SEAL of My Heart Page 14

  “His name is Tyler Gray, for starters.”

  “Where’s he from?”

  “All over, I guess. He lives in San Diego now, where his Team is based.”

  “Okay.”

  They both sat in silence. Kate filled the looming sound gap between them. “He’s not the reason I called the wedding off, Mom. I was making do. I was telling myself I was happy, but I’m not sure I ever was. I think I was doing what everyone expected me to do. Randy has been popular with all my friends for years. When he got interested in me, I just went along with it. Does that make sense?”

  “No. I don’t know what to say, Kate. It never occurred to me you weren’t happy with this decision, or felt pressured at any time.”

  “I wasn’t thinking, Mom. Ever have that happen to you? You just go along with things because you’d already given your word? But what if you were sure you would be miserable? Would you still go along with it?”

  “I would say better to figure out the relationship you’re in first, before you start another one,” her mother said.

  “I agree totally.” Kate searched her face and saw some sympathy there. Her mother’s eyes were pleading, yet kind. Not angry as Kate had expected she would be. “But Mom, I didn’t realize it until I got a glimpse of a life I could see myself living. With a man who is the perfect fit.”

  Mrs. Morgan looked down at her hands, which were folded in her lap. Her head leaned to the side as she raised one eyebrow. “I think you’re confused. I wish you’d have come home here before…before…” Her mother stopped and closed her eyes. Kate suspected it was so she would have to feel guilty for making her mother cry.

  “What is it, Mom?” Kate said as she took one of her mother’s hands and squeezed it.

  When Mrs. Morgan opened her eyes, some of her eyelashes were glistening, but, other than that, no evidence remained that she’d been holding back tears. “Oh honey,” she said to Kate as she brought her hand up to Kate’s cheek. “I’ve been there. Way before you were born.”

  With her mother’s story still floating around in her head, Kate got into work early the next morning, anxious to get started on the after-the-weekend cleanup that had probably been left for her. While others of the Tasting Room staff usually had Mondays and Tuesdays off, Kate worked. She didn’t mind it. Keeping the showroom clean and sparkling was something she did with pride.

  The idea that her mother had been in love with someone else before she married her father was like putting peanut butter on sushi. Her mom had met a young Marine who was on his way home for Christmas before his last tour in Vietnam. She told Kate they’d corresponded, even though she had a serious boyfriend she was expected to marry at the time—another man, not her father.

  He changed my life that day. I was grateful for his service, but there was something about him I didn’t want to let go of. And I should have.

  Kate began mopping down the tiled floor of the tasting room while she continued to think about their conversation yesterday.

  His letters quickly got very passionate. I felt guilty for not telling him I had a guy. He wrote me every day, Kate.

  She stopped and looked around the center where they had hosted so many happy wedding receptions. Hers had been planned for this sunny room, big enough to seat two hundred people, room enough for a small orchestra. She saw the garlands and flower petals everywhere in her mind. Heard music and was dancing slowly, all of a sudden alone. It was Tyler she saw when she looked up at her partner. Tyler smiling down on her. It was a lovely fantasy.

  Sighing, she went to find her next chore.

  It looked like a small wedding party had taken place last night in the showroom. Several bottles of their reserve label wine were open and only halfway consumed, bottles with a retail value of more one hundred dollars each. One looked like someone had been drinking straight out of the bottle. She saw pink lipstick stains neatly wrapped around the neck like a calling card.

  The leftover chocolate truffles left in the refrigerator were gone, as well as a discarded box of chocolate-covered strawberries someone had brought with them. She wondered who would have stayed behind and partied, since it wasn’t a normal tasting room day.

  She immediately thought about Randy. She wouldn’t put it past him to have his own little pity party, and he’d have the added pleasure of knowing it would be Kate’s job to clean up after his night of whatever. She had no right to feel put upon, either, since she’d broken off the engagement, but somehow she had an inkling he had done it on purpose.

