Page 9 of A Spark of Luck (The Defenders #2)

Week One Gone

“I think I messed up.” Cait stared at the woman on the screen in front of her. Feet tucked under her bedding and laptop propped in her lap, she pushed past her need to keep Hunt a secret and confessed to a woman who was like her sister.

Dr. Jacqueline Shay was her best friend, her sister from another mother, her colleague, and at times like today, her anchor.

With her black hair twisted to the back of her head and a ratty gray Berkeley t-shirt, she looked about twenty years old, but she’d gone to medical school with Cait, and they’d been fast friends since millisecond one – even though she’d gone to the Army and Jackie had gone to Doctors Without Borders.

Jackie yawned. “How so? Patient wise? What?”

“Man wise.”

Jackie’s eyes widened. She quit fidgeting and leaned into the camera on her own computer. “Do tell, sister. You’ve been holding out.”

“Not holding out. It happened a week ago. I’ve been keeping it private. You can’t tell anybody.” Cait leaned in and mouthed the words right in her face .

Jackie cackled. “Who am I going to tell? Promise. Silence. Pinky swear and all that. Details. Details.” She made a move-along motion, and Cait resigned herself to telling the story. She wasn’t going to go blow by blow. Some of that needed to stay between her and Hunt.

“Did a stitch job about a month ago on a SEAL.”

“Hoo-hoo, girl. When you fall off the celibacy wagon, you fall off.”

Cait shifted in her seat, the mattress poking her. “Hush. You want to hear this or not.”

“What’s his name?

“Hunt. He’s a lieutenant.”

“Okay. So you doctored him up. What next?”

“There was a spark there. I thought I’d done a fairly decent job of ignoring it, but then he dropped food off for me. Then he appeared with dinner and lingered to talk. Obviously, amid his responsibilities for being here and mine, I’m trying to stay cool..”

“Uh-huh. Define cool.”

“Not seeing each other sorta.” She swiped her hand in a stop motion.

“Sorta? What does that mean? Why are you so worried anyway?”

“Because I slept with him.” Okay, shouting that out was not what she planned, but, Lord, she had to tell somebody, or she was going to bust. She had no idea what she was doing.

“Go you, honey.” Jackie grinned and sat back in a flowered chair Cait recognized.

“Are you at your parents?” Cait set aside her whole need to talk. “Why are you there?”

“My grandfather died.”

“Oh, Jackie, I’m so sorry. I know you and he were close.” She peered closer at Jackie’s face and noted the lines of strain.

Jackie grimaced. “It’s a bit of a conundrum, right? The old guy was ninety-four, and it was time. But I miss him. Current update, I am still not speaking to my parents or my brother, and rubbing up against this lifestyle is making me crazy.” Grief filled her face.

“Is it going okay?” Jackie’s parents were a whole different breed, and Cait had never been impressed with them.

“I wouldn’t say that. But the funeral was a fine, stilted affair typical of them and nowhere near the verve of the old man. I’m packing now.”

“Where are you off to?”

“Texas.”

“Texas? Uh, why? Vacation.”

“Nope. There’s a small town near Amarillo that needs a doctor, and I’m going to see if I’ll be a good fit. ”

Cait’s mouth dropped open, then she hid her surprise. Jackie was always the one who wanted to travel, wanted to dive into the next humanitarian crisis. “What’s wrong?”

Jackie rubbed her face. “Nothing, Cait. I’m burned out. I need something different.”

Cait sat back against her pillow. “I can understand that. Afghanistan is a tough place.”

“Which leads me back to your SEAL? Are you avoiding the conversation?”

“No, I don’t know what to say. He brought dinner to me in my quarters after a long, ugly day and one thing led to another and we…”

Jackie put her hands together in a prayer motion. “Got it on? Got naked? Please tell me he’s a good kisser and it didn’t last two seconds.”

Cait blushed. “Stop.”

Jackie widened her eyes and kept her hands folded together. “Please,” she whined.

“Okay, he’s a good kisser, and no, it didn’t last two seconds.”

Jackie threw herself back against the chair. “Oh, thank God. I might have to be nice to him for that.”

Cait snorted out a laugh. “It was stupid, Jackie.”

“It was human, Cait. You know there is nothing wrong with letting go. ”

“Around here there is.”

“When are you seeing him next?”

“I don’t know. That’s the problem. He got called out right after our little, ahem…moment and I think they went out on a mission. He hasn’t been back.”

“Now that sucks. Killed my fantasies as well as yours I’m thinking.”

