Finding Carly (SEAL Team Hawaii #5)(56)

He stopped a respectful distance from them. “I just brought some food the zoo was going to throw away,” he said. “I tried to bring it to the downtown location, but they were already closed. The sign on the door said this location takes donations until seven o’clock. I read an article in the paper recently about Honolulu’s homeless population and how much food went to waste every day, and had a talk with the kitchen manager at the zoo. He agreed that it would be a good thing to see about donating what we could. And I suddenly found myself in charge of dispersing it.” Gideon smiled slightly and shrugged. “But I feel blessed to have what I do, so it’s not a hardship.”

Jag studied the man and didn’t see any sign of deceit in his expression or his eyes. That didn’t mean he wasn’t up to no good, but at the moment, he seemed to be exactly what he said he was…someone who was doing a good deed.

“You work with the lions, right?” Carly asked.

Jag wanted to tell her not to engage, but it was too late. She was being exactly who she was. Or really, who the old Carly was, friendly and outgoing. Even if this was one of her ex’s friends, she was doing her best to move on with her life. He admired her for that, even if it made him uneasy at the same time.

Gideon smiled and put his hands in his pockets. “Yeah. Been there about twenty years now. Started out shoveling shit and now I’m in charge of their health and welfare. It’s my dream job.”

Carly nodded.

“I haven’t had a chance to say this before now, and it might not be the time or place, but I wanted to tell you I’m so sorry about everything that happened. Shawn was my friend, but he was kind of an asshole. I knew that, and I regret not saying anything when he talked shit about you,” Gideon said.

He sounded sincere, but again, Jag didn’t trust him. “The police said Shawn told you and a few others what he’d planned.”

Gideon winced and looked down at the sidewalk. He seemed repentant. “I’m ashamed to say I thought he was just talking shit. You know, how you say you want to kill someone, but don’t really mean it? He was always saying that kind of thing, saying the governor should die, or wishing the person in the car in front of him would crash and get out of his way. He really was a dick. I’m a little embarrassed that I was even his friend.”

“Why were you?” Carly asked softly. “I mean, if he was that awful, why bother coming over every week to hang out?”

Gideon shrugged. “I guess because I was lonely. I’m fifty-two, single, and I spend most of my time with four-legged animals who don’t talk back when I try to have a conversation with them. And maybe just…routine. I’d been playing poker with him for years, and it was just something I did every week. I know it sounds stupid, and you have no idea how much I regret everything that happened.”

Jag continued to study him carefully. The man sounded sincere, but people frequently lied convincingly. He’d seen it time and time again in his line of work.

“I appreciate that,” Carly told him. “If you’ll excuse me, it’s been a very long day and I want to bring this stuff in and get home.”

“Of course,” Gideon said immediately. “I apologize for taking up your time.”

“It’s fine,” Carly told him.

Gideon nodded, giving them a wide berth as he headed toward a white pickup truck with the logo for the Honolulu Zoo on the doors. He drove away as Jag and Carly continued down the sidewalk.

“That was interesting,” Carly said.

Jag grunted.

“You don’t believe him?” she asked.

He heard the stress in her voice and didn’t want to add any more angst to her already very long and tiring day. “I’m just wondering who else we’re going to see today. Maybe Luke and his girlfriend are eating at the Korean place across the street. Or maybe Jeremiah and Beau will pop out of the surf shop down the road. Oh, I know, maybe Jamie’s inside Food For All, donating Coca-Cola from the bottling plant.”

Carly giggled.

Jag’s heart eased at hearing the sound.

“I told you. It’s as if the floodgates have opened. I don’t know what to think about seeing all of Shawn’s buddies everywhere I go.”

“Me either. I knew Oahu was small, but this is kind of ridiculous.”

“Agree,” Carly said. She walked closer to him and bumped her elbow against his arm. Both their hands were full so they couldn’t hold hands or touch any other way. “I’m glad you were here.”

“Me too.”

“Maybe I’ll stay inside and talk with Lexie while you go back to the car and get the other stuff?” It was a statement and question all at the same time.

“Good idea.”

“You don’t mind?” she asked.

“Of course not. Mustang would kick my ass if I complained about walking back and forth to my car three times. He’d probably make me do burpees for an hour straight while wearing my pack, after running a half marathon on the beach in the deep sand.”

Carly laughed again. “He wouldn’t do that. He’s too nice.”

Jag lifted a brow. His team leader definitely wasn’t nice when it came to working out and making sure his team was in shape.

He’d unload the rest of the donations quickly and looked forward to his evening with Carly. Jag never thought he’d get to a place in his life when he’d be comfortable having a woman in his space. But Carly seemed to be able to banish his demons without even trying. Though…they hadn’t had sex yet. He couldn’t help but worry about that. He couldn’t lose Carly, and therefore would do whatever it took to make sure she didn’t realize how nervous he was about making love.