “I told you before, I can shoot single and double-barreled shotguns. I used to hunt with my dad. We have deer, bear, and a ton of other game in Vermont. I think I ate game before I ate cow for the first time, which was when I was seven.”

He nodded his head.
Right.
“We definitely have a lot of work to do, and we most certainly need a gun safe.” Looking in the master-bedroom closet, he saw the perfect place for one. It was hidden enough not to be obvious to strangers, yet an easy spot to access if necessary. Tucking the collection of guns and cases into his semi empty duffel, he zipped it up and slapped a combination lock on it. It wasn’t much protection, but it’d have to do for now.

“What did you say?” she shouted. The sound of pots and pans clanging together was an annoying cacophony. “Speak up or come in here.”

When she didn’t get an immediate response, she yelled, “Dan!”

“Yes,” he said softly, standing behind her.

Startled, she leaped into the air, dropping the pans she was holding onto the floor with a loud bang, and then reeled on him. “Don’t do that.”

Pulling her into his arms, he kissed her soundly on the lips. “Don’t do what?” His arms wrapped tightly around her.

“That,” she said, rubbing her nose against his and responding to his touch. “You scared me. Don’t do that Spec Ops sneak thing.” She wound her arms around his neck and rubbed her lips on his.

“Oh, but I enjoy watching your body move so quickly.”

“Jerk!” She pushed her hands against his chest.

He refused to let her go. “I’d never hurt you.”

“I know. I just…don’t do well with surprises.” She laid her head on his shoulder. “My first surprise ever wasn’t pleasant. Remember, I told you…when my parents died.”

Of course he remembered. She’d been nine years old, about to turn ten. Her mom and dad had gone to buy “special” Ben & Jerry’s ice cream from the store. They’d been expecting Jimmy any day, so her mother’s pregnancy cravings ruled the house. A drunk driver had hit them head-on. Her father had been killed instantly, and her mom had gone into labor. She had survived long enough to give birth before she died too.

Aria drew in a ragged breath. “It was the worst day of my life.”

He could feel silent tears soaking through his shirt. With one hand, he gently rubbed small circles on her back, and with the other, he held her tight.

“It was up to me after that to keep the family together.” She sniffed a few times.

“I’m sorry.” He hugged her.

“I know. Thanks for the apology.” She rubbed her face on his shirt and then groped in vain for a tissue. Giving up, she blew her nose on a piece of discarded wrapping paper.

She pressed her body along the line of his and kissed him back. “I have so much to do. Let’s get it done so we can relax.”

“It can wait until tomorrow. There’s no rush, Aria. Our life together has already begun. How it unfolds…is literally up to us.” His lips were raining caresses across her chin and down her neck. Sliding his hands past her waist, he reached around and cupped her bottom, tipping her toward him. “Let’s enjoy it.”