Finding Kenna (SEAL Team Hawaii #3)(26)

“Right. So neither of us is perfect, we’re gonna screw up, but we’re building a foundation so we can weather the storms that are sure to arrive sooner or later,” Marshall said matter-of-factly.

When he put it that way, Kenna couldn’t argue his point. And amazingly, her fears that he was somehow pulling the wool over her eyes when it came to who he really was were assuaged. “For the record…I like you opening my door for me,” Kenna said.

Marshall shrugged. “Some people don’t. They think it’s demeaning, as if I think they can’t do it themselves.”

“Not me. A little kindness goes a long way with me,” Kenna said. “I see people at their best and worst at work all the time. So when someone treats me with respect and kindness, I take notice.”

Marshall smiled, and Kenna wanted to stop time. The man really was gorgeous. It was hard to believe she was sitting here with him and that he wanted a serious relationship.

They drove around the island and Marshall pointed out the Brig, where Naval prisoners were kept; Kai Beach, the small sandy strip for residents on the island; some of the training centers and the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum. They went by the Battleship Missouri Memorial, but instead of stopping, he said, “We’ll come back another day so you can go onboard…if you want.”

“I do,” Kenna said immediately. She actually wanted to do some research on her own before they did that though. She felt woefully ignorant when it came to her own country’s history and had a feeling knowing the story behind the USS Missouri would make it all the more moving when she did board the ship.

Marshall turned down a small road just before the parking area for the battleship, then turned right onto a gravel road. He parked his Jeep off to the side and shut off the engine.

“You been out to the USS Arizona Memorial yet?”

“Yeah, it was one of the first things I did when I moved here,” Kenna said. “It was very moving.”

“And?”

She wasn’t sure what he was asking, but she decided to be honest. “And it was crowded. One of the tourists threw up on the short boat ride out of the memorial. People were talking loudly and being kind of rude.”

Marshall nodded as if he wasn’t surprised. “Wait there,” he said, getting out of the Jeep. He walked around to her door and opened it, holding out his hand. Kenna took it and let him help her out. But instead of letting go, he tightened his hold and started walking toward a tiny path in the trees.

Kenna followed him without question. She supposed maybe it wasn’t smart to let a man she’d only known a week lead her into what looked like a thick copse of trees, but she trusted Marshall.

They hadn’t walked very long before he turned off the small path and headed through some bushes. Thankful she’d worn her sneakers because of the mud under her feet, Kenna ducked her head and followed Marshall’s lead without a word.

Twenty seconds or so later, he stepped out of the undergrowth onto a rocky patch of shoreline. The tide gently lapped at the rocks and he gestured in front of him. “This is my favorite view of the memorial,” he said softly.

Looking up, Kenna gasped. Right in front of her was the USS Arizona Memorial. The one she’d taken a boat to when she’d visited it. She was now looking at it from the other side. She could hear birds chirping and, in the distance, children playing on a playground somewhere.

“Here, sit,” Marshall said, nodding to a large flat boulder on the shoreline.

Without taking her eyes from the memorial, Kenna sat. It was more than obvious Marshall had been here before. He sat next to her on the rock and she leaned against him. They didn’t talk, just absorbed the view.

After a while, Marshall spoke. “I come here sometimes when I get frustrated with the Navy. When it feels as if what I’m doing doesn’t make a difference. I look at that memorial and remember that I’m doing important work. If we can eliminate one enemy who might come over to America to try to kill as many people as he can, then what I do is worth it. If my team and I can take out a terrorist leader who might be planning a sabotage like the one that happened here in nineteen forty-one, it’s worth all the angst and hardship.

“I’m only one man, but so were each and every one of the men who died on that ship all those years ago. They had loved ones, doubts, and they were all still serving their country on the brink of war. I respect them, and being here helps ground me.”

Kenna gripped his hand harder. “I’m proud of you,” she told him softly. “Just like I’m proud of those men under the waves that I never knew. They had families who worried about them, worried what the war would mean for them. While I have a feeling I’ll never be all that comfortable when you head off on a mission, that doesn’t mean I’m not proud of you for doing it in the first place.”

Marshall nodded.

They sat on the rock, listening to the waves splashing at the shore lazily for a while longer.

“You ready to go?” Marshall asked.

She wasn’t, but Kenna nodded anyway. He had to get back to work and couldn’t sit out here with her all day. “Thanks for bringing me here.”

“Anytime. I mean that. If you need a break, just let me know and I’ll bring you out here and you can hang with my homies as long as you want.”

Kenna laughed. “Your homies? Who talks like that?”