The police arrived and didn’t find anyone, of course. When I saw the shadow from the bedroom they were fleeing the scene. They were long gone, and something inside me tells me they won’t stay that way. This feels personal, and Maeve doesn’t have an enemy to her name. I stayed with her, just talking, until sunrise when I knew she would be safe, and I needed to get back to Turner. The pit in my stomach as I pulled away was unlike anything I’ve ever felt before.
“How was the date Friday?” Isaac asks as he strolls into my office Monday afternoon. He’s the only person who I’m brutally honest with. I fucking hate it, but it’s required when you live the messed up life we live. You have to have that one person you level with in every area of life. A mental checkpoint, if you will.
“Fucked up, man.” I try to explain where Maeve lives and what occurred after dinner, but I’m doing a piss-poor job.
He flashes me a wide dimpled smile. “Before you fucked? Man, someone is out for you.”
Little does he know, that’s what I’m thinking. “I know, and man. She’s everything I thought she’d be. I kissed her and it reminded me of something… something.” My voice breaks.
“There hasn’t been anyone since Rena?” Isaac asks, then closes his mouth, because even he knows Rena is the soft spot. The place we don’t go. “What would her kiss remind you of? Other than the fact you’re celibate and you’re gonna be a one-pump-chump when you do get it in.”
I lift my camo-clad legs onto the desk and cross them at the ankle. “Maybe that’s it. It was more than just a kiss. Familiar, and fucking earth-shattering, but…” I trail off, not sure where I am even going with the thought.
“But what,” he prompts, clearly entertained in the direction of the conversation. My weaknesses and sex. He’d die for me, but he’d like to watch me die of embarrassment first.
Exhaling, I tell him the truth. “Maeve isn’t interested in anything serious.” How can I tell him about Rexy? He’ll know who he is immediately, just like I did. Next, he’ll tell me to stay clear of Maeve. Then I’ll have to admit how much I feel for the woman by merely looking at her. It’s not love at first sight, no, this shit feels soul-deep, destined, and out of my fucking control.
“That’s perfect, man. You hired the new nanny, right? Your mom is in Florida, it’s time to find a new groove. This time a woman can sneak into the equation. You deserve to blow off a little steam with something that’s not serious.” Before my mom left, she helped me hire a lady to help shuttle Turner home from school and to help with homework until I get off work. Basically, she hired a woman who reminded her most of herself, and I was only there to make sure the background check and references were top-notch. I like her well enough, but it won’t be like trusting my son to his grandma, either.
“You know I don’t want something casual, man. I have Turner to worry about. The whole reason I don’t date to begin with.”
“Are you telling me that you, a sneaky ass Navy SEAL, can’t keep a side fuck and your real life separate? Our founding fathers are rolling in their graves right now. Of course you can. If it gets too messy then you cut ties and go your separate ways.” Isaac pauses. “Worst-case scenario is that it accidentally becomes serious and Turner gets exactly what you want for him. What I know, deep down, you want for yourself.”
My little piece of heaven. An impossibility. I had my shot at that and blew it out of the water.
“Slow down, fucker. You don’t know why she doesn’t want something serious.”
He pushes my boots off the desk and my feet slam on the floor. I shake my head. “Remember the training accident two years ago?” A regretful, huge change in tone.
Isaac’s smirk fades. “And?”
“Maeve was engaged to Rexy.”
“Oh, fuck.” He widens his eyes and his neck works as he swallows. “How did she end up all the way in Colorado, from Cape Cod?”
I shrug, and tell him the story she told me. “I’m everything she’s sworn off and it’s a horrible case of happenstance that I met her in the first place. I’m still not sure our similarities aren’t what drew her to me. It doesn’t matter, I guess, because I’m just as drawn to her and there’s no damn explanation for that.”
In a surprising statement, Isaac whispers, “She needs you. Even if she says she doesn’t want anything serious. Be there for her.” He looks down. “Rexy would want that.” His voice is a broken whisper. He knows what is done for widows and girlfriends, even if they never know directly.
Sighing, I recall what she’s accomplished alone. “Maeve doesn’t need anyone, but being there for her is complicated. It took an act of God to get her to go out to dinner with me, and it’s going to take an act of God to keep me from falling for her. After the incident, I’m thinking the best thing for her is if I stay the hell away.” I tell him more details about the coyote and how I didn’t think it was a random act. The bloody lips. A shiver runs up my spine.
“Those are
