Montana SEAL (Brotherhood Protectors #1)(9)

Not knowing whether or not he was asleep, Sadie leaned forward, studying the gentle rise and fall of his chest.

Lloyd frowned and propped one eye open. “Don’t stop now. I want to know how he got the bear out of the barnyard.” He settled back. “Had a bear in my barnyard once. Left before I could get back to the house for my rifle.”

Sadie went back to reading the story about the bear in the barnyard, keeping her voice soft and soothing, hoping to calm Mr. Patterson.

A few paragraphs later, the door swung open.

Expecting the doctor, a nurse or Allie, Sadie glanced up with a smile on her face.

The smile froze as a tall, broad-shouldered figure filled the doorway. The blood rushed from Sadie’s head and she swayed, glad she sat in a chair, or she might have melted into a puddle of goo on the floor. “Hank?” she whispered. “Is it really you?”





4





Hank stood transfixed, his hand on the door as he stared into the room. Sadie McClain sat in a chair beside the hospital bed, her blond hair hanging down around her shoulders, her sky-blue eyes wide, soft pink lips forming an O of surprise. She pushed to her feet and swayed, her face turning pale and then flushing a pretty pink.

His heart stopped for a long, moment, as if time had frozen. Then his pulse kicked in, hammering against his veins, reminding him he was still alive and he was there for his father, not for Sadie.

Hank nodded his head toward her. “Sadie,” he said, and then dragged his gaze away from her to the bed.

His father blinked his eyes open and focused on Hank. “What the hell are you doing here?” He held up his hand. “No. Let me guess. Allie!”

The door opened again and Allie entered backward. “Dad, stop your bellerin’. They can hear you all the way down the corridor. I thought you might like some real coffee. It’s much better than what they served for breakf—” She turned, balancing two cups of coffee. “Hank!”

Hank snatched the coffee cups from her before she dropped them. “Hey, Allie Cat.” He set the cups on the nightstand and pulled his little sister into his arms. “It’s good to see you, squirt.”

She wrapped her arms around his waist and squeezed hard. “I missed you, you big jerk.”

“Hey, watch your mouth.” He rubbed his knuckles across her head like he had when she was ten years old. “Tell me what’s going on.”

“Nothing’s going on,” his father assured him. “You don’t need to be here. You might as well go back to your unit. You’re not needed here.”

That hurt. Fortunately, Hank had heard worse from his father. For some reason, his father never had a kind word to say to him. Ever since his mother died.

“Dad, I’m here for a month.” Hank crossed his arms over his chest and stared down his father, not out of disrespect, but out of the very same stubbornness he’d inherited from his father. “So, you might as well get used to it.”

“I’m not getting used to anything. I don’t need you here.”

“Fine. Then I’ll stay in Eagle Rock at Ruby’s Bed and Breakfast.”

“Ha! Ruby sold it,” his father said and winced. “Damn it. I could do without the aggravation.” He shot a glance at Allie. “Why did you go and call him?”

Allie’s lips thinned. “Dad, be reasonable. You were shot.”

“I know that. I was there.” Hank’s father slapped the bed and doubled over, his face turning white. “Damn it. What does my being shot have to do with your brother?”

“I don’t know.” Allie stared up at her brother. “What does this have to do with you?”

Hank was tired of the arguments and exhausted from the flight. His knee hurt, and he didn’t have it in him to argue. “You want me to leave? Fine.” He spun on his heels and would have headed out the door, except he caught the disturbed expression on Sadie’s face. All his anger melted away in that one look from Sadie. He couldn’t leave. Not yet. Not without clearing the air between him and his first love.

Allie hooked her arm through Hank and Sadie’s and herded them through the door. “Sadie, tell Hank what happened while I try to talk sense into Daddy.” She pushed them into the corridor, and let the door swing closed behind them.

Relatively alone with Sadie in the corridor, Hank stared down at her. She’d broken his heart when she’d told him she didn’t want to get married, and that she wanted to pursue her dream of going to California to become a big movie star.

“Hi, again.”

She chuckled softly. “Your father is still the same.”

“If by the same, you mean cantankerous, ornery and pig-headed, you’re right.” Out of habit, his hand rose to touch her, to bring her into his arms and kiss her, but he stopped himself before his fingers made the connection. They weren’t teenagers in love anymore. She was a celebrity. He was a SEAL. By the nature of their chosen occupations, their worlds would never collide.

Except in Eagle Rock where they’d both been raised. In Hank’s case, he’d never wanted to come back. Had he known Sadie would be there…“How long have you been in town?” he asked.

“A few days.”

“I thought you lived in LA.”

“I do—did.” She stared down at her cowboy boots. “It’s complicated.”