  She ran the dishwasher for the glasses, put all the bottles in a black garbage bag and dumped them in back at the glass recycle. She wiped down the highly polished maple bar top. She’d turned on music, since country-western music was her preferred soundtrack when she did housework.

  She jerked and stood up sharply when someone turned it off.

  Mark Heller stood nearby with his arms crossed.

  “Kate, we’ve got to talk.”

  C

  hapter 25

  Heller was fidgeting in his chair, stalling for words before he crossed his long legs and folded his hands on his knee. As she watched him tilt his head and smile gently, she thought again that he would have made a good father-in-law. He did seem to genuinely care about people, and about her in particular. And she’d seen him chastise Randy, who had been self-indulgent his whole life, mostly due to his mother spoiling him. But one thing was certain: Heller was the head of the family concern, and would be as long as he was alive.

  “Kate, I am so sorry about all this to-do with the wedding. Your new fella kind of surprises me, though. He’s a soldier, I understand. He can’t do for you what Randy and his mom and I can do for you.”

  She wasn’t sure she was hearing correctly. Was he thinking she would sell out for money? That a life of comfort and privilege eclipsed a life of love? Did the man have ice water in his veins?

  She’d gotten used to calling him Mark, but used the more formal term, due to the circumstances.

  “Mr. Heller, I’m sure you understand about matters of the heart.” She searched his eyes and perhaps saw some vacantness there, a hollow core he didn’t usually let people see. Maybe he wouldn’t understand about finding and being with a soul mate.

  “I care a great deal for Randy,” she continued, “and you and your wife have been wonderful to me. As Randy has reminded me many times,” she could see him stiffen at that remark. “You have accepted me into your beautiful family with open arms. It is with the same full heart I now must level with you. I don’t love your son. I don’t think I ever did, and I am so sorry to have put everyone through so much because of my lack of focus.”

  It was the truth. She delivered it in a matter-of-fact way, trying to keep all emotion out of the communication, and it leached the tension right out of the air. She was proud she’d been honest with him. Maybe that meant the second talk with Randy had a more pleasant prognosis.

  “What did he do?” Heller asked, closing his eyes.

  “Pardon?”

  “Did he mistreat you?”

  What an odd statement.

  “No, Randy—I don’t understand what you mean. I have no complaints there. I never have.”

  Heller had lost his composure. The veneer of a well-ordered life had melted. For the first time since she’d met him, Mr. Heller looked troubled.

  “We thought you’d enjoy working with us in the family business. You seem to be quite a natural in the tasting room. Sales is your thing, Kate. It really is.”

  Except I’m not selling very well right now. Why don’t you understand about love? Where is love in your well-ordered world?

  “It’s a fantastic opportunity. But it belongs to someone else. I’ve enjoyed working here—”

  “You’re leaving us?”

  She was taken aback. “Well, I don’t have to. No.”

  “Because we would miss you dearly.”

  “Well, I wasn’t planning on—”

  “Harvest will be upon u
s in three months, and we have all the holiday parties to plan—”

  “Well yes, sure I can stay—”

  “I don’t suppose Randy will be quite up to speed with this big setback you’ve handed him, but he’ll get better in time. I think he’ll be right in the thick of things once he fully recovers.”

  Recovers? Like from a broken leg or bee sting? That kind of recovery? Kate cocked her head, sure that she’d missed something. “Mr. Heller, you want me to stay, then?”

  “Of course, Kate. We love you like you were our own daughter.”

  Now she was getting creeped out by Heller. She broke off her engagement with his son, shacked up with some guy for a couple of days, and he didn’t fire her and he still loved her “like family?”

  Holy shit!

  Heller stood up, extending his hand. Then he thought better of it. “Oh, hell, Kate,” he said as he grabbed hold of her and gave her a hug which she stiffly did not return. “I still consider you part of our family here at Heller Vineyards. And I guess this doesn’t change much, then.”

