Page 37 of Cowboy SEAL Homecoming

Chapter 9

Alex stood on the porch and watched Becca stride inside, Ranger trailing after her.

“What the hell was that?”

Jack shrugged.

“It had to have been Gabe.” Alex moved for the door to follow her, but Jack stepped in the way.

“Why do you say that?” he asked in a way that had Alex bristling.

“Because he’s the only one here. Becca doesn’t sit around crying for no reason.”

“Because you know her so well?”

“It’s been a few weeks. I think I’ve got a pretty good read on her. What the hell are you interrogating me for?”

“Why the hell are you accusing Gabe? You don’t know the full story, but you’re going to blame Gabe?”

“I’m going to get the full story from Gabe.”

“Look, if you wanna fuck her, do it, but stop bringing us into it.”

Alex took a step forward before he could stop himself, and when Jack smirked, it took everything Alex had not to curl his hand into a fist and land a blow right in his face.

“What are you going to do, punch me?”

“Maybe you need someone to punch you, Jack. Your shit attitude is getting old. We all got messed up in that accident—not just you. We all lost a friend—not just you. And I’m real sorry your personal life was sucking so hard, but it’s been a lot more than a year since that shit with your fiancée went down, so maybe you could stop taking it out on everyone around you.”

Jack stood there, no longer smirking. He looked grim and blank, and Alex hated he’d spewed all that at him. They didn’t need this. Fighting and accusing. They needed to focus on the future.

But, damn, if Jack didn’t need someone to shut him the hell up.

The door swung open, and Gabe stepped out. “Oh, are we having a Jack intervention? Why didn’t you invite me?”

“I was defending you, asshole. So Alex decided to pick on me.”

“I’m not picking on anyone. I wanted to know why Becca was crying. Everything I said to you was spot-on and you know it.”

“Shit,” Gabe muttered, but his jaw firmed and he looked out over the dark night around them.

“You did something to her then,” Alex demanded.

Gabe’s gaze, surprisingly cold, landed on Alex. “You two seem to be real concerned about each other. Do us all a favor—talk to each other instead of me.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“It means Becca was real worried that she caught you having a nightmare. I told her to mind her own business, because this is our deal.”

Alex tensed. He hadn’t expected Becca to tell anyone. He’d been certain she would respect his wishes to keep that to herself. But she’d confided in Gabe? He was already pissed, but that…well, that fucking grated.

“Yeah, not so quick to jump to her defense anymore.”

“She’s an innocent bystander in all this,” Alex forced himself to say, though he didn’t quite feel it. Innocent bystanders didn’t go poking their noses where they didn’t belong. “I’m sure she thought she was doing the right thing.”

“Of course she did, but she had no business going behind your back. That isn’t loyalty.”

Which was when Alex finally got where this was coming from. He didn’t know a lot about Gabe’s family, but he knew Gabe was estranged from them, and he felt betrayed by it. So much so that loyalty had always been Gabe’s rallying cry. You didn’t tell a guy’s secrets.