Page 80 of Cowboy SEAL Homecoming

Chapter 19

Alex pulled Becca’s truck into the drugstore parking lot, trying to puzzle out this strange turn of events.

“You can just stay here,” she suggested over brightly.

Such a damn puzzle. “You want me to stay in the truck while you go buy some mysterious thing at the drugstore?”

“Well, it’s not mysterious.”

“Then why can’t I go in with you?”

“I’m…just…I’m going to buy something that’s kind of embarrassing. So I just thought maybe you should stay in the car.” Her eyes focused on the doors of the store. “I don’t know when I’ll have time to run to town again, and it’s an item that, um, well, you know, I might need soon. Maybe.”

“Is this some weird feminine thing?”

“No! No.” She blinked at him, her cheeks turning pink. “Not that. Just…” She took in a breath and studied him. He knew she was assessing him in some way, but he never could figure out what she was looking for or what she wanted from him. She was so inherently difficult to figure out.

Who knew what the hell was wrong with him that he got something out of that? That he enjoyed it in some mixed-up way. “Okay, maybe I’ll just stay in the truck,” he said.

“Great. Be right back.” She scurried out of the truck like a spooked animal.

Alex could only stare after her and wonder how he’d gotten himself into whatever this was. Wondered how he could muster up the sensible reaction, which would be anything that would stop this from continuing.

But the thought of stopping anything when it came to Becca was ludicrous. She was like summer and freedom. She was truly unique and smart and funny. It was a weird thing to admit, even just to himself in the privacy of his own thoughts, but he hadn’t dated much. The navy hadn’t left much time for relationship-type things, so most of his experiences with women were hookups. Maybe a week’s worth of them. His one and only relationship had been his high school sweetheart, and they’d mostly fumbled through trying to figure the opposite sex out. It wasn’t some great true-love thing.

It wasn’t smart to get caught up in a relationship with Becca. They had a lot of things to accomplish that were very important before they started worrying about…futures. Futures with people.

But, damn, he’d enjoyed every second of this night. Every last ridiculous second. He liked watching her eat, and he loved listening to her talk. He liked the way she laughed at him and asked pertinent questions when he told her a story.

Maybe Gabe and Jack weren’t totally off base that he should have some happiness of his own. Maybe that was an important piece of their life now. Maybe.

It took a few more minutes before Becca returned, and when she did, her entire face was beet red and she clutched the drugstore bag to her chest like it was a treasure. Actually, more like it was something she would be ashamed of anyone seeing.

“You okay?” he asked when she climbed into the passenger seat.

“Sure. Great. You know, new experiences.”

“You know this is killing me, right?”

“What’s killing you?” she asked.

“The curiosity.”

The flush on her face did not disappear in the slightest bit. If anything, it got darker.

“I was just thinking about the future,” she said in an odd, squeaky voice.

“The future?” he repeated. Seriously, something was wrong with him that he got such a kick out of the circuitous way she talked.

“Yes. The future. What I might want to do with it.”

“And that necessitated an emergency drugstore run?”

“Yes,” she returned with a firm nod.

“Are there any more emergency errands you need to run?”

She paused for a second as though seriously considering it. “No. I think anything else would take more time than I’d be willing to have you wait in the car for.”