  He squeezed her and then gripped the tops of her arms while she looked on with incredulity. He was smiling, acting as if nothing had happened. As if all the wedding plans and the money spent for caterers, chefs, stagecoaches and Clydesdale horses was a mere drop in the bucket to him. It was as if she’d cancelled a luncheon date and nothing worse.

  Without asking her anything further he placed an arm around her shoulder, “Kate, I’m glad we had this little talk. And I’m so pleased you’ll be staying on.”

  He opened the door to the office and released her to float into the enormous, completely vacant tasting room space, sure that the echo of her thudding heart was shaking the windows.

  C

  hapter 26

  Tyler brought the frog into Gunny’s so it could be properly displayed until Timmons’s situation was worked out. His wife had been charged with assault but released. And that meant, thanks to a screwed-up twist of fate, that Timmons would have to stay somewhere else. He hadn’t been able to spend one night of his retirement in his own home.

  T.J. volunteered to be his babysitter, since he and Frankie had rented a three-bedroom apartment and were looking to add someone from one of the Teams who were just coming back off rotation. That way, someone would be home all the time, and their stuff had less of a chance of walking while they were on deployment.

  It was an unwritten rule Timmons would not be left alone until they went overseas. And then someone else’s group would be assigned to watch over the man. No one wanted something to happen to the guy to interfere with his retirement.

  Timmons was wearing a new pair of Navy swim trunks, running shoes and a tank top they’d bought for him over at the Commissary.

  “Don’t think I’ve ever seen you in running shoes, Chief.”

  “These are cross trainers. No fuckin’ way I’m going to go running,” Timmons answered back.

  Amornpan and Sanouk entered through the back door. “Hey, Sanouk?” T.J. asked. “Can we buy him one of those long-sleeved Gunny’s Gym shirts?”

  “Nah, fellas, you don’t have to do that,” Timmons protested. “Besides, having a picture of the Popeye character and remembering old Gunny might make me start to cry, and that wouldn’t be very manly of me, would it?”

  “What size are you, Mr. Chief?” Amornpan asked. Her pretty eyes were soft and friendly towards Timmons, who turned three shades of pink under the gaze of the still-attractive Thai woman.

  “Um,” Timmons stumbled over himself as he scurried for the words he was looking for. “XL I believe, ma’am,” he said with a slight bow.

  It touched Tyler to see the man show respect for Gunny’s widow.

  She brought the white tee shirt over, unpinned the arms and shoulders and held it up to his chest. She barely came to Timmons’s armpits, her long, hot pink fingernails looking like claws on the exotic creature she was.

  “I say this one is perfect, Mr. Chief,” she said in her lovely, singsong voice.

  She lay the shirt against Timmons’s torso and walked away. The Chief didn’t seem to know what to do next. He looked at T.J., who was shaking his head.

  “You can consider this a gift from Mr. Gunny himself,” Amornpan said with her back turned, face in profile to Timmons, demure, and, Tyler would have to say, doe-like.

  “Then I thank you, ma’am.”

  Tyler and T.J. darted quick looks between them. After Timmons got himself settled and his future was figured out, Tyler wouldn’t be surprised at all if Timmons developed a sudden fondness for gyms, this gym in particular, and the lovely Asian goddess who left her imprint everywhere she went.

  Friday couldn’t come fast enough for Tyler. He boarded the plane from San Diego and in just under two hours touched down at Schulz International Airport. Kate ran to him as soon as he entered the small terminal. He dropped his bag to welcome her exuberant body slam.

  His heart was overjoyed. He’d been heavy with worry that she’d have to call him and postpone their get-together, and he’d have to go out of country without being able to see her one more time.

  Her lips were urgent. She clung to him with fierce need, which was just about the biggest turn-on, and something he’d never dared to dream was possible. He felt her need match and melt into his as the sensual sparks flew and his hands smoothed over her satin skin. Her sweet softness and fresh scent, given up to him so willingly, so utterly compliant, made him wish somehow his deployment was over, that this was the homecoming he’d get when he could finally stay for more than two nights.

