Expecting the SEAL’s Baby by Katie Knight

Twelve

Jeremy hacked away at the dense vines with a machete and parted them for Gina to step through. She appreciated the extra care he was taking of her, but she worried that it was slowing them down. Since leaving the village, they’d been moving steadily in the direction the brothers had indicated, but she knew their progress wasn’t as speedy as it could have been.

Rain poured down on them, sometimes a light mist and at other times, giant drops coming fast and steady. Regardless, they trudged on. Their only stops were for water breaks and a quick check in with Percy to relay the intel from the village.

Gina had listened to Jeremy’s side of the conversation, taking the moment to lean against a tree and rest her leg. It was surprisingly strong considering how it had felt right after the injury. Her head was slightly sore to the touch still, but the swelling was better there, too. All in all, she noted that she appeared to be feeling better than Jeremy who seemed to be wincing now and again as they hiked. Had he injured himself while digging her out of the rubble? He’d said nothing about it, and she hadn’t asked either. She wondered now, though.

She wanted to ask him about it, but he seemed driven to cover ground, so she said nothing, but kept a close eye on him as they continued moving. Long silences stretched in their intermittent conversation, and she thought about what Jeremy had said about the baby. He seemed genuinely happy about their daughter. The idea that she carried a girl was now firmly stuck in Gina’s head. And she’d like a daughter…she was already considering possible names in her head and ways to decorate the nursery. And unless Jeremy objected, she wanted the baby girl’s middle name to be Camilla after Gina’s mother.

Thinking of her mother, now thousands of miles away, did send a quiver of unease through her. Camilla was terribly worried about Blake, and now undoubtedly about her and Jeremy as well. At least she had Sam to offer her comfort and support—so much more than Camilla had ever gotten from Gina’s father. Jeremy seemed much more into being a father, but maybe that was because the idea was still so fresh. With time, would he start pulling away as her father had?

She pushed the worry away, determined to keep a positive attitude. She and Jeremy had a child to raise. Surely they could find a way to do that together. They were friends, at least. That was something to start with, but…but she wanted more for her child and herself.

She glanced at the broad-shouldered man ahead of her. How much did she want him? She was a little frightened to answer that question. Fearing the strength of her attachment to a man who didn’t fit her expectations. Actually, he was the opposite of her expectations and the type of man she’d sworn she’d never get involved with.

She was so deep in her thoughts that she nearly collided with him when he stopped. “Sorry,” she whispered.

“Lunch?” Jeremy said, standing in the shelter of an outcropping of rocks which afforded them some protection from the rain.

“Seems like a good place to stop.” She stepped under the overhang and pulled the pack from her back, taking out the food Angelica had provided. Being busy kept her mind from returning to where it had been a moment earlier. She divided the food, handing Jeremy his share. Before taking it, he lowered himself to sit on a rock but had to catch himself with his hands to keep from falling. She eyed him, debating for just a second, but she’d had enough of watching in silence. “You’re in pain.”

“I’m fine,” he said, taking a drink from his canteen.

“Jeremy.” She gave him the smile she used with uncooperative patients who she needed to win over. “I think you must have an injury of some sort. You’ve been favoring your right leg all morning.”

He shrugged. “It’s nothing. An old injury left over from my first SEAL mission. Nothing to worry about.”

“That would have been a while ago,” she observed, thinking back. He and her brother had served together for more than ten years.

“Yeah, but it’s not usually a problem,” he said. “It doesn’t slow me down, and I always passed the Navy physicals.”

She wanted to point out that the injury had slowed him down that morning. Not a lot but enough to be noticeable. And she’d seen plenty of people who faked their way through a physical exam using sheer grit and determination to mask problems that should have disqualified them. “But it’s hurting you.”

He shrugged again. “When it rains, especially a steady one like this, it gets achy. Makes it difficult to walk.”

