SEAL the Deal (36 page)

The cadet—she couldn’t remember his
name—turned around to peruse the place. His eyes landed briefly on Bess
and continued on. She breathed a sigh of relief.

He turned back to the counter, and then glanced
at Bess again, recollection in his eyes. After saying something to the woman
with him, he headed in Bess’s direction.

“Commander Riley’s friend, right?”

Bess looked up and tried to act surprised.
“Yes. Bess Foster.”

He reached out his hand. “Tyler Griffin,
Mrs. Foster. I met you a few months ago.”

“Yes, I remember. And please, call me
Bess,” she said, unable to confess that she was the furthest thing from a Mrs.

“How are you?”

“Fine. Closing in on the big day, as you
can tell,” she said, self-consciously patting her belly. “Thirty-seven weeks as
of yesterday.”

“You must be excited.”

“That’s one word for it,” Bess said,
forcing a laugh. “So what are you doing back in Annapolis? I thought you were
only here for a semester.”

“It’s Spring Break. I came down to visit
my girlfriend. She’s a student at St. John’s College. We met when I was down
last fall.” He gave a nod in the direction of the blonde across the room pouring
creamer into her coffee.

“That’s nice.”

“She’s going to law school at Georgetown
after she graduates this year. She’s scary-smart,” he said, pride filling his
eyes.

Too smart to get herself knocked up by an abusive
boyfriend, Bess thought dismally as his girlfriend joined them, a bag of scones
in her perfectly manicured hands.

“Bess, this is my girlfriend, Bridget
Needham. Bridge, this is Bess. She’s a friend of Lieutenant Commander Riley.”

“The one who gave you those contacts at
the Rangers, right? Nice to meet you.”

“That’s the one.” Tyler turned his
attention to Bess again. “I don’t imagine you’ve had any word from him yet?”

Bess’s eyes widened. Had news of Lacey and
Mick’s argument actually spread through two branches of the military? They must
be hard-up for gossip. “Um, no. We haven’t heard from him since last week.”

“His girlfriend must be concerned.”

Okay. This was getting weird. “Concerned
about what exactly?”

Tyler’s face froze. He glanced at his
girlfriend uncertainly and then back to Bess. “I’m sorry. I heard that he got
recalled by the SEALs.”

“What?” Bess gasped, gripping the side of
her chair.

Tyler’s girlfriend looked sympathetically
at Bess. “Tyler, why don’t I run to those shops on my own and we’ll meet up in
half hour or so? Give you time to catch up,” she said, obviously not feeling at
all threatened leaving her boyfriend with a pregnant woman.

“Bridge, that’s great. I’ll call you on
your cell in a bit. Thanks, hon.” He gave her a quick peck on the lips.

Despite Bess’s current state of anxiety,
she still felt a tug at her heart from the show of affection.

Tyler sat in the chair next to Bess. “I
really spoke out of line. You know, it’s just a rumor.”

Bess felt her stomach cramp up. Great,
Bess thought. Gas.
Just the thing to make me even less appealing to the
opposite sex.

“Are you all right?” He must have noticed
her discomfort.

“I’m fine,” she shifted in her seat, struggling
for a better position. Her back was killing her. “What is this rumor, then,
exactly?”

“Just that Commander Riley left the
Academy suddenly for some SEAL mission.”

Bess shook her head. “He would have
called.” Even after arguing with Lacey, Mick certainly would have called. Wouldn’t
he?

“Not if it’s black ops. Those guys just
disappear.”

Bess took a deep breath and let it out
slowly to relieve the pressure in her stomach. Why had she eaten that third egg
this morning? Wincing, she tried to ignore his look of concern. “So, um, is
there any rumor about when he’s coming back?”

Tyler just shook his head. “Are you sure
you’re all right?”

“Not really. Too much stress, I think.” Why
wasn’t Maeve here? She’d know what to do.

“Uh, yeah, or you could be in labor.”

“No. I have three more weeks. This is just
stomach pain.” Unconsciously, she started rubbing her belly. “Is there some way
we can find out for sure about Mick?”

