Page 9

PATIENCE

A sshat ! Patience couldn’t believe the audacity of the man.

Definitely a troglodyte. Not that it was a surprise.

She’d overheard enough of the men’s interactions with their girlfriends at the Ready Room.

Although none of the women they dated put up with their over-the-top attitude—except Harmony.

She was so sweet, and Ry treated her like the world revolved around her.

Okay, so maybe it was only Quinn who was the fucktard of the team.

She wanted to do more than elbow him in the side.

Did he think she didn’t see him adjust his erection?

Had it been fully erect? She’d seen penises before.

She was almost a doctor, for fuck’s sake.

Though admittedly, they weren’t usually erect.

And yeah, she might have said she wasn’t innocent, and she wasn’t, but she was a virgin.

But only because she’d never met someone who she’d wanted—until Quinn.

Not that it would do her any good since he was dead set against them being together.

What was his problem with her? Even if he was ten years older, that wasn’t a big deal.

She’d rather be with someone experienced the first time.

Besides, it’s not like she was expecting him to propose marriage.

“What’s her room number?”

His question jolted her out of her thoughts. Shit. He had her all messed up. She should have left him in the waiting room and just grabbed Felicity’s suitcase.

“Four twelve. Right down here.” For a second, she thought she’d walked right past the room. How would she have explained that one?

Felicity was sitting up in bed when they walked in. Her gaze glued to the window, watching the continued snowfall. She looked deep in thought. It reminded Patience there were more important things than her frustrating attraction to Quinn.

“Hi Felicity,” Patience said gently, hoping to keep from startling the woman.

“Oh hi,” Felicity said as she turned her gaze from the window and saw them. “Quinn, I’m glad you’re here. Thank you so much for stopping. I don’t want to think how tonight might have gone if you two hadn’t been there. I’ll never be able to repay either of you.”

“There’s nothing to repay, Felicity. Anyone would have done the same. Although we were lucky to have the doctor here to help. I wouldn’t have done nearly as well.”

Patience snorted. “You’d have done fine. I’m sure you’ve had training…”

“Still, you both are my heroes and Clara’s, too.”

“How’s she doing? Have you gotten an update from the NICU?” Patience asked.

“Yes, the nurse said she was doing well. They’ll keep her there until tomorrow unless there’s a problem. I get to go to see her soon.”

“That’s fantastic. I’m so happy for you.” Patience gave a little cheer, and she heard Quinn’s snicker behind her.

“That’s great news. I don’t want you to worry about the car either. I’m gonna have a buddy of mine tow it to his garage and get started on the repairs.”

“Oh, you don’t have to do that. I’m sure my insurance will handle it,” Felicity said. “You’ve already done so much.”

“It’s no problem. Besides, your husband is Navy. We’re basically family.”

His words surprised Patience. He didn’t seem like the family type. Maybe he was just trying to be kind for Felicity’s sake. It had to be hard giving birth with no family around and your husband overseas.

Felicity twisted her hands together, and her cheeks flushed when Quinn mentioned her husband.

“If you’re sure,” Felicity stuttered.

“I’m happy to help until your husband gets here. I’m sure Patience is too.”

“Yes, of course. Have you let him know yet? About the baby, I mean?”

“Umm, about that.” Felicity’s cheeks grew brighter.

Patience and Quinn exchanged a look, and he quirked an eyebrow.

“What’s going on Felicity,” he asked.

“I’m not actually married to him.” She seemed to cringe as she said the words. “He doesn’t even know I was pregnant.”

“What?” Patience exclaimed. Had he gotten her pregnant and deserted her? She was ready to burn him at the stake, and she didn’t even know who he was.

Quinn walked to the side of Felicity’s bed and pulled a chair with him. Once seated, he took one of her hands in his. Patience’s heart melted a little. The caveman could say he wasn’t a nice person all he wanted, but here was proof that all his claims were a big, fat lie.

“It’s okay. Why don’t you tell me what’s going on?” Quinn’s voice sounded softer than Patience had ever heard it.

Felicity nodded. Her voice was barely above a whisper when she answered. “You’re going to think I’m so stupid.”

“No, we won’t.” Patience stepped closer to stand near the foot of the bed, so she could hear Felicity’s muffled words.

Tears filled Felicity’s eyes. Seeing them, Patience clenched her hands into fists by her sides. Oh yeah, she was going to kill this guy if she ever got her hands on him.

“Patience is right, Felicity. We won’t, but we can’t help you if we don’t know what’s going on.” Quinn handed Felicity the tissue box from her bedside table.

She wiped her eyes and blew her nose, then sucked in a breath.

“I guess I met him a little over a year ago at Food Lion, the grocery store where I work. A woman was in my checkout line and didn’t have enough money to pay for her food.

The line was so long and the other customers started grumbling. You know how it is.”

