“No, Frankie’s fixed, remember?” BB sighed. “I’m just… lonely, I guess. The thought of having a fat little puppy running around gives me the warm and fuzzies, you know? Lincoln has been gone for a month and it’s killing me. I used to be fine staying inside for a couple weeks at a time until I ran out of groceries and I had to go out or starve. Now I, like, need to see people. A couple of his teammates wives have contacted me to go out and do things, and I talk to Mary every other day, but I miss him.”
“I’m sure you do,” Carolina said softly. “No word on when he’ll be back? Have you talked to him?”
“No idea when he’ll be back,” she admitted softly. “This was supposed to be a two-week trip, which we’ve done before, but it’s going on a month and I haven’t heard from him other than the one call on the lousy payphone. I have no idea where he is other than the middle east.”
“You know you’ve had it pretty easy so far,” Carolina told her gently. “Some of those guys are deployed for months at a time.”
“I know,” she said, scratching at a spot on her table. “I feel like we’re building up to that unless he changes jobs. But when his lieutenant got hurt and retired they promoted him into that position, so now he’s leading his SEAL team.”
“Being a military spouse or significant other isn’t easy. You knew that going in. Heck, it’s why I built my business.”
“Yes.”
Helping Hands, Healing Hearts was Carolina’s love, or maybe problem child, depending on the day you talked to her. She had built the business to supply aid to families when the government fell short. The aid might be a long-term dog sitter, or a nanny, or a person to set up an apartment for the deployed family in another country. There was no limit on what she advertised and her contractors were varied and adaptable. In spite of what the San Diego detective thought, her sister’s business filled a niche, and BB didn’t mind helping her out occasionally. It was how she’d met Lincoln. His team had hired BB to welcome him home three months ago, and she’d totally and completely fallen in love with the attractive Navy SEAL. She’d never left.
Being a cartoonist, she could do her job anywhere. Coronado, California was a beautiful area and she loved the beach, and it kept her close to the rest of Lincoln’s team. Though she wasn’t yet married to Lincoln they treated her like a significant other, including her in outings and kid parties and the like. Mary Black, the wife of Lincoln’s former lieutenant, had become a very dear friend. She kept BB sane when it came to worrying about the silence.
She would hate for Carolina to miss out on what she’d found with Lincoln. “Go talk to the detective, Carolina. Make sure that he’s not hanging around for some other reason.”
Silence stretched on the other end of the line, then her sister huffed out a breath. “I might. He makes me mad, though. He won’t listen to reason.”
“So, invite him in and show him rather than tell him. Maybe that’s all he needs.”
“Maybe,” Carolina said doubtfully. “We’ll see. I know you have to work but no more pictures of Frankie living it up with my enemy.”
BB laughed. “I’ll try not, but no promises. She really likes Chuck.”
“No taste whatsoever,” she groused, before she laughed. “Love you, sis. Let me now if you hear from Lincoln.”
“I will. Love you too.”
It was a couple days later when she and Mary were getting their nails done at a salon she’d adopted downtown. Mary loved getting out of the house. They had three kids and now that the youngest was attending day-long school she could get out and do more.
Mary seemed to sense how lonely BB was, so she dragged her out of the house at least a couple times a week. Though she didn’t always say it, BB appreciated it, especially now.
“A little bird told me there might be a call coming this week,” Mary told BB, sending her heart racing.
“Really?”
Mary nodded, her blue eyes kind. She knew how hard this operation had been on BB. “No firm dates but I think the team might be on the move, and they might be able to call home. Justin said they probably could, anyway. And he’s usually right. He has his ear to the ground and he can read things we can’t, so keep your phone on you.”
BB nodded. “I definitely will. I mean, I always do, but I’ll turn the ringer up and be sure to answer.”
The randomness of being the significant other of a Navy SEAL was difficult to deal with. There was no schedule or planning anything, because you couldn’t count on your partner being there. BB was independent, in general, she always had been. But Lincoln had wormed his way into her heart completely.
“I was talking to my sister the other day,” she said softly. “I hope he comes home soon or I’ll be swimming in babies.”
Mary gave her an odd look. “What do you mean?”
BB told her about the playdate with the male Frenchie. “As much as I would love to have a little puppy running around I know it’s risky to make big decisions like that when he’s deployed.”
“I love puppies,” Mary breathed, her eyes going dreamy. “There’s no other scent like puppy breath.”
“I know,” BB agreed, laughing. “You’re not helping me be strong.”
Mary made a face. “Sorry. I’m weak when it comes to puppies, too. And sometimes those big decisions need to be made for the betterment of the family, whether he’s here or not. You wouldn’t believe some of the things I did when Justin was deployed. He came home from one deployment and we’d completely moved houses,”
