Page 42 of Forest Reed (Seals on Fraiser Mountain #8)

Liam

Irolled my bike onto Fraiser Mountain, where my Navy SEAL buddies lived.

I figured I’d stop by to see them, hoping Fraiser would leave me alone.

He called me daily, urging me to come here.

One small mountain town looked just like the others, except that a bunch of former Navy SEALs lived on this mountain.

I let my Harley roar as I approached the bike shop that the guys owned. I saw Fraiser walk out and grin, then Max and Forest came out. I pulled up and smiled. They each gave me a man hug, and all of them started talking at once.

I hoped they wouldn’t bring up Sandy. She’s been gone for five years, and no, she’s not dead—she is to me. We were engaged, and she married my brother while I was in Afghanistan. I heard a woman screaming and saw a smaller Harley coming right at us.

I jumped in front of her and braced myself as I stopped the bike. Before I could catch her, she fell off. Fraiser picked her up, and she looked at me. Her bright red hair, which was coming out of her ponytail, had dirt and twigs in it.

“Thank you!” she said before turning to look at Fraiser. “The brakes are out. I just dropped Cleo off at school, and I could barely stop to let her off. It’s a good thing she jumped off before I hit some kids. Can you fix it before I have to pick her up?”

Fraiser scratched his head. “Why don’t you drive your car to pick her up?”

“Because we are learning how to ride the motorcycle in case we are in need of a fast getaway.”

“Do you have a reason for a fast getaway?”

She ignored Fraiser’s question.

She turned around to leave and smacked right into my chest. I watched as she grabbed her nose.

“Why were you standing so close?” She demanded, like I had nefarious intentions.

“I didn’t want you to fall again,” I said, taking a twig from her hair. I knew right away that her hair was red hair dye. I could see the white blonde roots. “Why would you cover up that beautiful hair color?” I asked before I could stop myself.

The look that came over her could only be described as terror. I wondered who she was scared of.

“That is none of your business,” she said, walking off down the street. And damned if my dick didn’t get hard.

“Who is she?” I asked.

“Her daughter’s name is Cleo Branch; Cleo’s mom has never told us her name. We think Tessa knows, but she hasn’t said anything. They’ve been here for over a year. I remember Cleo asking for a doctor when they came here. Tessa went with her.

“I thought Max’s wife was a teacher?”

“She’s a brain surgeon as well as a teacher. It’s a long story, I’ll let Max tell you. Here he is now.”

Max pulled up in his old '66 Chevy short-bed pickup truck. It was spotless, and he had redone all of it himself.

“Wow, so you finally decided to move to Fraiser Mountain?” he said, embracing me.

“I’m visiting for now. I’m not sure if I want to move here yet.”

You can stay with Tessa and me at the B&B. In fact, we’ll have a barbecue tomorrow night. What happened to your pants? Max said, seeing the dirt and tire stains.

I stopped a woman on her motorcycle when her brakes went out.”

“It was Mom,” Fraiser volunteered.

“Do all of you call her mom?” I said, looking at them. “Isn’t that kind of silly? She can’t be more than thirty. If she got rid of that red dye, her light blonde hair would be beautiful.”

“Damn, I forgot you were a top-notch investigator for the SEALs,” Max said.

Are you guys blind? Come on, she’s a beautiful woman who has lived here for over a year, and you're not doing any investigation? What’s up with that? Maybe she’s not Cleo’s mom. Maybe she stole her. It sounds like she’s hiding from a man,” I said, looking at them.

“Look,” Max said, looking around like someone was listening to us. “She knew Tessa before, but my wife doesn’t want me asking questions.”

“What if she’s in danger?” I asked.

“Tessa will let me know if there's any danger looking for her. She told me she would.”

I shook my head. “Max, you are pussy whipped.” I looked at the others. “I hope you guys aren’t as pussy whipped as Max is.”

“I’m not,” Fraiser said, and the others burst into laughter.

“Do you still work out? Do you run ten miles a day?” I asked.

“It depends on whether Marley is with me. She likes running five.”

I looked at Max. “Can I use your washer and dryer?”

“Yep, we’ll see all of you at five tomorrow. I’ll call the others,” Max said.

I got on my bike and followed Max to his place. Fraiser talked about this place all the time when we were in the service. I smirked. I expected to see the name Fraiser on everything.