Tempted by a SEAL(10)
Pulling it out, he saw he had been right in identifying the caller. “Hey, Dad.”
“James, where are you?”
“A couple of blocks away.” He did not specify that he was at the convenience store where he’d overpaid for the six-pack of cold beer and had been happy to do it.
Maybe after a few cold ones he wouldn’t grit his teeth every time his father called him James in that tone of voice that made him feel as if he was a little kid doing something wrong.
“I was just checking. It’s almost eleven.”
But it wasn’t eleven yet and that was the point.
“I’ll be there on time.” Or he would if his father would let him hang up so he could get back on the road.
It was just one of the things he loved about riding the bike rather than driving a car—no one could expect him to talk on the cell at the same time. That only added to the feeling of freedom.
“Sorry. I’m just impatient for you to get here.” His father’s statement was enough to raise Mack’s guilt for not visiting.
“I know. I haven’t been home in a while.”
“No, you haven’t.” There was criticism in his father’s tone that Mack didn’t deserve.
He’d been yanked out of the country to fight terrorists, so he was in no mood to be judged for not visiting more. “It’s not like I didn’t want to come home. It’s not exactly in my control.”
“I know. I told Laurie that.”
Mack closed his eyes for a second and tried to control his agitation. “You didn’t tell them, did you?”
“No, I didn’t. It’s ridiculous. She’s my wife and Liddy is my stepdaughter.”
“And one word spoken to the wrong person could put them both in danger, and you. We’ve talked about this—”
“Fine.” His father sounded annoyed. “I think you’re paranoid, but I did as you asked. They know you’re in the Navy. Nothing more.”
“Good. Thank you.” Maybe Mack was being paranoid, but it was for his father’s own good.
It wasn’t his own safety he was concerned about. It was theirs. The possibility of some nutball targeting a SEAL’s family was very real.
A lone wolf ISIS supporter. Some anti-American extremist. No one knew when or where the next threat could come from, if it ever came at all, but it never hurt to play it safe.
In an area like this, or in San Diego, locations known to be heavily populated with SEALs, the danger was even more pressing.
People liked to talk, brag even. Daddy’s new bride and her college-aged daughter would be no exception. He could picture his new stepmother babbling at the hair salon about her new husband’s SEAL Team Six son. Or his new little sis telling everyone about him at her college.
What neither would realize, not being from a military background, is that one being related to him could put them all in danger.
Mack’s father sighed. “I’m just excited for you to meet Laurie and Liddy. And see the new house too.”
His brows rose. Mack had been to Iraq and back, had buried a friend and then almost immediately boarded a transport to Africa all in the past seven months, but his father was obviously more excited about his new family than concerned about his old one.
Who the hell were these strangers who had swooped in and taken over his father’s life anyway?
His father had said he’d met her online, but not much more than that.
Laurie and Liddy. They sounded more like a pair of matching Cocker Spaniels.
On top of that, the chances of him keeping the names straight was pretty slim.
He could memorize enough information for an op to fill a book, but this was different. He had to remember that stuff. He wanted to remember it, knowing it would keep him and his team alive.
Remembering if this Liddy was his new mommy and Laurie was his new sister or visa versa? Yeah, not much motivation for that, especially knowing he’d likely only see them a couple of times a year on his few visits home.
And speaking of visits . . . he had better wrap up this call, if only to prove to his dad that he could stay on schedule and be a responsible son who arrived when he said he would.
Gritting his teeth and lying, Mack said, “I’m excited to meet them too, so let me go so I can get there. Okay?”
“Aren’t you on the way?”
“No. I’m on the bike so I’m standing in a parking lot so I can talk to you.”
“I told you I’d buy you a car—”
“And I told you if I wanted a car I’d buy my own. I’ll see you in a few minutes.”
“Fine. We’ll talk about it when you get here.”
He’d see about that. “Sure. Bye.”
They’d had the debate before. More than once. The fact hadn’t changed, he didn’t need a car.
Mack was away more than he was home. Winters were mild enough in this part of Virginia near the shoreline that he could drive the bike year round, and it was much easier to store a bike when he was away than a car.
Hell, when he was gone for months he could roll it into his apartment and leave it there along with all his stuff. He’d found an apartment so cheap it really wasn’t that much more than renting a storage unit for all his crap.
And the dollar difference was more than made up for in knowing he didn’t have to pack up and move all his shit if he deployed for six months, and then find a place to live and move it all again once he was home.
He didn’t play the base housing bingo some of the guys did—hoping for a vacancy, waiting around for months. Forget that.
Thinking about it raised his blood pressure when he should be enjoying his last few moments of freedom before the family assault.
Another day, he would have taken the long way. But today was not that day. His father was excited about this family reunion , or union to be more accurate since Mack had never even met them before.
Sighing he pulled onto the street his father’s new house was located on. Apparently the old one, just a couple of blocks away, wouldn’t do for his new bride. He’d bought a new one and given Mack the address.
He knew the neighborhood so it wasn’t hard to find.
The houses were huge, just like the owner’s egos, he was sure. Each home he passed seemed bigger than the next. He watched the numbers on the mailboxes. He might not remember his new family members’ names after a few beers over brunch, but he remembered the address now just fine.
The numbers to his right counted up. Two at a time. 101. 103. 105.
What the hell?
He skidded to a stop faster than he should have and sat with the bike idling in the street in front of the address his father had provided. But it wasn’t the circular drive in front of the big stone house that threw him. It was what was parked in that driveway that had him nearly wiping out.
A Volkswagen Bug with a giant flower painted on it.
What were the chances there were two of those driving around Virginia Beach?
He had a very bad feeling the odds were not high.
When the front door swung wide he knew he was right. Mack’s father stood in the doorway with his arm around a woman who looked enough like an older version of Lydia, even at this distance, it left little doubt.
This was going to be interesting . . .
CHAPTER 8
“Liddy!” The sound of Lydia’s mother’s voice came from the direction of the stairs.
“What?” From inside the bathroom, Lydia shouted the word at the closed door loud enough so her mother should hear.
“What kind of way is that to answer?” Even from the distance and through the wood door, the annoyance in her mother’s voice was evident.
Lydia drew in a breath and cracked open the door. Leaning forward, she stuck her head out. “Sorry. I’m in the bathroom.”
Her mother was halfway up the staircase, frowning at her. “Get finished and get downstairs as soon as you can. James is here.”
James. Whoopee.
Lydia resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “Fine. I will.”
She closed the door and scowled at her reflection. It seemed like the mysterious James was finally going to grace them all with his ever-elusive presence.
In spite of their mutual parents dating she’d never met him. Of course, she’d been away at school for a lot of that time, but still it seemed odd. Her mother had never even met him.
Her mother and his father had been together for months, close to a year before they eloped to Vegas like a couple of kids.
Joseph, aka step dad, had said that James was in the Navy. The excuse for his absence was that he’d been deployed for most of the year.
She supposed that made sense. Not that she had any personal experience with the military, but there seemed to be a lot of Navy bases in this area. At least it appeared so from the map she’d studied online when she’d been looking at the directions to drive here.
Still, she would think even the Navy would let the guys come home to visit family once or twice over the course of almost a year.
Maybe James felt as warm and fuzzy about this union between their parents as she did and he avoided visiting because of it.
If that was the case, then she understood exactly how he felt because she was of the same opinion about this late in life love of their parents.
The difference was, unlike James she’d sucked it up. Lydia put up with the older couple’s lovey cooing at each other. Their acting like they were teenagers dating for the first time.