“I wouldn’t know. I could ask around, but
I doubt I’ll be able to find out much at my rank. You could ask any Navy
officers you know who are stationed here.”

Jack, Bess thought immediately, reaching
for her tea to calm her nerves. Where was Jack spending Spring Break? She
wracked her brain trying to remember. “Ow!” A sharp pain sent her lurching
forward, spilling hot tea all over her lap.

“Okay, that does it. I’m taking you to the
hospital. My car’s parked on Main.”

She took his hand gratefully, leaning
heavily on it, dignity be damned. The sudden pain had stolen all her energy. “I
think that’s a good idea. Thanks.”

***

Charging down the hall of the maternity
floor with Maeve, Lacey felt lightheaded. Her heart hadn’t stopped racing from
the moment she had gotten the message that Bess was being driven to the hospital
by some guy named Tyler.

She wasn’t due for another three weeks.

And who the hell is Tyler?

“Where have you been?” Bess barked when
she saw them. She was walking down the hall with a death grip on a man who look
familiar.

 “Oh,
you’re
Tyler,” Lacey said,
recognition dawning. She shook his hand. “I remember you from that day at the
Academy. Thanks for taking care of our girl. Well,
girls
, considering
the one on the way.”

Maeve hugged Bess. “Are you sure you
should be walking around right now?”

“The doc said it would be good for her. Helps
move things along, so to speak,” Tyler offered, his attention never leaving
Bess as she was passed from Maeve’s embrace to Lacey’s.

Lacey squeezed her friend. “We’ve been so
worried. I’m so sorry we weren’t here to get you to the hospital. Maeve got a
ticket racing up here.”

Still slightly stooped over, Bess angled
her eyes at Maeve. “And a phone number, too, if I know your attraction to men
in uniform.”

“Ha! If I had a number, do you think I’d
have a ticket? No. There was a ring on his finger, and that’s one line I won’t
cross.”

Bess managed a small laugh. “Tyler, I
really can’t thank you enough for staying with me while I waited for them. It
really wasn’t necessary.”

“Of course it was. I wasn’t going to leave
you by yourself.”

“You’re really sweet. But you go on with
your day now. Hanging out in the maternity ward for three hours is certainly not
the way you wanted to spend your Spring Break.”

Tyler glanced at his watch. “I figure I’m nearly
three hours vested in this, and I’m not leaving till the mission is complete.”

Lacey smiled at him, confirming her first
opinion of the cadet. “The mission, huh?” She turned to Bess, “Translated from
military-speak, I think that means he’s not going anywhere.”

“But your girlfriend—”

“—is touring the Museum for Women in
the Arts with four of her sorority sisters right now,” he said glancing at his
watch. “You aren’t really going to make me join them, are you?”

“No—ooooooh!” Bess completed her
sentence with a low-pitched moan, her eyes rolling upward and her grip on Tyler
intensifying.

Maeve and Lacey looked at him in alarm.

“Contraction,” he explained, timing it
with his watch. “Gone yet?”

There was a long pause before Bess slowly
resumed walking. “Mmhm. That was a rough one. I think I want to lie down in my
room now.”

“How about I head to the nurse’s station
to get you some more ice chips? And you can catch up with your friends.”
Tyler’s gaze fell on Lacey and Maeve. “Can I get you two something from the
cafeteria? Maybe some coffee?”

“God, yes.” Still bleary-eyed from lack of
sleep, Lacey could have kissed him for offering. She reached for her purse.

“No, my treat,” Tyler said, and strode
down the hallway before Lacey could argue.

Maeve’s mouth was practically watering. “Can
we clone him?”

Bess started shuffling toward her room. “I’m
in pain and you’re planning a seduction.”

Maeve laughed, opening the door for Bess. “We
called Jack and he’s catching an early flight back, but won’t make it here till
tomorrow. He really wanted to be here.” She glanced hesitantly in Lacey’s
direction. “Do you think one of us should call Mick?”