“Do you have scar tissue?” she asked, having seen a variety of injuries both fresh and old in her practice. Scars could cause a lot of pain if the skin around them was pulled the wrong way. The uneven ground they were covering had to add to the trouble he was experiencing from the weather conditions.

“Yeah, an IED took out a vehicle I was in,” he said, looking away from her into the jungle.

“You must have had surgery,” she commented. She hadn’t personally seen the type of injury that resulted from the improvised explosive devices that were so commonly used in warfare in Afghanistan and Iraq, but she’d read about them and seen images of the damage inflicted on soldiers and civilians alike.

“I did, but I came back from it.” He swung his gaze back to hers. His face was pained for a moment until becoming carefully blank. Did he fear that he’d shared too much with her?

“What is it? What’s wrong?” she asked, wanting to keep the conversation going, wanting to know more about his experiences, about him.

He took several bites of food before answering, and she was sure he’d ignore her question. With very precise motions, he folded the paper his food had been wrapped in and tucked it in an outer pocket on his bag.

“Jeremy?” She kept her voice soft. “Talk to me.”

“It just pisses me off,” he said a moment later. “I went through a lot as a SEAL, and I don’t regret any of it. But getting kicked out in the end was a hell of a raw deal.”

Ah. The problem was more than the physical injury. He’d lost so much recently that it must have weighed heavily on him, and he wasn’t a man who shared his emotions easily. “Someday,” Gina said carefully, “they’ll realize they were wrong about you and this entire situation.”

He laughed humorlessly. “Even if they do, the Navy doesn’t apologize for its mistakes. I need to accept that and learn to live with it.”

“Maybe,” she conceded, “but you don’t have to live with pain today.” She set her unfinished lunch aside and dug in her pack again, searching for the salve that Angelica had given her.

“What are you looking for?” he asked.

“The medicines Angelica used on me. Show me where it hurts,” she said, adopting a clinical tone as if he were her patient. She saw the skepticism on his face, the raised eyebrow, the wary expression. “Show me where, Jeremy.”

They had a stare down that lasted a good ten seconds before he pulled the wide leg of his cargo pants up, revealing a thin jagged scar just above the knee. Shrapnel must have lodged deep in his thigh, and she knew he’d been lucky the injury wasn’t incapacitating.

She felt his eyes on her, and so she was careful not to react, but went about the business of making it feel better.

* * *

Jeremy stiffened when Gina leaned closer, peering at the scar he’d carried for more than a decade. He’d been sure that day when the IED exploded near him that his career as a SEAL—and maybe even his life—was over, but he’d been lucky. He’d come back from the injury, vowing to never let it slow him down.

And it rarely did, but between the rain and the jungle, it had gotten to him that day. Enough that she’d noticed. He hadn’t meant to worry her. That was the last thing he wanted. She already had so much on her mind.

“It’s okay. Don’t worry about it.” He made to pull down the leg of his pants, but she brushed his hands away.

“I’ve seen far worse,” she reminded him, taking a fingerful of salve from a glass jar and warming it between her hands. “I worked for a year in the ER at UC San Diego. I don’t think anything could ever surprise me again.”

Combat injuries could, he thought, but then remembered that at the huge hospital she’d likely seen gunshot wounds and the results of horrific accidents. Slowly, he relaxed, forcing himself to lean back against the rocks, reminding himself that she viewed him as a patient. Nothing more.

When her hands touched his skin, it was tougher to convince himself that she was a medical professional administering care. The way she spread the salve on his leg and massaged it in felt personal, felt intimate. And they were very alone, isolated far from civilization.

A long strand of hair escaped from the braid she’d tied her hair back in, and it fell over her shoulder. Without thinking, he reached out to touch it, feeling its silkiness. He remembered too well the sensation when her hair had brushed against his bare skin the night they’d made love. The night they’d made a baby, forming a permanent bond between them. He tucked the lock of hair behind her ear. She didn’t react—maybe didn’t even notice—as she concentrated on the injury.

