Chapter 9
The next week went by much as the previous one had, except when Stuart dropped her off each day, she spent hours looking through official Navy files, while he went to a different building on the base to do his own work.
Monica wasn’t sure what he did all day, but apparently he was always busy.
He also left the house early each morning to work out with his team.
Sometimes they went for an “easy” five-mile swim in the ocean, other times they ran a half marathon, still other times they went to the Naval base and worked out with others.
At first, Monica had been leery to be left alone in his house, but eventually she relaxed. How could she not? Sitting on his back deck, surrounded by fruit trees, and seeing the occasional wild chicken rooting around for food made her feel at home in a way she’d never felt anywhere before.
It actually worried Monica how comfortable she felt in Stuart’s house.
And she hadn’t gone this long without a job since fleeing her childhood home.
Though she couldn’t help but admit that it felt good to have some time to herself and not have to worry about what to make her small charges for breakfast, or to get them up and dressed, or the million other things that went along with taking care of children.
Here she could just be…Monica.
The problem with that was, without a job to focus on, without someone dictating her every move…she wasn’t entirely sure who Monica Collins really was.
Sighing, she took another sip of her coffee, enjoying the quiet weekend morning. She hadn’t been much of a coffee drinker in the past, but once she’d tried Kona coffee, and the stuff made with peaberry—whatever that was—she was a convert.
Her mind wandered back to Stuart…where it often wandered to these days.
He’d been more than generous, and she knew it.
She wasn’t a normal houseguest. She’d been a stranger, one who hadn’t been all that thankful for his and Slate’s help in Algeria.
Actually, Monica knew she’d been downright belligerent.
But he’d still invited her to stay with him, knowing how uncomfortable she’d be on the military base.
Not only that, he’d gone out of his way to build that amazing safe room. She still had a hard time wrapping her mind around the fact that he’d done so. She’d sat inside the small space that first night, after she’d gone to bed, and simply cried.
Cried because Stuart had been so damn nice to her.
As had his friends. Cried because for the first time in her life, someone seemed to understand her.
Truly understand her fears. It was scary as hell, because Stuart didn’t even really know her.
Didn’t know all the things she’d suffered through while growing up.
And yet he instinctively knew what she needed; still went out of his way to make sure she felt safe in his home.
With every day that had passed since, Monica relaxed a little more. But now she had a different problem than she had when she’d first arrived on the island.
Before, she couldn’t wait to talk to the SEAL commander and get the hell back to her life. Now, after just two weeks, she’d settled in. She liked waking up without an agenda. She was beginning to get used to the men and women she saw on a regular basis in the building where she spent her days.
And more than anything, there was Stuart.
Monica was tremendously conflicted. She liked the man.
A lot. But she still wasn’t sure she completely trusted him.
And she hated her father all over again for doing that to her.
He’d been very successful in making her question everyone’s motives.
In teaching her to look for signs of deceit in every person she met.
It was part of the reason she began to work with children.
They hadn’t learned how to be deceptive yet, especially the younger kids.
Monica took another sip of her coffee and closed her eyes.
Trust or not, she had to admit—to herself, at least—that the urge to know more about the man she was essentially living with was growing stronger by the day.
Because she hadn’t wanted to talk about her family, Stuart had followed her lead.
She knew he grew up in Alaska, and had a sister, but that was about it.
Turning when she heard a noise behind her in the house, Monica saw Stuart in the kitchen.
That was just another little thing he did to try to put her at ease.
He always made noise when he was coming and going, so as not to surprise her.
She had no doubt he could move as silently as a ghost if he wanted to, he was a special forces operative after all, but the man clomped around his house as if he was one of the children she’d looked after over the years.
Smiling, she took another sip as Stuart opened the door and joined her on the deck.
“Wow, now that’s a sight to come home to,” he said quietly as he pulled a chair closer to hers and sat.
“What?” she asked, scanning the yard for whatever had pleased him so much.
“You,” he said—blowing her mind. “Smiling. You don’t do it often.”
“Yes, I do,” Monica countered, even though she knew he was right.
