“Good thing. You okay now? I’m going to make you something to eat.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“You have to eat. Trust me, after shit like that, you need to eat something. Helps you process.”
“Really, I’m fine.”
“You’re not. Get dressed and come downstairs.” He disappeared out the bathroom door.
I watched him go for a second, amazed that he had only made one or two dirty comments. I had just stood there completely naked in front of him, and he had walked away. He clearly understood the mental state I was in, although for some stupid reason I was a little disappointed.
I went into my bedroom and got changed slowly, taking my time. When I was done, I checked my phone. Lydie had called and texted, but I ignored them. I wasn’t ready for that crap.
From downstairs I could smell something delicious. My stomach growled and I realized I was way hungrier than I had thought.
I went down the steps and found Nate wearing fresh and dry clothing and standing in the kitchen.
“What are you making?”
“Fried chicken.”
“Seriously?”
“Sure. I make some damn good fried chicken.”
I sat down at the island and watched him cook, frying the chicken like he actually knew what he was doing.
“I thought SEALs were all dumb muscle heads.”
“Frying chicken doesn’t take much brains.”
“Maybe, but I’m surprised you know how to cook at all.”
“Every man needs to know how to cook one or two dishes.”
“I’m hungrier than I thought.”
He nodded. “Good. That’s a good sign. Means you’re coming back to yourself.”
“What happened to me? It was like I couldn’t control myself.”
“Shock,” he said simply. “You weren’t ready for what happened, so your mind shut down to avoid things getting worse.”
“It was so strange.”
“Happens to some guys in battle every once in a while.”
“Has it ever happened to you?”
He shook his head. “No, it hasn’t. Guess I’m built for that sort of shit.”
He walked over and placed a plate of fried chicken down in front of me. “Go ahead, eat.”
I picked up a piece and took a tentative bite. It was hot, but it was absolutely delicious, the best thing I had ever tasted in my life. Or at least I was hungry enough to think so as I finished off that piece and started on another.
He watched me, smiling to himself.
“What?” I asked.
“You eat like a pig.”
“Whatever. I get a pass right now.”
“You do.”
We ate in silence for a minute, and it felt good to be there with him. Then the memories came back and I felt a shiver run down my spine.
“How did you know?” I asked him after some silence had passed.
“Not sure.”
“You’re not sure?”
“It’s hard to explain.”
“Try to explain. I could really use an explanation right about now.”
“You develop this feeling, this extra sense. It’s an awareness of your surroundings from training and battle and all the danger you’ve been in. Something about that boat and the weather and the situation just screamed ambush.” He paused, biting into his chicken. “I don’t take chances.”
“What did they want?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t get a chance to ask.”
“We didn’t have anything worth stealing.”
“I know that. Maybe they wanted the boat. Maybe they were just looking for anyone stupid enough to be out on the water at that time.”
“How are there pirates? How is that possible?”
He was silent for another minute as he chewed. “There are a lot of bad people in this world, Claire. You don’t have to see it most of the time because you’re rich and sheltered.”
“My dad’s money has nothing to do with this,” I snapped.
“It does. You don’t have to be down in the shit with everyone else.”
“And that’s somehow my fault? I’m not a bad person because I was lucky enough to be born where I was.”
“I didn’t say that. You’re not a bad person. But you haven’t seen the things that I have. Believe me, there are pirates out there, and much worse.”
I was silent, absorbing that. I was pissed off that he was basically calling me spoiled and naïve, but he did have a point. I really didn’t have to deal with the darkness some other people did.
“But you did good back there,” he added.
“I just hid.”
“Yeah, you just hid. And you didn’t panic. You listened to me. Most people collapse or run into a worse situation because they can’t handle themselves. You did good.”