  Two measly nights! It was all they had left. He wanted to see everything about where she grew up, and meet her folks. Even take a good look at her asshole of a former fiancé and let him know that Tyler was the man he’d have to answer to if the guy had any designs on her. Of course he was all in. And, thank the God of SEALs, it looked like she wanted him right there next to her, as tight as they could get.

  “Baby, it was way too long. We should just run away,” he nuzzled into the hair at her temple. “We could disappear. Wanna disappear?”

  That little giggle as she snuggled under his chin, as her arms came up his back, pulling him into her. Her fingers migrated to comb through the curls above his collar, stroking and squeezing. Her hard pubic bone rode his shaft through his jeans. He pressed her there, aching with need, and then just aching.

  “If you weren’t the man I know you to be, Tyler, I’d take you up on it. God, I wish I had a few million stashed away somewhere so we could do that. But we have this.” She stood on tiptoes and placed her succulent lips across his.

  “And this is pretty damned good, baby.”

  “The best.”

  With one arm wrapped tight around her waist, he practically carried her through the glass doors of the terminal to the parking lot beyond, slinging his bag over his left shoulder. Her feet barely touched the floor. She hung onto his shoulders, using her right thigh to gently balance against his hipbone as he walked. She wasn’t light, but he’d carry her all the way to San Francisco if she’d let him. And, heck, he and his buddies had carried telephone poles up and down the goddamned beach at a full run in combat boots without hardly breaking a sweat.

  She’d started to get out her keys and he swiped them, giving her another kiss when she showed that fresh smile again. He stowed his bag in the hatch and they drove toward the freeway, heading north.

  He found the little town of Healdsburg to be charming, reminding him of some of the villages in the south of France, or New England, where shops surrounded a town square complete with a lawn, gazebo and park benches. The square was a gathering place, and he noted the foot traffic was so thick that maneuvering the car to make a right turn as she had instructed was tricky.

  They drove down a wide street with grand houses, most of them early California or large bungalow-style. At a light green mansion, she told him to turn right and pointed around the corner to the back of the property, where he spotted a lemon yellow
cottage.

  “Nice, Kate. Love it.”

  “Thank you,” she said bashfully. He could see she was thinking about what they’d be doing just as soon as he got them properly naked. He liked that she was shy, that her cheeks had that just-kissed blush on her fair, peachy skin. She stole little glances at him, which set his insides on fire. He’d never wanted a woman more.

  She slipped out of the car before he could get to her side and they practically raced to the front door. His hands were all over her backside, and she dropped her keys twice and feigned at swatting his hands down so she could concentrate and get them inside.

  Her cottage looked just like he thought it would. Colorful posters and canvas prints adorned the walls, giving it a cheery, bright atmosphere without looking cluttered. She had an antique patchwork quilt on her full-sized bed, which was the only disappointment for him. But it also meant that she wouldn’t be able to get away from him all night long.

  She dropped her purse and kicked off her shoes before he could get his off. Her cotton top and mid-calf jeans were next to go. He had to work to keep up with her. She won because she wasn’t wearing a bra.

  She dove under the covers and he followed. Her cotton sheets smelled glorious and felt cool, emphasizing the warmth of her body as she slid into him, kissing him everywhere. She held his thigh between hers, pushing him back into the pillows that smelled of Kate, against the headboard, riding him, leaning forward to moan into his mouth as his hands smoothed over the velvet skin of her ass. She kissed him under his ear, under his chin, between his pecs, and was going to go down on him, but he chuckled, not letting her get there by holding her arm.

  “Na-ah, Kate. This time we do it my way.”

  “What do you mean?” She crawled up his body, pinning his shoulders with her knees and treating him to a good taste of her nipples. She ground down on his chest with her sex, holding onto the headboard with one hand, then leaned back and gasped like a six-year-old riding her favorite merry-go-round horse. But he wasn’t inside yet. She was writhing and holding her breasts, watching him with her eyes flashing fire, begging him to lose control. “Is this what you like?” she asked as she again pressed her puckered pussy over his left nipple and rubbed.