Cait wrapped her arms around herself. “I don’t know how to find him. I don’t know if that was a once and done or there’s something else there.”

Jackie was silent for so long, Cait’s mind raced to judgement. She knew it had been a bad idea. She wasn’t one to have sex and walk away. Emotional connection mattered to her.

Jackie leaned close to the screen. “Look, no matter what, it wasn’t the wrong thing.

Some experiences are meant to be. Many make fine memories to look at later.

Some build a foundation that lasts a lifetime.

Some flitter away in a light breeze. You don’t know which this will be.

The man has a demanding job. You, having one yourself, should understand that.

Don’t let your brain continue with this wrong idea.

It wasn’t. Decide whether you’re going to treasure that memory, build on that memory, or chalk it up to place and circumstances. It was good, wasn’t it? ”

Choked up, she had trouble getting any response out. “While it lasted,” she whispered.

“Take it as a win and wait and see what happens.”

“Is that what you’re doing? Going to Texas.”

Jackie’s face twisted. “Nope. I’m running plain and simple. I gotta get off this track and on to something that will let me look myself in the eye in the morning.”

“There’s a longer story there.” Cait lifted a brow, a move she’d learned from her stepmother translated to tell the truth or get in trouble.

“Stop. I’ll tell you, but not now. I gotta go. One last dinner with the family pretending all is well, and then I’m out of here to Echo Falls, Texas.”

“Even sounds quaint and off the map.”

“Yep. That’s exactly what I’m hoping for. Love you, kiddo.”

“I love you, too, Jackie. Be careful.”

“Pffft. I’m not the one in a war zone. Stay safe.”

She disconnected with a couple more goodbyes and lifted her laptop to the floor. Pulling her blankets over her, she stared at the beige ceiling tiles and visualized a map in her head. Where was Hunt and would he come back to her?

Week Two Gon e

Cait stood in line at the mess and stared at the cookies. She missed cooking. She missed baking. She really missed her own kitchen and all her appliances.

She really missed Hunt.

She grabbed an oatmeal raisin off the display wishing for gooey brownies with frosting or a chocolate cream parfait. Ice cream would be good, too.

“Daydreaming, Doctor?”

She eyed the new doctor. He’d joined their merry troop last week. Funny how time was now measured in her head by the earthquake that had been her time with Hunt.

“What’s good here?” He put his tray down near hers.

“Everything,” she answered absentmindedly, ignoring his attempt to engage. “After a few days on shift running full steam, it’ll be fuel, and you won’t care regardless.”

Or after you tangle with a dangerous male and totally forget yourself. Frustrated with her preoccupation, she spent lunch wondering if Hunt’s appetite was as bad as hers.

Week Four Gone

Twenty-nine days. She knew the deal with Special Operations. They went where they were ordered. Stayed as long as necessary to achieve the mission. Got routed home or to the next line of defense, rarely putting their feet up anywhere but where their smarts and skills were needed.

Honestly, she’d been so gone over the moon with the man, she hadn’t thought to ask.

How long are you here for? Where’s your home port?

Do you have a girl in every port? Was she even allowed after one quick, hot roll in bed to even ask those questions?

That she didn’t know the answer showed her social inexperience with quickies.

Week Six Gone

Why anyone wanted to be a SEAL after the euphoria of success from BUD/S wore off was anybody’s guess. It was violent, bloody, dirty, uncomfortable work. Maybe that was his eight plus years in the SEALS coming to the fore, but Hunt’s tolerance for all the bullshit was low today.

Other side of the dateline from Cait.

Annoying that after six weeks she lingered in this thoughts. His mind shied away from why and moved on with the internal check-in on the state of his life.

Unwavering commitment to this job and the Navy still lay at the core of his resolve.

He offered value to every part of his life, value to add to his command, skill to add to his team, intelligence to add to his country with minimal distractions from a non-existent personal life. He liked it that way. Kept it that way.

His apartment could be dropped at the slightest notice. His master’s degree in mathematics was finally finished, so there were no ties to school classes, instructors, or mentors. The Navy was his anchor. He’d painstakingly set it up to be that way.

He’d gotten too personal with Cait. Trust didn’t happen overnight. How could it? Even though she’d taken great care of him in the moment, even the most intimate part of him, she didn’t know that.

He stared at his cup of coffee, having shoved his food away. Usually, he ate when food was available. Old lesson. Instead, he was brooding. Brooding! Every thought process, no matter how fleeting or how in depth, ended back with her.