The SEAL's Valentine. Laura Marie Altom

* *

      “WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?”

      Tristan tried sneaking into his mom’s house, but as he’d feared, the second the screen door creaked open, she was up from what she called her comfy crafting chair and paused the living room TV on one of her favorite shows.

      In the kitchen, Donna grabbed two beers. He expected her to hand him one, but she kept them both for herself. “You’ve worried me to drink.”

      “Sorry.” He rummaged through the fridge for his own adult beverage. “After tryouts, one of the boys who didn’t make it ran off into Lee Bayou. Jason tracked him, and I went after his mother.”

      “Oh?” Always on the hunt for a future daughter-in-law, her eyebrows shot up. “Anyone I know?”

      He popped the top on his beer, taking a nice, long drink. “For this, you might want to sit down.”

      “I’m intrigued...” So much so that she fished through the pantry for a bag of chips.

      “Whoa—thought your doctor told you to drop a few pounds?”

      She fished out a handful, popping them into her mouth. “What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”

      Rolling his eyes, Tristan took her second beer and returned it to the fridge but let her keep her chips. “I already lost Dad to a heart attack. If you don’t mind, I’d prefer keeping you.”

      After sticking out her tongue, she snagged a few more chips before closing the bag. “All right, enough lecturing. Tell me about your mystery date.”

      “It wasn’t a date, but we had to rescue Mack’s wife and son.”

      “Mack Langtoine?”

      “Yep.” Tristan needed another drink. Just as he never would’ve believed Andrea would leave him, he felt the same of his old friend cheating in the game he loved.

      “What do you think of the whole thing? Was he guilty?”

      He shrugged. “Brynn seems to think so.”

      “Poor girl.” His mom drank more beer. “And then to have him gunned down like that, right in front of her. Too much for a tiny thing like her to bear—especially being pregnant.”

      Joining her at the table, he asked, “How far along is she?”

      “Garden club gossip has her at eight months.”

      “So she’s in your club?”

      “I wish.” She fingered the bag of chips. “Judging by what she’s already done with the old Langtoine place’s yard, she’s got a green thumb, but very much keeps to herself. Her neighbor to the east is Georgia Booth. She’s been over three times with muffins and Brynn never even answers the door. Georgia didn’t think it proper, and had to practically stalk her outside to even bring the girl baked goods. Peculiar, if you ask me.”

      Tristan had another view. “What if Brynn’s scared? So many people have trash-talked her, associating her with Mack’s crimes, she’s probably terrified of being judged.”

      “That’s pretty deep,” his mom observed. “Since when are you so smart?”

      He laughed. “Know what they say about with hindsight comes twenty-twenty vision? Well, if there’s anything I’ve learned from my divorce, it’s that when it comes to relationships, like Brynn, I should be afraid—very afraid.”

      * * *

      “HURRY, SWEETIE.” BRYNN GAVE Cayden’s behind a light smack as he raced back upstairs for his forgotten book bag.

      Her smile faded as she remembered the panic from the night before. Cayden had been concerned about not earning a spot on the baseball team, but if he’d been hurt in that swamp, she’d have lost so much more.

      And yet, for all the spooky growls and grunts she’d heard, nothing had hurt them—in large part due to Tristan and his friend Jason. The last position she’d ever wanted to be in was finding herself depending on another man, but for those couple hours it’d taken Tristan to lead her back to civilization, that’s exactly what circumstance had forced her to do. And look at her—still in one piece. All limbs intact.

      Strangest fact of all, she had the oddest craving to see Tristan again. To properly thank him.

      “Found it, Mom.” Book bag in hand, Cayden raced down the stairs. “Let’s hurry. I have to be extra early. It’s my turn to feed Toby.” Toby was the classroom turtle. Feeding him was a great honor.

      Driving her son to school, Brynn tried remembering times she’d been as excited. Nearly every one of Mack’s games. Seated with the other wives, she’d been so proud of her man. Prouder still of her little boy and of finally being accepted into the popular crowd. Her father, an East Coast fisherman, had died at sea. Her mother, not a year after, had passed of what the aunt who’d raised her diagnosed as a broken heart. Brynn hadn’t been much older than Cayden, and at times, she’d thought the pain more than she could bear. But she had. And she’d grown and done well enough in school to earn a full ride to Notre Dame—a magical place so far from all she’d ever known, she’d been convinced only magic could be found within those creamy-colored brick walls.

      When she not only met and fell in love with Mack, but discovered the sheer joy of having him love her, too, never had she felt more complete.

      “Mom?”

      “Uh-huh?” She stopped for the light on Elm.

      “Why didn’t Dad rescue us last night?”

      Her stomach knotted, and she searched for just the right thing to say. No matter how many times she told Cayden his father was gone, he hadn’t fully absorbed the fact. He was still convinced Mack would appear. As if he’d only been gone on an extended series of away games.

      She accelerated when the light turned green. “Sweetie, you know why. More than anything, I know he’d never have wanted anything bad to happen to you—either one of us. But remember when we talked about how he isn’t coming back?”

      Chin to his chest, Cayden said, “I thought you might not’ve really meant it. Like when we order pizza and you tell me you’re so full you’re never eating again.”

      Pulling up to the curb in front of the town’s only elementary school, Brynn searched for words when there were none. “I wish it was like that. I really do.”

      He unfastened his seat belt, grabbed his bag from the floorboard, then hopped out of the car.

      “Where’s my kiss?” she asked.

      He blanched. “It’s bad enough I didn’t make the team. I can’t kiss my mom in front of my friends.”

      That comment set the tone for her day....

      * * *

      A THUNDERSTORM IN THE NIGHT had cleared the humidity, making for a gorgeous morning. As Tristan was on indefinite leave until he got his head back in what his commanding officer deemed a good place, he split his time between missing his kid, wondering what he might’ve done differently with his ex and working out.

      Before the heat grew too bad, he figured he might as well get a jump start on at least one out of three.

      His usual run took him down Mulberry Lane to Herring Park Trail. But something his mom had mentioned about Brynn Langtoine stuck in his head. That bit about her having a green thumb. Considering the fact that his mom and at least half the other gardening fanatics on their block had already been outside for hours, he figured it was a safe bet Brynn might already be working in her beds, as well.

      Mack and his family hadn’t lived far. A half mile at most, at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac.

      In just over four minutes, Tristan reached the simple two-story home. The front porch and an upper balcony were trimmed in black wrought-iron, reminding him of childhood trips to New Orleans.