Patience nodded. No one had patience anymore. It’s the reason her parents picked her name. To always remind them how important it was to maintain patience and love her, too. Usually, thinking about her parents made her smile, but not this time. Especially as Felicity continued.

“Her little boy was crying, and the poor woman looked like she was going to lose it. I was about to call my manager when he walked up to me and asked how much she owed. When I told him, he pulled out some cash and paid the entire bill. Before she could get his information to repay him, he just walked away. It was like something on TV, you know? I’d never seen that before. ”

Patience hadn’t either, but she’d heard of it happening. That didn’t make him Prince Charming. But maybe he was a nice guy.

“Go on,” Quinn prompted.

“Anyway, I’d see him every so often after that.

We would say ‘hi’ to each other, but nothing else.

Until one afternoon, I was in the parking lot putting my groceries in my car after my shift.

He scared the crap out of me at first when he came up behind me.

Then he helped me load the car. When we were done, he asked me out for coffee. ”

“And he told you he was in the Navy?” Quinn asked.

Patience wanted to know, too. Felicity hadn’t once mentioned that the guy was in uniform, but he could have been off duty. There were a ton of Navy guys in Norfolk, but also too many who liked to pretend to be in the service.

“Not at first. We’d been dating for a few weeks and I asked him what he did for work. That’s when he told me he was a Navy SEAL.”

Quinn straightened in his chair, and his jaw clenched. If Patience hadn’t been watching him when Felicity mentioned SEAL, she’d never have seen his reaction. She didn’t know how he stayed calm. If Felicity’s baby daddy was a SEAL in Norfolk, then Quinn would know him for sure.

“If he’s a SEAL, then I probably know him. What’s his name?” Quinn asked in the soft voice he’d been using with her.

“Umm, no.” Felicity twisted her fingers together and averted her gaze.

“I already know he’s not a SEAL. He missed one of our dates.

No text, nothing. I tried to text him and when I didn’t get a response, I got worried.

I called the Naval Base and asked to be connected to his desk, but they didn’t have a record of him.

That’s all they said. I wondered if he’d had to go on an emergency mission or something.

Or maybe they transferred him to another base…

” Her voice trailed off as she lifted her tear-filled gaze to Patience.

“Right, they wouldn’t have been able to tell you anything else. If he’s stationed at JEB, you should have gotten his voicemail, though. Can you give me his name? He might be on a ship. It’s still not an excuse to ghost you, though.”

“It’s okay, Felicity. You can tell, Quinn. Whatever his name is, needs to step up and help take care of his baby. Unless that’s not what you want?” Patience asked gently. Her heart was breaking for the woman and the little girl who might never know her dad.

“I give you my promise that I’ll just try to find out where he is or if he’s in the Navy at all. Okay?” Quinn squeezed Felicity’s hand.

Nodding, she wiped away fresh tears before answering him. “His name is Rick Kern.”

Quinn sucked in a breath. “Did you say Rick Kern ?”

From his reaction, he’d heard that name before. Was he really a SEAL hiding out from Felicity, or someone Quinn had a run in with in the past? Patience was dying to ask, but she knew it wasn’t the time.

“Yes, that’s what he told me.”

“Can you describe him for me? I don’t think it’s a common name, but just in case…” The tension in Quinn’s frame hadn’t relaxed since Felicity mentioned the other man’s name. Something wasn’t right based on his reactions.

The man was always the epitome of stoic, but Patience could feel his anger, even as he tried to suppress it, for Felicity’s sake. She was sure the only reason Felicity hadn’t picked up on it was her own turmoil.

“Sure. Rick has dark brown hair. It’s kind of long on top, and light brown eyes, sort of like coffee-flavored ice cream. He’s tall, like you, but not as bulky. Sorry, no offense. I don’t mean you’re overweight or anything...”

“No offense taken.” His forced smile looked more like a grimace.

Patience had a horrible feeling about this.

“Ooh yeah. He has tattoos, too, on both of his arms. I think they call them sleeves?”

Even Patience knew SEALs didn’t get ink. It made them too identifiable while they were on active duty. If not for the tick in Quinn’s jaw, Patience would wonder if the guy was a ghost. Had anything he told Felicity been true?

“That should be enough to figure out if I’ve found the right guy. I’ll work on tracking him down for you. If I find him, I’ll pass on his info, and you can decide what to do from there. Okay?”

“Yes, I really appreciate everything you’re doing and have done. Thank you. I should put you both in for one of those Good Samaritan awards.”

Felicity reached for her phone that was charging on the table and handed it to Quinn.

“Oh no, please don’t,” he said as he typed in his number. His phone buzzed a moment later. “I’m just glad I’m able to help. No guarantees I’ll find him, though. I sent myself a text, so I’ll have your number, too.”

Somehow, Patience knew he was lying about knowing Rick. She didn’t know how she knew, but she was certain of it. Quinn not only recognized his name, but she figured he knew exactly where to find him. The asshole didn’t know what was coming for him.