Stuart shrugged. “Just sayin’. I like it.”
Feeling uncomfortable with his praise, Monica asked, “How was your workout?”
“Tough, but good. Mustang decided it was time to do another session on the obstacle course with our packs.”
“I can’t believe you guys went in to work out on a Sunday,” Monica said.
Stuart took a sip of his coffee and relaxed into his chair.
He crossed his long legs at the ankles and sighed, resting his cup on his belly and closing his eyes.
“Days don’t mean much to us,” he said easily.
“It’s important we stay in shape, and many times the weekends are easier for us to use the equipment on base, since not as many people are there. ”
Monica could understand that.
They were quiet for a while, enjoying the balmy morning temperature. From experience, Monica knew it could get quite warm during the day, especially when the sun was out.
“If you want, I thought I might give you a small tour of the island today. I figured I’d take you to the Moanalua Gardens and show you the huge monkeypod tree they have there.
It’s interesting because its canopy is as wide as the tree is tall.
It’s a sight to see for sure. There aren’t many flowers there though, even though it’s called Moanalua Gardens.
After, I thought we could go downtown. It’s not a trip to Oahu without seeing the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, and the punchbowl. ”
“Punchbowl?” Monica asked.
“The punchbowl crater’s an extinct volcanic tuff cone. The Hawaiian name is Puowaina, which is most commonly translated as “hill of sacrifice.” Appropriate, since the cemetery is there. There’s also a kick-ass scenic lookout too.”
Monica couldn’t help but feel excited about the day. She hadn’t been out much since she’d been here, and seeing a bit of the island sounded fun.
“If lookouts are your thing, we could go to the Tantalus Lookout at Puu Ualakaa State Park. It’s got a great view of Diamond Head, Waikiki, downtown Honolulu, and the ocean in the distance. Wait—you don’t get car sick, do you?”
Monica shook her head. “Seasick, yes. Car sick, no.”
“Whew, because the roads to get up there are pretty curvy. We could end the afternoon in Waikiki, where you can get some souvenirs if you want, and where we’ll meet up with the gang at Duke’s.”
Monica sighed and stared out into the yard.
She knew today was the get-together at the popular Waikiki restaurant.
She still wasn’t jazzed about it, but if Kenna was determined to invite her to her bachelorette party the next weekend, and to her wedding, she figured it was a good idea to at least try to get to know her, and the other women as well.
“It’ll be fine,” Stuart said, putting his hand on her arm and squeezing.
Monica felt horrible about being reticent to meet them.
But she hadn’t lied when she’d told Stuart that she had a hard time making friends.
She never seemed to have anything in common with most people, and she always felt awkward trying to make small talk.
So she usually just sat and listened, which sometimes weirded people out. “I know,” she said.
“I wouldn’t expose you to anyone who I thought wouldn’t like you,” Stuart said quietly.
Monica nodded.
He sighed. “I won’t ask you to trust me, because I know trust is a hard thing for you, but you’ll see. It’ll be fine. Besides, if nothing else, you’ll get to try Duke’s hula pie. It’s to die for. Do you drink?”
Monica shook her head. “Why? Is that a problem?”
“Not at all.”
“It’s weird,” she mumbled, looking down at her coffee. “Another reason why I don’t get along with people, especially in a social setting.”
“It’s fine. I only asked because Duke’s has some popular cocktails. They also make them without alcohol. No one’s going to care if you drink or not, Mo.”
“Sometimes I ask for water in a martini glass,” she admitted. “It keeps people off my back about not drinking.”
“Smart. But you won’t have to resort to tricks when you’re with Elodie and the others. They really aren’t going to care.”
The more Monica heard about his friends’ women, the more she hoped they liked her.
But that was a dangerous road for her to go down.
First, because she wasn’t sure how likely that was, and second, because she’d probably be leaving soon.
The commander was getting frustrated with her inability to recognize anyone.
Stuart kept telling her to be patient, but it was hard when his boss was so obviously impatient.
And when she herself was getting more and more anxious to figure out who the mystery guy was.
“Mo, look at me.”