Page 5 of A Spark of Luck
“Yes.” In spades.
Doogie’s expression showed his skepticism. “We’re SEALs, man. She’ll never know how it happened.”
“Nope. She’s charging me fifty dollars for every stitch I pop.”
The big man gave a loud guffaw.
Hunt ignored it. “I promised, and she’s right. If I stay off this leg and give it a head start on the heal, I might not have problems.”
“She really gave you the woo-woo, huh?” Doogie had lowered his voice to football-stadium loud, not transmitting-to-everyone-and-God loud.
Hunt choked. “Woo-woo?”
Doogie laughed again, mirth in every movement of his body. “Don’t tell me you didn’t get a hard-on with that pretty doc touching your ass.”
“You will not talk about my ass ever again.” He should have known. Nothing got by Doogie. He was his second for a reason.
“Have you ever known me to pass up a chance to rib you?”
“Try. I’m in pain.” As a strategy, it had no chance of success.
“Pain, my ass.” Doogie stuffed the empty plastic bag into his cargo pockets. “Seriously, Hunt. Haven’t seen you react to a woman like that in a long time. Good to see it.” The normal-room voice was appreciated, and Hunt loosened his tongue before he caught himself.
“Fraternization. Any time you have a disparity in rank that calls into question possible coercion for sex or other commodities.” He’d already dismissed this as a problem, but as a potential sidetrack to Doogie’s matchmaking, it had potential.
“That’s not how the Navy will see it. You’re close to equal rank.” Doogie looked ready to gear up his argument. Hunt didn’t want to hear it because he was desperate to give in, and he never did anything without thinking things through.
He reached for his water bottle and took a sip. “Don’t know what happened between me and Doc, but I’m not going to act on it, Doogie. It has nothing to do with her being beautiful and sexy,and everything to do with my professional compass and this hellhole we’re all trapped in.”
“She zapped you. I saw it when she touched you. I agree on the hellhole part, but maybe there’s a bit of heaven there. Mighty Hunt should take a chance.”
He rolled his eyes and glared, not liking that twist on his SEAL handle of Big Hunt. “You’re giving me love advice? You?”
“Well, I’m lookin’. I’m not findin’.” The mountain-sized man flashed an impertinent grin. “Would help if I wasn’t always on the other side of the world getting chased through the countryside by nasty men.”
“Copy that.” Hunt pushed the pillow from between his legs and dropped back on the bed. “I’m fine, Doogie.”
“Fine isn’t the question. Better than fine, now that’s where you should be. Think about Doc instead. She’s got it all, intelligence, humor, and patience, all in a pretty package. I’ll bet a hug from her is damn good.”
He silently agreed, but….
“SEAL relationships have a huge failure rate.” He dropped the book into his lap and switched the subject. “Any news?”
“Nope. Still waiting for actionable intel. Until they find us a target, you get to recover and read.Seems to me I heard this was Doc’s second tour here. She’s not exactly ignorant of what we do. She uses a scalpel, and we use a weapon. That’s it. We’re both helping people.”
Hunt put a hand over his eyes and groaned. “Give it a rest, Doogie.”
“Okay, man, but think about it. A good woman is a treasure.” He rose to his feet. Hunt peered up at him, wondering at the direction of Doogie’s wisdom.
Another knock came on the door, stopping their conversation. That didn’t hurt Hunt’s feelings a bit. “Come in.”
Carter walked in. “Doc called. She wants me to check your stitches. Make sure there’s no infection.”
“She’s interested,” Doogie pronounced, rubbing his hands together like a matchmaker ready to jump in and plan the first date.
“She’s a doctor,” Carter offered, his questioning look added to the statement. He had no plans to share Doog’s prompting. “She’s supposed to think like that. At least I would.”
Doogie rolled his eyes. “Clue in, Carter. No one did a follow-up on me last month. She wants the LT’s ass.”
