Page 66 of Cowboy SEAL Homecoming

Chapter 15

Every time he fell asleep, a nightmare consumed him. Completely. At one point, he’d woken curled up on the floor, not knowing how he’d gotten there.

He gave up on sleep and not being a grumpy asshole sometime before dawn. Likely his crew had hangovers the size of Texas, and they’d be stumbling around all morning trying to get through them.

He would have zero sympathy as he worked his ass off. To keep his mind off of the thing he shouldn’t have his mind on. He pushed himself off the ground and got dressed, having showered last night to get the smell of bar and Becca out of his clothes, and hair, and mouth.

When Alex walked into the kitchen, Jack was already there, yawning into a mug of coffee.

“What the hell are you doing up?” Alex demanded.

“Drinking always makes me get up way too early. Made coffee.”

“Great. Thanks,” Alex grumbled.

“You look like you’ve been through hell. Or should I say, Becca Denton?”

Alex didn’t even bother to glare. He was too tired.

“I noticed she didn’t come in when we did last night. Good twenty minutes after,” Jack continued, clearly not taking a hint that Alex wanted nothing to do with this subject. Or maybe that was the point.

“Yes, because she wanted to needle me some more. Obnoxious woman that she is.”

“She’s sweet. Weirdest damn thing.”

“Why is that weird?”

“I’d kind of forgotten sweet existed. If you’d asked me a month ago if I would’ve wanted anyone around me to be sweet, I would have said fuck no. But…I don’t know. Not so bad coming from her.”

“If you say so.”

“She really bothers you, doesn’t she?”

Alex didn’t have to look at Jack to know he was grinning. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he returned. Becca didn’t bother him, she…she…jumbled up his damn soul.

“I think you do. She gets under your skin. And it bothers you that she does. Can’t say I mind watching it happen.”

“Can’t say I mind watching you shut the hell up.”

Jack laughed and, much like the woman in question, that created two very different responses in Alex. It annoyed the hell out of him, but it was good to see Jack laugh, even at Alex’s expense.

“So, are you going to tell me what transpired between you two outside the bar last night?”

“No.”

“And why’s that?”

“Because it’s none of your business,” Alex replied, staring at the steaming, black liquid in his coffee mug.

“So, to be clear, what you’re saying is that something happened outside the bar between you and Becca…but it’s none of my business what that something was?”

“Yes, that’s what I’m—” Alex looked over at Jack, who was grinning broadly, and Alex realized he was playing a little too much into whatever Jack was trying to get at.

“So something did happen,” Jack reiterated.

“Since when did you get to be such a gossip?”

Jack stretched his arms behind his head and leaned back into his linked hands. It reminded Alex, a little painfully, of a time before, well, war.