“Must have hurt like the devil,” she muttered, her fingers working deep into the scar tissue and relieving the pain.

He couldn’t tell if it was the salve or her massage, but the ache in his leg began to fade. Or maybe it was the distraction of having her so close, touching him. How simple it would be to lower his head and tilt hers up. The kiss from the day before came back to him. He hadn’t wanted to stop that moment, even as he’d known he should. And right now, he wanted another kiss from her. He wanted so much more, even as he knew that he shouldn’t.

“I’ll treat it again tonight when we camp,” she said, her hands leaving his thigh to pull his pant leg down. “I hope it’s feeling better.” She looked up into his face then. His thoughts must have been written across it because her lips formed a little circle of surprise before she smiled at him. It was flirtatious, almost seductive, and he was struggling to resist her. He leaned forward ever so slightly as his fingers traced along her jawline.

What would one kiss hurt? He posed the question to himself, ignoring the certainty that one would never be enough.

They drew closer until her lips were just below his, the kiss imminent.

A sharp crack of thunder sounded overhead, shocking them both, and the rain poured down more heavily than ever.

“Was that a sign of some sort?” she asked in a low voice. She’d jumped at the noise and pulled back, breaking the romantic moment.

If it was, he didn’t know what it was telling him, except that he should be grateful to the storm. Kissing her, considering their circumstances, was only going to lead to more trouble.

“Yeah,” he managed, trying to keep the gruffness out of his voice. He felt anger at himself, at his lack of control. “A sign to finish your lunch, so we can get back on the trail.”

She sat back and picked up the food, breaking off little chunks and popping them in her mouth. He tore his eyes away and looked out into the jungle around them. The sudden burst of heavy rain was already lessening.

“Is your leg feeling better?” she asked softly.

“It is. Thanks.” The ache was completely gone and the area around the scar on his thigh felt warm and relaxed.

“It’s the magical salve,” she said, finishing her lunch.

“I think it may have been the provider,” he said. She shook her head, but a blush spread across her cheeks.

“Where to…hello, there.” Her gaze shifted to a tree limb twenty feet away. Three capuchin monkeys were walking along in line with each other. One of them had a baby on her back.

As he and Gina watched, the mama monkey stopped and her young hopped off to sit next to her on the limb. The mother kept a protective arm around her baby as she seemed to chat with the other adult monkeys. Their exchange sounding like a series of barks and squeaks.

“I wonder what they’re saying to each other,” Gina commented, her eyes riveted on the mama and baby.

“Probably surprised to see people in their jungle.”

“They don’t seem scared. They seem happy,” Gina said as the mama pulled the baby closer and smoothed its fur in a loving gesture much like she’d seen parents soothe their children.

That would be them in a matter of months with an infant to care for. He didn’t have to ask to know that’s what Gina was thinking as well. The changes coming to his life were almost unnerving since he had no experience being part of a functional family.

Did he have what it would take to be a good father when he’d had no example to imitate? He had no doubts about Gina’s ability to be a loving parent, but what did he bring to the table? He didn’t know, but he felt as he had over the past few days that he wanted to try. For Gina and the baby.

The satellite phone chirped next to him, catching his attention. He looked at the screen, which was flashing on and off. It had been doing that most of the day. The signal was weak, which was frustrating when he desperately wanted fresh intel from Percy and Mason.

“Anything?” she asked softly.

“The connection’s no good. We should get going.”

“Right.” Gina rose and shouldered her bag. The monkeys scampered off at the sudden movement.

“Yeah. Wish I had confirmation of…something,” Jeremy said. Until he did, they’d keep on the same trajectory, which he hoped was taking them closer to Blake’s location. Despite the little reprieve they’d had, he knew her brother was on her mind as much as he was on Jeremy’s. He wanted to tell her that it would be all right, that they’d reach Blake in time and get him out safely, but he didn’t know that for sure. All he could do was hope.