She shrugged, but uncertainty flickered in her soft brown gaze and the slight wrinkling of her nose. “Sure. From experience and from what we’ve heard, that seems to be their modus operandi, but something about the way all this went down and the timing just doesn’t feel right.”
“Yeah, I agree about the timing thing, but what else could it be?” I’d been racking my brain for days but hadn’t really come up with a plausible explanation.
The last time he’d gone radio silent was when he’d gone on that mission, but it wasn’t like he could be on another one. While I still didn’t know what had happened, I sure as hell doubted Linc had been sent into the midst of battle right now.
I might not know the other superior officers, but I did know my father. If his attitude toward Lincoln was anything like how the others felt about him, that guy was going to be on suspension for a long, long time.
“Maybe you try talking to your father again,” Haley suggested, pulling me back to the here and now. “Try reasoning with him. If you can’t, maybe just ask him to tell you whether Lincoln is okay.”
I nodded but rolled both lips into my mouth as I thought. “I’ve tried asking him that before, but you’re right. I should try again. On the other hand, if Linc has decided he’s done with me, I don’t want to be the creepy, clingy ex-fling that doesn’t know how to take a hint.”
She made a sound of disgust at the back of throat, then pointed toward me with the cocktail in her hand. “If he doesn’t have the balls to tell you it’s over like a real man would, he can’t label you as anything. Let alone a creepy clinger.”
“That’s how we see it, but it might not be how he sees it.”
Bringing her drink to her lips, she took a long sip and swallowed it slowly. When she brought her eyes to mine again and sat back in her chair, the uncertainty from before had given way to something much harder.
“I don’t give a damn how he sees it. You fell for him and he was there when it was happening. It’s not right to spend that much time with someone and then just disappear on them. If trying to find out the truth makes you a clinger, then he’s just going to have to deal with it.”
A fissure opened up in my heart. I really didn’t want to believe that was what was going on, but I was at a loss for what else it could be. Except, of course, for one other possibility. “Okay, but what if it’s got something to do with my dad? What if he threatened him to stay away from me?”
“Do you really think he would do that?” she asked. Hurt flashed in her eyes. “If he knew you were really happy with Lincoln, do you honestly think he would force him to stay away from you?”
Another thing gnawing at my insides was the fact that I knew Dad would do anything to keep Lincoln away from me. Regardless of how much Haley and I both loved him, I didn’t think it’d be above him.
“I don’t want to say yes, but it’s my honest answer. You didn’t see the way he reacted to the news. I’ve never seen him like that. Whatever happened during that last incident that involved Lincoln took my dad from disliking him to believing he’s the damn devil.”
“It’s that bad?” Haley’s voice was soft now. This conversation was obviously hurting her. She’d always had the utmost respect for my dad, and they were so alike that I had no doubt a part of her was taking it personally.
But as much as I adored my father, too, he was in the wrong this time. “It’s that bad. He really believes there is and can be nothing good about Lincoln. He thinks he’s dangerous and that the only person he ever thinks about is himself.”
“Could he be right?”
I shook my head firmly. “No, he’s not right. Whatever is going on right now, I know for a fact that he has a good heart. He cares deeply about his job and the other SEALs. He just has a different approach than the very militaristic, old-school approach favored by those in charge.”
“But doesn’t that make him dangerous?” She held up a hand when I opened my mouth. “Just hear me out. I’m not saying I agree with the old-school approach. I’m just saying that it’s been that way for years and years. There’s a reason it is that way and always will be.”
“Sure, but can it really be said that if someone gets the job done but plays by their own rules that they’re dangerous?”
As we debated, I suddenly realized that I believed wholeheartedly in my argument. Haley, on the other hand, was obviously on the fence. I knew she was only being a soundboard for me to reason it all out, though. Playing devil’s advocate was an integral part of that, and I appreciated the role she was playing.
“I don’t really know what would constitute someone being dangerous to their teammates, but yeah, I’m willing to venture a guess that a person who disregards the rules could be.”
“He doesn’t disregard the rules, though.” I didn’t have to think. “It’s more that he interprets them a little more liberally than the rest of us.”
“Potato, potahto.” She frowned before releasing a soft sigh. “Look, I’m not saying he is dangerous, but let’s accept your father’s argument for a minute. Do you want to be with someone who might put you in danger?”
“Lincoln would never, ever put me in any danger. I know, believe, and trust him with everything I have inside me.” Passion fueled my words, and I felt the resolve that had been slowly trickling away from me during his absence returning with a vengeance. “I might not
