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“I don’t know, man.” Leaning back in the chair, I look up at the ceiling to gather my thoughts. How do I explain this to him? Blowing out a breath, I look back at him and hope I don’t sound like a complete lunatic. “I’ve told you what happened and why I had to get out of the Navy. You know I’ve had no interest in women or dating ever since. I can’t explain the reaction I had when I first met Shawna. There’s just something about her that makes me feel …” I wave my arms, unable to put my feelings into words. “I don’t know what it is, exactly. That’s the thing… it’s just a feeling that makes me happy and comfortable around her. On top of that, she’s beautiful, so naturally, I’ve developed an attraction to her. I couldn’t help myself. I had to kiss her even though I knew I shouldn’t.”
Rob just looks at me. His lack of reaction to my explanation leads me to believe he thinks I’m full of shit. I knew this would happen.
Finally, he shakes his head, then leans back in his chair. “What do you think is going to happen with her? Where do you see this going? We’re only in Washington temporarily, so it’s not as if you could start a real relationship with her.”
“I know, I know.” Crossing my arms over my chest, I don’t have an answer for him. I’ve thought about this over and over again, and I know it doesn’t make sense. I live in San Diego, thousands of miles away from Port Townsend. But despite the fact a relationship with Shawna will not work out, something still pulls me to her.
“You know that if Jarred Feldman doesn’t show up in the next few days, we have to leave. Hell, if he does show up, we’ll take him into custody and still leave town. What’s your game plan?”
Shaking my head, I reply, “I really don’t know, man. For now, I plan to make sure Shawna and her son are safe in the event that Jarred returns.”
“You really don’t think she’s still in contact with him? She could be lying, you know.”
“No, she’s not,” I say automatically. “I know when someone is lying, and she’s being truthful.” SEAL training made me a human lie detector, and I’ve never been wrong in judging someone’s truthfulness.
“Okay,” Rob replies, putting his hands up.
Exasperated, I continue. “Look, man, I just have this overwhelming feeling about her. I don’t know why, but intuition is telling me to stay close to her for some reason. My plan is to do just that while we’re here. I don’t know if it’s because we need to protect Shawna and her son, or because we’ll have a better chance of catching Jarred this way. You know I’d never do anything to jeopardize our job. I’m only trying to help us.”
Rob nods, then slaps his knees before standing. “Okay, then,” he says before walking toward the door. He turns back to look at me before opening it. “Just don’t do anything that fucks with your heart or hers either.”
I cock an eyebrow because his comment takes me by surprise.
“Messing with a single mom’s heart just seems like a fucked-up thing to do. You’re better than that.”
Rob opens the door and leaves, closing the door behind him. I’m left speechless because he’s absolutely right. I’m not the type of guy who plays with a woman’s emotions. As much as I’m drawn to Shawna, I have to take her feelings into consideration, too.
