Page 58 of Cowboy SEAL Homecoming

Chapter 13

Alex stood in a cloud of cigarette smoke outside Pioneer Spirit. At least three people had offered him a cigarette, exhibiting the small-town kind of hospitality he’d grown up with.

Sadly, he wasn’t looking for nicotine. He was after some clarity. He wanted something to make sense, and it wasn’t making sense inside, with all that noise and darkness and Becca smiling at some tool.

He knew he had to get back inside. Make sure Jack hadn’t drunk himself into passing out, make sure Gabe hadn’t taken off with the waitress before her shift was over. He had to make sure Becca wasn’t in there flirting with Mac Parker.

He had people to protect, whether they appreciated it or not. That had always been his job—to do things whether other people liked them or not.

It didn’t change because he wasn’t an officer anymore. It was a part of him, looking after people, wanting to help people. Ever since… He couldn’t just shut that off because the person didn’t want help.

He turned around to head back inside, but the door opened and Becca stepped out. With the battle light in her eyes that shouldn’t do that thing it did to his gut. And lower.

He shouldn’t have felt excited by the prospect of an argument with her. He should have been tired of it and irritated that she couldn’t listen to him. Or understand him.

“So are you out here sulking or what?”

“Sometimes I think I prefer the Becca who picked us up from the airport and couldn’t manage a word.”

She gave him a curled-lip smirk. “That Becca is gone. As gone as I can make her be. But this isn’t about me. It’s about you. Your issues.”

“I don’t have issues. I have concerns.”

“You know the Parkers just like I do. They’re an upstanding family.”

“An upstanding family doesn’t mean someone isn’t capable of doing something cruel. Doesn’t mean they aren’t capable of hurting you.”

“Everyone is capable of hurting me, Alex. Believe it or not, Mr. Navy SEAL, there are people who are capable of hurting you as well.”

He crossed his arms over his chest. “I don’t see what that has to do with anything.”

“No, you wouldn’t.” She shook her head, pressing her lips together more and more firmly until he wouldn’t have been surprised if steam started coming out of her ears.

She grabbed his arm and began to pull. He considered fighting her—it wouldn’t have been hard. She was strong, but not strong enough to forcibly move him. In the end, he let her drag him to the parking lot and her truck.

It was dark out here, though the moon and stars were bright. The air was cold and crisp and she didn’t have a jacket on. He scowled. “Give me the keys.”

“I’m not getting in yet.”

“Just give me the damn keys.”

On a frustrated grunt, she dug the keys out of her purse and threw them at him. Not lightly.

But he caught them and unlocked the truck, jerking the back door open and grabbing a coat. He didn’t know whose it was, but it would at least keep her warm. “Put that on.”

She shook her head and raked her fingers through her hair, ignoring the coat he held out. He curled his fingers into the fleece because if he thought about that, he wouldn’t think about his own fingers following hers.

“I know when I need to wear a coat.”

“I know you’ve got issues with your mom’s overprotectiveness, but it’s like thirty degrees out here. I’m not trying to smother you. I’m trying to…”

“What? Protect me?”

“Yes. That is what you do with friends. You protect them. I have protected Jack and Gabe for years. I made sure they had food before I did, made sure they had a place to sleep. It is what I do. It is who I am. You cannot change me because of your own baggage. And frankly, if you don’t care for it, don’t hang out with me.”

“Did it occur to you we’re not at war? That I know when to wear a coat, and I can figure out if a guy is talking to me because he’s interested and what exactly he’s interested in? Did it occur to you that I didn’t ask to be lumped in with Gabe and Jack? If you want to talk about friendly concern, then let’s talk about your nightmare the other—”

“No.”