“No,” Bess spat out. “I need to talk to
you first—
oooouuuch
—” Gasping from another contraction, she
gripped Lacey’s hand. “—some other time.” Releasing her grip, she saw
dents from her fingernails embedded in Lacey’s hand. “Oh, God. Sorry, Lacey.”

“No problem.” Lacey hadn’t missed Bess’s
reaction to the mention of Mick’s name. Curiosity gnawed at her, but she forced
herself to not pry. Bess was in no shape to do much talking.

Maeve perched herself in front of an uninspiring
view of the hospital parking lot. “I don’t know why you’re not getting an
epidural. You don’t have anything to prove. This isn’t some sort of test you
have to pass, you know.”

“I know. I just don’t want one. Maybe it
is a test, for me, anyway. Maybe I want to prove something to myself.” Bess let
out a pain-mitigating breath. “I’ve been a doormat most my life, you guys. I’ve
never been tough.”

“Don’t say that.”

Bess shifted in the stiff hospital bed. “But
it’s true. I want to be tough now. I need to be. For her.” She rubbed her
belly. “I want to be strong. I want to be able to climb mountains for her if I
need to.”

Maeve’s expression was grave. “You hear
this, sister,” she started, pointing her finger. “You don’t have to be tough. You
have us. You be whatever you want to be, and we’ll stand by you. Both of you.” She
smiled, leaning over to talk to Bess’s tummy. “You hear that, kiddo?”

Lacey’s smile diminished and tears started
pouring down her cheeks.

Maeve immediately rolled her eyes. “God, Lacey,
you get so emotional when you don’t get enough sleep.”

Bess was more sympathetic. “What? What’s
wrong?”

“Oh, nothing’s wrong. I was just thinking
this is the last time it will be just the three of us. It’ll be four now.”

Maeve’s abrasive shell visibly cracked,
and her expression warmed. “Well, thank God. The two of you were getting so
boring.”

Bess winced at another contraction, and
fought to get her words out. “You guys are the best friends I ever had.”

It was Maeve’s turn to let a tear fall. “Gram
always told me that friends are the family you choose.”

Lacey joined hands with Maeve and Bess,
and they rested their hands on Bess’s belly. Her voice was soft. “Then I choose
you.”

Seventeen years ago

Lacey sat at the dining room table, which
often doubled for a desk in the Owens household. Gripping her pencil tightly, she
added another name to her list.

Nine, Lacey thought, tapping the pencil
against her chin, making sure she hadn’t forgotten anyone. A light going off in
her head, she jotted down another name.

Vi snuck up behind her, peering over her
shoulder to see the names on the list. “Kristen Jenkins? You’re inviting her? I
don’t like her. She always smells like cat litter.”

“Well, it’s not your birthday party,”
Lacey snapped.

Vi shrugged, plopping her math homework
down on the table and pulling up a chair.

“Besides,” Lacey added, suddenly angry, “you’re
not invited.”

That was perhaps one of the few things
Lacey could have said that could pull Vi’s attention away from math. Math was
her favorite subject at school. “What do you mean, I’m not invited?”

Lacey struggled to ignore the hint of
rejection she saw in Vi’s eyes. She had to stand firm on this. For once. “If
you want to go to a birthday party, you’ll have to wait for your own next
month.”

“You know I have Dad and Mom just give me
the cash.”

“Exactly. You take all the money that they
would have spent on a party and save it. But then I’m the one throwing the
party.”

Vi tossed up her shoulders carelessly and looked
back down at her homework. “So, take the cash instead of the party. They made
the same offer to you, you know.”

Lacey slumped in her chair, feeling her
argument losing ground. “But I’d rather have the party.”

Vi didn’t look up from her work.

Irritated, Lacey squared her shoulders toward
her sister. “But I’m not going to have you coming to my party and enjoying it
when you’re not going to throw a party next month that I get to go to. It’s
just not fair.” With great flourish, Lacey picked up her list, pushed back her
chair, and stormed into the kitchen.